AFL round 22: Hawthorn defeat Bullsogs 67-64, Chad Wingard suffers suspected achilles tear
The Bulldogs’ finals hopes are in serious danger after their loss to the in-form Hawks, with coach Luke Beveridge lamenting his side’s record in close games of recent times.
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A third loss by less than a goal in their past five matches has put the Western Bulldogs’ finals hopes on a tightrope after Sunday’s three-point loss to Hawthorn in Launceston.
And the Bulldogs’ woes could be compounded by the potential loss of tough midfielder Tom Liberatore as they look to win their last two games to sneak into the top eight.
They will be in either eighth or ninth spot at the end of this round, depending on Sunday’s other results, with matches against West Coast (home) and the Cats in Geelong to finish the season.
The Bulldogs’ finals hopes are now in serious jeopardy after finding themselves on the wrong side of a thriller yet again.
It follows a two point loss to the Swans in Sydney in round 18, and a five-point loss to the Giants at Ballarat in round 20.
“We’ve lost three games in the last six or so by under a goal. Two of those we’ve lost key position players and we haven’t been able to stabilise too well, but hung in there,” Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said.
“We came again when the game looked almost lost, which is a positive, but throughout the course of the game we weren’t doing enough.
“We had a really stale period after half time where we couldn’t create any ball movement, we couldn’t get the ball.
“They (Hawthorn) won it at the coal face and by and large our backs held on pretty well but we just couldn’t create any opportunities.
“But you give credit to the Hawks for how they played the game, and some of their individuals who were really influential.”
Beveridge said they won’t take any chances with Liberatore, who was kept quiet by Hawks tagger Finn Maginness before he exited the game midway through the second quarter.
He seems highly unlikely to play the lowly Eagles, but the Bulldogs will be desperate to get their best contested possession player back before what could be a must-win game at Geelong.
“He’ll go into concussion protocols and there’ll be an update during the week,” Beveridge said.
“He seems OK, but as always we’ll take precautions and take a conservative approach with him.
“The simple look at the game was they broke too many of our tackles, those disputed ball situations they won a lot more than us.
“You think we could have been so much better in a lot of areas, but you also think Hawthorn are improving. We knew it was going to be a difficult task, and we fell short.”
FEARS FOR WINGARD AS HAWKS WREAK HAVOC ON DOGS’ FINALS HOPES
Next season simply can’t come quick enough for Hawthorn after they proved last week’s upset over Collingwood was no fluke by surviving a late scare to deliver a major blow to Western Bulldogs’ finals hopes at Launceston on Sunday.
Determined to play the party poopers for finals aspirants, the Hawks set up the 9.13 (67) to 9.10 (64) win with six straight goals from late in the first half, to early in the final quarter to put the Bulldogs’ top eight hopes in major doubt.
The Bulldogs surged with three late goals kicking into the wind to ensure a frantic last two minutes. But unlike occasions earlier in the year, the Hawks found enough composure in a tight finish to secure back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.
With their young midfield dominating, led by Jai Newcombe (40 disposals, 12 marks, a goal) in his 50th AFL game, the Hawks set up the win with two unanswered goals in the third quarter, despite kicking into a stiff breeze, to establish a one-point lead.
But after seemingly breaking the Bulldogs’ resolve in that term, the Hawks put the foot to the throat with the first three goals of the final term to establish a 21-point lead.
They were forced to hold on grimly from there. Bulldogs goals to Oskar Baker, Tim English and Bailey Williams reduced the margin to just two points with just under two minutes left.
The only major downside for the Hawks was a suspected achilles injury to Chad Wingard early in the match.
The 30-year-old, who isn’t contracted next season, went to ground without being touched and looks set for a long road to recovery.
The Bulldogs’ finals aspirations must now be questioned after their frustrating inconsistent form continued.
They have now won just two of their last six matches, and may need to win both their remaining matches against West Coast, and the Cats in Geelong, to guarantee they make the top eight.
CRUEL BLOW FOR WINGARD
Hawthorn veteran Chad Wingard’s immediate career is in doubt after he went down with a suspected achilles injury early in the match.
The 30-year-old, who is out of contract after this season and was dropped for a handful of mid-season games, had returned to form with 26 touches in each of the Hawks’ last two games against St Kilda and Collingwood.
But when he slumped to the turf with not a single soul around him early in the first term, it was clear he had sustained a significant injury.
It will be a real shame if the 217-game star struggles to make it back to AFL level. When he was dropped this season there was speculation the former Port Adelaide gun might seek a third club, but the serious injury has thrown a big spanner in the works.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says the club will ‘wrap their arm around’ Wingard.
“It’s lower leg injury which obviously looked pretty significant at the time,” Mitchell said.
“He’s been in such great form, so it’s sad for him. We don’t know the extent of it at this stage.
“It’s a challenging one for all the boys because everyone’s happy about the win, but obviously we’re all feeling for Chad. We’ll wait and see what the medical update is in a couple of days.”
