For the second consecutive week, the Bulldogs were jumped by a less fancied opponent and found themselves trailing at quarter time.
Last week they were able to come from behind to defeat Richmond, but this week West Coast refused to concede the early advantage and handed the Bulldogs their first loss of 2009.
Boyd said the sluggish starts were made all the more puzzling by the fact the Bulldogs had worked so hard in the pre-season to lift their fitness levels.
“We really had a focus to start well against the Eagles because we haven’t started well for the whole season,” Boyd said.
“It’s a long way to come to lose. We were just off our game and they took advantage of it.”
“Whether that gives us hope or gives us a kick up the butt to start better – I think it’s a bit of both.
Boyd said the Bulldogs had not been affected by Perth’s warm weather and had only themselves to blame for the loss.
“People might say that the heat and two trips to Perth in the first four weeks make a difference,” he said.
“But we’ve done a big pre-season just for those reasons because we knew we had a tough start to the year, so there are no excuses about that.
“The disappointing thing was we turned the ball over and we gave them too many opportunities from our turnovers and that’s what killed us ... They scored something like eight goals from our turnovers – you just can’t compete when you burn the ball like that.
Boyd said the Bulldogs would regroup and refresh before taking on Carlton next Sunday.
“It’s sure to be another tough game. They’ll set themselves for this because they’re coming off two losses now. So they’ll be red hot to get back on the winners list but so are we.”
