The Bulldogs left the MCG on Saturday night after their 24-point preliminary final loss to St Kilda with another handful of players hurt and eight requiring immediate post-season surgery.
Eade said the courage his group showed - typified by Robert Murphy, Dylan Addison, Easton Wood and Liam Picken, all of whom played most of the game hurt - was an enormous positive.
“Under the adversity, we’ve hung in there pretty well,” he said.
“We’ve had a bad month but I think it showed the players’ pride in the club and certainly their pride in themselves with the way they’ve fought through.
“Teams that win flags ... the planets align. The ones that have won the past 10 years haven’t had injuries.
“To win flags you need things to fall into place and we’ve got to keep knocking on the door until the planets align for us at the same time.
“We’ve got the talent and plenty of courage and spirit, and our list is in good shape.”
Murphy hurt his knee in the first quarter and requires an operation while Addison and Wood played the second half with broken ribs.
Picken was concussed twice in the game and played all but the final 10 minutes.
Eade said while his side needed to work on its consistency in pressure and contested ball, he was buoyed by the promise shown by his younger players.
“I’m quite bullish about the future. I know the great man (Brad Johnson) is retiring and there might be one or two others but I think the kids tonight were terrific,” he said.
“I thought Cal Ward was great, Picken was terrific. We debuted four or five lads this year so I’m very confident about our future."
Eade indicated the club would be active in trade week as it attempted to complete its mix.
“We’re back to where we were the last couple of years. We haven’t fallen away and we’ve had more hurdles to overcome this year,” he said.
“We just need to be a bit more poised at times, we need to execute and take our chances.
“With the right type of trading and recruiting and getting some players in ... with our young lads at the moment, I think our future is pretty bright.”