Asked if he felt Wingard has the drive to get back to the top level if a torn achilles is confirmed, Mitchell said: “His last six weeks have been really good footy. He’s kept us in games and helped us win last week in particular.
“I don’t know what the injury’s like, and he’s still coming to terms with whatever it is.
“At the moment he’s one of our boys, we have to wrap our arm around him and make sure he’s feeling the love from everyone else.
“Injuries are a part of the game no one likes, but they’re a reality and he’ll be able to deal with that.”
HAWKS ATONE FOR WASTEFUL FIRST HALF
Hawthorn trailed by nine points at halftime. But a solid case could be mounted they were the superior side before the main break, if not for some crucial skill errors in defence which hurt them badly.
But a third quarter where they significantly increased their pressure allowed them to kick two unanswered goals into the wind, and establish a one-point lead at the last change.
They nullified the impact of the Bulldogs’ prime movers in the third quarter, including Marcus Bontempelli.
Kicking into a stiff breeze in the first term, the Hawks gift wrapped two goals to Jamara Ugle-Hagan and Adam Treloar to trail by 20 points.
In the second quarter skipper James Sicily was tackled from behind by Rhylee West after running out of the goalsquare after a Bulldogs behind, and West made him pay.
The Hawks dominated most of the second quarter but squandered opportunities by kicking a wasteful 3.7.
MAGINNESS CURSE STRIKES AGAIN
After suffocating Magpies star Nick Daicos’ impact in last week’s upset win, Hawks tagger Finn Maginness was tipped to get the job on new Brownlow Medal favourite Bontempelli.
However he was given the job on Bulldogs hard nut Tom Liberatore and, like Daicos who failed to finish the match with a knee injury, Liberatore was subbed out with concussion midway through the second term.
Liberatore was held six positions and was a non-factor before he exited the game, and seems certain to miss next week’s clash with West Coast. Maginness was then assigned to Bailey Dale to limit his playmaking across half-back, and he was moved forward in the third quarter after failing to get a single possession on Maginness.
Maginness was eventually moved to Bontempelli late in the third quarter and again lived up to the ‘human ice block’ tag from Fox Footy caller Gerard Healy.
NEWCOMBE CELEBRATES MILESTONE IN STYLE
Jai Newcombe has fast become one of the AFL’s feel good stories after he was picked up by Hawthorn in the 2021 mid-season draft.
In his 50th AFL game, the midfielder was the best afield and was especially influential in the third term when the Hawks kept the Dogs scoreless when playing into the wind.
James Worpel also marked his 100th game with 24 touches and a goal as part of a Hawks midfield which dominated their more fancied opponents for most of the afternoon.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.3 6.5 6.8 9.10 (64)
HAWTHORN 1.1 4.8 6.9 9.13 (67)
GOALS
Hawks – Will Day, Dylan Moore, Jai Newcombe, Karl Amon, Jacob Koschitzke, Luke Breust, James Worpel, Mitch Lewis, Denver Grainger-Barras
Bulldogs – Jamara Ugle-Hagan 2, Rory Lobb 2, Adam Treloar, Rhylee West, Oskar Baker, Tim English, Bailey Williams
BEST
Hawks – Jai Newcombe, Karl Amon, Will Day, Ned Reeves, Dylan Moore, Blake Hardwick
Bulldogs – Tim English, Marcus Bontempelli, Ed Richards, Bailey Williams, James O’Donnell, Rory Lobb
VOTES
3 – Jai Newcombe,
2 – Karl Amon,
1 – Will Day
Achilles injury claims Hawk, Liberatore subbed out
Out-of-contract Hawthorn forward Chad Wingard has been subbed out with a suspected Achilles injury in a cruel blow for the sharpshooter.
Wingard suffered the injury in the opening minutes of the clash against the Western Bulldogs in Launceston when he pulled up suddenly and collapsed to the ground while chasing Dogs defender Bailey Dale.
Fox Footy’s Ben Dixon said the Hawks suspected it was an Achilles injury which would put Wingard out of action for up to 12 months.
Chad Wingard was subbed out midway through the first quarter after this incident.#AFLHawksDogspic.twitter.com/ILuoGomXb3
— AFL (@AFL) August 13, 2023
The dynamic forward had to be helped from the ground and was in visible pain, unable to put any weight on his left foot.
The 30-year-old had been in a recent purple patch for the Hawks finding some form after copping criticism earlier in the season for his output.
Wingard joined the Hawks from Port Adelaide in 2019 and is out of contract at the end of this season.
Meanwhile, Dogs midfielder Tom Liberatore was also subbed out after he copped an accidental knee to the head from Hawks key forward Mitch Lewis.
Liberatore had blood running from his head and looked dazed leaving the ground which will mean he’s set to miss the Dogs’ clash against West Coast next week.
The contested bull was getting close attention from Hawks tagger Finn Maginness who had restricted him to just six disposals before the collision with Lewis.
It means both clubs used their substitutes in Oscar Baker (Western Bulldogs) and Bailey Macdonald (Hawthorn) before half time.
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