Australian Football

Match Report

Sydney overcame a sluggish start to pummel an inexperienced Western Bulldogs outfit by 82 points at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. In what has become a familiar script for the Bulldogs over recent weeks, Brendan McCartney's men were highly competitive in the first half but fell away dramatically in the latter part of this match. The Dogs were clearly 'up and about' in the first quarter, and displayed a run-and-carry style of football that hasn't been on display very often in 2012. Their quick ball-movement caught Sydney off guard, and the Dogs had six goals on the board by quarter time. It was the Bulldogs' best first quarter effort for the season. Strong marks and consequential goals to Mike Pyke kept the Swans within touch.

As the game progressed, Sydney stepped up the tempo, with Josh Kennedy leading the way. The Dogs began to wilt under pressure, with one notable exception. Ryan Griffen, who had missed the previous week with a back spasm, racked up an amazing 25 touches in the first half, and he appeared to be playing the game on another plane compared to most others on the ground. Sydney's midfield dominance began to yield results in the third quarter and the Swans took a 34-point lead into the last change. It would have been more but for two late goals from Dylan Addison, who has shown himself to be a handy player up forward after spending most of his 74-game career in defence.

It remained to be seen whether the young Dogs could grind out the last quarter and stay within striking distance or the Swans would step up the pace and blow the Bulldogs away. Happily for Sydney, it proved to be the latter, as John Longmire's men piled in 10 goals to two, including one to Mitch Morton playing his first game for his third club, to run out 82-point winners. With games against fellow top-four aspirants – Hawthorn and West Coast – to come, the match was a good 'tune-up' for the Swans. Adam Goodes played probably his best match since returning from injury, kicking three goals, and with Roberts-Thomson, Mumford and Pyke all doing the same, the Swans demonstrated that they have several goal-kicking options other than Sam Reid, who kicked two. For the Dogs, the season's end probably can't come soon enough, although youngsters Johannisen, Jong, Roberts and Skinner will all benefit from the senior experience they are getting. Tory Dickson kicked another three goals for the Dogs and the mature-aged first-season player has proved to be a more-than-handy acquisition.

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Addison 4; Dickson 3; Giansiracusa 2; Cordy, Johannisen, Lake, Picken
Sydney: Goodes, Mumford, Pyke, Roberts-Thomson 3; Hannebery, McGlynn, O'Keefe, Reid 2; Jack, Jetta, Kennedy, McVeigh, Morton, Parker

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Western Bulldogs: Griffen, Boyd, Smith, Dickson, Addison, Jong
Sydney: Kennedy, Jack, Pyke, Goodes, Parker, O'Keefe, Roberts-Thomson, Grundy

BEST - HERALD SUN
Western Bulldogs: Griffen, Addison, Dickson, Boyd, Smith
Sydney: Kennedy, Jack, O'Keefe, Goodes, Pyke, Mumford, Roberts-Thomson

COACHES COMMENTS
Brendan McCartney (WB): [Sydney] have got a great balance of attack and defence. The scoreboard was disappointing; the effort wasn't and the spirit wasn't but we paid a heavy price whenever we didn't complete the basics of the game well.

John Longmire (Syd): The signs weren't great in the first quarter that we were bringing in a significant effort but I thought the final three quarters was really strong.

Umpires: Fleer, Mollison, Bannister