A 92-point Melbourne loss has been a rare sight in recent times and is one the club has avoided since Simon Goodwin took over in 2017.
However, Fremantle handed the Demons their biggest defeat on Sunday in Alice Springs since Round 23 in 2016.
From start to finish, the Dockers' execution was like that of a surgeon, cutting through Melbourne at the nation's Red Centre, a trip away that will hopefully be forgotten by fans.
In his post-match press conference, Goodwin slammed the efforts of his players, labelling their performance as "completely unacceptable".
"Obviously, that's about as bad a performance as you can get. One we certainly won't tolerate. There's inconsistencies in our game, and that trend's been there for a little while now," Goodwin said.
"We understand there's elements within our method that aren't right.
"But inconsistencies, not only from week-to-week, are concerning, and we'll look into it the why of it, because that performance is clearly, completely unacceptable from where we want to be as a team. I know our supporters want more."
Despite a relatively positive start that resulted in the opening two goals, Melbourne gave up 22 majors to five after the opening four minutes of the game as the "inconsistencies" continued for the 2022 premiers.
Words from our skipper. ๐ pic.twitter.com/czDCjS4aHC
— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) June 2, 2024
Leaving it up to too few, the Demons struggled to get their game going and key statistical indicators were well off.
Demolished in disposal (366-444), inside 50s (37-68), clearances (23-48), contested possessions (96-138), marks (96-142) and tackles (52-53), Melbourne were left with no chance.
"There were probably more some issues in terms of our execution early in the game. We got off to a pretty good start, but we turned the ball over in the back half of the ground at an extraordinarily high rate, and that put us under enormous pressure and then that flowed onto more issues," Goodwin said.
"We started to lose around contest and clearance, and we got obliterated in every phase, to be honest, but it just flowed as the game unfolded. Clearly, our contest was poor, our work-rate was poor and our ability to deliver pressure was poor.
"They're all things we've got to work on and you put that together with our ball use, and it's just nowhere near the level it needs to be. And you get the performance you get against โ you got to give Freo credit, they played a really impressive, intense game with high pressure and executed with the ball incredibly well."
Losing three of their last four, Melbourne now sit 10th on the ladder after the 92-point thumping, with their percentage taking a 12% dip.
Goodwin will now attempt to get his men past their insipid performance as they look to change their fortunes in the annual King's Birthday clash with Collingwood.
Round 13's game will be the 10th edition of the Fight MND 'Big Freeze' campaign that has been led by former Demon player Neale Daniher.
