A lack of consistency led to the Bulldogs 62 point loss to reigning premiers Hawthorn but Tom Campbell is mindful of the positives from his team’s performance.

“We played some great footy in the second and third quarters but there were probably some patches that let us down,” Campbell said.

“I thought our first 15 minutes we weren’t quite there and for a big patch late in the game, we didn’t play how we wanted to.”

The Bulldogs lifted in the second quarter to produce more scoring shots, but would rue some missed opportunities, as the top of the table Hawks ran away with the game.

“At half time we were really positive… the message was to just keep going with it. Unfortunately later in the game we didn’t quite keep that up but moving forward that’s what we have to strive for,” he said.

Tom Campbell carried his VFL form line into the seniors on Sunday when recalled to face Hawthorn, taking three contested marks inside 50 and finishing off with two goals.

Rewarded for his consistent output at the lower level this season, the 22-year-old showed some promise against the Hawks and took his career goals tally to 15 from 16 AFL games.

“I’ve been working really hard in the VFL for the last few months, the messaging to me has been really clear about what I need to do and to kick a couple of goals was really good,” he said.