Devastated Melbourne coach Dave Wessels says his team needs to harden up if they are to take the next step and play Super Rugby finals.
The Rebels required only a win for a maiden play-off berth but fell 59-8 to a rampant Chiefs at AAMI Park, which wrecked any hope.
Melbourne started the season with a flourish and looked well on track for a top-eight berth but lost seven of their nine games – the last two in humiliating fashion.
It’s the second year in succession they’ve blown their chance of finals with a last-round defeat.
Wessels said his team, stacked with Wallabies, became soft and lost confidence.
“One of the things is that there’s a softness in our group that’s crept in and obviously that’s been started by me in some way,” the coach said after the match.
“When we get ourselves in tough moments we don’t deal with those things, particularly against more physical opposition we tend to do silly things so that’s the most frustrating thing.
“We just don’t have the confidence to play as maybe we have in previous weeks.”
Wessels put his hand up for his role in the season capitulation and felt he deserved to have some anger directed his way.
“I haven’t done my job in the last couple of weeks and I think there will be people out there who are angry about that and they should be so I have to have a long, hard think about what I’m going to do differently,” he said.
He forecast personnel changes as the club searched for a harder, winning edge.
“There are certain guys, and I might be included in that, that need to ask are we tough enough to do this as it’s a very hard competition.
“If you’re going to win it you have to be on every week and at times we haven’t been on or have put the white flag up when things have got hard and that’s just not acceptable.”
Their seven wins for the season equals the best performance by the club, but is a disappointment given the calibre of player in the squad.
Wessels said he was committed to the club.
“I will definitely continue with the group but it’s about are we going to do things better; our leadership stuff better, playing with an intensity that makes those moments tonight not possible.
“Are we a better team than this time last year – yes, but we weren’t good enough.”