Western Bulldogs 4.2 9.4 13.5 16.7.103 Geelong 4.3 8.4 13.7 15.11.101
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Richards 3, Schache 2, Dunkley 2, Williams 2, Bontempelli 2, Gowers 2, Wallis, McLean, Cordy Geelong: Hawkins 3, Taylor 2, Menegola 2, Narkle 2, Parfitt, Murdoch, Stanley, Dangerfield, Kelly, Ablett
Alex Docherty's Best
Western Bulldogs: Dahlhaus, Dunkley, McLean, Richards, Bontempelli, Wallis, Gowers
Geelong: Selwood, Dangerfield, Ablett, Hawkins, Kelly, Duncan, Stewart
In all my time watching footy and in the short time I have been writing about this great sport, there have been games where I've sat back upon reflection and wonder: “Did that just seriously happen?”
I caught myself saying this exact phrase on Friday night as the Western Bulldogs broke an 11-game losing streak against the Cats that has dated back nine years, with a thrilling two-point win in front of just under 30,000 spectators under the roof of Etihad Stadium.
In the lead-up to this game, many AFL fans in general would’ve groaned at the thought of watching a top-four aspirant such as Geelong take on a bottom-five side such as the Bulldogs and immediately think of how much the Dogs would lose by. In truth, this would have to be up there as one – a game of the year candidate and two – arguably the best performance the Western Bulldogs have had since their premiership win in 2016.
All throughout the night, the Bulldogs showed shades of the blueprint that was their miraculous premiership win. They showed a real want for the footy that had been missing in large portions of 2018 to date. When the Cats had the footy, there was often a Bulldog on the hunt, when they had the footy, they often used it really well. they dared themselves to run up the corridor on many instances and pressured Geelong’s defenders to turn the ball over when inside 50, which resulted in goals.
It didn’t all go the Bulldogs’ way however, as injuries threatened to reduce them to an empty interchange bench as early as the second quarter. It started pre-game with the ultra late change that saw Matt Suckling withdraw due to an achilles complaint. His replacement – Lin Jong, only lasted about 15 minutes as he driven into the turf by Sam Menegola and was left clutching his shoulder – later revealed to be a broken collarbone.
They then had Billy Gowers roll an ankle which looked pretty bad on the big screen, Hayden Crozier who had Patrick Dangerfield fall onto his legs at ground level and Luke Dahlhaus, who copped a heavy hit in the face, all come off before half-time. Remarkably, all three men played out the game and all three had a big hand in the result, which showed how gutsy the win was for the Western Bulldogs and how badly these three individuals wanted their side to win.
The game ebbed and flowed all throughout and contained a lot of fast-paced footy, which has been a massive talking point all throughout the season. But what will disappoint Geelong fans is that the Cats are a great defensive side – the best in the competition before the start of round 15. Yet, they allowed a Bulldogs side, who have had more than their fair share of scoring problems this year, to score over 100 points for just the third time this year.
There were 11 lead changes on the night. Geelong led by a point at quarter time, then the Dogs responded, leading by a goal at half time. They then threatened to burst the game open with three goals within the first five minutes of the third quarter to lead by 24 points. But as good sides often do, and believe me, Geelong have been a quality side for so long now, they found a way back in the game and not just did that, they led at three-quarter time, with just two points separating the two sides at the final break.
To be honest, I was expecting somewhat of a fade out after what had been such a brave performance from Luke Beveridge’s men up to this point. But this was one of those times where I was so happy to be proven wrong. It started with a little red-head kid by the name of Ed Richards who got the Dogs’ first two goals of the term, the first of those being a clever toe poke off the Etihad surface which saw it trickle over the line.
After it was cancelled out by Geelong’s Tim Kelly, giving the Cats the lead again, Richards again stepped up to the plate, kicking the ball from about forty metres off one step to give the Bulldogs the lead again – that was when I believed these two sides were heading for a grandstand finish, but not even I could’ve predicted the finish that was in store for these two sides.
The Dogs got the ascendancy midway through the term as Billy Gowers, who looked gone for all money in the first-half with that ankle, leapt up for the ball in the goal square and kicked the goal in the mid-air, drawing shades of Daniel Wells’ goal in Perth that was described as the ‘Jackie Chan in mid-air’ back in 2004. This goal put the Bulldogs ahead by 11 points.
