Lachie Hunter is confident Jason Johannisen will bounce back from his poor showing against Sydney

IF MELBOURNE thinks it will get away with the same tactics Sydney used against Jason Johannisen last week, the better think again.

Lachie Hunter is confident Jason Johannisen will bounce back from his poor showing against Sydney. Picture: Mark Stewart

LACHIE Hunter admits the Western Bulldogs let Jason Johannisen down in last week’s horror showing against Sydney.

But if the Demons think they can get away with the same tactic this week, they better think again.

Johannisen was completely shut-out of the game by the Swans who took every opportunity to crash and bash the 24-year-old.

Sydney’s move worked to perfection, with the Norm Smith Medal winner collecting just nine possessions, his lowest tally in 56 matches.

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“Yeah, (we could have helped him more). He obviously copped a fair bit,” Hunter said.

“We did try and help him. It obviously wasn’t one of JJ’s better games. We will look to protect him and everyone else that happens to this week.”

Johannisen is out of contract at the end of the season and is reportedly seeking an $800,000 a year deal.

Premiership coach Paul Roos said the poor performance was proof the asking price was far too high.

Jason Johannisen struggled last week against Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

However, Hunter is confident his premiership teammate will bounce back quickly.

“His (Johannisen’s) strength is his outside run and his speed. The physical side of the game is something that he can work on as well,” Hunter said.

“He is obviously a really dangerous player. It is a feather in his cap that he is targeted by other teams. He will learn from that.

“That is probably one of the first times that he has got it that hard and hopefully he can bounce back.”

Johannisen wasn’t the only Bulldog who struggled, with the reigning premier smashed by the Swans in arguably the club’s worst loss under Luke Beveridge.

After winning five of their first seven matches, a loss to Melbourne this week could potentially dump the Bulldogs out of the eight and leave the club in a fight to play finals.

Despite the form slump, Hunter said there was no complacency in the group after last year’s premiership success.

“You only have to talk to some of the older guys who have been around a while like Boydy (Matthew Boyd) and Bob (Murphy) who know how hard it was to get there and went through so much stuff before,” Hunter said.

“The hunger is still there for the young fellas.

“To a certain extent you get everyone’s best crack as the reigning premiers. They want to do their best to see where they’re at. That is just something you deal with.”

Western Bulldogs players leave the field after last week’s loss. Picture: Getty Images

At the same time last year, the Bulldogs were 8-3 before going on to finish seventh at the end of Round 23.

While the win-loss ledger is worse, Hunter said there were a lot of similarities between the two years.

“Teams are going to go up and down every week. That is the reality of the game,” he said.

“It is similar to last year. That is how we were. Hopefully we can find our best footy soon. I’m sure we will.”