BRISBANE struggled to find the composure and polish needed to take full advantage of its opportunities in its 14-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Coach Chris Fagan was left to rue his side kicking 7.11 and its disconnection in attack.

"Bit of frustration. I felt like we had quite a few opportunities to kick goals that we sort of mucked up at the last moment. In a game as tight as that, you look back at all those little moments where you couldn't complete a game," Fagan said.

BULLDOGS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats

"Our accuracy was a little off. It was a tough, hard game of football, you can't deny that. Two teams went at it. But when it's as close as that, those are the things you notice, the plays you don't complete, the shots you miss, that sort of thing. That's the frustration."

It was a tough night for spearhead Joe Daniher, who kicked 0.4 and burnt a number of teammates with his final shot on goal when the game was on the line.

"Obviously we'll review the game and talk about missed opportunities, and that'll be part of the feedback that'll come his way," Fagan said.

"The Dogs were able to win the contested ball when we went inside 50, I think we were minus 17 in that part of the ground, so that's definitely an area we need to have a little bit of a look at. 

"That's contest by forwards, it might be the way we delivered the ball, we certainly didn't get it inside 30 enough, deep enough. I'd have to look at the tape to see the reasons."

In their three matches to open the season, the Lions have lost badly to Port Adelaide, comfortably accounted for Melbourne (before the long break when the lights were cut at the Gabba) and struggled against the Dogs.

"Tonight was a different game. I think you're judging the Western Bulldogs too harshly, they're a very, very good side, and they've just had a few quieter weeks in the first two games of the season," he said.

"Yes, frustrated against Port, really good against Melbourne, and it was a really honest effort by us tonight, but we didn't play with any polish. And part of that was to do with Western Bulldogs' pressure, but it was a high-pressure game, a finals-like game, lots of mistakes were made. 

"I was really disappointed after Port Adelaide's performance, tonight I'm disappointed but not for the same reasons."

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was pleased at how his side responded to a 0-2 start to the season, and how they stood firm in the face of a final-quarter Brisbane fightback, closing to two points with five minutes left.

"We identified pretty clearly, mainly from last week, what we needed to do as far as bridging the gap with the balance of our game. You would have noticed we were a better pressure side tonight. To keep a team like the Lions to such a low score with their scoring power is a really good result on a great night for us," Beveridge said.

"I know they've dropped their last couple on the road, but I think someone mentioned that at home, they've only lost four out of their last 70-odd, so they've been a powerhouse, as much as they're still searching for the result at the end of the year. 

"We knew tonight if we could knock them off, it would create a little milestone for us that we could leverage off. Many, many contributors across the board, but obviously some outstanding ones in 'Marra' (Ugle-Hagan) and some of his teammates. 

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"I said to the boys, I'm torn between really celebrating the wins and also saying, hey, this is what we're capable of. We'll enjoy it, but we'll move on pretty quickly. Off a five-day break too, so the boys processed it really quickly, freshened up – and that's the other thing about playing the four quarters, it was a tight turnaround, but a significant one."

Beveridge said Rory Lobb had jarred his left ankle when snapping a goal, the same one which saw him ruled out of round two, but that he should be fine to face Richmond next Saturday.