Melbourne lost key defenders Jared Rivers (ankle) and James Frawley (hip flexor) in the first half but kept fighting to be in control of the match midway through the third quarter before the Eagles again kicked away.
Bailey implored his charges to keep fighting in the last quarter and they were able to fight back from 19 points down to get within eight, but couldn’t get closer.
"The guys hung in there and I thought they kept taking the game on in the last quarter. They kept going and it was pleasing to see them have a crack on an interstate trip. I told them afterwards that they had a crack and showed great unity to help and courage to assist each other," he said.
"We challenged the players that regardless of the two blokes injured, we still have to take the game on and we did still attack. We didn’t take as many risks kicking as we could have, but the last quarter effort was good.
"They tackled, chased, and kept trying to score, but they are a very disappointed in the result. They weren’t worried about the injuries, they wanted the result."
Bailey was unsure on the extent of the injuries to Rivers and Frawley, but said the effort of Rivers in running back with the flight of the ball had lifted his teammates.
The rest of the back six was forced to lift after losing the two centre pieces and Bailey was impressed with their work rate, including WA youngster Jamie Bennell in his first AFL game on Subiaco.
"With these things we'll have to wait 48 hours until we see how the swelling comes down. In 24 hours we'll get back to Melbourne and by tomorrow night or Tuesday we'll have a better idea of the seriousness," he said.
"As soon as we lost our two key defenders, the rest of the back line guys in patch up roles still had a crack at it. Jamie was one of six or seven blokes who played there and he played his role. He is still a developing player and was very keen to come back and play this week back in his home state."
Bailey is encouraging his team to play an enterprising and attacking brand of football and while it's still a work in progress, he's confident it will pay off long term.
He was also impressed with the efforts of Paul Johnson against Dean Cox in the ruck, Clint Bartram on Daniel Kerr, as well as Nathan Jones and Brent Moloney in the middle.
"At times our decisions through the middle of the ground let us down where we turned the ball over, but we'll continue to play that way and continue to have a go. Our challenge is to reduce the amount of turnovers and increase our inside-50s," he said.
"Our midfield worked hard. Against the premier ruckman in the competition in Cox, Johnson competed really well, Nathan did as well by playing his role and Brent Moloney was influential at times. They worked really hard and the clearances and work at stoppages was good.
"He's a contributor Bartram and has been through a lot. He's a strong minded young fella, is committed to improving and stuck to a big job really well. It was nice to see him play well against one of the premier midfielders in the comp."
