MELBOURNE players are tiring and look like they want the season to finish, Demons coach Paul Roos says.
The Demons appeared listless for three of Sunday's four quarters against the Western Bulldogs, eventually going down by 98 points despite winning the third term by five goals.
Roos said his players were showing signs of fatigue in the final month of the season, leading the club to give them extra days off last week.
"The worry is when you get to this stage of the year, you can't get in the players' minds as to how hard they want to play the remainder of the season out," Roos said.
"We've go to get them up now and make sure that they do finish off the year.
"It looked like a team, rightly so, that had top-four to play for against a team that are sort of looking for the year to finish."
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The Dees beat the Bulldogs in round eight by 39 points, but Roos conceded he was bracing for backlash from supporters after Sunday's disappointing rematch at Etihad Stadium.
"Given the emails and stuff I get when we lose, there will be some that drop off – no doubt. So the next three weeks are really critical," he said.
Melbourne plays Carlton (MCG), Fremantle (Domain Stadium) and GWS (Etihad Stadium) to finish off the season.
Five talking points: Dogs v Demons
On Sunday, Melbourne was smashed by a Dogs blitzkrieg from the opening siren, with Luke Beveridge's men piling on an avalanche of 12 unanswered goals to ice the match before half-time.
The Demons went into the long break 73 points in arrears, but showed some fight to hold the Dogs goalless and reduce the margin to 42 points at the final change.
But the Dees ran out of steam and were thrashed on the scoreboard, in possessions (-66), contested ball (-26), inside 50s (-18) and clearances (-10).
"I think it just gives our guys a constant reminder of where the game starts and finishes: it starts around the contest and if you get beaten in that area it's hard to plug all the holes in the ship," Roos said.
WATCH: Paul Roos' full post-match press conference
But Roos said he remained confident about the direction of his rebuilding club despite the shocking loss.
The Demons and Dogs were both tipped to miss out on finals this year, but Beveridge has invigorated his young side to push for a top-four berth against all expectations.
The Dogs have notched up 13 wins – including nine of their past 11 – in a good news story for the competition.
Melbourne has also improved, winning six games – two more than last year – and boosting its percentage by eight points to date.
But Roos said he wasn't disheartened to see the Bulldogs' meteoric climb up the ladder while the Dees incrementally improve, saying the Dogs' performances gives lower-placed sides hope.
"I think they've been in front of us (in the rebuild) – again I've only been here for 18 months – they've been in front progressively over the last two-to-three years I suspect, I would need to have a look at the ladder, I can't remember the ladder positions," Roos said.
"It's more with the way your own team plays (that you're concerned with). I think the Doggies playing well is great for the competition.
"It gives the teams in that phase that are coming up, they understand it takes time, but it gives everyone hope when you watch them play.
"It reinforces the way we want to play, but it's more frustrating when you see your team play like that, rather than (how good) the opposition (are)."
The Dees had any injury scare with Neville Jetta sent to hospital in an ambulance at half-time. Roos had no further information apart from saying Jetta was experiencing pins and needles near his neck.