But the contest was not over by a long shot. The Cats continued to press as they had so often done whenever the Dogs looked threaten to put the contest to bed. Despite defending for their life, the Bulldogs coughed up the ball a few times, which allowed shots on goal for Patrick Dangerfield and Jordan Murdoch – both of which fortuitously missed.
The Dogs were up by nine points with two minutes left on the clock. It was at this point last week, which saw them cough up a win that they thoroughly deserved against North Melbourne. It was almost a case of déjà vu when Gary Ablett goaled with 30 seconds to go to reduce the margin to just three points. From the centre, Joel Selwood won a free kick, and from there the ball worked its way towards a leading Harry Taylor who marked about 35 metres out on a tight angle.
Having to face the childhood dream of so many – to kick for the win after the siren, Taylor faced a loud echo of boos as well as about 15-16 Bulldogs standing behind the man on the mark, He poked his kick way left, much to the pleasure of the red, white and blue faithful, who have had to witness two nail-biters in as many weeks. Some say it was pure luck that the Dogs won on a bad kick, but in reality, the Dogs thoroughly deserved this win – nine years in the making.
I don't think there was a player in the red, white and blue that actually had an awful game. Not even the maligned players such as Roarke Smith – who was steady in defence, Tom Boyd, who actually matched Rhys Stanley in the ruck all game long or even debutant Brad Lynch, who showed remarkable pace and poise beyond a first-gamer.
I've been very critical of Luke Dahlhaus (29 disposals, eight marks, fall year and to a lesser extent of Josh Dunkley, but I thought both men played their best games this year and worked hard all night long. Toby McLean (27 disposals, 11 tackles and five clearances) was also a stand-out in the middle in the absence of Jack Macrae, who would've been leading the club's best and fairest before injury.
Marcus Bontempelli had a better game than last week (23 disposals, seven tackles, six inside 50s and 2.3) and was perhaps one of the most threatening players up forward. Ed Richards' three goals from 13 disposals and five tackles were instrumental in this contest and more games like this could have him in discussion for the Rising Star award come the end of the season, whilst Mitch Wallis rebounded from last week's bad error – and perhaps some unfair criticism from supporters – with a solid game (24 disposals and a goal).
As for the Cats, this loss remarkably is their seventh straight game in which they have lost coming off the bye. It was well documented earlier in the week that the club had spent time up on the Gold Coast during the week off in a bid to shake this hoodoo, but it's back to the drawing board for Chris Scott's men.
As you'd imagine, the superstar trio of Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett and Patrick Dangerfield all found the footy a fair bit. As a matter of fact, this was the first game in which all three men had over 30 possessions in a game at the same time. Dangerfield (31 disposals, five marks and a goal) had another good game against the Dogs, but Selwood (34 disposals, 10 clearances and six tackles) was probably the best of the lot, whilst Ablett (30 disposals, eight marks, five inside 50s and one goal) is building back to his best footy.
Tim Kelly has flown under the radar so much since being drafted by the Cats last year, and had another great performance, recording 34 disposals – 19 of those coming in the final quarter – along with five clearances and a goal. Mitch Duncan (27 disposals, eight marks, six rebound 50s) was also in fine touch, whilst debutant Quinton Narkle showed a bit on debut as well, kicking a couple of goals and doing some nice things in the middle as well (14 disposals, four marks and six tackles).
Tom Hawkins was threatening to take the game from the clutches of the Bulldogs in the third quarter and finished the game with three goals from 14 disposals and nine marks, whilst on the other end of the ground, Tom Stewart continues his impressive year (21 disposals and eight rebound 50s) and Zach Tuohy had a fine performance as well (28 disposals, five marks and five inside 50s).
The last two weeks have shown a turning of the corner for the Western Bulldogs, which is really fantastic. They've shown everything that we saw in 2016 – hunger, desire and most importantly, belief. It doesn't matter what happens for the rest of the year, the fans just want to see this side give it a red-hot go and for the last two weeks – even in the final three quarters against Port Adelaide – they've been giving it a fair crack.
Next week's game against Hawthorn is going to be a huge one as this is another contest to which the Dogs can win. The Hawks have been a bit hot and cold this year, which causes me to believe that this contest next Saturday night, is going to be a very winnable game – that is of course, if we are basing it on the form we've all witnessed in the past fortnight.