MELBOURNE defender Clint Bartram has conceded a clash of colours with the umpires created some confusion in his side’s four-point loss to the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Friday night.

Melbourne wore a special one-off pink jumper against the Bulldogs to promote the AFL’s Field of Women event, which aimed to raise awareness of breast cancer.

However, with umpires also donning pink to show their support, some Melbourne players appeared to struggle at times to differentiate between the officials and their teammates.

The clash was underlined in the fourth term when Bartram found himself under pressure and shot out a quick handball towards an umpire.

“To be honest I did think it was a player, they had the similar socks and similar tops,” Bartram said of the incident.

“The pink does catch your eye with the colour and the movement does catch your eye, that happened to me as that incident showed.”

Despite the error, Bartram was quick to hose down any suggestion that the incident affected the result and highlighted the good cause the pink jumpers supported.

 “It certainly confused me at one time there and I’m not too sure how the other boys feel but they were very similar,” Bartram said

“One incident doesn’t make a game but obviously it’s not something I’m overly proud of.”

It completed a day of frustration for the Demons who, despite a surge late in the match, were unable to overcome a persistent Bulldogs outfit.

“Obviously we’re very disappointed. To put in a good performance like that and to come so close - it obviously annoys you,” Bartram said.

“We probably had more opportunity but AFL is a game of opportunity and we didn’t take them [and] the Bulldogs did so I suppose that speaks for itself.”

However, Melbourne fans would find solace in the result achieved by their young and developing side.

Youngsters Tom Scully, Jack Trengove, Jordie McKenzie and Jack Grimes were all among Melbourne’s best on Friday night and showed they were more than capable of leading the side into the future.

“We are just starting to get more experience playing with each other and there’s a real trust and belief throughout the boys,” Bartram said.

“Put that together with all the training and the gameplan, we just have to get better - it’s just one of those things.”

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