Loading "We were very passive in the last quarter," said Buckley. "And I think that's probably not a bad reminder, too. That you need to take the game on, remain aggressive, proactive, because as soon as you sit back, you give the impetus to the opposition." Buckley did not even need to mention it in the rooms after the game. "The players are already talking about it," he said. "I think there's a lesson in both. We were able to play the way that we wanted to play for the most part. We looked at Melbourne's players and the talent that they have at their disposal, you look on paper and think 'they're a challenge'. "We understood that this game wasn't going to win itself. We had to really grind that out in the second and third quarters."

Nathan Buckley was disappointed his team squandered a potential thumping win. Credit:AAP Collingwood used Jordan Roughead forward in the absence of the injured Mason Cox, and Buckley was happy with the result. "You need blokes who can compete in the air," he said. "In a finals atmosphere, a tight game, you still need to have the capacity to go long to contest." Utility Josh Daicos suffered a concussion and is doubtful for next weekend. "We'll give him the week and see how he goes," said Buckley. Veteran Daniel Wells remains close to resuming from a knee injury, but he did not get up to play in the VFL this weekend and because Collingwood's second team does not have a game next weekend, he will have to wait until round 23.

"There's' still a few hurdles for him (Wells) to jump," said Buckley. "I'd say it's more unlikely than likely, but that's not taking it off the table. He's still got to find out where he can get to as well in the next three or four weeks." Demon Steven May lands hard after an attempted mark. Credit:AAP May's left hamstring strain happened late in the game and came at the end of a season in which he has managed just eight senior games. He was resuming today from a tear in the same hamstring. "It's really frustrating for Steven, first and foremost," said Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin. "He's put in a lot of work and got himself in some really good condition physically to play some good footy, and he has done for our footy club. It's frustrating for him. We don't know for sure, the damage, but it's looking more likely he'll miss the remainder of the season."

Loading Goodwin said Melbourne remained optimistic that the former Gold Coast captain could offer some help to the Demons down the track. "He's 28. He's done a lot of work on his body through the season to get into really good shape, played some really strong footy for us the five or six games he's played," Goodwin said. "We're really confident with what he's going to deliver for our footy club." At 5-15 and with no chance of reaching finals, Goodwin is tinkering with his tactics, using Oscar McDonald as a forward on Saturday, for example. "Clearly we're frustrated," said Goodwin. "I mean, we want to win, the players want to win. The second and third quarters were really disappointing."