At the main break on paper the Hawks looked as though they should have been ahead on the scoreboard.
Ahead on tackles, clearances and forward 50 entries, the Hawks still found themselves trailing the Demons where it mattered - on the scoreboard.
"First half we were lucky to be in the game but certainly in the second half [we were outplayed]," Bailey admitted.
"Pick a stat, pick an area on the ground - we were second to it and we allowed the freedom of time, which allowed a lot of ball movement to occur with not a lot of opposition."
The major damage was done in the third quarter with the Demons conceding eight goals to one. That saw a 27-point lead late in the second quarter turn into a 33-point deficit at the final change.
Melbourne ended up conceding 12.13 in the second half and struggled to stop the onslaught from the Hawks.
To make matters worse for Bailey's side, the Hawks had 114 more disposals than Melbourne in the second half after only having 29 less touches at the main break.
"I didn't see the third quarter coming because we still had a fair bit to play for. We were unable to stop their momentum and just couldn't get our hands on the ball.
"They made very few mistakes and we contributed to the turnovers that they scored from.
"They used the ball well, created more opportunities ... and we hardly got our hands on the footy."
Melbourne face the Brisbane Lions at the MCG next Sunday with centre half-back Colin Garland in doubt for the clash.
Garland jarred his right knee early on in the final term and will be monitored over the next 48 hours once the swelling goes down.
