Captain Marcus Bontempelli has sent a massive scare through the Western Bulldogs, leaving their AFL pre-season win early.

The star onballer provided ultimate click bait when he went to the change rooms during the first quarter of their 11-point win against Hawthorn at Launceston’s UTAS Stadium.

But it did not look serious and Bontempelli told Fox Footy “yeah, I will be alright” as he walked along the boundary line a few minutes later.

The Hawks struggled early and coach Sam Mitchell was scathing at halftime.

But they hit the front in the last term before the Bulldogs steadied and won 11.11 (77) to 9.12 (66).

Latham Vandermeer was also forced off in the first half with concussion, adding to the Bulldogs’ pre-season personnel troubles ahead of their round-one game on March 15 against North Melbourne.

The 16-day break gives Bontempelli, one of the game’s best players, plenty of time to make sure he is ready for their season opener.

It also will help Vandermeer work through the concussion protocol and potentially be available.

Liam Jones, Cody Weightman, Adam Treloar and Jason Johannisen are sidelined, while Bailey Dale and Ed Richards must prove their fitness after missing Thursday’s game.

Star forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan missed a sizeable part of the pre-season because of personal issues and it remains unclear when he will be ready to play again.

Despite Bontempelli’s absence and their lengthy casualty list, the Bulldogs made a bright start and led by 22 points at the main break.

Mature-age recruit Sam Davidson, taken with pick 51 in last year’s draft, was impressive as he pressed his claims for an AFL debut.

Davidson, 23, has one year left to complete his medical degree. He finished with 29 disposals and a goal.

Mitchell did not mince his words when he spoke to Fox Footy at halftime.

“We’re lucky the scoreboard looks like it does, they’ve been far better than us and we needed a bit of a shock to the system, that first part of the game,” he said.

“We’ll do a couple of things a bit differently ... but I don’t think it matters too much if we don’t try a bit harder and put in a bit more effort than we did that half.”

Bulldogs key forwards Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton finished with three goals apiece, while Lachlan McNeil snared four.

“Now he’s getting older and stronger - the sheer size of him - it makes it hard for defenders to match up,” Naughton said of Darcy, one of the AFL’s most exciting young talents.

Bulldogs midfielder Tom Liberatore had 31 disposals and opponent James Worpel had 28, with 10 clearances, as he played a key role in Hawthorn’s second-half revival.

Defender and star recruit Tom Barrass played his first game for the Hawks, who open their season on Friday week against Sydney at the SCG.

Nick Watson kicked two goals at the start of the final term to briefly put Hawthorn in front.

A goal to teammate Josh Weddle on the three-quarter time siren was disallowed and had it not been a pre-season game, the incident would have been a big controversy.