WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade resisted the temptation to put a rocket up his charges after Friday night's hammering, but admitted that the team had been forced to face up to the brutal facts about the game.

The Hawks simply rolled over the shell-shocked Bulldogs to win by 51 points, and Eade said the side hadn't shied away from the reality of the loss.

"We didn't belt them around the head, but there's some home truths that had to be addressed," he said.

"We didn't do that in an extremely strong fashion, but the fact is that we didn't win enough contested ball, and we didn't put enough pressure on the opposition.

"We're all accountable and responsible for our actions, and the players, as a group, need to stand-up from what they did on Friday night."

"That was our worst performance for the season, on Friday night, there's no doubt about that.

"But over the previous seven weeks there have been some pretty good glimpses of form, and the week before against Adelaide was a really good performance in the wet.

"But on Friday night, for whatever reason, en masse we were very poor in all areas."

The concept of being overawed on the finals stage was something Eade admitted was a possibility.

"Oh it could be, but as I said, we're all amateur psychologists, and the answer for one person might be different for another player.

"So we can generalise what it might be, but I've certainly got no doubt that some players maybe had some finals jitters.

"I don't think it's the time of year to drop players to make a statement, so we've got to pick a side that we think will win on Friday night – a) on balance, and b) on some form.