After falling by less than a kick to the Brisbane Lions on Friday night, Melbourne’s season was left teetering. They are outside the eight, with a relatively poor percentage and a ledger of eight wins and seven losses.

Christian Petracca, of course, is gone. Yet coach Simon Goodwin found much to like in his team’s performance – the lift he got from Clayton Oliver, the performance of younger players, and the desire that completely deserted them in round 12 against Fremantle.

“It was great, wasn’t it? It’s good to see,” Goodwin said of his side’s hunger for the contest. “We’ve got that real hunt and pressure around the ball back; we want to be a really strong contest team … That’s the best we’ve done it all year.”

But for the second week in a row, the Demons couldn’t score a goal in the final quarter. Last week, they were almost run down at the death by North Melbourne. Playing conservatively was never going to hold out the Lions, with a home crowd at their backs.

“I think in reality we probably went a little bit safe,” Goodwin said. “It’s a big occasion for our group, we’ve got a lot of young players playing at the moment. We probably just went into our shells a bit, and that added to their momentum.

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“So there’s a bit to unpack in that last quarter for us … That’s two weeks, you’re right, there’s some evidence to suggest we need to have a look at it.”

In reality, both teams struggled to put away a game that Goodwin described as “there for the taking”. The Lions, too, squandered multiple golden opportunities in the last quarter that would have had fans tearing their hair out.

A handball from Eric Hipwood ballooned over the head of Kai Lohmann, who was open in the goal square, and through for a behind. Charlie Cameron dropped a chest mark under no pressure five metres out minutes later.