1. Where the ball is won

It’s not often we look at the midfield, particularly because the Bulldogs’ on-ball brigade is stacked with talent.

But for the second week in a row, the connection just wasn’t as strong as what we’ve seen prior.

There’s no denying our mids found plenty of the footy, but it was exiting those stoppages and how we sent the ball forward that probably hurt the most.

The Bulldogs registered 69 turnovers, while losing the centre clearances 10-4.

The Hawks also intercepted eight more times and laid nearly double the amount of tackles inside their defensive 50.

The positive though is that this is a relatively easy fix, with an opportunity to rectify coming up this weekend.

2. Glimpses of potential

While the Bulldogs struggled to grasp majority of the game on Saturday, there were definitely glimpses of what could happen when things went right.

Early in the third quarter, the Bulldogs looked switched on and at their best, but most importantly they were converting and efficient - scoring 100% of the time they went inside 50, compared to just 27% of the time in the opening half.

Unfortunately, that eight-ish minute period was ultimately all we saw of it.

The Bulldogs will need to deliver that brand of footy for longer if they want to bounce back against Port Adelaide.

3. What’s at stake

We hate to use clichés, but a week – or two for this matter – is a long time in footy.

Following a 49-point win over Adelaide in round 20, the Bulldogs were sitting comfortably in the top two.

But what followed was two consecutive defeats, at the hands of a resurgent Essendon side and a determined Hawthorn outfit.

The Dogs now find themselves in fourth spot, with a win over Port Adelaide now critical in securing a double-chance in finals.

The skipper Marcus Bontempelli knows it, and knows there’s no hiding from the fact.

“We want to build some momentum going into finals, so (the loss) is a tough one to have to swallow. It’s an opportunity that we’ve missed out on,” he said post-match.

“We’ve got to continue to surge and search for our best no matter what sort of position we’re in, and to not take the work that we’ve put in so far to this point for granted.”