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AFL top 100: Round 3 review (Part 1)

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Roar Guru
3rd April, 2021
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While every round has its share of historical highlights, the Easter round of 2021 had more than its fair share after the record books were consulted about the rampaging Bulldogs’ 128-point thrashing of North Melbourne.

For starters it was the greatest winning margin the club had ever had against any team, eclipsing the 115-point margin that it beat Richmond by in Round 1 of 2006. It was also the highest score the Bulldogs had ever scored against the Kangaroos, beating the previous best by three points.

The win gave the club top position on the ladder, at least temporarily, with over 300 points scored in three games so far.

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In such an avalanche of goals you might expect that many of the leading goalscorers of the club would have been involved, but this was not the case. Just four of the five multiple goalscorers having all arrived at the club since 2017.

The only existing top 100 goalscorer at the Bulldogs to even score a goal was captain Marcus Bontempelli, whose long bomb brought the crowd to their feet and also drew the Bont level on the Doggies goalscoring list with former teammate and fellow captain Ryan Griffin, who became disillusioned with the Bulldogs after the 2014 season and moved on to Greater Western Sydney.

Bailey Dale, who joined the club in 2015, kicked two goals, which elevated him to top-100 goalscorer status, where he now shares 97th place with Cliff MacRae (1935-39); Daniel Hargraves (1994-97); Tasmanian Alan Rait (1933-34); who held the club record of nine goals in a game for some time; and Jim Sewell (1983-86).

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For the hapless Kangaroos, two of their goalscorers, Jaidyn Stephenson and Charlie Lazzaro, scored their first goals for the club in a promising sign for the future.

The Adelaide game saw the club’s No. 1 goalscorer continue his outstanding form in season 2021 to see the Crows over the line by ten points. The nailbiting match also highlighted goalscoring star of the future Ben King, who kicked four majors for the Suns to take his total goals past 50.

The Thursday night game had set the scene for a big Easter round, with the Lions getting up to win by one point after the siren. New recruit Joe Daniher was the leading goalscorer for Brisbane with three goals, but Lions centurions Charlie Cameron, Eric Hipwood and Daniel Rich all contributed.

Collingwood had two centurions – Jordan de Goey and Steele Sidebottom – contribute goals, but they also had among their goalscorers three players whose tally of goals is now in the 90s and are therefore potential centurions this year.

In the later Good Friday game in Adelaide, Taylor Walker continued his outstanding form with another six goals that, despite Western Bulldogs player Josh Bruce kicking ten, was enough for him remain clubhouse leading goalscorer early in the season.

Walker, already the No. 1 goalscorer at the Crows, is moving steadily up the AFL top 100 goalscorers list, moving ahead of Travis Cloke and Garry Wilson. He’s is now only one goal behind former Collingwood star Albert Pannam, who played for Collingwood in the 1930s and 1940s, in 71st position.

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