Effort is a noun meaning ''vigorous or determined attempt''. It's something that coaches at AFL level shouldn't have to coach in their players - it should be a given.

Instead of being able to continue teaching an inexperienced playing group how to play a style of footy that will allow us to compete in finals, Neeldy and his coaching staff have to spend this week reminding us about something that we lacked for half the game on Sunday night - EFFORT.

Chris Dawes and Nathan Jones lead out the Melbourne team on Sunday. Credit:Sebastian Costanzo

The most disappointing thing is that we can't afford to be wasting time coaching one of the fundamentals of any professional endeavour. We need to get better quickly, and a week of remembering how to compete is frustrating because it takes away from time learning how to play finals football.

I get that our supporters are disheartened - I really do. We as players got ourselves to this point, and we're the only ones who can drag the club back out of it. Aside from a few individuals, there was not much that was determined or vigorous about our performance against the Gold Coast. I completely understand if supporters have given up hope. But know this: the players haven't.