JUSTIN Leppitsch stopped short of declaring the Brisbane Lions got ahead of themselves after winning the Q-Clash, but the coach admits his players weren't mentally switched on in a 53-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
The Lions were bullied at the contest by the hungrier Dogs, who dominated contested possessions (+51), clearances (+19) and inside 50s (+40) under the roof at Etihad Stadium.
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Coming off an uplifting win over their Queensland rivals Gold Coast, the Lions started brightly with the first two goals but went missing under a fierce response from the home side, in a pointer to a mental let-down.
"We meet after every week and, look, there probably was some signs that we weren't as well prepared as we were the week prior," Leppitsch said post-match.
"That can happen in young teams, too. We have to handle winning as well as handle losing.
"You have to win with a bit of humility and know the hard work you put in is why you win the game and when you lose also, make sure you realise the light's at the end of the tunnel, if you work hard you'll get the results.
"So we're still learning all those things. But in preparation we failed a few things."
Click here to watch the Justin Leppitsch's full post-match press conference
The Lions' night was soured by a dislocated elbow sustained by Tom Cutler and a heavy knock suffered by Allen Christensen when he ran into teammate Stefan Martin, who Leppitsch said "struggled" after being flattened by Steven May last week.
Neither Cutler nor Christensen played any part after half-time, with Christensen failing a concussion test.
"All reports from 'Cuts' (Cutler) is he may not be available in the short term. I don't have any other results," Leppitsch said.
"Christensen didn't pass a concussion test. From all reports he was quite cognisant on the bench, but he didn't pass the test, so who knows what that means."
Leppitsch said record books would need to be scoured to check when the last time the Lions were thrashed so badly at the contest, where his experienced midfield brigade normally stood firm.
It shapes as a huge concern ahead of a clash against the Sydney Swans powerful onball division at the Gabba next week.
Five talking points: Western Bulldogs v Brisbane Lions
"They're probably the best at it the Swans, so there's no bigger test for us to turn this around," Leppitsch said.
"We were +22 (in contested ball) last week, -30 the week before and -51 this week.
"Which team's going to turn up next week? We're all probably wondering as far as this number goes.
"The start of the game was actually OK and quite competitive, but halfway through the first quarter onwards, it just fell apart.
"I thought our defenders, for the 71 entries, held up OK … I thought they battled really hard considering their teammates up ahead of the field weren't helping them all that much."
However, Leppitsch was quick to pay tribute to the Bulldogs, who have climbed back to second on the ladder despite injuries to some key players, including skipper Bob Murphy.
"They're a very good team. The last thing I want to do is talk about ourselves and not give credit to the Doggies," Leppitsch said.
"They hit the contest hard and they run forward hard and defensively.
"They really are a complete team."
