When the Bulldogs set up the ground quickly and are hard around the ball, the scoreboard takes care of itself — that is the lesson Tom Campbell is taking from Sunday’s loss to Hawthorn.

Watching the play unfold from his post at full forward, the 22-year-old said he has it was hard not respect the Hawks, with their two-way running and pressure.

“For us we know the way we want to play, win the contested footy, and really be hard around the contest and when we do that we play well,” Campbell said.

“On the weekend, Hawthorn were able to beat us in that area.

“I think it showed us that when we play the game our way we are a good side but a team like Hawthorn were able to take that away from us.

“The way that they are able to set the ground up and support each other was pretty incredible.”

Playing his third senior game for the season, Campbell said he benefited from his time at VFL, giving him an opportunity to improve his craft and defensive pressure.

“Earlier in the year I probably got out marked a little bit when I played at AFL level and my intensity to defend – teams play team defence now so if you have one bloke that isn’t living up to that the whole team suffers,” he said.

“So I was sent back to really work on my contested marking and my team defence.”