"In the last quarter I was excited. At three-quarter time I set myself for a big last quarter and then I just looked at the clock and we were down and I just said ‘Look, I have to do something here'. I kicked the goal and I looked up at the screen. I reckon it's the worst celebration I ever did."

"It just gives them a bit of belief that they can play at that level and they're up to the standard. It would have been pretty tough for Austin and Cale Morton and a few of those young blokes coming in in their first season and not getting a win under their belt. That will lift their confidence."

"Just his attitude, from when he first walked in the door. He's been leading the team in forward pressure and putting defensive stuff on. He's very respectful and just loves playing footy and loves kicking a goal, as you saw."

"The boys were all pretty positive in the first half. We came in at halftime and everyone for some reason still had a good belief in each other. I think we fixed a few things up, we were over-using the ball in the first half and we got that balance right between kicking and handballing and all of a sudden we got on a bit of a roll."

"What happened in the second half is we didn't have to handball as often because the handball got us out of trouble and into the open to kick, whereas in the first half, our handball kept us in trouble or under pressure, one handball led to another, which put us under pressure, led to another to another and to a turnover."

"Our problem has been we have been turning the ball over in the middle of the ground and the turnovers have really cost us. And at the weekend, we worked a lot harder than before and we reduced the turnovers."

"How they played in the second half is exactly how they have been training and how we have wanted them to play. Nothing has changed, it was just the speed of the ball was good, which is what we have been talking about all pre-season."

"For the Melbourne people today to stick it out to see the end result was a real credit to them. What was there, 20,000 here? It sounded like 70,000 in the last quarter. I know they helped us get them over the line. There is no doubt about that."

"We still made mistakes in the first half. To get that far behind was disappointing but it was the handball and the skill level that let us down."

"The second half, we made a few mistakes but didn't make as many and they didn't cost us, and our intensity and our tackling and our chasing came to the fore. We were able to get the ball in the forward line and we could actually find a target in the second half but you can't win many games playing half a game of footy."

"I am happy that the club has won a game. I don't think there is any doubt about that, but the players have really stuck together."

"The players determine whether you win or not. You can put parameters out there for them but the players are the ones who deserve a pat on the back. To think I had something spectacular to say at three-quarter time to turn it around - the players turned it around."

"I have said from the start we will continue to work on our skills, our execution of our skills. That is what has let us down and today it was the reverse in the second half. When we got on a roll we tried to keep the momentum going and the players were able to keep the intensity at such a level that we gang-tackled and did all the things you should do."

"You always have a belief that you're always in the game. As long as you do the basics well, the chasing the tackling and ensure that your skill level is at such a level that they can't rebound on you."

"I don't know what to say. We were down by 51 points at half-time. We went into the room and Bails gave us a spray and said we are still in it, we can still win. Then we just stuck together. We said 'we can't let Freo run away with the match. We are going to come out firing in the third quarter'. We decided the game was not over and we are here to win."

"It is probably the worst performance in our club's history. There has probably been a culture problem since I have been at the club and unless we change it, it is going to be a long period of time until we achieve success. We have never had a winning culture."

"Obviously, we were very disappointed with the way things ended up. Speechless was the word I guess I used directly after the game. But then I guess I soon got over that part and I'm just shell-shocked about it all."

"We've got to work out what we stand for as a football team quickly. And if not, I'll sort it out. You can't have margins like that at halftime and finish off losing the game. The guys have got to work out and judge themselves on what they did after halftime, when it gets tough and we're under pressure, and why we let sides get momentum."

"It's how your players react to that situation and what they want to do about it that matters most. I've played 35 or 36 players. I'll keep working through those until I find out in the end who it's going to be."

"We couldn't get our hands on the ball after half-time; if you have a look at the statistics they were phenomenonally Melbourne's way and our guys have got to say ‘well how long are going to keep putting up with that?"

"I haven't been able to get my team together all year. We haven't had stability in our side which is unfortunate. I had to make four or five changes from the Geelong game last week and that's an issue because you just want players to get into routines."

"Too often we have relied on the normal guys and today was again a classic example. Regularly, Pavlich kicks five or six goals. When are we actually going to wake up and say, 'Who else is it going to be?' because Pavlich isn't going to be able to do that all the time."

"I was pretty embarrassed walking off the field to tell you the truth and I actually got a bit emotional. It was tough to face and we have to learn how to win games again."