While disappointed at having been blown out of the water by Fremantle early in the third quarter, the rookie coach stopped short of conceding his team was out the finals race.
Watch Coach Brendan McCartney's Post Match Press Conference on the media player above.
Instead, he heaped praise on his young charges and said they would relish the opportunity of playing against in-form Hawthorn next week.
"We know we have got plenty of challenges coming," he said. "Some, we think we’ll handle well. There’s probably a few days, also, there that might get the better of us, but that’s the way it is.
"But we are not shying away from it or reluctant. We learnt an enormous amount today and got a lot done, and if we can do that again in the next couple of weeks, we’ll take another step.
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"It takes time to build a footy team the way you want it and that’s what we’re going to do."
McCartney said his side had suffered with injuries in 2012, but it didn’t yet have the right blend of youth and experience. It would take more than just one draft to solve the problems.
He said his side lacked key forwards, but youngsters like Tom Campbell and Ayce Cordy were developing and many of his players would benefit from the experience gained against Fremantle.
"I don’t consider this a bad loss," he said.
"I don’t buy the theory there’s a good loss, but it’s not like some of the nasty losses we've had this year. We handled that (ball use) a little bit better.
"A lot of these players are learning the game, and are learning it on the run in the game, and they were able to deal with about 80 per cent of it today, which is progressive."
McCartney was hopeful utility Shaun Higgins didn't suffer a serious injury when he came from the ground late in the game. He would also look forward to the return of some senior players in the coming weeks.
But the absence of those players had allowed several others to gain valuable experience.
"We are providing some terrific opportunities to some future Western Bulldogs champions, we believe," he said.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
"It takes time to build a footy team the way you want it and that’s what we’re going to do."
McCartney said his side had suffered with injuries in 2012, but it didn’t yet have the right blend of youth and experience. It would take more than just one draft to solve the problems.
He said his side lacked key forwards, but youngsters like Tom Campbell and Ayce Cordy were developing and many of his players would benefit from the experience gained against Fremantle.
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McCartney also said one of the most obvious improvements had been in his side’s ball use, especially when spreading from defence."I don’t consider this a bad loss," he said.
"I don’t buy the theory there’s a good loss, but it’s not like some of the nasty losses we've had this year. We handled that (ball use) a little bit better.
"A lot of these players are learning the game, and are learning it on the run in the game, and they were able to deal with about 80 per cent of it today, which is progressive."
McCartney was hopeful utility Shaun Higgins didn't suffer a serious injury when he came from the ground late in the game. He would also look forward to the return of some senior players in the coming weeks.
But the absence of those players had allowed several others to gain valuable experience.
"We are providing some terrific opportunities to some future Western Bulldogs champions, we believe," he said.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
