Western Bulldogs captain Brad Johnson said the team was “shell-shocked” after their AFL preliminary final loss to St Kilda. The players stayed in the back of their MCG changerooms, well away from fans and the media, for about half an hour post-match.
The seven-point loss was the second time in as many years they had just fallen short of an elusive grand final berth.
“It was just the disappointment, we were probably more shell-shocked, like ‘what just happened?’, that sort of thing,” Johnson said.
While clearly upset at the loss, Johnson was also full of praise for his team-mates.
He kicked two crucial second-half goals, including their only goal in the final term.
“You certainly can’t doubt the endeavour, the effort and the pressure we put on them, it just didn’t fall our way,” he said.
“We’ll walk out, we’ll keep our heads up, we know we’ve still got a little bit to improve on — that’s going to be our task over the summer.
“We’re extremely disappointed at the moment, we’ll lick our wounds and we’ll reassess things in the morning.”
Johnson said it did not worry the team that they did not make the most of their early chances.
They were more determined not to let the Saints take control.
“That didn’t concern us at all. We knew we wanted to make it a really hard fight and we did that,” he said.
“We knew if we could maintain that pressure and fight, we’d certainly be able to put ourselves in a position to win the game.
“We did that from the first bounce.
“They’re a good side, they’ve had a fantastic year and you certainly can’t take anything away from them.”
Johnson is not confirmed to continue playing next year, but said he was “super-determined” that the Bulldogs will eventually win their second premiership.
AFL PRELIMINARY FINAL – ST KILDA v WESTERN BULLDOGS at the MCG.
Result: St Kilda 9.6 (60) bt Western Bulldogs 7.11 (53) at the MCG. Crowd: 78,245 .Key moment: With one minute and 15 seconds left, Saints captain Nick Riewoldt soccers through his fourth goal to break the excruciating tension of the final term.
Man of the match: Riewoldt – four goals, 11 marks and a tireless workrate.
What’s next: St Kilda are into the grand final, playing the winner of Saturday night’s preliminary final between Geelong and Collingwood. For the ‘Dogs, it’s another preliminary final loss and their second in a row.
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