Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has lamented his side’s lack of polish and inability to handle “finals-like” pressure in a frustrating defeat to the Western Bulldogs.
Dominant against Melbourne last week, the Lions were outgunned at the contest by the Bulldogs and inaccurate in front of goal.
The 10.7 (67) to 7.11 (53) defeat left them with a 1-2 record ahead of a huge home clash with premiership favourites Collingwood in round four.
“It was an honest effort by us but we didn’t play with any polish,” Fagan said.
“A part of that was to do with the Bulldogs’ pressure, but it was a high-pressure game. It was a finals-like game and lots of mistakes were made.
“I was really disappointed after the Port Adelaide performance (in round one) and tonight I’m disappointed, but not for the same reasons.”
The Bulldogs won a lopsided centre clearance count (12-4) to gain territory and were on top in contested possession (+16).
“That’s a fair reason why the Dogs won. They were able to win the contested ball when it went inside 50,” Fagan said.
“That’s definitely an area that we need to have a little bit of a look at.
“That’s contest by the forwards and it might be the way we delivered the ball. We certainly didn’t get it deep enough.”
Brisbane recruit Josh Dunkley had 23 disposals and four clearances in his first outing against the Bulldogs since forcing an off-season trade move.
The gun midfielder, who won the Bulldogs’ best-and-fairest award last year before leaving, was jeered all night by Dogs fans.
“He didn’t play his greatest game but he was very competitive like he always is and had a real go,” Fagan said.
“Knowing Josh, he’d be disappointed with his game but he made a decent contribution and did some really courageous things to try and lift the team.”
Fagan was also disappointed about his side’s missed opportunities in attack, with key forward Joe Daniher one of the main culprits in booting 0.4 on the night.
“We practice all the time. He has his good days and his bad days,” Fagan said.
“We’d love him to be more accurate but he’ll just keep working away at it.”
© AAP 2023
