“I would like to think that it was a first-up bad performance and that we can get a lot better,” Dal Santo said on Channel Seven’s AFL Game Day.
“I've been there for five months and I've seen how the boys go about their training, and the way we can play in NAB Cup games. Friday night was just really disappointing,” he said.
The Roos went down to the Bombers by 39-points on Friday night despite unprecedented external hype in the pre-season.
“The one thing I will say is that we haven't really spoke internally about where we want to finish. A lot of it is external, and then it gets relayed onto the playing group - 'You guys think you are going to be top four’.
“I think we are a good enough team to make finals and be really competitive.
“But I don't think Friday night was any indication of that and we don’t deserve to make finals if we keep dishing up that sort of stuff.”
Injured captain Andrew Swallow found it difficult to explain the loss and said coach Brad Scott was far from impressed in his post-match assessment.
"He went hard, probably as hard as what he has in his tenure," Swallow said on Sunday.
Meanwhile the club remains confident Todd Goldstein will be available to play against the Bulldogs on Sunday after he received a knock to his left shoulder.
"Todd had scans on Saturday morning which showed no signs of any ligament or joint damage to his left shoulder," a North statement said.
"He may require further precautionary scans this week in the lead-up to the game."
