Melbourne's final-quarter domination of Brisbane has left coach Chris Fagan questioning the Lions' hunger and effort.
Just don't call it a premiership hangover.
The Demons came from 24 points behind to win 14.15 (99) to 13.10 (88) at the Gabba on Sunday, dropping the Lions to second on the ladder.
A 4.8 to 1.1 final term included 21 inside-50s, with Fagan admitting his side were "annihilated" a week after coughing up a 20-point halftime lead in their draw with strugglers North Melbourne.
Max Gawn dominated the ruck and the Demons won the clearance battle, while Fagan was also critical of his side falling off tackles and racking up unforced errors.
"They're effort stats and they've been down two weeks in a row now," he said.
"I reckon it was hunger.
"I don't think we were tired. I can't make that excuse.
"It just came down to effort and hunger, I think."
The assessment comes after the club's best start, with the Lions having entered the round on top of the ladder at 7-1-1.
Three of the past four premiership winning sides have missed the finals in the subsequent year, while 2021 winners Melbourne made the following post-season but lost both finals games.
Asked if he thought the lack of hunger was a symptom of a premiership hangover, Fagan was quick to point to his side's start that's included wins over top-eight sides Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs and Geelong.
"You blokes (in media) are quick to jump on that one, I reckon," he said.
"It's like you're all hanging around waiting for a premiership hangover. I'm not using that excuse.
"I just look at the facts in the game: this is what happened and this is how we fix it.
"It's not, 'Oh boys, have you got a premiership hangover?' I don't think they'd know and I don't think I'd know either.
"There's been no evidence of that. We've had maybe the best start the club's ever had coming into tonight's game.
"Tonight was really disappointing. It's just tonight, it's not a pattern."
The Lions' next task is at the MCG on Saturday against fourth-placed Hawthorn, a team with a five-game winning streak over the Lions dating back to 2019.
"It wouldn't matter who we were playing next week in a way, we just need to turn the last couple of weeks around," Fagan said.
"Really good challenge for us. Look forward to it.
"We can't sit around this week and lament about what happened tonight. We'll move on pretty quickly."
