Western Bulldogs 2.1 4.2 6.4 10.6.66
Carlton 2.2 4.4 5.6 7.7.49
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Jong 2, Schache, Hunter, Trengove, Greene, Gowers, Wallis, Johannisen, McLean
Carlton: C. Curnow 2, De Koning, Dow, Wright, Simpson, Silvagni
Alex Docherty's Best
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Dunkley, Macrae, Hunter, Wallis, Trengove, Johannisen
Carlton: Simpson, E. Curnow, Marchbank, Cripps, Thomas, Byrne
It won't go down as one for the time capsule, but the Western Bulldogs have handed Carlton their fifth wooden spoon since 2002, downing the Blues by 17 points in a very scrappy affair at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, making it five wins on the trot against the Blues for the first time in the history of the football club.
It was the Bulldogs third-straight win, having secured wins against St. Kilda and North Melbourne thanks to a memorable burst in their respectable third quarters. However, there would be no such thing this weekend as the Blues did their absolute best to make this a dog fight, right until the very end. This win also puts the Bulldogs up to 13th, overtaking Fremantle after they were handed an absolute belting from Geelong on the weekend.
Everyone knows that the Blues are struggling a lot. Skills, inability to run with more senior lists due to their youth and a lack of midfield depth I'd say have been catalysts to the Blues' struggles this year. But on Sunday, they showed that they were up for the fight. They led at quarter-time and half-time – much to the disappointment of Bulldogs fans, who I'm sure there would've been many at the ground baying for a smashing.
Anytime it looked like the Bulldogs were ahead and set to run away with it, the Blues counteracted with a goal to snatch the lead back. It was nearly a game of hot potato as both sides coughed up the lead at numerous stages in the game – the lead never exceeded two goals until midway through the last quarter – which was how tight the contest was. Regardless of how scrappy the game was, it was close all throughout.
Even with the Dogs ahead by less than a kick by the final term, there was a sense of uncertainty around Etihad Stadium – the Blues had stuck with them for the first three quarters and were a genuine chance to pinch their third win. When young Paddy Dow was paid a very soft free kick in front of goal, the Blues led by two points early in the quarter.
But the Bulldogs were finally able to get the break on the Blues, as they piled on the next four goals to make a certain result of it. Fergus Greene kicked a clutch goal to give the Dogs the lead, followed by a nice Josh Schache set-shot from just inside the boundary. An punch or elbow to the bad back of Marcus Bontempelli from Jed Lamb resulted in a second goal of the game from Lin Jong, before Jason Johannisen's goal was the final nail in the coffin.
People will be talking about Lamb's jab on Bontempelli for a bit this week. Lamb has been a renowned antagonist and a real pest. It was revealed by Luke Beveridge earlier in the week that Bontempelli barely trained during the week after he hurt his back the previous week against North Melbourne. For those that say the Bont dived – pull your head in. The Bont hasn't dived at any stage since his debut, why would he start now?
Even with a bad back, the Bont had himself an afternoon to remember. He had a career-high 37 disposals, along with four clearances and seven inside 50s – to do that all whilst battling a bad back injury is phenomenal. Another man who played extremely well is the in-form Josh Dunkley, who continued to record disposals, putting up another 36, along with seven marks, six tackles and five clearances. His day could've been further enhanced if he wasn't wayward with his kicking, snagging three behinds.
Jack Macrae (33 disposals, eight clearances and five tackles) had another stellar performance, as did Lachie Hunter (33 disposals, five clearances and one goal) – surely both men would be one and two in the best and fairest count this year – they have been that good and extremely consistent. Out-of-contract Mitch Wallis also continues to press claims for a new deal at the Bulldogs (23 disposals, six clearances, seven marks, five tackles and one goal) in another very good performance – sign him up please!!!
Jackson Trengove has been somewhat of a revelation as the number one ruckman, proving that he is capable of covering ground and is able to be used effectively. He had 17 disposals, five marks, eight clearances and kicked a goal to go along with his 24 hitouts. Jason Johannisen (24 disposals, six marks, four rebound 50s and one goal) and Hayden Crozier (18 disposals, four rebound 50s, six marks and five tackles) were remarkable running the ball out of defence.
It's been a tough year for Carlton fans and this was probably one of those performances that could have Blues fans acknowledge that they gave it a fair crack. They were thumped in the clearances 44-19, but they were only -20 in disposals (388-367) and actually won the contested possession count 127-114. Ultimately, they were let down by a lack of polish that had been plaguing them for a few years now.
In his first game, Tom De Koning showed a lot of promise. He took a couple of nice contested marks, set up Charlie Curnow for the first goal of the day and then kicked one himself in the second quarter. He could find himself a spot up forward with Curnow and Harry McKay – who also looked threatening without actually kicking a major.
Kade Simpson – in game 306 – was outstanding across all four quarters. He recorded 35 disposals, eight rebound 50s and kicked a very nice goal in the opening quarter. Simpson plays like the proverbial fine wine – he just gets better as he gets older. Patrick Cripps (29 disposals, six clearances and six tackles) and Ed Curnow (28 disposals, seven tackles and nine marks) also got their hands busy for the Blues.
Former GWS player Caleb Marchbank was also outstanding in defence. Recording 11 marks and six rebound 50s from 21 touches is a fine return from someone who has had his fair share of injury concerns. Irish convert Ciaran Byrne (22 disposals and six tackles) looked very impressive in just his 21st AFL game, whilst Dale Thomas also battled hard (23 disposals and five marks).
So in the final round of the AFL home and away season, the Western Bulldogs find themselves scheduled to take on the reigning premiers in Richmond next Saturday afternoon at the MCG in what will be undoubtedly a mismatch. The Tigers locked up the minor premiership this past weekend following their win over Essendon on Friday night.