Greater Western Sydney have strengthened their grip on a top-two finish with an emphatic 48-point AFL win over the Western Bulldogs.
The Giants led a see-sawing contest on Friday night by four points at halftime then surged to a 16.9 (105) to 7.15 (57) win at Etihad Stadium on the back of six unanswered goals in the third quarter.
Controversial GWS forward Toby Greene was reported for a third time this season during the pivotal third term.
Greene’s right boot caught Luke Dahlhaus in the face in a marking contest, sending the Bulldogs’ forward off with blood steaming from his nose.
It was a rare lowlight in a strong second-half performance from Leon Cameron’s side.
Jonathon Patton set the tone early with three first-quarter goals – he finished with four – as the visitors established a 10-point lead at the first break.
The Bulldogs managed to snatch the momentum back in a blistering opening to the second quarter, but wasted their dominance with wasteful kicking for goal.
Luke Beveridge’s men led the inside-50 count 18-1 at one stage, but only managed 3.6 for the term to trail by four points at halftime.
Dylan Shiel (30 possessions), Josh Kelly (25 disposals and two goals) and Stephen Coniglio (25 touches) were important as the Giants made their move in the third.
Greene, who was loudly booed by most of the 30,672 fans throughout, booted his second goal shortly after his clash with Dahlhaus.
Kelly added two of his own in the telling quarter as GWS leapt out to a 38-point lead at the last change.
With the sting out of the game, Tory Dickson scored the Bulldogs’ first goal of the second half, 24 minutes into the final term, but it was too little far too late.
“It was a terrific win,” Cameron said.
“I’m really proud of the players because they haven’t experienced much Friday night footy in Melbourne when the spotlight is right on you.”
Cameron defended Greene, who he said clearly had his eyes on the ball when he made high contact with Dahlhaus.
The Giants were on the wrong side of a lopsided 65-34 inside-50 count and Beveridge bemoaned his side’s inability to make the most of that dominance.
“Their strike rate going inside 50 was off the charts and ours was the polar opposite,” he said.
“We played with reasonable method at times, but (poor) skill and decisions really hurt us.”
The Bulldogs will look to get their finals campaign back on track when they host Port Adelaide in Ballarat in round 22, while GWS take on West Coast at Spotless Stadium.
Mattyb
Guest
Can agree with that IAP. These forward entries for no goals has been a problem for a long time. The delivery is terrible. Our skills across the whole side are actually very poor. I also think our advantage last year of having so many of the same players is becoming a weekness due to poor skills. We also do lack quality forwards though,Diksons ok but has had a lean year,Stringers inconsistent,Redpath is ok but in an average sense and that's about it. All the other forwards are midfielders forced to play forward. Recruiting a lively little forward would be very handy. Boyd needs to come on as a forward not ruckman. English is interesting,what I've seen he can be very good. At other times though he really does lack strength,in a major way,hopefully he gets stronger soon. Greene has good goal sense just doesn't get enough of the ball yet in the VFL. He's the sort who only touches the ball say 7 times but ends up with 4 goals.
I ate pies
Guest
That the dogs didn't kick a goal because the AFL gave GWS unprecedented amounts of help to create their team? Good on ya. They didn't kick a goal because their game plan is stuffed.
Mark
Guest
You do realise you use the phrase "born to rule" every time you rant about the Blues? I don't think you even know what it means.
Mark
Guest
No misinterpretation, you're just deflecting.
I ate pies
Guest
No doubt they've been found out this year, and I've said it a few times; there's a fundamental flaw in their game plan when they can have double the inside 50's and lose by 50 points. It's not the fault of the forward line; the game plan is shot. I expect a fully rebuilt gameplan next year. I don't agree that they won the premiership due to luck last year; they started the year on fire with a full squad, battled injuries and got their important players back for the finals. It's not coincidence that they played well when their full team was on the park. There's some injury excuse for this year; they don't have a backline at the moment, but the gameplan issue still stands.
I ate pies
Guest
Way to misinterpret what I said.
Mitcher
Guest
Agree with what you're saying fully. And this is probably not desperately required. But I'd much prefer if the 'Battle of the Bridge' was not perpetuated. I know the swans don't promote that rubbish and have a feeling even the Giants have realised how ridiculous it is. Not everything has to be branded. A 'derby' is a pretty well recognised term for a local rivalry. It says it all. And if you're going to brand it, at least take it out of the hands of Victorians who don't actually know anything (not all, just those involved here) about the make up of this city. While I'm on a roll. 'Q Clash'. Cringeworthy contrived tripe.
Mattyb
Guest
Haha,possibly true tibor. There an awfully strange lot the blues fans around here. We've been hearing about this born to rule rise for years now but it never seems to eventuate.
Mattyb
Guest
Me too,I think it was a perfect storm and possibly a fairytale but I'm not sure about the Bradbury anology,that doesn't even make any sense. Agree with tie dice thing but that's when premierships are won,during the finals,and that's why we have the term March champions for teams not up to it. I still think the MCG GF against the top side played a huge role in the premiership more so than anything else,but there the rules so what can you do.
BigAl
Guest
. . . he's right up there with Cantona.
Mark
Guest
Hahahaha, nicely played tibor.
Mark
Guest
That's your excuse for not kicking a goal in an hour of footy?
J.T. Delacroix
Guest
Scathing, but accurate. He seems determined to take it up (or down) a notch every match he plays. Fending an opponent off with your boot studs is just the latest. There's something very wrong with that boy.
tibor nagy (big four sticks)
Guest
Bulldog losses may not concern you greatly but Carlton losses sure do.
me too
Roar Rookie
Not sure it's a premiership program as much as other teams know how to beat them. Last year the dogs on a dice were averaging a 4, then the finals came and suddenly they rolled 6 four times straight. Played out of their skins and had an awful lot of luck, both with the umpiring and with taking out influential opponents like Ward in the prelim and Hannebury in the final. Everything fell into place. They are a gutsy team, but you can bet Beveridge could not believe his luck when he found himself on the dias. Our Bradbury Gold Medalists.
Mattyb
Guest
Doggies were pretty ordinary in the second half but didn't play as badly as reflected in the scoreline. They certainly didn't play well. Same old problems as every other week,shocking entries in the forward line and often poor disposal,added to with poor goal kicking. There's clearly a premiership hangover,I can even feel it myself that the loses don't overly concern me,not that they do normally but they certainly feel different. I doubt the dogs play finals from here,and even if we do I doubt they are going on a miracle spree like last year.
Dier-ba-zor
Guest
Even if they had they would have still lost.
Mickyo
Guest
Bullies did not play that bad, GWS was just very strong all across the ground, the run is fantastic, they may win it this year No real case to answer for Greene and FWIW his past offences this year have been remarkably mild compared to the hype, they showed them last night.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Giants coming out of their flat spot. I have a feeling they are tapering from a heavy training load. It's shaping up to be an absolute slobber knocker of A Prelim Final - The Battle of the Bridge and probably Grand Final winner
Paul W
Guest
"Greene’s right boot caught Luke Dahlhaus in the face in a marking contest", no it was a handball receive. A deliberate dirty studs up act from an obnoxious piece of pond scum.