Australian Football

Match Report

The Western Bulldogs have won two matches in a row for the first time in over a year, as they overcame a disappointing Port Adelaide in humid and slippery conditions at Marrara Oval in Darwin on Saturday night. A crowd of just under 8,000 saw Port Power break away to an early lead and dominate much of the first half, before the Dogs clicked into gear with a match-winning third quarter.

After Liam Jones kicked the first goal of the match from a set shot at the three-minute mark of the opening term, the Bulldogs struggled to get the ball into their forward line for the remainder of the first half, and to hold it there for any length of time on the rare occasions that they did. Only accuracy in front of goal - the Dogs kicked 4.0 to half time - and a converse lack of straight kicking from Port Adelaide (5.5 at the main break) had Brendan McCartney's men within two goals when third-quarter proceedings got under way.

To make matters worse for the Bulldogs, Tom Williams suffered yet another cruel injury blow when he dislocated his shoulder in a seemingly innocuous incident half way through the second term. The unlucky Williams has struggled to string a run of games together at any stage of his career because of a wretched run of leg and shoulder injuries.

The cruel blow, however, did turn out to be somewhat of a blessing in disguise for the Dogs, as Williams was subbed out of the game and replaced by Daniel Giansiracusa, who immediately gave the Bulldogs forward line renewed spark. That spark became more evident in the third quarter, as the Bulldogs use of the ball became cleaner, which led to goals from Dylan Addison, Bob Murphy, Giansiracusa himself, Luke Dahlhaus and Jason Johannisen. The Power could manage only four behinds in reply and the Dogs turned an 11-point half-time deficit into a 19-point lead at the last change.

Port Adelaide fought the game out well in the last quarter, closing the gap to nine points but the trying conditions saw scoring at a premium in the last few minutes, and the Dogs held on for a gutsy, if unattractive, win.

In the absence of the injured Adam Cooney and skipper Matthew Boyd, stand-in captain Ryan Griffen led the Bulldogs magnificently, with 40 possessions and an important second-quarter goal. Third-year player Tom Liberatore (35 disposals) was almost as good. The Power, who have now lost five matches in a row after winning their first five of the year, were well served by veteran Kane Cornes (28 touches) and Chad Wingard (two goals and 22 disposals).

The Bulldogs, who had not won two consecutive games since rounds seven and eight last year, will now have a well-earned bye before taking on Collingwood in round 12, while Port will also have a week off before they take on GWS at the Sydney Showground.

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 2; Jones, Williams, Griffen, Minson, Addison, Murphy, Dahlhaus, Johannisen
Port Adelaide: Wingard 2; Butcher, Hitchcock, Ebert, Boak, Westhoff, Logan

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Western Bulldogs: Griffen, Liberatore, Giansiracusa, Morris, Murphy, Minson, Goodes
Port Adelaide: Cornes, Wingard, Ebert, O'Shea, Westhoff

BEST - THE AGE
Western Bulldogs: Griffen, Liberatore, Giansiracusa, Minson, Murphy, Morris
Port Adelaide: Wingard, Brad Ebert, Cornes, Hartlett, O'Shea, Monfries

COACHES' COMMENTS
Brendan McCartney (WB): It was warm, and players from both teams, you could see at the end there was nothing left. It probably wasn't the greatest spectacle because of that but both teams gave an enormous amount. We knew they [Port Adelaide] would keep going and our focus was if we stuck to what we thought would get us over the line, we'd have to do it all day and it proved we did.

Ken Hinkley (Port): It was really disappointing. I think it just came down to a little more want in the third quarter. They [the Bulldogs] just wanted the win. They wanted to win the ball; the won the contested possession really well.

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Williams (right shoulder), Stevens (right leg)
Port Adelaide: Redden (right shoulder)

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Daniel Giansiracusa replaced Tom Williams in the second quarter
Port Adelaide: Kane Mitchell replaced John Butcher in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Hosking, Kamolins, Jeffery