MELBOURNE coach Dean Bailey believes his playing group took a "step backwards" in its 79-point loss to St Kilda on Sunday, and has called for the side to respond after a fortnight that has claimed its two most prolific goalkickers.
Bailey described the Telstra Dome performance as "poor" and said the players "let themselves down" after making inroads in the past three roads with their round seven win over Fremantle and last weekend's strong showing against Hawthorn.
The Demons' coach said it was time for the players to take ownership of the side's direction, after seeing skipper David Neitz retire and forward Russell Robertson suffer a season-ending achilles injury in the past two weeks.
"The players have been fully aware of the responsibility they have at Melbourne," Bailey said.
"There's no doubt that, but unfortunately [with] their actions they've let themselves down.
"Next week is a great challenge, with David and Russell not there, they now need to put their best foot forward in a big match against Collingwood.
"It will be really testing on them to see what they provide next week. There's a lot of expectations that are on them now.
"David's not there, Russell's not there, and they've now got to get out there and prove a point to themselves, and our members and supporters.
"We let them down terribly today. We were really poor."
With tackling and pressure currently a hot topic in football, it's not surprising Bailey will look to attack the in-form Magpies next Monday for the Queen's Birthday blockbuster with an inflated level of intensity.
"The significance of tackling and chasing is that everyone can do it – it's an attitude," he said.
"That will be certainly a focus for us next week against Collingwood.
"Our tackling and our chasing next week will determine the outcome of the game. It's as simple as that, because it's something they can all contribute to."
Bailey said his players can also expect to be challenged this week in regards to how they prepare for the spectacle match, which will come two days after the Demons hold their 150 Heroes function to commemorate those who have shaped the club in its illustrious history.
"It's a great club and it's got a great history, and the challenge is going to be to suck up today's performance because it was really poor and then being able to get back on to the track and train well and prepare for a huge game," he said.
"It is a huge game and there's no doubt the club looks forward to Melbourne-Collingwood at the MCG.
"That is a real challenge, and a very underdog mentality, I'm sure, will appear later in the week because they're in ripping form and we're at the other end of the scale."
