If you looked at the Heart players, it almost was like they had won a grand final, celebrating," Vargas said.

"The game did mean a lot to both camps, it meant a lot to us as well - the first ever Melbourne derby, and we were on the losing side. The boys took it pretty hard, as they should.

"We feel for the supporters and the fans that came out and we feel like we let them down, not only with the result, but the performance."

"The players are still pretty disappointed about it but we have to move on pretty quickly, we've got a big game this week against Sydney."

"We'll be looking to rectify that and hopefully pay back our fans with a win this week."

Vargas believes Sydney, currently rock bottom and still without a win this season, have been doing better than their results would suggest.

"Results aren't going their way, they've been a bit unlucky in a few games," Vargas said. "Against Adelaide the week before, they had plenty of chances."

"I still think Sydney have got a lot of quality in their side and you wouldn't write them off. There's 20 games to go so we know they'll be up for it."