
Saturday's loss to Sandhurst was a reality check for Golden Square, according to coach Christian Carter.
Leading into the clash at Wade Street, the Bulldogs had been touted by many as being the best team in the BFNL through the opening four rounds.
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They came back to earth with a mighty thud as an undermanned Sandhurst defeated arch-rival Golden Square by 12 points.
"It was disappointing, but full credit to Sandhurst, they wanted it more than us,'' Carter said.
"They didn't allow us to play the style of footy we wanted to play.
"They were 1-3, so we knew they were going to come out breathing fire because they had everything to play for.
"Their intensity was high and their pressure was really good.
"It was a scrappy day and not the best footy was played, but they made the most of their opportunities."
Read more: Catch up on the latest local footy news

Golden Square had 24 more possessions and 16 more inside 50s than Sandhurst, but the Dogs' much-hyped forward line failed to fire.
The Sandhurst defence held Square stars Jayden Burke and Joel Brett to a combined 19 possessions and four goals between them - their lowest output of the season.
"You're 4-0 and you think you're going alright, so this is a really good wake-up call,'' Carter said.
"It just shows that we're not going as well as we thought we were.
"It's one of those years where you have to be on every week.

"Now we turn our attention to Kyneton at Kyneton this week and that's going to be a very tough game.
"We'll work on a few things that we need to work on. It's a good learning curve for us."
Carter said the weekend's result proved that all the talk of the premiership race being a three-horse race between Gisborne, Strathfieldsaye and Golden Square was premature.
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"The top three is maybe not as clear cut as everyone thinks,'' Carter said.
"Sandhurst are up and about again and South Bendigo is playing some good footy.
"You have to be up every week and, unfortunately, we weren't against Sandhurst."

Square has a couple of injury concerns ahead of the trip to Kyneton.
"Dylan Hird dislocated his shoulder and will miss a few weeks,'' Carter said.
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"It's disappointing because he recently came into the team and he was playing some good footy.
"(Ruckman) Matt Compston had some knee soreness and we had to manage him through the game (against Sandhurst).
"We're confident he'll be right to play against Kyneton."
BFNL round six is a split round.
Four games will be played this Saturday - Kyneton versus Golden Square, Gisborne at home to South Bendigo, Strathfieldsaye hosts Maryborough and Castlemaine tackles Kangaroo Flat.
Sandhurst and Eaglehawk have this weekend off before playing in a standalone clash on May 21.
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