The Western Bulldogs again let an opportunity to stake their claims as a top four side slip when they lost to an injury-riddled Geelong side 75-97 on Saturday night.
Now sitting in seventh, the Bulldogs are a game behind the fourth-placed Lions after going down to the Suns and now Cats in the last fortnight.
SEN’s Gerard Whateley says he could sense the frustration after the club failed in tests that would have seen them join the competition’s elite across the last two weeks.
“I feel like the big issue is the Dogs,” Whateley said on SEN Mornings.
“They’re a team that aspires to be a top four team and have had it in their grasp over the past couple of weeks.
“They’ve had the opportunity but they’ve either fumbled it or had it taken out of their grasp, whichever way you choose to view these things.
“Losing to the Suns in Darwin and losing to Geelong here, and it was just Brad Johnson had the terms, he said it on Friday night footy, ‘If they're the team that they want to be, they had to get Geelong on Saturday night’, and they couldn't.
“You can feel the frustration bubbling through.”
David King also sensed similar frustration given the Bulldogs have enough talent on their list to compete for a premiership with the side failing to make the top four since 2010.
King pondered whether the Dogs have a clear enough system that shows exactly what their brand is with ball in hand.
“It's hard outside looking in to work out why the Dogs are not a lock for top four this year, last year, the year before it,” King said.
“It's not on talent, I mean, they've got some superstar talent.
“Is it the way they play that leaves other teams in the game?
“Are they just not efficient with the ball? Are they just not playing the game that allows them to score freely?
“I'm not sure what the perfect goal is for the Dogs, I'm not sure what it looks or what in your mind's eye.
“What does the perfect goal look like for the Dogs that doesn’t necessarily involve a (Marcus) Bontempelli or a (Jack) Macrae or a (Tom) Liberatore?
“This is the system goal, what does it look like?
“I don't know if I can answer that with any clarity. I'd be sort of guessing.”
While King understands that the Bulldogs hold up defensively from a statistical point of view, he believes they’re vulnerable down back on occasion.
“I'm hot on them defensively,” King said.
“Their numbers stack up okay, and the general points against and all those sorts of things they stack up okay.
“But as soon as Liam Jones is not a major factor behind the ball, it looks incredibly vulnerable.
“Now they've got a problem with Ed Richards who saves them time and time again.
“He’s a star Richards, as soon as he went off, I thought they're in real trouble here, real trouble.”
After two disappointing losses, the Bulldogs have a huge chance to bounce back when they host Port Adelaide who are hunting their 10th-straight win at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.