TRAVIS Cloke admits he let the Western Bulldogs down with a costly and undisciplined act in the loss to Geelong.
With the Bulldogs holding the momentum and a nine-point lead early in the last quarter, Cloke gave away a 50 metre-penalty for abusing an umpire after being penalised for pushing Joel Selwood in the back.
The Geelong skipper kicked a goal as a result and it started a five-goal run from the home side that saw them run out 23-point winners.
Speaking to Channel Nine, Cloke accepted he made a terrible mistake.
"Definitely, I think you're naive if you think haven't (let your teammates down), but that's the game of football we play," he said.
"You never want to give a 50 away at any time of the game, but sometimes the vocabulary gets in the way, sometimes it gives you a bit of trouble."
Coach Luke Beveridge labeled Cloke's brain fade as "horrendous", but the former Magpie doesn't expect to find himself in the VFL as punishment.
With Jordan Roughead a big chance to play his first senior game for the season after recovering from a hamstring injury, and fellow key forwards Tom Boyd and Jack Redpath in good form, there is strong competition for spots between the talls at Whitten Oval.
The 30-year-old kicked one goal from 11 possessions in his first senior game since suffering broken ribs in the Good Friday clash with North Melbourne.
"(Beveridge) was obviously disappointed with that incident, but (getting dropped) probably doesn't come down to the one (incident)," Cloke said.
"To myself, it hits pretty hard, and you've got to gain the trust back of the football club.
"That's the great thing about this football club, there's so much depth – not just in the one (position).
"We've got a very good list - we've obviously 'Roughy' coming through as well too, so it puts great pressure on."