Melbourne coach Steven King has wrapped his arms around Harvey Langford after the young gun dropped a chance to snatch victory against the Western Bulldogs.
King insisted Langford wasn’t to blame for the Demons’ 14.9 (93) to 13.12 (90) loss on Sunday, declaring the near-miss was proof his side can’t rely on individual brilliance to win.
Langford, who impressed with 16 touches and two goals, put down a mark close to goal in the final minute under pressure from Lachie Jacques, and the Bulldogs held on.
“I saw Harvey already and I thought he was pretty good today,” King said.
“It wasn’t that one (dropped) mark that cost us the game. We had chances to execute in front of goal.
“But more importantly as a coach you’re looking at the transition piece the other way defensively, and things you could clean up that you’ve got control over, instead of relying on brilliance to win you the game.”
King lamented the Demons’ inability to match the Bulldogs’ intensity around the ball and execute fundamentals of the game.
“We just weren’t strong enough for long enough unfortunately,” he said.
King laughed off an unusual pre-match incident when Demons superstar Kysaiah Pickett was denied entry to Marvel Stadium for about 30 minutes after forgetting his accreditation.
“He probably hasn’t got the gold pass that he’s got at the ‘G but it’s a nice reminder for him to be a bit more organised,” King said.
Melbourne (7-4) remain in sixth place after a strong start to the season, but will be without experienced defender Jake Lever for the clash with GWS in Alice Springs on Sunday.
Lever has entered concussion protocols after a head knock in a marking contest, which sidelined him for the final 10 minutes against the Bulldogs.
“There was enough there to suggest that he’ll enter concussion protocols and we’ll look after him,” King said.
The coach confirmed Latrelle Pickett is a likely inclusion against GWS after the first-year forward was rested against the Bulldogs, having played 10 consecutive games in his debut season.
