After finally defeating a team inside the top eight last weekend in Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs looked set to make an AFL statement at Metricon Stadium on Friday.
The eighth-placed Bulldogs came out firing against Geelong and charged to a 36-point lead at the first turn having kicked six unanswered goals.
Hamstring injuries to Laitham Vandermeer and Easton Wood halted the Bulldogs momentum however and inexorably the Cats closed the gap over the next three quarters.
With Patrick Dangerfield in inspirational form, Geelong hit the front for the first time with just five minutes to play and when Gary Rohan’s second goal put the Cats ahead by 11 with less than 60 seconds on the clock the game was gone.
While the absences of Vandermeer and Wood were contributing factors, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge admitted it was frustrating to once again fall short against a top team.
“The better teams have just found a way against us and that’s where we’re heading,” Beveridge said.
“We need to be the one that wins the day.
“We still had our opportunities to stabilise the game and contain the footy in our front half and I didn’t think our forwards and their pressure and their willingness to work second, third, fourth efforts was probably where it had been last week and let them out a little bit too easy.
“As much as we we did some things right, Geelong tested us after we were on top early.”
Beveridge will now have a week to find a solution with Vandermeer and Wood almost certain to miss the September 6 clash against West Coast at Metricon.
While letting the chance to beat the Cats was deflating however, the Bulldogs coach was hoping the positives of the performance can be drawn upon against the Eagles.
“We won’t get down on ourselves,” the 2016 premiership-winning coach said.
“We’re still sniffing around so we’ll recover well and we’ll look forward to the challenge against the Eagles.”