Marcus Bontempelli has used last year's AFL grand final disaster as a lesson, saying he bided his time before watching the game again.
Unlike coach Luke Beveridge, who used the word "traumatically" to describe how their season ended last year, Bontempelli was able to watch the loss to Melbourne with a cold and clinical eye.
The Bulldogs were 19 points up during the third quarter before Melbourne blew them away to win by 74.
"I watched it on my own - I just felt like for me, that was the best way to process it, to understand it, more than anything," he said.
"I like the idea of ownership, whether it's previous mistakes or previous elements you'd like to improve.
"There's power in that.
'I'd probably hung onto the emotion and disappointment for probably four to six weeks."
But Bontempelli also had to wait until he was ready to relive the nightmare.
Once he was, the Bulldogs star found it a useful exercise.
"In my head I was 'no, not ready, not ready' and then I got to the point where I was 'yeah, I can'," he said.
"It was surprising how I was able to process it as if it was just another game by that point - it was emotionless, I guess, in how I was looking at it.
"It was more clinical, in my view. I was able to look at some things and you walk away with an understanding - it completed the experience, in a way, for me.
"I was able to look at it with more a glass half-full approach, of how this will help us."
The Bulldogs have an immediate chance to see how well they've learned their lessons from the grand final, with the season opener against the Demons next Wednesday at the MCG.
Bontempelli is all for the season starting with the grand final rematch and hopes it becomes a regular feature of the AFL fixture.
He is particularly pleased for Melbourne, given what the city has been through over the last two years and its lack of AFL games.
Asked for his reaction when the AFL draw was released, Bontempelli said: "I was really happy - I feel like it's potentially something the AFL should do, going forward.
"Particularly in the current climate, I do feel like there's a nice element of starting the season with the last one of the previous season.
"I feel like it connects up OK. But particularly with what Victoria has missed out on, it's great.
"It feels like you get a second chance to play in another ... not another grand final, but a grand final-like game."
Bontempelli added that from the players' perspective, the rivalry with Melbourne is as real as it looks.
"You can't help but respect their growth and what they've been able to do," he said.
"At different times, we've pegged ourselves against Melbourne - we've both had young growing lists with high picks and a bit of talent.
"We've surfaced at a similar time and I just feel like that's good for football.
"Rivalries are what give the game its colour."
