After the 38-point loss, the Bulldogs’ coach said his players had started to believe their own hype after they beat Geelong the previous week. It’s something McMahon considers a simple trap.
"It's absolutely easy to get caught up in publicity. You get pats on the back from certain people. You do get caught up in it, even if you try not to," he told westernbulldogs.com.au after the Crows match.
"You have to stick to your guns. You know the old cliché of ‘One week at a time’? That's exactly how it is. You have to approach it like that."
McMahon, who was arguably the Bulldogs' best on Sunday with 26 possessions, said the players were complacent about both their own ability and the Crows' recent form.
"It probably wasn't what we expected, but we were beaten by a better side today," he said.
"There was definitely complacency on our part. The other part was they were genuinely better on the day.
"Complacency-wise, we probably looked into last week's game too much, and Adelaide's game too, as they were beaten by Essendon. We started believing some crap that wasn't true.
"They were just the better team."
While clearly disappointed with the result, McMahon said it was good to receive such a comprehensive shake up early in the season.
"It's a good reality check.We know where we're at and today was a pretty bad performance. We thought we were better than that," he said.
"Maybe we're not as good as what we think we are. It's a good reality check for us, at this stage. It will be good for us in the future."
The classy defender said the results from the first two rounds indicate just how how fast fortunes can change from week to week.
"It's so funny, this game. There's got to be eight losers and eight winners every week. One team can be down and you think you're a chance to beat them, and they come up and put on a terrific performance like Adelaide did," he said,
"They were great today and they caught us napping. They really showed us up.
"We weren't surprised, because they are a really quality team. The performance they put in last week is not the sort of performance they should be dishing up.
"They knew that and [this week] they dished up what is expected of them. We were outplayed."
