Australian Football

Match Report

The Western Bulldogs have broken a three-game losing streak and recorded their third success of 2014 with a gritty 16-point win over Melbourne in a tough, entertaining encounter at the MCG on Saturday night. The Dogs led for most of the night but did not shake off the Demons until the last minutes of the game, with late goals to Stewart Crameri and Jason Tutt seeing the away team to a narrow victory.

The Dogs started the match the better, with goals Adam Cooney and Crameri seeing them out to an early 14-point lead before James Frawley got the Demons on the board at the 18-minute mark. Tom Liberatore kicked the third for the Bulldogs soon after but Chris Dawes marked and goaled not long before quarter time for Melbourne to narrow the gap to six points at the first change.

Melbourne held a slight edge over the Dogs in the second term, kicking 3.3 to 2.5 to narrow the gap to just two points at half time, the Bulldogs 5.7 and the Demons 5.5.

The two sides that had kicked only 10 goals between them in the first half almost doubled that tally in the third term as the game opened up and one side, then the other held sway. Melbourne kicked five for the term, through Jay Kennedy-Harris, Dom Tyson, Mark Jamar, Bernie Vince and James Frawley, while the Bulldogs added four, via Ryan Griffen, Tom Williams (who had earlier been forced from the field with a calf injury), Daniel Giansiracusa and ruckman Will Minson, and at the last change of ends, the Demons held sway by five points.

The Bulldogs got off to a flying start in the final term with Tom Williams goaling in the first minute to put them back in front. Tom Liberatore added another three minutes later to extend the lead to seven points but the Demons came again, with substitute Christian Salem kicking his first at the six-minute mark to reduce the difference to two points. The Demons added two further behinds to level the scores before Jaosn Tutt snapped a major at the 12-minute mark to once again give the Dogs the lead.

A free kick to Kennedy-Harris resulted in a behind and then Dom Tyson kicked a beautiful long goal from a standing start to put Melbourne five points clear. At the 24-minute mark the lead changed for a final time when Crameri was awarded what many saw as a "soft" free kick. He converted successfully and his next goal and Tutt's second were enough to see the Dogs home.

The win, their third for 2014, was welcome relief for the Dogs, whose last two losses had come after they had led at various stages of those games. The team now has a week off before it takes on the Gold Coast Suns at Carrara in round 10.

Melbourne meanwhile sits 17th on the ladder with just two wins but coach Paul Roos will be pleased that the Demons are now playing tough football that is keeping them in games for much longer periods than in 2013 and even earlier this season. The club will take on MCG co-tenants next Saturday afternoon before having a week off in round 10.

GOALS
Melbourne: Kennedy-Harris, Frawley, Tyson 2; Dawes, Cross, Pedersen, Jamar, Vince, Salem
Western Bulldogs: Crameri 4; Williams 3; Liberatore, Tutt 2; Cooney, Griffen, Minson, Giansiracusa

BEST - SPORTAL.COM.AU
Melbourne: Tyson, Jones, Frawley, Jamar, Cross, Viney, Vince
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Minson, Williams, Crameri, Cooney

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Melbourne: Cross, Tyson, Vince, N.Jones, McDonald, Viney
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Dahlhaus, Cooney, Crameri, Johannisen, Williams

COACHES' COMMENTS
Paul Roos (Melb): We're still developing obviously. The Bulldogs are probably, in terms of development, two and a half years in and we're seven games in. At crucial times in the game they just did those little things better than we did and in the end that was really the difference. It was a terrific, combative game but at the end of the day it just showed that the Bulldogs' development at this stage is a bit ahead of ours.

Brendan McCartney (WB): Their form's been really solid. They pushed Sydney, kept at the Gold Coast all day and had a great win on the road last week, so it was never going to be easy. The message to the players in the last couple of the days and particularly tonight was, "Just keep at it because there's not going to be anything given to you". It was a solid effort, an important win for where we're at.

INJURIES
Melbourne: Frawley (right thigh), Terlich (concussion)
Western Bulldogs: Dickson (left shoulder), Williams (right calf)

SUBSTITUTES
Melbourne: Christian Salem replaced Dean Terlich in the third quarter.
Western Bulldogs: Daniel Giansiracusa replaced Tory Dickson in the second quarter.

UMPIRES: Fleer, Stevic, Stephens

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Brian Taylor, Luke Darcy, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling