Melbourne coach Paul Roos blasted his players for self-pity and not trying after Geelong thrashed them by 66 points in Saturday's AFL match at the MCG.
Geelong had their best scoring quarter of the year, kicking 8.2 in the second term on the way to the regulation 14.18 (102) to 5.6 (36) win.
Roos said the Demons had established minimum standards this season of what they had to produce during matches.
After an even first term where they could not turn some good effort into goals, they fell away badly from those expectations.
"It looked to me like we had too many guys who weren't all that interested in competing today," Roos said.
Melbourne did not kick their first goal until 17 minutes into the second term, by which time the match was over.
Roos suspects some players have to stop feeling sorry for themselves after years of poor performance.
Melbourne's last win over Geelong was in 2006 - also the last season that the Demons made the finals.
Geelong now have extended their winning streak over the Demons to 10.
In that time, the Cats have won three premierships and the Demons have gone through seven coaches.
"It's hard to tell whether there are still some who hang onto the past and I think there is a bit of that," Roos said.
"That 'poor me' and 'here we go again' - that sort of stuff - tends to creep in.
"I don't know how you get it out.
"That's up to the players themselves, but that's certainly (how) it looks to me."
As they did against Fremantle last week, Melbourne could not kick goals early and once that happened, they capitulated too quickly.
Apart from the second quarter the Cats were not at their best, but a 59-point lead at halftime meant there was little pressure to extend themselves.
Still, coach Chris Scott was unimpressed with their third term and let his senior players know about it at three-quarter time.
"We're probably being a little harsh if we say a 66-point win comes with its problems," Scott said.
"In the scheme of things, we'll be more positive about the first half rather than negative about the second half."
Cats utility Steven Motlop was best afield, while captain Joel Selwood starred early with 14 disposals in the first term.
Midfielder Adam Riley impressed for the Demons and Jack Viney worked hard when he went onto Joel Selwood.
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