Nathan Jones admits there are some concerns for Melbourne on the back of the seven-point loss to Collingwood on the weekend.
The Demons dominated most of the key stat areas against the Magpies but were behind on the one that mattered most – the scoreboard.
It was their sixth defeat in their last 10 matches which has some onlookers questioning their form ahead of finals.
Former captain Jones agrees that things aren’t looking great, saying he is worried about some areas of their game, particularly that teams who move the ball courageously and quickly can score against them.
“It’s been bubbling away for the last 10 weeks because of the inconsistency that’s been highlighted,” Jones said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“My concerns ultimately are around their ability to dominate a game like they did and not be able to convert into score.
“The way in which Collingwood exposed them, I think they’ve found some challenges against teams in particular that are willing to take them on and be courageous with their ball movement.
“Collingwood really got them on turnover and were able to transition the footy from end to end which is a concerning thing.
“They go inside 50 plus-20 more times but Collingwood were still able to kick a good enough score and were ultra efficient when they did go inside 50 themselves.”
While he acknowledges their shortcomings, Jones is confident that Simon Goodwin and his coaching staff have in place a game plan that should stack up in finals provided they iron out some other issues.
“There’s a bit of a worry there, but the foundations of their game are significant,” he added.
“You look at the stats and I still scratch my head at the fact they lost the game.
“That still provide hopes for me that they can resurrect some of those issues and really find themselves well in contention.
“They’ll be tinkering with some things here and there and also just trying to capitalize on their strengths.
“I’d be more concerned if their strengths around contest, stoppage and inside 50s were right down.
“There are still the building blocks and foundations there for them to play a really significant final brand of footy.
“Internally, they’d be all over the fact that they’ve still got areas they need to tidy up if they have every intention of playing in the Grand Final and wanting to go back-to-back.”
The Demons will look to bounce back from the loss to the Pies and cement themselves in the top four when they host Carlton at the MCG on Saturday night.
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