Western Bulldogs 0.3 2.7 7.8 9.10.64
Collingwood 1.2 4.6 6.9 11.12.78
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Lloyd 2, Dickson, Naughton, Dunkley, Smith, McLean, Wallis, Suckling
Collingwood: Phillips 2, Thomas 2, Stephenson 2, Elliott 2, De Goey, Varcoe, Cox
Alex Docherty's Best
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Macrae, Daniel, Suckling, Hunter, Crozier
Collingwood: Grundy, Phillips, De Goey, Moore, Roughead, Adams
In comparison to last Sunday's shocker against the Gold Coast Suns, this was a much better performance overall from the Western Bulldogs. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough to get the third win of 2019 on the board, succumbing to Collingwood by 14 points in front of nearly 60,000 at the MCG on Friday night – both sides now stand at 2-2 after four rounds.
I'll bring out the cliché of 'A tale of two halves' because it was exactly that – The first half was amongst some of the worst football I've seen so far this year and the second half actually brought the game to life. If there was an award for the worst first quarter of 2019, then this game would be leading the way at this point in time. Only one goal was kicked in about 25 minutes of football. The rest was highlighted by slow ball movement along the wings and shocking disposal by either side.
The second term was marginally better. More goals were kicked – albeit only five – Hayden Crozier took what is surely going to be a serious mark of the year contender, standing on the shoulders of Jamie Elliott to haul in a mighty grab and the first career goal from Bailey Smith was a highlight – watching him break a Brodie Grundy tackle inside attacking 50 and then watching him slam it onto the outside of the right boot and sail through for the Dogs' second of the evening to get it back within two goals by half time.
However, on what was a beautiful evening in Melbourne, both sides played true to the old saying 'bad kicking is bad football' as several players missed shots on goal that they should've done better. Brody Mihocek missed a close range goal. Tom Liberatore failed to capitalise on a soft fifty-metre penalty that brought him to 40 metres out on a slight angle. Tory Dickson missed a shot on goal that would usually be his bread and butter. All of that was just inside the second term – there were plenty of others.
Momentum swung in favour of the Bulldogs in the third quarter, as they threatened to take this game by the scruff of the neck with a five-goal term. It doesn't sound like much when you read it, but at a game where only six goals were kicked in the entire first half, it was a massive term in the context in this particular game. Aaron Naughton was one of a few Bulldogs that emphasised the impact the Bulldogs had in this term.
He kicked his first and only goal of the night when he beat Darcy Moore in a one-on-one which led to his first and only goal of the night. He then proceeded to take two massive grabs on the wings – one each way. One was over ex-team mate Jordan Roughead, the other was a soaring pack grab over two team mates and two Magpies. Having signed a contract extension during the week until the end of 2024, It genuinely gets me excited to see what he can be in five years time.
The Bulldogs got the lead up to 11 points late in the third term, but they did have their errors, and the Pies had their opportunities. Jaidyn Stephenson and Tom Phillips had shots that could've put Collingwood up by three goals, but both strayed wide. A poor Tom Liberatore kick from half back to the middle of the ground cost the Dogs a goal as Jamie Elliott strolled in for his first of the evening. Some brilliance from Travis Varcoe in the pocket, lead to Stephenson kicking a late goal in the quarter to reduce the margin to just five points by the final break.
The Dogs' lead only lasted less than four minutes into the final quarter when Phillips was on the end of an easy one from the goal square. The Bulldogs took the lead back briefly through Sam Lloyd, through what was a very unconvincing coast-to-coast goal. From there it was all Collingwood. The big men don't get any smaller – especially in football – and Mason Cox stood tall, taking a massive grab after being subdued for most of the night, followed by a crucial goal to give Collingwood the lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the night.
The Pies kicked four of the last five goals of the match – which probably suggests that the Dogs either ran out of legs, or just simply didn't have the legs to match Collingwood when it came to crunch time. The last three goals were conceded probably a tad too easy in comparison to the rest of the night. Unfortunately, that can be football sometimes, but there were good signs all around, and hopefully, puts them in good stead for Carlton next week in what is a must-win game.
Leading The Way
Marcus Bontempelli had another massive game in the middle and was by far the best Bulldog on the ground for mine. He had 36 disposals – one shy of his personal best – along with eight clearances and seven inside 50s at 75 percent efficiency. Jack Macrae (33 disposals, four clearances and three tackles) was again up there as a standout midfielder, but his impact paled in comparison to that of The Bont.
Matt Suckling is one man who has either pretty good games or extra ordinary games. Friday night was one of his better games, recording 27 disposals, eight marks, four rebound 50s and one goal in the final term – at a smidge under 93 percent efficiency. Caleb Daniel never stopped generating run in defence (30 disposals, eight rebound 50s, six marks and three tackles), but it concerns me that opposition clubs are starting to figure him out when they they get the ball in transition – he got caught out in one-on-ones with bigger players a little bit.
Lachie Hunter (29 disposals at 96 percent efficiency, 12 marks and five inside 50s) was brilliant for large portions of the game, Jason Johannisen marked his first game back from an ankle injury with trademark run and carry (25 disposals, eight marks and five rebound 50s), Hayden Crozier had a very good defensive game to top off his mark of the year (13 disposals, 11 one-percenters, seven marks and four rebound 50s).
The Opposition
I think it's clearly obvious the most influential player on the ground was Brodie Grundy. He was dominant in the ruck, and his work around the ground was also top notch. 23 disposals – 18 contested – along with six clearances, eight tackles and a career-high 58 hitouts - just 24 hours after Max Gawn destroyed Callum Sinclair on Thursday night football - consider the challenge for the number one ruckman title on once again.
I'm going to back the Bulldogs' ruckman Tim English up here though because the amount of negative comments that has come his way since Friday night has been ridiculous. He was always going to be in for a rough evening, given that Grundy is one of the best ruckmen in the game today. English is only a 13-game veteran and I'm sure he would've learnt a thing or two from Friday night – have faith in him Bulldogs fans. His work around the ground was good - 17 disposals, six marks and six tackles suggests he works hard enough.
Loved Jordan Roughead's game against his old side. The way he just floated and took intercept marks at will – particularly in the first half – suggests a renewed and reinvigorated player. He took nine marks, most of them intercepts. Darcy Moore also played a blinder of a first half – his ability to read the play is superb and not only can he play as an intercept player, he can generate run from half back as well – recording eight rebound 50s from 20 disposals and five marks – both men will be huge come the business end of the season.
On an evening where the likes of Pendlebury and Sidebottom struggled to impact on the contest, it was the likes of Tom Phillips (29 disposals, eight marks, five rebound 50s, four inside 50s and two goals) and Taylor Adams (28 disposals, six clearances, eight tackles and five inside 50s) that had to stand up and deliver. I even thought that moving Jordan De Goey from the forward line in the first half – kicking 1.3 – to the middle in the second half helped out Collingwood a tad – he finished with 19 disposals, seven marks, three clearances and four inside 50s.