MELBOURNE is ignoring the "noise" about its sluggish start to the season as the Demons hope a stint on the road can get their season rolling.
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After last year's horrors saw the Demons plummet to the 17th on the ladder, they remain in that spot five rounds into this year (albeit having only played four games due to their postponed clash with Essendon).
The Demons have averaged seven goals in their four matches and their kicking skills have come under fire following last week's defeat to Richmond, including sharp criticism from former great Garry Lyon.
The club has shifted to Sydney for its next block of games, starting with Saturday night's clash with Gold Coast at Giants Stadium, and coach Simon Goodwin said the time away as a group would be beneficial.
"The noise is the noise. We understand the position that we're in that there's going to be noise. It hasn't been short of an opinion right across the board, from past players to past coaches to experts of the game, about what should be happening," Goodwin said.
"All I'll say is that we're not sitting around here saying 'woe is us'. We know we need to get better but we're up for that challenge.
"Our supporters need to know that we're working really hard and we want to do really well. We're 1-3, there's plenty left in this season, and there's plenty left to work through and we're going to keep doing that."
Goodwin admitted the Demons were at times “beating ourselves” with their skill execution, and that area is a key focus during their stay in Manly.
The Demons made the surprising call to drop recruit Adam Tomlinson for the clash with the Suns, with Goodwin explaining the decision that came just four games into Tomlinson's career at Melbourne.
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"It's pretty simple for 'Tommo', he's just out of form at the moment. We're going to work pretty closely with Tommo to get him back in form," he said.
"We've got some guys who are in form with training and also some match simulations, so it's an opportunity to bring some of those guys in and get back Tommo into some form and back into the team."
Tomlinson joined the Demons as a free agent last year on a four-year deal from Greater Western Sydney, but Goodwin said the 26-year-old had handled his omission well.
"He's been terrific. He's aware he's not playing his best footy. He wants to be playing his best footy and be at the club for a long time," he said.
"We're not interested in what the contract looks like, we're interested in what is going to win this week and pick the team that is going to win. Unfortunately for Adam he's not in that but he's a quality person, he'll work his way back in."
