We will rebound: McCartney
Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney remains confident in his personnel despite a huge lost to the Swans
WESTERN Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney has promised a better showing from his players after they were trounced by a rampant Sydney Swans at the SCG on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Apart from a brief moment in the second term, the Bulldogs were never in the contest, losing by 92 points.
Watch Brendan McCartney speak to the media following the Bulldogs' loss to Sydney on the media player above or on the Club Mobile App.
Such was the home side's dominance, the Bulldogs went almost 45 minutes without scoring during the middle stages of a game played in wet, greasy conditions.
While McCartney said he was disappointed with the game and his players' "inability to cope with what the Swans did", he had no doubt the team would rebound after the round 11 bye when it faces Port Adelaide at home.
"I'm very confident in this group of people, players and coaches," McCartney said after the match.
"We will bounce back strongly and we will look a lot better as a footy club the next time we play."
Before Sunday's match, the Bulldogs had enjoyed a reasonable month.
The Dogs posted good wins over North Melbourne and Gold Coast, and put in competitive yet losing efforts against last year's grand finalists Geelong and Collingwood.
However on Sunday the Bulldogs did not adjust to their opponent's tactics.
"It wasn't so much about effort, it was actually about being a bit smarter and thinking about it a bit earlier to make it actually easy for yourself," McCartney said.
McCartney said Lindsay Gilbee, who played with Williamstown in the VFL over the weekend, would have another hit-out in the VFL this week and be in consideration to return against the Power.
"It was a bad day, we are hoping it was a one-off," McCartney said.
"We've been pretty consistent for six or seven weeks and we've got to make sure we mentally have a debrief and get ready for our next opponent."