MELBOURNE coach Mark Neeld says he will consider dropping senior players in the second half of the season and adding more youth to his team after turnovers plagued the Dees in their 83-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG on Monday.
After a bright start to the club's marquee Queen's Birthday fixture, the Demons fell away and conceded 24 scoring shots to the Magpies from turnovers.
Collingwood kicked 16 goals to four after quarter-time – including a run of 10 unanswered either side of the main break – and kept the Demons to their second lowest score of the season.
Neeld said the competitive first quarter was a glimpse into the future, but pointed the finger squarely at his senior players for the capitulation that followed.
"When we see guys that have been around for a while keep handballing the ball back to [the opposition] … I'm a little bit frustrated right now," he said post-match.
"It's a recurring theme. We've just got to work our way through it.
"Clearly there's still a few of our experienced players we've just got to change.
"If they're going to continue to kick the ball back, well we've got a couple of other boys in the VFL who probably could play."
Neeld praised his young players and said their ability to lead the way would be seen as a positive once the frustration subsided.
"Dean Terlich, Matt Jones, (Jimmy) Toumpas, they've been here for five minutes," he said.
"There's the glimpse into the future, we talked about that.
"We thought Wattsy's aggression at the ball … if that's what Jack Watts is going to bring to the table, well he's getting there."
One senior player Neeld can't call on soon is Mitch Clark, with the embattled coach acknowledging the injured key forward may not play again this season.
Fellow key forward Chris Dawes sprained an ankle and will have scans on Tuesday but Neeld was pessimistic about Clark's prospects.
"If Mitch plays another game for the rest of the year I'll be really pleased," he said.
Melbourne was just one point behind at quarter-time against the Pies after one of the club's most encouraging quarters this season, winning the contested ball (36-25), tackling hard (13-8) and kicking efficiently.
Neeld said his players' effort didn't disappear after the first quarter, but "the frustration level exploded" as the turnovers mounted.
"In the end, and fairly enough, some of the Collingwood boys decided we don't have to chase you, you're going to turn it over," the coach said.
"When you turn it over, you end up working twice as hard.
"That's where sometimes you've got to be realistic when you pick up the GPS reports.
"I'm sure our GPS report is probably a little bit up on Collingwood, but we're victims of out own skill errors.
"Our list is our list, and our injury list is our injury list. That's the way it goes."
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
