COACH Paul Roos says Melbourne must compete against the “good teams” such as the Sydney Swans, Hawthorn and Geelong for 120 minutes – otherwise it will fall away, as it did against the Swans on the weekend.

Speaking after Melbourne’s 55-point loss to the Swans at the SCG on Sunday, Roos said teams such as Sydney “don’t really drop off”.

“They (Sydney) have maybe slight blips there for a minute or two, or three or four minutes, but that was the difference [in the game],” he said after the Swans kicked six goals to one in the final term.

“We still felt we were really competitive, but they’re (Sydney) not going to drop off, so we have to have to keep playing.

“Last week, we were the team that kept on playing and Collingwood dropped off in patches.

“[Against the Swans], we felt in patches we played hard, tough and physical. Sydney just didn’t drop off at all throughout the course of the day.”

Roos said he couldn’t have predicted how the game would pan out in the final quarter, when Melbourne was still within reach, trailing by 25 points at three quarter-time. 

“I think what you know, as the coach, is that they’re (Sydney) not going to drop off,” he said.

“What you’re trying to say to your team is ‘guys, we’re going to need a big effort – keep going, keep going’. All of a sudden if the scoreboard ticks over for a couple of quick goals – they kicked three or four in five or six minutes – out of the six [goals for the quarter], so that can be a bit deflating.

“To our guys’ credit, we seemed to keep playing the full game out, so it was probably that 10-minute patch in the last quarter.

“It’s hard to tell [how the game is going to pan out] at three quarter-time to be honest – and what mindset everyone is in. [You’re] just trying to say ‘they’re not going to drop off and we’re going to have to keep playing hard’.”