The Mustangs went down to Essendon by six on Sunday and, more disturbingly, are in danger of missing out on the finals altogether due to outstanding fees which have not been paid to league headquarters.

The side was in second position only last week but has dropped to fourth after being docked four points by the sport's governing body in Victoria.

A number of the club's second-string players have failed to pay their registration fees on time.

The club's top-tier players were devastated with the news and president Brad Davis said his side "may miss out" on the finals if the fees aren't paid before the weekend.

"We are still chasing money from the reserves side and if we don't get it sorted in the next few days then we won't play in the finals this year.

"We are very much disappointed by what has happened but I'm confident we will sort it all out in time for the weekend."

Melton has further reason for concern as the firsts side went down 15-9 to Essendon, which will be its opponent in the weekend's semi-final.

The side's star batsman Troy Davis said his team didn't play well at the weekend and "will have to play better next week" if they intend to remain in contention for the division three title.

"Not too many of our players played well on Sunday and it wasn't the best preparation for a semi-final match.

"Everything needs to change this week and we need to improve on our fielding as we were really sloppy with it at the weekend. If everyone gets back to their form than I'm sure we'll be fine."