Western Bulldogs’ premiership defence ends with a whimper against Hawthorn
THE premiership defence is dead. But did the Western Bulldogs fight hard enough to keep it alive? The Dogs were exposed against the Hawks at Etihad Stadium.
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THE premiership defence is dead.
Even if the Western Bulldogs managed to reverse Friday night’s nine-point loss to Hawthorn, it wouldn’t have had a pulse.
It would be spending Saturday in a coma, waiting for Essendon to switch off the life support back at Etihad Stadium.
Friday night’s loss expedited the flow of beers at the kennel.
Surely the players knew it. How else could you explain the nature of Friday night’s exhibition — sorry, farewell match?
GAME RECAP: HOW THE DOGS BLEW IT
The premier laid only 10 tackles and probably fewer bruises in a first quarter as hard as a pillow. It summed up the Dogs’ season, one dangerously low on intensity and energy.
Pieces and bits, but nothing that really fits.
After draining 62 years of Bulldogs misery, this was a line-up which looked mentally and physically spent.
The calendar read August 25, but a lot of last night played out like it was February 25.
Under coach Luke Beveridge, the Dogs had never previously lost the clearances by 18. Friday night they lost it by 23.
Although they confirmed it, you didn’t need to be a Champion Data scientist to work out that at halftime this contest’s pressure rating was below the season average.
A record home-and-away crowd for these clubs witnessed a fairly flat affair.
Hawk livewire Paul Puopolo threatened to bust the game out of first gear with a high mark and pair of goals in the second quarter, while Liam Picken joined Jake Stringer as the Dogs’ leading goalkicker on 24 majors moments later.
They will share the award, Stringer’s third in a row, on the club’s second smallest tally in more than 50 seasons.
The Dogs started 2017 all the rage and finished it with regrets. Hawthorn began the season a mess and finished it menacingly.
So, what’s next for Luke Beveridge’s side? Given their fairytale flag was produced by the youngest Grand Final team in 16 years, you couldn’t rule out a surge in 2018.
That nucleus remains. List manager Jason McCartney has done a tremendous job this year re-signing Marcus Adams, Bailey Dale, Lewis Young and the big fish in Norm Smith winner Jason Johannisen.
Expect spearhead Jack Redpath to complete the set when he knocks backs Carlton’s handsome offer.
Missing finals will deliver players an extended pre-season as well as ace recruiter Simon Dalrymple his first top-10 pick since securing Marcus Bontempelli at No. 4 in 2013.
But this will go down as an unsettled year.
The third-man up rule change hurt Beveridge tactically and then key injuries to Jordan Roughead (pre-season) and Dale Morris (Round 1) compounded the tricky start.
Attack Dogs these were not.
Inefficiency going forward yet again rendered so much hard work useless, while the Dogs were frequently exposed aerially with a quantity of key-position quality often missing from their backline.
Johannisen battled taggers, Tom Liberatore headlined plenty who battled selection and the list seemed to battle for an appetite.
But a waste it was not. Bontempelli was brilliant again and the perennially underrated Jack Macrae wasn’t far behind.
Toby McLean and Bailey Dale rapidly rose into stars of the future and they unearthed a real find in Jake Lever-type Lewis Young.
Dale doesn’t mind taking responsibility, evidenced by his booming last-quarter goal last night.
The sharpshooter leads the Dogs with 17.3 since Round 14.
After last year’s triumph goalkicking great Simon Beasley beamed: “The Bulldogs can go on with it — I’d like to think we can win two or three over the next few years”.
It won’t be back-to-back. But these Dogs will learn from Friday night’s conquerors in 2009 and launch another attack.
Originally published as Western Bulldogs’ premiership defence ends with a whimper against Hawthorn
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