Hawthorn have been left counting the cost of their dramatic AFL loss to the Western Bulldogs, with Liam Shiels and Shaun Burgoyne failing to see out the clash at the MCG.
The pair will undergo scans to determine the severity of hamstring injuries suffered in Sunday’s 16.10 (106) to 13.9 (87) defeat.
The Hawks led by 30 points at three-quarter time but conceded the last eight goals of the contest.
Shiels hobbled off in the third quarter and Burgoyne followed early in the last, but coach Alastair Clarkson refused to use the losses as an excuse, instead fuming at an uneven performance.
“We’ve got to learn from that, lick our wounds and get some fresh guys in if we’ve got a couple who are going to be out,” he said.
“It was a disappointing day for us overall.
“We put ourselves, strangely enough, in a winning position when we never should have been to be fair.
“Once we did get in that position to succumb like we did was really disappointing.
“We’ll rue this missed opportunity even though the better side did win on the day.”
The Bulldogs are one of five unbeaten teams after round two action.
Geelong sit atop the AFL ladder following their Patrick Dangerfield-inspired 80-point thrashing of Melbourne in the wet at GMHBA Stadium.
The demoralising result left the Demons, a pre-season flag fancy, bottom of the ladder and winless, with a bad night made worse by a groin injury to star recruit Steven May.
“We’re going to keep looking for ways to get better … we can either get sad (or) we can get grumpy and get better,” Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said.
“We’re hurting as players and as a club.”
Port Adelaide kept their winning start to the season going with a hard-fought 13.10 (88) to 11.6 (72) win over Carlton at Adelaide Oval.
But the win came at a cost with Jack Watts set to miss a large chunk of the season after breaking his leg in a Dale Thomas tackle.
St Kilda are the most surprising unbeaten team, the Saints condemning Essendon to an 0-2 start with a 10.16 (76) to 9.11 (65) upset at Marvel Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Fellow surprise packets Brisbane also kept their record unblemished with a 16.11 (107) to 13.9 (87) win over North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
In Sunday’s late game, Gold Coast stunned Fremantle 7.19 (61) to 8.10 (58) at Metricon Stadium.
West Coast unfurled their premiership flag at Optus Stadium on Saturday and celebrated the occasion with a 16.8 (104) to 7.10 (52) win over GWS.
Adelaide notched their first victory of the season, running out 12.16 (88) to 8.14 (62) winners over Sydney at the SCG on Friday night.
Collingwood and Richmond kicked off the round on Thursday night, the Pies prevailing 17.8 (110) to 10.6 (66) with the Tigers losing Jack Riewoldt to a fractured wrist.
