Western Bulldogs 3.4 5.7 7.7 16.10.106
Hawthorn 4.2 5.3 12.7 13.9.87
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Schache 4, Dickson 3, Gowers 3, McLean 2, Naughton, Wallis, Macrae, Liberatore
Hawthorn: Gunston 4, Roughead 2, Puopolo 2, Breust, Smith, O'Meara, Cousins, Henderson
Alex Docherty's Best
Western Bulldogs: Macrae, Schache, Daniel, Suckling, Bontempelli, Liberatore, Dickson
Hawthorn: Henderson, O'Meara, Gunston, Worpel, Cousins, Sicily
Read that scoreline. Read it again. Then one more time just for safe measure. You couldn't have predicted it at three-quarter time. 30 points down at three quarter time, and then 16 down midway through the term, the Western Bulldogs pulled off a stunning come-from-behind victory over the Hawthorn Hawks to the tune of 19 points at the MCG to keep their unbeaten start to 2019 alive.
I wrote through last week's win over Sydney that it was a funny game of football. The events that unfolded at the MCG on Sunday afternoon were as bizarre as I've witnessed for quite some time. Starting with Bulldogs' puzzling decision to “Rest” Bailey Williams in favour for a taller defender in Lewis Young – to his credit, Young wasn't overawed on the stage he made his debut less than two years ago.
Then there was the weather. It was pouring down with rain for most of Saturday, and there was a bit of rain pre-game as well. The rain kept coming by the start and before it died down at quarter time, the Hawks started the game on the front foot, kicking four of the first five goals – most, if not all, were on poor Bulldog turnovers. But once the Doggies adapted to the conditions, they took control of the contest late and found themselves within a kick by the first break.
From there, the Dogs seized total control of the contest. Multiple inside 50 entries, elite tackling pressure and really questionable decisions from the umpires all throughout the second term were all in favour of the visiting Bulldogs. But for all it was worth, for all the dominance on the field, they could only muster up two goals for the term. What made matters worse for the Bulldogs is that a Paul Puopolo goal with seconds to go in the first half, made it a four point buffer.
This was where I thought at the main break that Hawthorn were going to get the Dogs in the second half. 23 inside 50s to Hawthorn's four and the clearances were pretty once sided in favour of the Dogs as well at 11-4. Good sides would've kicked more than two goals, and for what it was worth, the Hawks should've been about four, five, maybe even six goals down at this stage.
Sure enough, they mounted a challenge that the Bulldogs simply couldn't match. After Mitch Wallis, put the Dogs out to a nine-point advantage early in the third quarter, Hawthorn piled on seven of the next eight to open up this 30-point lead at three-quarter time, there were again, way too many turnovers and at times the Dogs just looked too slow going forward. Not once, but twice was Caleb Daniel one-on-one in the goal square with a much larger opponent. I know this club is about team defence, but I got to know how and why he's there.
There were still 30 minutes to play, but I was convinced that the 30 minutes I had just witnessed were the defining moments of this game. The Hawks were clinical whereas the Dogs couldn't make the most of their opportunities. After Billy Gowers opened up the fourth quarter with his second major of the game, Jack Gunston kicked a goal from a tight angle – as straight as an arrow. This is where things began to meltdown for the Hawks.
Liam Shiels came off the ground holding his hamstring in the third quarter. Shaun Burgoyne followed suit in the opening minute of the final quarter, reducing the Hawthorn bench to two. Not long after Gunston's goal, Roughead was set to take a shot around the 50 metre arc, straight in front. Jaeger O'Meara gave away a free kick for what was implied as a punch, but it didn't look like much in that.
This sparked a run of goals from the Bulldogs. It started with Josh Schache kicking a pair to whittle the lead down to 17 points. Tory Dickson beats Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton in a one-on-one to take a mark deep forward and made the Hawks pay for missing a couple of shots on goal at the other end to trim it to 13.
Following this was four goals in as many minutes. Toby McLean snapped his second to make it a one-goal difference. A free kick against James Worpel ensured the Dogs went forward again in the following centre bounce. Jack Macrae found space from 40 metres out to snap a goal to tie the scores up. A free kick against James Sicily for shoving Schache ensured the ball stayed down the Dogs end. The ex-Lion steps up and kicks a career-best fourth goal to give his team the lead. Tom Liberatore then put the Dogs up 12, with an insane kick under pressure from 25 metres out, to just about seal it.
The cream on the cake was Sicily giving away a free kick to Billy Gowers for holding and then giving away a fifty-metre penalty for swearing at the umpire. Not that it mattered much, it brought Gowers from about five metres out with a difficult angle, to the top of the goal square and a certain third goal from last year's leading goalkicker and a three-goal win – setting up a huge chance to go three from three against the Gold Coast Suns next week. Leading The Way
I'll roll out the cliché 'winners on every line' here, because there really was a star on every line for the Bulldogs. Jack Macrae was at his typical best (36 disposals, seven marks, four clearances, four inside 50s and one goal), before elevating himself with that clutch goal in the final term. Lachie Hunter (33 disposals, eight marks, four clearances and five inside 50s) was good, as was Marcus Bontempelli (26 disposals, seven clearances, seven tackles and six inside 50s).
Tom Liberatore has come back into this side like he never left (28 disposals, six clearances, seven tackles and one goal). Tim English was well beaten by Ben McEvoy in the hitouts, but his work around the ground was admirable and encouraging as the game progressed. In defence, Matthew Suckling (29 disposals, nine marks and five rebound 50s) flourished against his old side and Caleb Daniel (32 disposals and five rebound 50s) generated a lot of run off half back and made contests with a lot of people bigger than him as well.
Up forward, well we've covered Schache's career-high four majors. He was pivotal in the final quarter and showed why he was so highly rated as a junior a few years ago. Billy Gowers and Tory Dickson both slotted three goals each – very impressed with Gowers' improvement in his set shots, and Dickson, well after missing shots last week, he certainly regained the sharpness in front of goal we all know he can produce. Dickson's work up the ground was outstanding (20 disposals, six marks and seven inside 50s). The Opposition
Before I go into Hawthorn's better players. I'm going to address this rule where apparently you get pinged for a free kick for soft punches. Plain and simple, it is as soft a rule as you will ever find in this great game and either give me some consistency, or get rid of it all together – preferably the latter. Jarman Impey, Jaeger O'Meara and James Sicily all gave away free kicks for contact that I will say was pretty soft.
So, Hawthorn's better players? Ricky Henderson always seems to have good games against Bulldogs – Sunday was no exception. His influence in the third quarter was massive and finished the game with 29 disposals, six marks, three rebound 50s, six inside 50s and a goal. He was the best Hawk on the ground for mine. O'Meara (30 disposals, five clearances, six rebound 50s, six tackles, five inside 50s and one goal) was around there as well. His influence in the first and third terms were huge when Hawthorn were in control. James Worpel (25 disposals, seven clearances and six tackles) was great early, but faded badly – however, his upside is enormous. Likewise James Cousins (23 disposals, five marks, three clearances and a goal), who thrived around the ground.
Jack Gunston is another who always has a good game against the Bulldogs. He kicked four goals from 16 disposals and seven marks and was, without doubt, the most dangerous forward on the ground. And as much as he cost them the game in the last part of the final quarter, Sicily had a major influence in the back half in the first three quarters – recording 18 disposals, five marks and 11 rebound 50s – his ability to read the play is outstanding, but how much longer can Hawthorn supporters stomach these kind of stupid brain fades he has?