Australian Football

Match Report

It was business as usual for the Western Bulldogs at Docklands on Sunday, who could be excused for changing their motto to, "Another week, another win, another injury". The Bulldogs recorded a comfortable 40-point win over Essendon on the back of a six-goal-to-one first quarter but lost Easton Wood to an ankle injury after he landed awkwardly in a marking contest in the third quarter. The Dogs have had shocking luck with injury but keep finding a way to win, Sunday's being their 15th of the season, and it keeps alive their hopes of a top-four finish. 

Essendon started the game well, attacking early and, after an infringement in a marking contest, Joe Daniher kicked the Bombers' first goal of the match from the ensuing free kick. From that moment on, though, it was all the Bulldogs as Tory Dickson kicked the next two goals to but them in front and Caleb Daniel, Lin Jong, Tom Boyd and Easton Wood all kicked majors over the next 20 minutes to see the Dogs to a 30-point quarter-time lead. 

The second term saw Essendon play a much stronger brand of football and the Bombers would have been in a position to challenge the Bulldogs strongly on the scoreboard had it not been for inaccurate kicking, with Daniher, Zach Merrett and Jackson Merrett all missing gettable shots. Liam Picken rubbed salt into the wound by kicking truly at the opposite end and the Bulldogs led by 32 points at the seven-minute mark. The game opened up after that, the Dons kicking the next two goals through Matthew Leuenberger and Jackson Merrett, the Bulldogs answering via Zaine Cordy and Toby McLean, and the Bombers coming again with majors to ex-Dog Adam Cooney and Daniher, cutting the Dog's lead at half time to 22 points. 

When play resumed after half time, the Bulldogs resumed control, shoring up their defence to the point that they kept Essendon goalless for the entire third term. They weren't able to make quite the scoreboard impact they did in the third, though, and added three goals via Jordan Roughead, Daniel and Lachie Hunter to take a 41-point buffer into the last break.

Essendon mounted a challenge of sorts in the first 10 minutes of the final quarter, holding the Bulldogs scoreless as Orazio Fantasia and Zach Merrett kicked majors to cut the Dons' deficit to 29 points but the Dogs held firm after that. Over the final 20 minutes of the match they restricted the Bombers to just two further behinds, while Clay Smith and Dickson added margins to take the final margin out to 40 points and record a solid if unspectacular win. 

The Bulldogs were well served by Jason Johannisen, who took 12 marks and had 31 possessions running off the half-back line. For Essendon, Zach Merrett played a brilliant game. with 35 disposals and eight tackles.

Playing the last game of round 23, the Bulldogs will know exactly what their potential reward is when they take on Fremantle at Subiaco on Sunday. Depending on other results in the round, they could be playing for a place in the top four or a home final, while a loss could see them heading interstate for a sudden-death Elimination Final. Essendon will take on Carlton at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, where a win could see it avoid the wooden spoon but perhaps also the number one pick in the AFL national draft. 

GOALS
Essendon: Daniher 2; Leuenberger, J. Merrett, Cooney, Fantasia, Z. Merrett
Western Bulldogs: Dickson 3; Daniel 2; Jong, T. Boyd, Wood, Picken, Cordy, McLean, Roughead, Hunter, C. Smith

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Essendon: Z. Merrett, Stokes, Daniher, Kelly, Zaharakis, Leuenberger
Western Bulldogs: Johannisen, Daniel, Bontempelli, Picken, Jong, Hunter, M. Boyd

BEST - THE AGE
Essendon: Z. Merrett, Daniher, Zaharakis, Stokes, Kelly, Brown, Hartley 
Western Bulldogs: Hunter, Bontempelli, Picken, Johannissen, M. Boyd, Daniel, Dickson 

INJURIES
Essendon: Hartley (nose)
Western Bulldogs: Wood (ankle)

UMPIRES: Fisher, Stephens, Chamberlain

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