Melbourne coach Steven King has distanced himself from the umpiring error which hindered his side's ability to win the Round 11 game against Western Bulldogs.
As first revealed by Zero Hanger managing editor Mark Stevens, approximately 27 seconds elapsed in the last two minutes of the game due to the umpire not calling time on during a stop in play as the game reset.
When asked about it, the Dees coach instead pointed to the whole day where the Dogs were the better side.
“(I was) not really aware of it. It was one of those days for us. We didn't have too many players at their best,” King said on Wednesday.
“The Bulldogs as good as they were, we didn't play true to our method and it was a disappointing result but in review, you look back and reflect and for a game that wasn't on our terms for a lot of it, we want to be a team that challenges all the teams we come up against so to be in it until there were 30 seconds to go and could've nearly stolen it.
“Disappointing, but there's a level of pride we kept fighting and persisting even when we were 35 points down to nearly win that game.”
King confirmed Latrelle Pickett will come back into the selection frame this week after being managed last week, having played the first 10 games of the year without a break.
While he has produced some moments that will live in the memories of Melbourne supporters, King highlighted consistency as an important next step for the teenager.
“The message from me is to be more reliable rather than remarkable,” King said.
“He's got more talent in his pinkie than I have in my whole body, it's just making sure he has opportunities to show that by getting to more contests and focusing on the fundamentals of the game.”
