Footscray demolish Collingwood to remain undefeated as key trio make successful return from injury
Footscray has sent an ominous warning to its VFL rivals after demolishing Collingwood at Olympic Park on Friday night with a host of AFL-listed players impressing on return from injury.
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Footscray has sent an ominous warning to its VFL rivals after demolishing Collingwood at Olympic Park on Friday night.
The Bulldogs won every quarter for the second straight week to claim a 72-point victory, backing up their Round 1 triumph over Sandringham.
The 17.10 (112) to 6.4 (40) win was set up by a 12-goal-to-two first half with returning AFL-listed stars Bailey Williams, Jackson Trengove and Lin Jong having a strong impact.
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First-year coach Daniel Giansiracusa couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season.
“We’ve got off to a flyer, which is fantastic,” he said.
“We made a good start again, we knew Collingwood were going to come but we were able to stop their momentum every time.
“We won every quarter for the second straight game, so I’m a pretty pleased coach.”
Footscray was deadly accurate in the first half, kicking 12.4 to half-time before the Magpies were able to slow their scoring in the second half.
Despite the lopsided scoreline, Giansiracusa said there were plenty of lessons to take from the win.
“(Collingwood) had their moments but we were able to hold them and I think that will hold us in good stead when we get into closer games later in the season,” he said.
“The best part of football is the 10 minutes after the match, enjoying the win with each other … but my message was there’s still plenty of growth in this team.”
Lukas Webb was a standout through the midfield with 28 disposals, 10 marks and two goals.
Trengove finished with 25 touches, 26 hit-outs and two goals in the ruck while Jong added 21 and seven marks and Boyd played limited minutes in his return from a back injury.
Williams bounced back after being dropped from the AFL side with 22 disposals and 10 marks while young forward Pat Lipinski also put his hand up for a senior recall with 20 possessions and a goal.
Giansiracusa was impressed with Webb’s continued development.
“Lukas, you talk about strong starts to the season,” he said.
“He’s having a real influence through the midfield and he’s learning to deal with the physicality and taking those hits and becoming a leader.”
The Bulldogs have a bye in Round 3 before facing Williamstown on Sunday, April 28.
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