Western Bulldogs 1.4 3.5 5.7 10.11.71 Geelong 3.5 4.8 6.11 7.13.55
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 4, Lloyd 3, Dickson, Bontempelli, B. Smith Geelong: Dangerfield 2, Hawkins, 2, Rohan, Kelly, Selwood
Alex Docherty’s Best
Western Bulldogs: Naughton, Bontempelli, Macrae, Dunkley, Hunter, Trengove, Johannisen Geelong: Stanley, Stewart, Dangerfield, Clark, Tuohy, Kelly
When are we allowed to start murmuring that magical word that starts with the letter F? No not the one that Brian Taylor dropped on Grand Final day nearly three years ago, but the word I’m thinking of is along the lines of it.
Just a week after taking care of Port Adelaide in a rain-sodden Adelaide Oval, the Western Bulldogs have claimed another massive scalp in the form of the top-of-the-table Geelong Cats, shocking one of the premiership favourites to the tune of 16 points on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium.
It was around this time last year that the Bulldogs broke an 11-game, nine year losing streak against the Cats in what was a bit of a shootout at the very same location. On this night however, we got the exact opposite. It was low-scoring, scrappy and it was riddled with turnovers from both teams. Having said that, wins are vital at this stage of the season, and the Western Bulldogs keep themselves in striking distance with the top eight.
This win is huge, considering the next three games are extremely winnable – it starts with next week against a Melbourne side that has been largely disappointing this season. It is then followed by games against St. Kilda and Fremantle at Marvel and both sides are out of form horrendously.
To say the Bulldogs must win these three games is a huge understatement, because their last month include games against Brisbane at the Gabba, GWS at Giants Stadium and games against finals aspirants Essendon and Adelaide. Strangely enough, the Bulldogs are 4-4 against sides inside the eight, having beaten Richmond, Brisbane, Port last week and now the Cats.
The game itself was hardly a spectacle. The Cats got off to a fast start, registering the first two goals of the match before the Dogs could get a score. It could’ve easily been a four or five goal lead early if they converted their opportunities. When Gary Rohan missed one from the 50-metre line in the 10-minute mark, the Bulldogs started making a small charge of their own, but for all their momentum, they could only get one goal out of it by quarter time.
It was a tough scrap for the first three quarters, with the Bulldogs failing to take the lead at any stage up until three-quarter time, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. They had 37 inside 50s in the opening three quarters but got a return for 5.7 – A lot of these inside 50 entries were poorly executed entries – either they lowered the eyes and the kick went off wrong or that they just bombed the ball long.
At times the Bulldogs looked really tidy going forward, but if they are a genuine sniff of September footy, they need to get some consistency with their forward 50 entries, but from what I saw last night, it is something they are working on. If maybe half the entries were effective, they could’ve really blown Geelong out of the water and it could’ve been a six or seven goal game by the end of it.
Nonetheless, that’s being a little bit picky. The last quarter was a joy to watch and overall, the attack on the Geelong players were outstanding from start to finish. I was a little worried that they were unable to run out the game, but full credit to Luke Beveridge and the players, they found the way to win. I think the standout was their pressure, they forced the Cats into making so many turnovers that they wouldn't normally make.
Aaron Naughton was the difference maker by full time, but he started the Bulldogs’ chain of goals in the last quarter. Marcus Bontempelli got them the lead shortly afterwards, before Naughton’s fourth and Bailey Smith’s ripping goal crumbing from the pack sealed what will be a memorable win of 2019.
Regardless on whether the Bulldogs feature in September, the last two weeks in particular have been massive steps forward compared to what we have seen over the past two years.
Leading The Way
Aaron Naughton has had a very lean month in the lead up to this game, with his past four games garnering a return of 2.5 – on Saturday night, he had nearly the same amount of scoring shots than his past month combined, kicking 4.1 from 14 disposals and nine marks – only two of those marks were contested, but five of those nine marks were inside 50. A spectacular performance by a second-year player against one of the league’s best defences.
The midfield, I keep rattling on about how good they have been and they proved no different here. Marcus Bontempelli (27 disposals, six marks, five clearances, six tackles, six inside 50s and one goal) continued his fine form. Likewise Josh Dunkley (27 disposals, four marks, nine tackles and three clearances) and Jack Macrae (34 disposals, five clearances and five marks).
Lachie Hunter has been a player I have been a quiet critic of. He gets his 25+ disposals a game, but I have genuinely questioned his impact on contests for a while now. On Saturday night he had himself 32 disposals, nine marks and seven inside 50s and reminded me that he can play the wing role well. He had a great last quarter, he worked his way around players and he was pretty effective with his disposal.
The Opposition
It was a rough night for the Cats. They lost Jake Kolodjashnij early and some of their finer players didn’t have much impact when the needed to. Gary Ablett had only 11 disposals, Tom Hawkins kicked two goals but was well beaten in several one-on-ones against Jackson Trengove, Luke Dahlhaus wasn’t spectacular facing his old side and Cam Guthrie only had 12 disposals.
I liked Rhys Stanley’s game in the ruck. He had Tim English’s number around the ground and in the hitouts. He finished the night with 20 disposals, 28 hitouts and six clearances in a grand effort. I thought he was the best Cat on the ground. Patrick Dangerfield (23 disposals, seven tackles and two goals) tried hard but he struggled to make the same impact he has done against the Bulldogs in recent years, whilst first-year player Jordan Clark (20 disposals, four rebound 50s and eight marks) is going to be a fine player in years to come.
In defence, the usual suspect down there is Tom Stewart (24 disposals, six rebound 50s and 10 marks), he had another great game for the Cats as he continues to firm for a second All-Australian. Zach Tuohy (30 disposals, 10 rebound 50s and six marks) played a fine game in defence, whilst Harry Taylor (17 disposals, 11 marks and four rebound 50s) was as solid and reliable as ever in the defensive half.