DEFLATED Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hopes Hawthorn’s third-quarter demolition doesn't "suck the life" from his young team.
After a last-gasp loss to North Melbourne and an upset of Geelong in the previous fortnight, the Bulldogs appeared well-placed to claim another scalp when they led by two points at half-time at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
However, they were outscored 7.4 to just one behind in the third term, in a burst that Beveridge conceded had surprised his team, en route to a 63-point drubbing.
HAWKS FLY HIGH Full match coverage and stats
The Dogs coach believed his players would learn a great deal after being given a brutal reality check by a more hardened outfit.
"Even though we've been beaten by some good sides this year, I don't think any team’s done that to us in a quarter," Beveridge said after the match.
"So we're obviously enormously concerned about our output, but at the same time it taught a fair contingent of our players a little bit of a lesson in what you can do if you really get on the front foot.
"So (we're) disappointed but our boys will walk away from tonight knowing that, even though you feel like you're going OK, you can't rest on your laurels against a team with a bit of maturity who can show you another gear that you didn't know they had …
"It can be a learning curve but you just hope that it doesn't suck the life out of them.
"We had some trouble with some of their key playmakers, so all the boys who played on some good types would have seen some of the best operators tonight."
THIRD TERM'S A CHARM Five talking points
The Bulldogs have won just two second halves this season, which Beveridge attributed to inexperience.
"I’ve been talking a lot about sustainability and trying to play four quarters. It's just part of a young side's journey. That’s why tonight’s even more deflating because we’ve had a couple of weeks where our four quarters have been more consistent," he said.
WATCH Luke Beveridge's full post-match press conference
"We can do it week to week; we’ve just got to try (to) keep this young group up. They've been tremendous to this point in time. I think it’s partly just a maturity thing."
The Dogs have two injury concerns – midfield star Lachie Hunter copped a knock to a knee but Beveridge said he should be passed fit to take on Melbourne next round, while youngster Aaron Naughton had a sore ankle that was "hopefully not too bad".
