WESTERN Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney was left to lament a wasted opportunity after his side lost to Geelong by 13 points on Sunday evening.
After trailing by 34 points in the second term, the visitors stormed back into the contest to set up a thrilling final term.
They got on top in the clearances (52-31), inside 50s (47-43) and contested possessions (176-139), but failed to get in front on the scoreboard.
He conceded Geelong deserved to win because it played smarter football, but rued some of his players' inability to stick to the formula that got them back into the match.
"We did not get the result that we should have because individually some people moved away from a plan that was working really well," McCartney said.
"We didn't miss them after the game with that. They got some strong feedback."
McCartney said although the Bulldogs were moving closer to becoming a tough team – and taking steps towards becoming an accountable team – they needed poise in big moments to turn such losses into wins.
That occasional lack of accountability and poise allowed Geelong easy goals on the rebound in the second quarter and cost the Bulldogs opportunities to set up goals in the third quarter.
"In the third quarter there were three little instances where the goals were just there for us and we weren't able to do it," McCartney said.
McCartney defended his decision to start youngster Jackson Macrae, who has averaged 25 disposals a match this season, as a substitute.
He said the 20-year-old was lucky to keep his spot in the team, as he was not doing the team things regularly enough.
"Jack has been letting us down in some areas and he is well aware of those areas, [which] actually bobbed up again late in the game today," McCartney said.
"There are possessions and there is team accountability and there is defensive decision making that doesn't overload your teammates that you should make at the right time.
"Possessions are important but not at the expense of how our team functions."
He was more complimentary of first-gamer Jack Redpath who battled hard in unsuitable conditions.
McCartney said he would stick with Redpath as other players had not taken their opportunity and the club would continue to search for the right mix in the forward line.
The wet conditions suited the Western Bulldogs' contested style of game and it outworked Geelong at times.
Marcus Bontempelli once again excelled, laying 10 tackles and kicking two goals but McCartney was keen to play down any hype surrounding him.
"He's no poster boy. He's one of our young players. He's a great kid," McCartney said.
"He's got a lot of talent and we don't want him to be a poster boy…we just want him to be Marcus, 10-game player, learn how to defend, learn when to attack, be strong over the ball and be a good teammate."
