Senior coach Luke Beveridge has described his side’s loss to Geelong as a missed opportunity.
The Bulldogs matched the Cats in the first half of the Saturday night blockbuster, but were outplayed in the second half and left to rue inaccuracy in front of goal among other skill errors.
“(The goalkicking) was part of it no doubt, but there were other aspects in the end,” Beveridge told reporters post-match.
"They probably upped the ante in that last quarter, and we couldn’t match it. There were some telling opportunities to convert that we didn’t take care of – that’s a bit deflating.
“The boys have been pretty good with being able to weather that disappointment and stay in the game, but you can’t keep Geelong at bay for too long if you’re not making the most of those opportunities.
“Ultimately we got beaten by a good side who found something in the last quarter that we couldn’t quite find.
“I think it was partly their intensity which we didn’t match. We sort of blatantly gave the ball back to them too many times in their own front half. We fueled a game for their high forwards who are great connectors by foot.
“There were some things going in our favour, but it was just some missed opportunities that would’ve given us a bit of breathing space here and there.”
Beveridge also admitted they struggled to cover for injured and in-form half-back runner Ed Richards, who left the field midway through the third term.
“Ultimately it was a shame that we couldn’t cover things - you lose one player in Ed Richards and you should be able to cover, but it felt like the cascade of roles within our team we found difficult,” Beveridge said.
“Ed and JJ had been influential for a period of time, so now we’ve got a challenge on our hands. It’s one of the reasons why we played Caleb Daniel back – to add a bit of experience and fuel our game.
“I thought at times our ball movement looked really promising, but it just broke down – we just didn’t execute well by foot. It’s a real shame because we had some looks.”
The Bulldogs will host Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium this Friday night, as they look to recapture some winning form.
