BRISBANE Lions small forward Rhan Hooper says Melbourne simply had more energy after the Demons upset his team by one point in a thriller at the MCG on Sunday.

Hooper booted two goals in the 14.9 (93) to 13.14 (92) loss, a match in which the Lions struggled to impose themselves upon throughout after Melbourne gained the ascendancy early in the contest.

Hooper said the Demons attacked the ball ferociously and that, perhaps along with his side’s slow start, had proved the difference.

“It was probably their best game for the season, the way they played as a team,” Hooper said.

“They were just a bit more energetic, and wanted to release and run for each other.”

The Lions’ slip-up against the AFL’s bottom-placed side means Leigh Matthews’ team enters the bye with an 8-6 win-loss record. While that could and possibly should have been 9-5, Hooper was uncertain if the carrot of a week off had been on some players’ minds heading into the match.

When posed the question if it was difficult finding motivation to tackle the league’s worst-performed side on a cold, wintery Melbourne day, Hooper replied: “It all depends on the person and how they go about each game, each week.

“When you’re trying to get into a fired-up mode, obviously everyone’s probably thinking of the bye … I’m not sure how everyone else is feeling.

“I try to get fired up every game that I get.”

Hooper admitted several Lions were now looking forward to having a break.

“Obviously most of the guys, like 'Browny' and that, have played pretty much every game,” he said.

“So all the boys are just looking forward to resting up for the three days off that we’ve got, and hopefully we can come back firing.”

The Lions blew an opportunity to move closer to the top four, but Hooper said his side would simply put its head down in the closing rounds as it tries to secure an all-important double chance.

“We’ll probably come back after the bye and be in sixth or seventh position,” he said.

“We’ll have to start working really hard to hopefully get up to a top-four if we can.

“We just want to try to win each game that we can and just keep playing to our strengths, which is obviously taking them on and running for each other.”