Western Bulldogs 0.1 4.2 4.2 5.3.33
Brisbane Lions 0.2 0.3 1.4 3.6.24
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Huntington 2, Bruton, Scott, Utri
Brisbane Lions: Wuetschner 2, Anderson
Alex Docherty’s Best:
Western Bulldogs: Kearney, Bruton, Lamb, Scott, Birch, Huntington, Lochland
Brisbane Lions: Anderson, Bates, Lutkins, Zielke, Koenen, Wuetschner
The Western Bulldogs have made it two wins from two starts in season 2018, pulling out a gutsy nine-point win over the Brisbane Lions at the South Pine Sports Complex, handing the Lions their first-ever regular season loss, but it has come at a hefty price, with last year’s number one draft pick Isabel Huntington going down with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee midway through the second quarter.
After both sides failed to convert any goals in the first quarter from a combined nine inside 50s, Huntington was the one that got the Bulldogs up and about. She took a pack mark in the goal-square to kick her first-ever AFLW goal. Not even a minute after she made a contested mark against Kate Lutkins – who is a very good defender – look so simple. She would go on to kick another one from the goal-square to make it two goals in less than two minutes.
Unfortunately, the purple patch for Huntington ended abruptly the next time the ball went down the Bulldogs attacking 50. As she was running towards the ball deep in attack, her right knee buckled and from the moment she went down, you could tell from the hands in her face that it was a very bad knee injury. This is the second ACL injury that the Bulldogs have had in as many weeks following the season-ending injury to Daria Bannister against Fremantle just a week earlier and it follows the ACL injury to a popular AFLW figure in Brianna Davey on Friday night.
From a supporter standpoint of not just the Western Bulldogs, but of the AFLW, this was really heartbreaking to watch as Huntington has had a lot of rotten luck with injuries. She had only just returned from a knee reconstruction on her left knee that she sustained back in 2016 and she had also had a broken leg prior to that. Plus this injury was sustained at a time where she had the game by the scruff of the neck. What she could’ve achieved if that injury hadn’t occurred – no one will ever know. That’s the cruelest part about the game of Aussie Rules Football.
But to the credit of everyone playing for the Western Bulldogs’ women’s team, they showed the guts and determination required to be a premiership contender in season 2018. Huntington’s knee injury could’ve been deflating enough for the Lions to roll over them after half-time. But it never happened. The Dogs stuck to their guns and fired off two more goals – A clever snap by Jenna Bruton and a beautiful long-range goal by Hannah Scott made it four goals to zero by half time.
The Dogs continued to do what they did last week against Fremantle. When they didn’t have the ball, they harassed, they chased and brought fear and uncertainty to a Brisbane side that are often so well-drilled. When they did have the ball however, they were brilliantly composed by foot more often than not after quarter time. The fact that a few of the Brisbane ladies got stuck into their opposition – particularly in the second half – was proof that they knew they were getting beaten.
The Lions made their best attempts to come back and cause a great come-from-behind win. They had eight inside 50 entries in the third quarter to the Dogs’ one, but they could still only get one goal out of it by three-quarter time – that coming off a sensational goal from the pocket by Jess Wuetschner. A goal from Ally Anderson 10 minutes into the final quarter got the margin back to within single figures, making a lot of Bulldog supporters nervous.
But the Dogs held firm to pull off a remarkable win in stifling conditions. Aisling Utri’s goal in the 13th minute provided the steady hand that the Bulldogs needed so desperately in the fourth quarter, and although Wuetschner would kick her second goal just shortly afterwards, the Dogs were home to maintain their unbeaten start to the year.
Leading The Way
Whilst no one could ignore how huge Isabel Huntington’s impact was on the game before she went down with that knee (Two goals from six disposals and four marks), it was a full four-quarter effort from the likes of Emma Kearney, who had 18 disposals, nine tackles and five marks and an unlikely name in the midfield in Kirsty Lamb, who recorded a team-high 20 disposals and four marks that led the way for the Bulldogs. Jenna Bruton’s second game was also a very outstanding performance, recording 15 disposals, five marks and a goal, whilst Brooke Lochland had a very productive afternoon, recording 11 disposals, five tackles and four marks.
