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Scoreboard | Match report | Match statistics
Round: 1 Venue: Docklands Date: Sun, 27-03-2016 1:10 pm Crowd: 27,832 | |||||
Western Bulldogs | 7.1.43 | 9.7.61 | 10.11.71 | 15.13.103 | C: Luke Beveridge |
Fremantle | 0.2.2 | 1.5.11 | 4.7.31 | 5.8.38 | C: Ross Lyon |
WBULL by 41 | WBULL by 50 | WBULL by 40 | WBULL by 65 |
Weather |
14.3°C 19.9°C |
1.0mm 46% 1023.1mb |
15km/h S |
Brownlow Medal | 3 Jason Johannisen (WBULL) | 2 Jake Stringer (WBULL) | 1 Shane Biggs (WBULL) |
It's a very dangerous thing to draw conclusions based on one match of football, particularly a round-one match, but the Western Bulldogs' irresistible performance against Fremantle on Sunday afternoon makes it very hard to conclude anything other than that Dogs are the 'real deal', a team capable of building on their surprising effort of making the finals last year, and going one or two steps further. With a blend of ferocity, skill and flare, the Bulldogs dismantled the Dockers and made them look second-rate for most of the afternoon. When one considers that Fremantle finished the 2015 home-and-away season atop the ladder, the effort looks all thew more impressive.
In the truth, the margin could have been far greater than the 65 points that it was. The Bulldogs, having set the game alight with a scintillating seven-goal-to-none first quarter, could easily have done something similar in the second but for wastefulness in front of goal. The Dogs had 11 shots at goal for the quarter, but could manage just 2.6, with three kicks not even scoring. All of the shots - even those that went out on the full - were gettable, and the half-time margin of 50 points should have been much greater.
The Freo of old emerged to a certain degree in the third quarter, the Dockers restricting the Bulldogs to just 1.4. Fremantle, however, could only conjure three majors of its own, and still trailed by 40 points at 'orange time'. The Dockers then kicked the first goal of the final term to create a flicker of hope but the Bulldogs then regained control to finish very strongly, the last five goals of the match giving them a convincing 11-goal win.
Jake Stringer took another step towards superstardom, with a magnificent five-goal performance for the Dogs, while Tom Liberatore - who missed the entire season last year with a knee injury - picked up where he left off in his best-and-fairest winning year of 2014, looking as good as ever. But all 22 Bulldogs played well, and there really wasn't a weak link in the side.
In contrast, Fremantle had very few winners, although Lachie Neale (32 possessions, four tackles) was solid all day. The Dockers looked slow at times, and their skill level was well below par. Whether this was a function of the Bulldogs pressure is debatable. The Dockers also struggled to find an avenue to goal, kicking just five for the match. It's difficult not to wonder if football has passed by the 'Ross Lyon' style of play. But one week does not a season make, and Lyon is a very astute coach. It would be foolhardy to write the Dockers off after one poor performance, yet doubts are creeping in to the minds of many pundits.
How Fremantle performs against Gold Coast this Saturday night will perhaps heighten or allay those doubts. The Dogs on the other hand will look to consolidate on a great start with a win over the young Saints at Docklands on Saturday night.
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Stringer 5; Bontempelli, Liberatore, McLean, Johannisen, Dunkley, Roughead, Suckling, T Boyd, Macrae, Daniel
Fremantle: Walters, Suban, Taberner, Weller, Pavlich
BEST - THE AGE
Western Bulldogs: Stringer, Johannisen, Biggs, Macrae, Murphy, Liberatore, Dahlhaus
Fremantle: Neale, Mundy, Barlow, Walters, C Pearce
BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Western Bulldogs: Johannisen, Biggs, Stringer, Murphy, Macrae, Suckling, Liberatore
Fremantle: Neale, Dawson, Sheridan, C Pearce, Mundy
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Fremantle: Clarke (knee)
REPORTS: Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle) reported for rough conduct on Easton Wood (Western Bulldogs).
UMPIRES: O'Gorman, Meredith, Ryan
TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy
COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Sandy Roberts, Jason Dunstall, Danny Frawley, Cameron Mooney
Video sourced from YouTube, courtesy of the AFL.
