WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.1 Â 6.6 Â 10.7 Â 12.11 (83)
WEST COAST 4.4 Â 5.4 Â 8.6 Â 11.9 (75)
Goals: Western Bulldogs: T Liberatore 3 J Redpath 2 J Stringer 2 T Campbell 2 J Dunkley L Hunter L Picken. West Coast: E Yeo 2 J Darling 2 J Hill 2 M LeCras 2 C Masten J Kennedy M Hutchings.
Best: Western Bulldogs: L Hunter T Liberatore J Macrae M Adams M Bontempelli M Boyd. West Coast: M Priddis A Gaff L Shuey S Hurn C Masten J Hill.
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Matt Stevic, Andrew Stephens.
Official Crowd: 28,769 at Etihad Stadium.
The Western Bulldogs moved into the top four at the halfway point of the season with a hard fought eight point win over the West Coast Eagles at Etihad Stadium, the hosts booting 12.11 (83) to the visitors 11.9 (75).
It was a performance that should help alleviate some of the criticism of the West Australians hitherto awful away record, but it was also a result that will give the Dogs plenty of heart, their young team able to win without their skipper, with Easton Wood a late withdrawal, and holding firm in the face of a frantic late onslaught from the visitors.
This game began at a furious clip, both sides looking to run the other ragged in the manner of a boxer seeking a quick knock out in a title fight.
Given the poor form displayed by the Eagles on the road that probably wasn't a bad idea from the Bulldogs' point of view.
After all they are a team known for their running power, their slick handball and their ability to shut down opposing forward lines. What better plan than to land some knock out blows early and quickly put away a side that, to be blunt, hasn't always looked up for it when they are away from the home ground comforts of Perth.
It was just their bad luck that this time the Eagles were in the mood.
They were competitive, aggressive, fast and determined in an opening stanza that promised a frenetic shoot out.
The visitors looked to assert themselves at the clearances, get first use of the ball and drive the ball forward quickly to their big marking targets, Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling, helping them dominate possession early on.
The Dogs, in trademark style, focussed on their quick handpasses to find teammates in congested areas before opening space for an overlap or an unmarked target in a forward zone.
Jack Redpath has shown improvement this season and is looking to add mobility and workrate to his marking ability: it paid off as he booted the Dogs in front in the opening minutes and weighed in with another first quarter goal. Kennedy, in contrast, went to the break without a single statistic to his name although it didn't prevent the visitors taking a narrow four point advantage at the first change.
Those expecting a similarly fluid exchange in the second quarter would have been disappointed: the teams might have shared eight goals in the first period, but they could only manage three between them in the next as the Dogs began to impose themselves on their rivals by winning more of the ball in contested areas.
Bulldogs forward Jake Stringer added to his first quarter strike with a banana shot from a free awarded for deliberate out of bounds, and Tom Liberatore booted home from outside 50 metres. Redpath and Jordan Roughead took strong marks inside 50 and had they been more accurate the hosts could have taken a healthier lead than the eight-point margin they did hold to the long break, Darling's long range shot keeping the Eagles in touch.
Simplicity in this game is a virtue, and the Eagles showed how easy it could be right at the start of the third term when Nic Naitanui won the hit out and drove the ball forward to Elliot Yeo, who goaled within 15 seconds of the restart.
The Dogs dug in, however, and slowly began to stretch their rivals.
Goals to Lachie Hunter, Liam Picken and Liberatore made it three in a row to Luke Beveridge's men, and when Tom Campbell marked and goaled with some four minutes remaining in the quarter the lead was out to a game-high 19 points.
Given their record away from home the Eagles looked like they had a mountain to climb, although Josh Hill gave them some hope when he reduced the deficit at the final change to 13 points with a late third quarter goal
The Dogs' final quarter inaccuracy could have proved costly – captain for the day Marcus Bontempelli, standing in for Wood, Josh Dunkley and Tory Dickson all missed set shots – but Campbell's long range bomb seemed to put the Dogs beyond reach.
The Eagles fought back strongly, goals by Mark Hutchings, Kennedy and Chris Masten getting them to within three points as the game reached boiling point but Liberatore's snap in the dying minutes gave the Dogs the edge they deserved.
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