However it was the defensive set up that the Bulldogs that has to be recognised. Lauren Spark faced the task of taking on a red-hot Sabrina Frederick-Traub for most of the game and kept her to just five disposals and no goals. Libby Birch kept the talented Kaitlyn Ashmore to just three disposals for the match and Hannah Scott (13 disposals and a goal) was sublime running off half-back. Add to the fact that the very dangerous Kate McCarthy – who was Brisbane’s leading goal kicker last year - was held to just seven disposals, it’s a job well done to the Western Bulldogs’ defence.
What is all the more impressive is that their two marquee players – Ellie Blackburn and Katie Brennan – didn’t have a huge impact on the contest. It wasn’t a bad performance from either woman – Blackburn had 14 disposals, five marks and five tackles and Brennan had 11 disposals and seven marks, but this result shows that they don’t need to rely on them so heavily to manufacture a winning result. It’s recruits like Bonnie Toogood and Aisling Utri who have come in from the rookie list and make an instant impact straightaway. It’s the established players like Angelica Gogos, Brooke Lochland, Tiarna Ernst and Aasta O’Connor - to name a few - that do their respective roles well. That’s what’s making this team look so good early on in the season.
The Opposition
Fresh off a win over the Adelaide Crows in their Grand Final rematch, this looked like an entirely Brisbane side to that I witnessed last week. They looked second to the ball most times, and when they did get to the ball, they were swarmed by one or multiple Bulldog players and as a result of that, they were very messy with their disposal, they butchered a lot of inside 50 entries and peppered quite a few shots on goal. The Lions had one more scoring shot than the Bulldogs – if their score was reversed it would’ve been an entirely different story.
Whilst there weren’t many stars shining up forward for Brisbane on Sunday, Jess Wuetschner confirmed to us on Sunday that she is in career-best form, kicking a pair of majors on to add to the two goals that she kicked a week ago against the reigning premiers. I mentioned earlier about the lack of influence that Kate McCarthy, Kaitlyn Ashmore and Sabrina Frederick-Traub all had on this game. If the Lions are to pose a legitimate threat, they need all three players to be consistently firing on all cylinders for the rest of the season.
A number of their midfielders put up solid numbers. Emily Bates had a game-high 21 disposals and five marks, Jamie Stanton (16 disposals) and captain Emma Zielke (14 disposals and three marks) both tried hard. Ally Anderson backed up her strong performance last week against the Crows with an equally impressive game on Sunday, recording 16 disposals, six tackles and a very nice goal in the last quarter. Kate Lutkins (10 disposals and eight tackles) also battled on in defence and got better as the game went on, whilst I was impressed with the game of Breanna Koenen (11 disposals, four marks and three tackles).
Next Week
Sitting at two wins from two games, the Western Bulldogs are in a good position at the moment as they travel to Norwood Oval in South Australia to take on last year’s premiers in Adelaide, who have taken a remarkable fall from grace so far this year. The Crows are sitting at the bottom of the ladder after two rounds following big losses to both Brisbane and more recently, Melbourne.
Although in the defence of the Crows, they have had no Erin Phillips in the first two weeks and they have also been without Courtney Cramey, who plays such a big part of their defence. The Western Bulldogs have a lot of folks talking about their premiership credentials, given that they just knocked off last year’s runners-up to the premiership.
Even though next Saturday’s game will provide a really good opportunity to go 3-0, the Dogs should expect to see the Crows fired up for this game. At 0-2, they will need to win every game from here on out and they will be relishing this challenge in coming up against a Bulldogs side that are very hungry for glory themselves. Losing Isabel Huntington hurts the structures a bit, but the Dogs still have a very good side to contend for the premiership.