Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon believes the Demons will struggle in 2017 if they continue to battle with the expectations of winning games as the favourite.
Melbourne lost to Hawthorn at the MCG on Sunday and fell to 10th on the ladder following the result, with the Demons letting another match they should have won slip through their fingers.
Despite adding the likes of Jordan Lewis and a number of talented young kids to their list over the past 12 months, Lyon says the problem has remained the same for years.
“They struggle to deal with expectation,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.
“In every game this year, Melbourne have led, or been even in the last quarter. In every game.
“Their best football is as exciting as anyone’s in the competition, but Simon Goodwin’s greatest challenge is psychological – to get them to buy into psychologically buy into the fact that being a good side and a contender means you deal with expectation.
“The easiest thing in the world to do, is go out and play poorly early as they did – and Simon Goodwin questioned their preparation, get 36-points behind, you know what happens then? Expectation gone, so you play with freedom.
“They got to three-quarter-time (one-point down) and you know what came back at three-quarter-time? Expectation – and they didn’t deal with it.”
Losses to Richmond, Fremantle and Geelong as well as Hawthorn have seen Melbourne give up winning positions in each game this season, although Lyon says they're beginning to regress from the days under Paul Roos.
Lyon said Roos at least got the club playing competitive football each weekend, but the SEN morning show co-host conceded there's still a long way to go for his side.
“The hardest leap of all is to go from the middle rung to the top rung,” he said.
“They’ve got the capacity to play top-four footy.
“I said this last year. They have a great win, and they come up and against a side and they are massive overwhelming favorites and they fail dismally. That’s not a one-off, that’s a pattern.”
