A FEROCIOUS, hard-tackling Western Bulldogs side yesterday inflicted Hawthorn's first defeat of the season, but coach Rodney Eade believes his side is still a work in progress, with significant improvement to come.

After the Bulldogs saw off a third-quarter challenge to win by 32 points in Launceston — their eighth win of the season — Eade said the game was the club's best four-quarter performance and reward for the players' character and unity, but predicted they could still play with more consistency.

"This is something we've been building towards," he said.

"Even though we've only lost the one game, and there was a draw, we've been inconsistent in our own mind, so the thing is we're still improving.

"I think today goes a long way towards cementing some real confidence and the thought process that we need that intensity for all four quarters.

"The competition is very even … and if you've got a few injuries or your urgency and intensity is not there, you can easily lose.

"Whether it's us or Hawthorn or Geelong, the fact is it's going to happen sometimes, you're going to lose a couple and we might still do that. We might lose three in a row, but it's a matter of trying to stay focused and play the way you want to play and with the process you want to go through.

"We had some holes in the team (after making the 2006 finals), our players weren't big enough and we still needed to tweak a few things, so that was part of the development process.

"But in getting (Ben) Hudson, getting (Scott) Welsh, getting some bigger size and some improvement from our younger players, we're certainly heading in the right direction.

"Having said that, we're not where we want to be at this stage, there's still a fair bit of improvement left."

The Bulldogs had 57 tackles to Hawthorn's 38, lifting their intensity after the Hawks got to within eight points midway through the third quarter, and Eade was satisfied with how much pressure his players were able to withstand after last week's loss to the Kangaroos.

He was also pleased with defender Tom Williams' job on Lance Franklin. While Franklin kicked five goals and was the Hawks' most threatening forward, Williams was only beaten a couple of times in genuine one-on-one contests.

The Bulldogs lost Tim Callan to a hamstring injury but Brad Johnson returned in the second half after a heavy hit, while Robert Murphy was reported for rough conduct during the second term.

His bump on Xavier Ellis left the Hawk with a bloodied nose, although he did not have his head over the ball at the point of contact and Eade was not overly concerned.

"He was upright, he's bumped him in the middle and there might have been some contact, but we'll leave that to the tribunal," he said.

"Looking at the replay, I was pleased with what I saw rather than being scared that he (Ellis) was actually bending over the ball."

Although Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson did not consider the result a disaster, he conceded his side, which went in without Shane Crawford and Luke Hodge, was well beaten around the stoppages by a team whose midfield he thought had been under-rated this year.

"Having personnel missing wasn't the excuse for today. We were beaten by a side that were hungrier for the contest … and that's been an area of our game that's been really, really good for the first nine matches of the season," he said.

"It wasn't up to that standard today and it needs to be next week. It's not a catastrophe we've lost, we move on. We've got the Bombers next week and we go back to the same things we've done every week in terms of our preparation.

"It's nearly impossible to win every game. We certainly set out to win every week but we understand the reality of how tough this competition is that it's unlikely you are going to be able to string a lot of games together. We've had nine on the trot, and it's been a superb effort by our guys."

Clarkson was testy with the media after the match, angrily demanding an apology of a local newspaper reporter for an article printed yesterday, as well as describing commentators David Schwarz and Garry Lyon as "crackers" for their views on the value of ruckmen, pointing out Hudson's importance to the Bulldogs.

"Hudson's been an outstanding addition … (he's) been the most influential recruit of the season for any club," he said.