Head coach Tam Hyett says Saturday night showed glimpses of what the Western Bulldogs are capable of.

The Bulldogs matched it with Melbourne in the opening half of their Pioneer Party at home, before the Dees burst away.

“It’s probably a tale of two halves really. We’re pretty disappointed from a scoreboard perspective but I thought our first half showed that what we are trying to do can stack up,” Hyett said post-match.

“We just need to do it for longer.

“That’s something we need to double down on and go to work on – how we use the ball.

“We didn’t maximise on our opportunities especially in that first half.

“We had a couple of posters…probably some slow entries too, which we would’ve liked to be a little bit faster in the second half.”

“We showed that when we did (that), 1v1 we are quite competitive.

“We just allowed them to get numbers back. That doesn’t help when you are trying to hit the scoreboard.”

Hyett lauded Heidi Woodley, who was the Dogs’ sole goalkicker, while welcoming back vice-captain Ellie Blackburn from injury.

“Heidi’s put in a mountain of work. Her offensive traits are really good, but what we love about her is what she does defensively,” Hyett said.

“She’s always the first one to turn up and put the pressure on, so it’s nice to see her take those marks but we’re more proud of what she does defensively.

“I thought Elllie was really good. There were some opportunities in that first half where she was really clean and gave us a look forward.

“She’s class – we know that probably needed a little more help forward of the ball – but we also know that when needed, she can assist at the drop of ball.

“She’s a really good contested player but she’s got great skill with ball in hand too.”

The Bulldogs will meet Richmond at IKON Park next Sunday at 12:35pm AEST.