Curtains close On Bulldogs campaign

Round 10 of the AFL’s 2018 season has arrived and with it comes the end of the Western Bulldogs’ premiership campaign after a 35-point trampling at the hands of Collingwood on Friday night.

Played out at Etihad Stadium in front of more than 37,000 onlookers, Collingwood overcame a one-sided first quarter to defeat the Bulldogs 13.12 (90) to 8.7 (55).

There’s still plenty of football remaining in the season and the Western Bulldogs will be one of 18 sides along for the ride, but barring a miracle from the Gods above, the boys in red, white and blue will not play finals.

Friday’s match showcased the Western Bulldogs at their worst, downhill skiing to an incredible degree.

Collingwood controlled the majority of the possession in the first quarter but the Bulldogs managed to light them up, out-tackling them 21 to ten and with a few helpful decisions from the umpires blasted five goals to one.

With a little luck on their side the Bulldogs fought hard for the ball and set up a tidy advantage early.

In the second quarter Collingwood fought back from the ropes, bumping up their pressure and speed around the contest and booting four goals to three to be within 18-points reach at half-time.

(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)

After feeling the heat from Collingwood in the second term, the Western Bulldogs returned from the main break and completely shirked the contest.

In the second half they managed just four behinds while at the other end the Magpies slotted eight majors to set up what evolved into an easy win.

With Collingwood’s trademark high-possession football firmly in place after half-time – 469 possessions to 374 – the Bulldogs pressure evaporated, with the tackle count finishing even at 58 apiece.

The Bulldogs were smashed in the contested possession by 31.

Last week it wasn’t too hard to forgive the Bulldogs for kicking just two goals in a match. In Round 9 they played Adelaide, a top-four fancy, in Adelaide, in miserable conditions. Constantly consumed by wind and rain, scoring was difficult for both sides, and in the end the better side comfortably got the job done.

The Bulldogs registered more than 100 tackles in four quarters of hard footy, and while they clearly lacked the skill to match the Crows, at least you could say they tried.

No such excuse or justification can be afforded to the Bulldogs in Round 10.

The Western Bulldogs now sit in 13th spot with four wins and with a percentage worse than one-win Brisbane. Looking ahead, it’s about to get a lot worse.

Up next for the Western Bulldogs are eight consecutive matches against teams within reach or within the top eight.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

First is top-four placed Melbourne followed by a road trip to South Australia to face Port Adelaide. Then back to Melbourne for the much-improved Kangaroos, then Geelong and Hawthorn.

The Bulldogs then take on Melbourne for a second time followed by ladder leaders West Coast and finally Port Adelaide for a second time. After that it’s Round 20 and match with St Kilda in August. It’s hard to see them winning any matches between now and then.

Jackson McCrae was good again, chalking up 30 disposals, seven marks and four tackles, but with just six contested possessions and no clearances you start to wonder what the point of it all is.

Toby McLean battled hard for 33 touches and ten tackles to go with seven clearances and five inside 50s. It’s a real shame that so few of his teammates tried to match his tempo.

There are 22 players out there in the red, white and blue and there’s a greater than one in six chance that when a tackle was laid by the Dogs it was one bloke in McLean.

If I was a Collingwood fan, I’d be getting excited. The Pies now sit in sixth spot with six wins and have a great month ahead. The run begins with a very winnable encounter with Fremantle at the MCG, then Melbourne, Carlton, the Gold Coast and Essendon.

I’d be giving Collingwood a chance to win all of those matches, the toughest being Melbourne. Conservatively saying that they get done by the Demons, that still leaves Collingwood with ten wins before Round 17.

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Last season 15 wins put a side (Adelaide) on top of the ladder, 14 wins and a strong percentage got you a top-four spot and 12 wins and a modest percentage landed you in the eight or just outside.

The energy from Collingwood is mostly generated from the midfield at this stage, and when it all comes together they’re one of the best in the comp to watch.

Adam Treloar could collect 35 disposals with his eyes closed, Scott Pendlebury is a captain who needs no introduction and Taylor Adams is ruthless in patches.

Jack Crisp has become an excellent user of the footy and Steele Sidebottom is a top-tier midfielder who flies under the radar.

Levi Greenwood is another strong addition, applying pressure to opposition midfielders in tight like few can, and Daniel Wells was missing from this outfit tonight but is more than capable of dictating the flow of play.

You’ve also got Jordan De Goey, a goal-kicking machine who loves winning his own footy, and Will Hoskin-Elliot, who has rewarded Collingwood for their interest in him.

Did I mention Brodie Grundy? He’s arguably the best ruckman in the competition. Grundy crushed the Bulldogs combo of Tom Boyd and Jarryd Roughead in the ruck 38 hit outs to 18. He also collected 26 disposals and seven marks.

The sky’s the limit for this Collingwood outfit if they can get it all working at once. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the Western Bulldogs.

Over the coming weeks the Bulldogs are likely to be put to the sword time and time again and they’ll be forced to ask some serious questions about the talent on their list, the application of certain players and the strength of their game plan.