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Bulldogs escape bullocking Brisbane

Bulldogs plays react after Travis Cloke (fourth from left) kicked a goal during the Round 1 AFL match between the Collingwood Magpies and Western Bulldogs at the MCG in Melbourne, Friday, March 24, 2017. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Editor
5th August, 2017
27

The Western Bulldogs’ premiership defence is alive – just.

But while a 15-point victory over a tremendously plucky Brisbane Lions sends them temporarily into the top eight, with three very difficult matches to come they will know they have to up the ante to so much as make it into the finals, never mind contend once more for the flag.

After a scrappy start, it was the Dogs who burst out of the blocks with a four-goal run late in the first quarter to turn the game their way.

Dominating out of the centre and dangerous up forward, with Marcus Bontempelli starring and Jack Macrae not far behind, it was all red, white and blue as the visitors stormed out to a 30-point lead midway through the second term.

And then, almost instantaneously, the match turned.

It began with Dayne Zorko, quiet early, putting through a couple of goals to get the Gabba crowd, silent thus far, up and about.

And with youngsters Alex Witherden and Jacob Allison shining and Daniel Rich’s lethal left foot given free reign by some loose checking from the Bulldogs’ forwards, the margin was whittled down.

First to twelve points at the main break, and then, to the delight of the home ground and underdog-lovers around the country, to an unlikely Lions lead as the wooden spoon favourites banged on six goals in a row to steamroll past the lethargic Bulldogs.

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Josh Walker was marking everything, Rich and Witherden were starring across half-back, and even more worryingly, the Dogs’ chances at steadying were repeatedly spurned by woeful kicking for goal, with Bontempelli and Jack Redpath serial offenders.

But the wise old heads of the Dogs were able to prevail in the last quarter, though not without a scare, as the Lions briefly relinquished the lead, then snatched it back again courtesy of a Ryan Bastinac space.

The Dogs always looked like they had an extra gear, however, slamming on the last three goals of the match to secure a very unconvincing, but even more important, away win – their second win in Queensland in three weeks.

So, what does this tell us? Well, the Lions, despite the loss, are looking more and more like a side to watch in the future under the calm leadership of Chris Fagan.

The youngsters, with the exception of the injured Cedric Cox (ankle), all showed sparks or, in the case of Witherden and Allison, veritable bushfires of talent, while Dayne Beams, Tom Rockliff and Rich were all tremendous in midfield.

For the Dogs, well, with GWS, Port Adelaide and Hawthorn to come, they have their work cut out for them to slide into the finals.

Three wins gets them in no matter what, but with the logjam in the middle of the ladder growing by the day, even a single loss could leave them at risk of being the first side since Hawthorn in 2009 to miss the finals after winning the premiership the year before.

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The match got off to an odd start with news that Bulldogs skipper and “travelling emergency” Robert Murphy would in fact be playing after all, with Jason Johannisen a late withdrawal after a back injury.

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