Western Bulldogs forward Mitch Wallis has stated his side was caught off guard by Carlton last Sunday night, with their clearance dominance and pressure around the ball leading to their poor start.
However, he also feels the Blues had the rub of the green from the umpires in the first term that helped them get out to a lead they were able to hold for the remainder of the game.
“It was a disappointing start, (Carlton) sort of put us on the back foot, especially with their centre clearance work, it was 6-1 early in that game,” he told SEN's Time On.
“We just weren’t ready for their pressure. They got a couple of holding the ball free kicks in the back 50 and we could never bridge that three-goal gap the whole game.
“It just felt like we were always trying to get back into the game rather than really play our style and it was really disappointing obviously, the blow out that it was with the last five goals in the last five minutes.
“I don’t think the score-line reflected the game as such, but we do have to have learning to reset and go again to get that margin back to a winnable margin rather than it blowing out to the 50 points that it did.
“With 16-minute quarters plus time on, the better you start you can control the game and the momentum shifts aren’t as large as they were in seasons gone by.”
The Bulldogs won the free kick count in the 52-point loss 20-12 and won eight in a row during the third quarter.
They face Essendon on Friday night and have confirmed a debutant in Cody Weightman.