Coach Simon Goodwin has vowed to leave no stone unturned to find solutions for the inconsistencies plaguing Melbourne, after records fell in the 92-point AFL loss to Fremantle.
The 22.9 (141) to 7.7 (49) drubbing in Alice Springs on Sunday was the Demons' third loss in their past four matches and sent them tumbling out of the top eight ahead of a huge King's Birthday clash with Collingwood.
"We're a proud team and that performance will certainly hurt us internally, but footy doesn't allow you to be hurt for too long," Goodwin told reporters.
"You've got to hurt and you've got to respond, and that's what we'll be looking to do next week.
"We'll go after what we need to next week but in the background we'll keep looking at how we become better at what we do because at the moment it's nowhere near the level it needs to be."
Goodwin lamented his side was "obliterated in every phase" of the game as Fremantle dominated clearances (47-23), contested possession (139-98) and inside-50s (68-36).
The Dockers kicked their highest score of Justin Longmuir's five-year coaching tenure, which was also the highest tally Melbourne have conceded during Goodwin's eight seasons in charge.
"Our contest was poor, our work rate was poor and our ability to deal with pressure was poor," Goodwin said.
"They're all things we've got to work on and you put that together with our ball use ... and you get the performance that you get."
The manner of the losses to Fremantle and West Coast - by 35 points in round 11 - have been of particular concern to Goodwin.
The Demons now sit 10th, sliding over the last month after a strong 6-2 start to the season.
"We really need to dig into the 'why' of the inconsistencies in our group," Goodwin said.
"That's coaches, that's everyone. We own that together, but we will dig because we need to find a way to get through it.
"We can't play to the level that we have in (areas) that we value incredibly highly.
"There's method, there's intent, there's role execution. We'll dig into the 'why', but we need to fix our inconsistencies."
Goodwin said experienced wingman Lachie Hunter had been substituted out of the Fremantle game because of a "tight calf" and will be sent for scans.
