WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade remains upbeat about his side’s prospects for 2009 despite a 27-point NAB Challenge loss to the Sydney Swans in Rouse Hill on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs trailed a Barry Hall-inspired Swans outfit by 44 points come half time at the AFL’s newest venue, before regaining some touch in the second half to lose 16.12 (108) to 12.9 (81).

Much of the damage was done in the second term, as the Swans booted six goals to the Bulldogs’ two – and Hall contributed half of those in a stellar quarter.

While the scoreboard made grim reading for the Bulldogs, it wasn’t all doom and gloom.

Jason Akermanis and Ryan Griffen were both lively in midfield, while Adam Cooney showed no ill effects from his first hit-out of the year.

Ben Hudson broke even with Darren Jolly in at the stoppages and shaded the Swans’ chief ruckman when the ball hit the deck. 

And Josh Hill rebounded from a first-half performance that left Eade shaking his head to finish with three goals.

Eade said a heavy training load, and the absence of several senior players including Dale Morris, Daniel Cross, Daniel Giansiracusa and Nathan Eagleton had contributed to the first-half performance.

“I thought our second half we started to get back to some form,” Eade said.

“We started to run the ball, we started to be a little bit better with the contested ball and in the end, we just made two horrendous mistakes near the finish, and it’s probably a two-goal loss.”

Eade said Hill’s first half was “really disappointing” and, at the long break, the 20-year-old was on the verge of missing out on a place in the round-one side.

“He was as bad as I’ve seen him in the first half and his second half was a lot better. He probably, first half, just about played himself out of round one and he might have played himself into contention at least [in the second half],” Eade said.

The Bulldogs’ coach said Hill wasn’t alone in facing a battle for a berth in the season opener, with “four or five players” fighting for two or three available places.

The club is banking that increased competition for places in the side and a more experienced young group will pay dividends during the season, Eade added.

“I think the improvement is going to come from our 25-year-olds and younger,” he said.

“I think Cooney can get better, Griffen can get better, [Shaun] Higgins, [Andrejs] Everitt didn’t play much last year, [Dylan] Addison, Callan Ward, [Jarrod] Harbrow… that talent in our youth is where out biggest improvement is going to come from.

“Having said that, our older players are going to have to hold [their form] and our middle-aged players, our 27, 28-year-olds are going to have to at least hold as well.”

The Bulldogs will play their final NAB Challenge game against Melbourne at Casey Fields on Saturday.

Crowd: 3,600 at Bruce Purser Reserve, Rouse Hill.