Western Bulldogs 0.1 0.3 1.4 3.4.22 North Melbourne 0.2 5.3 5.3 8.5.53
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Utri, Brennan, Mackie North Melbourne: Munn 4, Duffin, Ashmore, Garner, Hope
Alex Docherty's Best
Western Bulldogs: Lamb, Conti, Utri, Brennan, Blackburn, Mackie
North Melbourne: Munn, Bruton, Gillespie-Jones, Stanton, Ashmore, Kearney
If you didn't believe in North Melbourne's premiership credentials before their game against the Western Bulldogs on Friday, surely their performance in this game would make you change your mind. A stunning second quarter from one of the competition newcomers proved to be the difference as the Kangaroos humbled the reigning premiers to the tune of 31 points – handing the Dogs' their first loss of 2019.
The opening term was as you'd expect for a clash of two of the competition front-runners. It was tough, scrappy and it was hard for either side to get a good advantage. No goals were scored in the opening term but both sides had their opportunities. North had eight inside 50s in the opening term, the Dogs had just one less. The intensity of the game made things a lot more difficult for either side to get the start they wanted as both sides had their struggles when they went inside 50.
It took until four minutes in the second term for the first goal of the match. This came courtesy of North Melbourne debutant Courteney Munn who was unguarded just outside the goal-square and ran in for her first goal – possibly one of easiest she'll kick in her career. This sparked a run of five-straight goals which essentially killed off any chance of a Bulldog win on this night. Shortly after her first goal, Munn took a nice grab close to goal and added a second.
This was shortly followed by goals from experienced heads in Jess Duffin, Kaitlyn Ashmore and Jasmine Garner and in the span of seven minutes, a six-point lead blew out to a 31-point deficit. North Melbourne has had these sort of moments in the past fortnight, where they have an unstoppable six or seven minutes worth of footy. They did it in the second term against Carlton in round one and they did it to GWS in the last quarter last week.
The Western Bulldogs didn't kick their first goal until after the half-time break, when Aisling Utri beat three opponents near the goal-square and soccered one through for a badly needed one four minutes into the third quarter. They won the third term, keeping the Kangaroos scoreless for the first time in their very brief history, but the damage from the second term was still there and they were still 23 points down heading into the final quarter.
Katie Brennan snapped a lovely goal from a difficult angle within the opening two minutes of the last quarter and gave the Bulldog supporters thinking that there could be a comeback as the margin was down to within three goals – but it wasn't to be. Brennan's goal was cancelled out by none other than Munn, who got rid of her direct opponent in the goal-square and soccered through a third goal. For the cherry on top for the North supporters. Munn dribbled home her fourth goal from the pocket shortly afterwards.
Whilst this will probably go down as one of the worse losses margin-wise in the history of the Bulldogs' AFLW side, I don't think they were actually as bad as the result suggests. They did turnover the ball a little bit, but that happens in every game to every club. If we take away the second quarter in which the Kangaroos dominated, the Dogs actually matched their opponents. Kicking 3.1 to 3.2 in the first, third and fourth quarters. I think this match showcased how good North Melbourne will be in 2019, and whilst it is a disappointing loss, I have no doubt we'll see the Bulldogs bounce back next weekend.
Leading The Way
Without trying to sound too critical here, but there weren't many Bulldogs who stood out on Friday night. North had a lot more disposals than the Bulldogs winning the count by nearly 50, with 11 of the 21 Bulldogs players recording seven disposals or less.
Monique Conti and Kirsty Lamb were arguably the Bulldogs best players on this evening. Conti led all Bulldog players in disposals with 16 touches, whilst recording three tackles and three marks for the match. Lamb didn't stop trying all evening, recording 14 disposals, five marks and four tackles in the midfield. Aisling Utri (12 disposlas, five marks and a goal) continued on her strong game last week with another solid performance.
Ellie Blackburn had herself a rough night, copping hits from both team mates and opposition players. She still battled out the game and finished with 14 disposals and three tackles and did what she could. Katie Brennan had to deal with the rough tag of Tahlia Randall for pretty much the entire evening, but she still finished with 14 disposals, one goal, four marks and four tackles.
The Opposition
It was a night to remember for Courteney Munn. Dream debuts don't happen that much anymore, but it really looked like whenever she had her hands on the ball, she could've done no wrong. Coming into the side this weekend to cover the losses of Sophie Abbatangelo and Ash Riddell, her night ended with 11 disposals, four marks and two tackles to go along with her four goals.
In the middle, Jenna Bruton was another that stood out in her first game against her old club, recording a game-high 22 disposals, six marks and six tackles in a great game in the middle. Emma Kearney (17 disposals, five tackles and four marks) and Jamie Stanton (20 disposals, seven marks and three tackles ) were also sensational in setting up North Melbourne's win.
Former Carlton player Kate Gillespie-Jones has been amongst one of the competition's biggest improvers so far this year and continued her great start to 2019, recording 17 disposals, seven tackles and four marks playing as the back-up ruck, whilst Kaitlyn Ashmore's performance up forward was also one to highlight with her forward pressure outstanding (12 disposals, nine tackles, four marks and one goal).
Next Week
A rematch of last year's Grand Final is on the horizon next weekend as the Western Bulldogs are back at the Whitten Oval to take on the Brisbane Lions in what will be there first-ever match at the home of the Bulldogs. No doubt this game will be one to learn from for the Daughters of the West and against a Brisbane side that shouldn't be taken lightly, it looms as a good chance to rebound and get win number three on the board.
They'll need the win next week to stay in touch with North Melbourne and Fremantle, who both remain unbeaten and occupy the top two slots of conference A.