Western Bulldogs senior coach Luke Beveridge says his side will need to make some adjustments going into next weekend’s match against Fremantle.

The Bulldogs were outworked by Melbourne in a top-of-the-table clash on Friday night, suffering their second loss of the season.

“We started on the back foot and didn’t really recover - we were expecting at some point to get a run-on a little bit, but credit to Melbourne,” Beveridge told media post-match.

“Most of the year we’ve been able to outwork sides and see it through, but tonight they had most of our bases covered and we couldn’t force anything.

“It was only a 28-point loss but it felt like a lot more in the end.”

Beveridge put the result down to a combination of poor game-sense and skill error.

“Here at the ground you could clearly see at times the options were there, and it was just pure skill (error), but there were a number of times where the decision attached to the disposal wasn’t the most ideal one,” he said.

“The way we play (is that) we take the game on at times, but tonight (Melbourne) probably put themselves into good positions, and we didn’t execute as well as we have been with the Sherrin.

“We’ll need to have a look at it and make an adjustment going into the Fremantle game.”

The Bulldogs will depart for Perth tomorrow, a week before they face the Dockers at Optus Stadium.

They plan to take a squad of up to 30 players with them, including experienced ruck Stef Martin, who they’ll hope to regain from Achilles soreness for next Sunday’s clash.