Western Bulldogs 2.2 6.6 8.9 9.15.69
Fremantle 4.3 6.7 9.9 13.10.88
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Lloyd 2, Smith, Hunter, Hayes, Wallis, Gowers, Dickson, Bontempelli
Fremantle: Matera 5, Mundy 2, Walters 2, Brayshaw, Hogan, Fyfe, Taberner
Alex Docherty's Best
Western Bulldogs: Daniel, English, Hunter, Smith, Macrae, Wallis
Fremantle: Mundy, Fyfe, Matera, Hill, Langdon, Wilson, Hamling
Fremantle have honoured a club great in David Mundy, securing their fourth win of 2019 – and the Bulldogs fourth consecutive loss in the process – with a 19 point win at Optus Stadium on Saturday night. In front of a big crowd of over 43,000, the Dockers rallied in the fourth quarter to run away with a win that puts them into the top four after six rounds.
The Bulldogs simply needed to respond after a disasterous Easter Sunday game, and for the most part, they did. The first quarter wasn't particularly great, as Fremantle opened up a two-goal lead early in the piece, but the Dogs kept it that way until quarter time, kicking a further two goals apiece. Could've easily been a one-kick game if it weren't for a silly bump off the ball from Tom Liberatore, who laid out Michael Walters after Lachie Hunter kicked the Dogs' second goal.
It was then the Bulldogs who controlled the second term and the start of the third, and opened up a seven-point lead early in the second half. But it was how they controlled the ball, and pressured Fremantle into numerous turnovers in the second quarter that I liked. It shows that they wanted to play, and they had an eye for wanting to win – which was a polar opposite to last week. It was looking like it would be a lot closer this week.
When Tory Dickson put the Dogs seven points up with a roost from 45 metres out, it was nine minutes into the third quarter. Freo needed someone to stand up, and you couldn't have scripted it any better, as the milestone man playing his 300th game stood up for the occasion. David Mundy must have won a truckload of the ball in the third term, because everything was going his way and he just simply owned the third quarter.
He was on the end of a handball from Andrew Brayshaw and unloaded from long range to kick his first and put Fremantle back within a point. After an easy goal from Brandon Matera gave the Dockers back the lead, it was Mundy again who had the chance to put them further in front with another shot from 50 metres out. There wouldn't be many people who could kick clutch goals like Mundy – and true to form, he belted this kick just past the goal line for a second of the quarter
Consider the momentum swung in favour of the Dockers. But Marcus Bontempelli was on target for a change and struck home a kick from outside the 50 metre arc to keep the Dogs in with a chance in the last quarter – just one straight kick separating the two sides. It was really anyone's game until the halfway mark of the last quarter.
Fremantle turned the jets on and blasted the Dogs out of Optus Stadium with four goals in the opening 17 minutes – consider it game, set and match. Not quite sure what happened in the first half of the final quarter, the Dogs just didn't look like they saw it coming. Brandon Matera kicked three of those four goals and just had no answer for him here. Shortly after Matera's fifth of the night, Sam Lloyd bobbed up for his second and they were back within four kicks with a bit of time to go.
The second half of that final quarter was a much better effort. Except there was one crucial thing they missed out on – the goalkicking aspect of it all. The final term overall, the Bulldogs kicked 1.6 – missing some easy shots on goal. Tory Dickson missed one from 30 metres out that he would often kick in his sleep and Josh Dunkley missed a close range shot, albeit on a tight angle. But it shouldn't be an excuse really – AFL players dob those ones in on a weekly basis.
Will Hayes and Mitch Wallis also missed gettable shots late in the game. That's four goals that should've been kicked and the margin could've easily swung back in favour of the Bulldogs. The past month has been shambolic in front of the big sticks – and it's not hard to see Luke Beveridge quite distressed about it in his press conference. It's about time he seriously did something about this, because it's been an ongoing issue for the last couple of years.
Get a goalkicking coach that actually knows what he is doing or at least line up half the team to do 100 shots on goal and then do 100 more because it's becoming beyond a joke, having to watch paid professionals butcher simple shots on goal that reserve grade players can slot through nine times out of ten. Last year they kicked 224.231 and the year before they kicked 260.297 and right now, they're on track to do it again. Whatever the problem is, it needs to be rectified quick smart.
Leading The Way
Caleb Daniel was best on for mine. So far in 2019, he has recorded 30 disposals or more in four of the six games – including this one. 30 disposals, eight rebound 50s, six marks and three inside 50s. Some people call for him to be moved up the ground and away from the defence – I say keep him at half back. He is without question, the smartest ball user we have and he's been brilliant at generating some offence down back more often than not.
Lachie Hunter was another that I thought was consistent throughout the game. Yes he turned the ball over a fair bit, but he wasn't the only one there that did it. A lot of people fail to realise that he works up and down the ground as hard as anyone. 32 disposals, eight marks, six rebound 50s, four inside 50s and a goal speaks a lot about his ability to work both ways. Don't worry too much about his contested work – we have enough of those – he's an elite two-way runner.
Tim English (17 disposals, seven marks and 21 hitouts) was fantastic against Rory Lobb – I'd say they broke even, with Lobb recording 10 more hitouts). I'll sound like a broken record, but English is seriously getting better with every game – he's going to be a beauty. Jack Macrae (29 disposals, four marks, four clearances and three inside 50s) was solid without having a starring role. Bailey Smith (23 disposals, five marks, five inside 50s and a goal) had his best game so far and Mitch Wallis (21 disposals, five clearances, three marks and one goal) worked tirelessly all night.
The Opposition
The Dockers might be 4-2 but as far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on them. I agree they've been better than the past few years, but they turned the ball over at times where good sides wouldn't. They were beaten in clearances by five and the inside 50 count was nearly even at 56-54 (Which probably says more about the Dogs than anything else). It will be interesting to see what happens when they come across a side like Geelong or a side like Collingwood, then we will see where they are really at.
Nat Fyfe (30 disposals, nine marks, five tackles and a goal) was at his best around the ground, but it was the work from David Mundy that impressed me more. Playing his 300th game, he recorded 28 disposals, six clearances, seven tackles, six inside 50s and kicked two goals in the third quarter, when they needed someone to stand up. The man might be 33 years of age, but he could seriously keep playing for another two or three years at the very least.
Brad Hill (30 disposals, five marks and six inside 50s) was quite good on the wing – perhaps his battle with Lachie Hunter on the opposite wing was one of the better match ups of the evening. Ed Langdon got plenty of the football (29 disposals, eight marks, four inside 50s and two clearances). Brandon Matera's five goals were instrumental in the win, although one may argue that a few of them were cheap out the back goals. But still, goals are goals and he's kicked nine in his past two games. Nathan Wilson (25 disposals and 10 rebound 50s) and Joel Hamling (16 disposals and five rebound 50s) were influential in defence.