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An easy win by the Bulldogs tonight at Etihad controlling the game from start to finish to run out winners by 57 points.
They dominated through the midfield and across half back where Jason Johannisen, Shane Biggs and captain Bob Murphy gave them plenty of run and drive. Marcus Adams was also brilliant in defence finishing with 24 possessions, 13 of which were contested and also had five marks.
The Dogs defence has now conceded just 38 and 36 points in their opening two games, and extraordinary performance. Their midfield has played a big role as they have simply dominated their opponents.
Tonight Lachie Hunter, Tom Liberatore, Jackson Macrae and Mitch Wallis did as they pleased. In fact in the last quarter they led uncontested possession 94-34 reflecting how easily they were able to keep the ball off the Saints.
Up forward Stringer was dangerous but not dominant, but he did do a lot of work further up the ground and finished with 18 disposals and 8 marks and kicked 2.2.
Tom Boyd had am encouraging second half where he kicked 3 goals.
For the Saints Montagna, Steven and Armitage tried hard but had had little support. The younger members of the midfield were fairly quiet and failed to assert themselves.
Nick Riewoldt in his 300th game tried hard and had 23 possessions, 17 of which were uncontested and finished with 14 marks. Again he had little support with Josh Bruce and Patrick McCartin having quiet nights.
Overall though a good strong win by the Bulldogs, not sexy like last week but comprehensive enough in a generally scrappy game and won the way a good team should against an inferior opponent. With better kicking for goal the Dogs should have won by a lot more.
Final score
St Kilda 5.6.36
Bulldogs 13.15.93
The St Kilda Saints take on the daunting task of trying to stop the hottest team in football when they tackle the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:25pm (AEDT).
So impressive was the Dogs’ stunning 65-point thumping of Fremantle Dockers last week, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan was moved to say that the Dogs played “sexy” football.
That comment may have been a tad over the top, but there’s no denying it was exciting to watch. The Dogs controlled the game from the start, kicking seven goals to nil in the first quarter. They had a staggering 150 more disposals than the Dockers and held them to just 30 inside forward 50s.
Captain Robert Murphy, along with Shane Briggs and Jason Johannisen, gave the Dogs great drive off half back, accumulating over 100 possessions between them.
Everything worked for the Dogs, their forward line applied tremendous pressure, and Jake Stringer continued his climb to superstar status with a mercurial five-goal performance.
Even their multi-team tagging performance against reigning Dockers’ Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe worked a treat, with the Dogs rotating nearly a dozen players on Fyfe and keeping him to just 15 possessions.
St Kilda need to stop the Dogs’ pace around the packs, and they showed some promise in last week’s loss to Port. The Saints led at every break and by as much as 21 points late in the third quarter, before running out of legs and conceding nine of the last ten goals of the match.
The Saints were good in congested possessions leading the Power in clearances 61-40, thanks mainly to David Armitage and Jack Steven – who had 21 clearances between them – and ruckman Tom Hickey, who had a massive 57 hit outs.
They will also be keen to do well for their captain Nick Riewoldt, who plays his 300th game.
Patrick McCartin returns for the Saints to try and boost their attack but it’s hard to see the Saints having enough avenues to hold the Dogs to a losing score.
Prediction
In their Round 6 match last season, the Saints staged a remarkable comeback from 55 points down to win by seven.
The Bulldogs won’t be taking them lightly and will again rely on their plethora of running players, and one of the sharpest attacks in the league.
Bulldogs by 33 points.
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