Western Bulldogs | Match Stats | Career | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Player | K | M | H | D | G | B | HO | T | FF | FA | Age | Games | G |
33 | Adams, Marcus | 8 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22y 271d | 1 | 0 |
24 | Biggs, Shane | 22 | 6 | 13 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24y 235d | 17 | 3 |
4 | Bontempelli, Marcus | 11 | 1 | 9 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 20y 124d | 38 | 33 |
5 | Boyd, Matthew | 13 | 8 | 13 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 33y 213d | 259 | 83 |
17 | Boyd, Tom | 7 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 20y 218d | 24 | 25 |
6 | Dahlhaus, Luke | 7 | 2 | 18 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23y 219d | 95 | 86 |
35 | Daniel, Caleb | 12 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 19y 264d | 11 | 7 |
20 | Dunkley, Josh | 8 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 19y 78d | 1 | 1 |
7 | Hunter, Lachie | 16 | 10 | 15 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21y 105d | 37 | 16 |
39 | Johannisen, Jason | 20 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23y 140d | 48 | 13 |
21 | Liberatore, Tom | 11 | 2 | 14 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 23y 316d | 78 | 19 |
11 | Macrae, Jack | 12 | 5 | 18 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 21y 237d | 56 | 18 |
16 | McLean, Toby | 13 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 20y 56d | 5 | 3 |
38 | Morris, Dale | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33y 89d | 208 | 3 |
2 | Murphy, Bob | 20 | 9 | 11 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33y 292d | 293 | 173 |
42 | Picken, Liam | 11 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 29y 239d | 151 | 46 |
23 | Roughead, Jordan | 5 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 25y 145d | 89 | 17 |
25 | Stevens, Koby | 8 | 1 | 19 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 24y 283d | 63 | 29 |
9 | Stringer, Jake | 12 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21y 337d | 51 | 99 |
1 | Suckling, Matt | 12 | 8 | 10 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 27y 246d | 103 | 52 |
3 | Wallis, Mitch | 7 | 0 | 17 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23y 155d | 77 | 30 |
10 | Wood, Easton | 10 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26y 205d | 88 | 12 |
Totals | 250 | 116 | 248 | 498 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 62 | 19 | 14 | 24y 219d | 1793 | 768 |
Fremantle | Match Stats | Career | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Player | K | M | H | D | G | B | HO | T | FF | FA | Age | Games | G |
1 | Ballantyne, Hayden | 7 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 28y 255d | 122 | 195 |
21 | Barlow, Michael | 13 | 6 | 9 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 28y 100d | 114 | 75 |
30 | Clarke, Zac | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25y 365d | 89 | 46 |
3 | Dawson, Zac | 4 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 30y 34d | 147 | 7 |
7 | Fyfe, Nat | 6 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 24y 191d | 113 | 95 |
12 | Griffin, Jonathon | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 30y 73d | 78 | 27 |
32 | Hill, Stephen | 6 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25y 331d | 152 | 100 |
5 | Ibbotson, Garrick | 15 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28y 12d | 152 | 22 |
23 | Mayne, Chris | 5 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27y 146d | 151 | 178 |
16 | Mundy, David | 10 | 2 | 11 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 30y 251d | 234 | 92 |
13 | Mzungu, Tendai | 6 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 30y 28d | 98 | 54 |
27 | Neale, Lachie | 13 | 4 | 19 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 22y 308d | 71 | 36 |
29 | Pavlich, Matthew | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 34y 87d | 336 | 670 |
46 | Pearce, Clancee | 19 | 8 | 9 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25y 156d | 97 | 36 |
6 | Pearce, Danyle | 9 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 29y 355d | 227 | 119 |
11 | Sheridan, Tommy | 20 | 11 | 7 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 22y 151d | 39 | 14 |
34 | Spurr, Lee | 15 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 28y 244d | 83 | 5 |
8 | Suban, Nick | 11 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 25y 323d | 130 | 53 |
33 | Sutcliffe, Cam | 15 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 23y 309d | 69 | 14 |
20 | Taberner, Matt | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 22y 284d | 29 | 24 |
10 | Walters, Michael | 9 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 25y 80d | 73 | 142 |
14 | Weller, Lachie | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 20y 33d | 4 | 1 |
Totals | 198 | 98 | 142 | 340 | 5 | 8 | 26 | 55 | 14 | 19 | 26y 320d | 2608 | 2005 |