MELBOURNE coach Mark Neeld has refused to put a timeframe on when supporters will see results of its rebuilding phase.

Neeld made a measured assessment of the Demons' 59-point thumping at the hands of Richmond on Saturday.

While disappointed, Neeld said the team had held its game style and structure for three quarters. During that period, Richmond outscored Melbourne by just eight points.
 
The third quarter was when the damage was done. The Tigers kicked nine goals to one and managed 25 inside 50s to four as they ran all over Melbourne. Facing a 59-point deficit at three-quarter time, Melbourne was gone.
 
Neeld said the team was trying hard to stem the flow during that period but nothing worked.
 
"We tried a few things," said Neeld.

"We put Jeremy [Howe] behind the ball and then we put Jeremy and Jack Watts behind the ball and decided to go away with that.

"We tried a few different people in the middle and we put a couple of young guys forward and put some bigger bodies in the middle, so there were responses but the result was exactly the same."
 
Melbourne's deficiencies were exposed in that 30 odd minutes after half-time.
 
While the contested possession differential in the game was just 12 in Richmond's favour, the Tigers won the uncontested possession count by 141.
 
That means Richmond had more midfielders and running defenders making quicker decisions and working harder for longer.
 
The Demons had no crumbing players inside 50, which meant the ball raced back out of its forward 50 when it hit the ground. Aaron Davey tried hard but that part of his game has diminished.
 
That's part of the reason why the eventual inside 50 count was 65 to 30 Richmond's way.
 
With the production looking more like an episode of theatre sports than a Broadway play at the moment, Neeld knows the Demons are not pretty to watch. He did not call for make-up. He just made the point that he was more worried about the supporters' morale than the confidence level of those inside the club.
 
 "They (the supporters) need to stick at it and they need to realise that what we are trying to do here is put in place some quality structures [and] some quality programs within the footy club to make progress," said Neeld.

"There are lots of tricks and tactics and three card tricks and those types of things that you can try but the reality is we need a quality base. That is what we're trying to do."
 
The players are also aware of the potential for people to lose faith in the direction while the scoreboard looks ugly. They met behind closed doors after the game without the coaches and emphasised the need for everyone to stick together and stay upbeat during a tough start to the year.
 
Neeld is pinning his faith on the program's ability to develop its young players and he is asking the Demons' supporters to have faith too.
 
"We think we have a core of young players … that we have a strong belief that if we continue to coach them well and instil really good habits, we'll get there," he said.
 
 The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs