WESTERN Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney is at a loss to explain the contrast in his side's past two performances, but has refused to "go bananas" at his players or spook them for their mistakes.

After pushing the in-form Adelaide Crows to the limit in a gallant three-goal loss at AAMI Stadium last week, the Bulldogs appeared to lack spirit and intensity during a 63-point thumping from St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

McCartney, who was happy with the efforts of only "six or seven" of his players, simply hadn’t seen it coming.

"I don't think you ever do," he said after the match. "If you think you do, you’re making it up.

"The game can do funny things to people, though. People can get caught in the moment.

"We had a lot of people tonight make an error and then almost be reticent to go near the ball. Not because of they're worried about getting hit or bumped; it was, 'do I want the ball in my hands now and take responsibility?'

"That's something we’re going to have to deal with as a club and as a group. It wasn't just our young blokes, it was some experienced players. It was a disappointing aspect of the game."

Similarly perplexed Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd said his side's preparation had been "really good".

"There's nothing we can put our finger on during the week, it's just turning up to play on the weekend, and that's what footy's all about," he said.

"We'll get solutions and we'll work to fix them."

Incredibly, the Bulldogs had four more inside 50s than the Saints (50-46), but the ball was often ill-directed into attack and young key forwards like Liam Jones and Ayce Cordy competed against two or three opponents.

McCartney said the Saints' pressure and defensive structure made it difficult for his side to score.

"They set the ground up very well and we struggled to deal with what they put in front of us," he said.

"That culminated in people losing confidence with the ball in their hand and thinking, 'Gee, can I move it? Can I get it to where I want it to go?' That puts enormous pressure on your ability to defend the ground."

McCartney said he would review the game "honestly" with his players on Monday. However, he will continue to encourage them to back themselves.

"I tell you what I'm not going to do: I'm not going to spook players into being worried about having the ball in their hands," he said.

"You've got to have confidence that they will make the right decisions.

"I see these younger kids carrying expectation, carrying burden and putting enormous pressure on themselves. We've got to give them time and keep coaching them the right way.

"Going bananas at them and throwing them out of the team because of a bad performance (isn’t) going to fix anything.

"They'll come through this as a group."

McCartney praised the performances of skipper Matthew Boyd, Lukas Markovic on Saints captain Nick Riewoldt, Robert Murphy who blanketed goalsneak Stephen Milne for most of the night, and Jordan Roughead who "looked stronger in the air".

"Against a lot of adversity (they) actually won their position," he said.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs