AFL 2021 Western Bulldogs v St Kilda: Doggies claim top spot, Saints will swing selection axe

St Kilda coach Brett Ratten says no player’s spot is safe after the Saints were embarrassed by the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.

Scott Gullan and Russell Gould

7 min read

May 23, 2021 - 9:13AM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Marcus Bontempelli celebrates a third quarter goal. Picture: Michael Klein

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The two best teams of 2021 will head into the biggest home and away game of the season from very different directions after the Western Bulldogs took over ladder leadership in devastating fashion.

With the Adelaide Crows doing them a favour by upsetting the previously undefeated Melbourne, the Dogs seized on the opening and pulverised an embarrassing St Kilda to the tune of 111 points.

All roads now lead to Marvel Stadium next Friday night where the battle for supremacy between the two major improvers of the season who have only lost one game each in the opening 10 rounds.

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Bulldogs champion Marcus Bontempelli kicked four goals and racked up 26 disposals in a monster game. Picture: Michael Klein

It’s a match-up that revives memories of the great 2009 home-and-away game between the previously undefeated Geelong and St Kilda at Docklands.

That Sunday afternoon shootout lived up to the hype with the two 13-0 teams producing an epic, decided by a goal to St Kilda ruckman Michael Gardiner inside the final two minutes.

The Dogs do have some injury concerns after prized recruit Adam Treloar and rookie Anthony Scott failed to finish out the game against the Saints.

Treloar injured his ankle in the second quarter and, after having some attention to it, he returned to the field but only lasted a couple of minutes.

He was officially subbed out at half-time and ended the evening with his right ankle in a moon boot. Scott was also ruled out in the third quarter because of blurred vision.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said the early diagnosis for Treloar was a low-grade syndesmosis injury.

“I just spoke to our medicos, they need to assess it but he’ll be out for a little while,” he said.

“They think it is a low-grade syndesmosis injury and usually that means you’re out for a number of weeks, I’m not sure how many.”

Bulldogs Aaron Naughton and Josh Bruce after the win over the Saints. Picture: Michael Klein

The Dogs coach is expecting a different Melbourne line-up to the one his team comfortably took care of in a practice match on the eve of the season.

“It’s great to be in this position, I’m sure the Demons think the same,” he said. “They’ll be a bit disappointed that they dropped one today but they have been outstanding all year

“They obviously had some challenges with their depth and selection at different times which is a great problem to have.

“We look forward to the challenge. We played them the week before Round 1 and to be honest we put a bit of a price on that because we needed to get going.

“We’re expecting a little bit of a different Melbourne to what we faced as much as we were pretty good in that encounter but they have been really impressive so we will have our hands full.”

Ruckman Tim English is expected to return on Friday night after being sidelined for a number of weeks because of concussion.

Beveridge admitted he was surprised at how well his team played against the Saints.

“It was a bit of a surprise, as much as we believe in ourselves we probably didn’t see that coming and I’m not sure where to start with all of it,” he said.

“I think the telling thing in the end wasn’t just the scoreboard, we had 72 to 48 tackles as well so when we didn’t have the ball we were quite manic.

“It is an important part of any aspiring team to have a good balance in what you do.”

Even Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was surprised by Saturday night’s result. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli’s Brownlow Medal odds would have shortened again after he starred with four goals from 26 possessions.

Spearhead Aaron Naughton kicked five second-half goals while fellow tall forward Josh Bruce booted three against his former team.

Livewire Cody Weightman continued to make his mark for the Dogs with two goals while half-back Bailey Dale continued his breakthrough season with 33 disposals and two goals.

While St Kilda offered meek resistance on every line, their night was summed up by young full-forward Max King.

Last week he took a career-high 10 marks against Geelong, on Saturday night he took his first mark at the 22 minute-mark of the final quarter.

MATCH REPORT: FEROCIOUS DOGS HUMILIATE SAINTS

A second-quarter scoring blitzkrieg at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night was the entrée for a goal feast from the Western Bulldogs who scorched their way to the top of the AFL ladder.

In the hours after premiership rivals Melbourne slipped up for the first time in Adelaide, the Bulldogs took their game to a whole new level, leaving St Kilda players with whiplash in a humiliating 111-point victory.

Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli was imperious and Aaron Naughton kicked five second- half goals in an obliteration which said so much about both teams.

The words used to describe the Saints, who beat the Dogs in an elimination final last year, are mostly unprintable and for the third time this season they were given an almighty walloping on their home ground.

An ankle injury to Adam Treloar was the sole lowlight on a night the Bulldogs set a new high-bar ahead of next Friday’s blockbuster showdown with the Demons.

A nine-point margin at quarter time was 51-points at half-time after the Dogs put on a clearance display with seven to two from the middle leading to a massive 20 inside-50s for the term.

It wasn’t pretty for the Saints on Saturday night. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Those repeat, rapid-fire entries resulted in 12 scoring shots and seven goals as the Saints were shown in absolute terms how far off the pace they were.

That second quarter effort continued throughout the second half as the Bulldogs relentlessly attacked the ball and the man and the flagging Saints couldn’t muster any sort of respectable answer to the challenge presented.

Inexplicably given freedom to roam, Bontempelli was still charging up and down the ground, throwing his body in to marking contests late in the last quarter and his teammates rode on the skipper’s coattails.

Bailey Smith played his best game of the season, Jack Macrae did not stop getting the footy and Bailey Dale finished with more than 700 metres gained.

There was not a single bad player in red, white and blue.

Jason Johannisen gets in on the act in front of Jimmy Webster. Picture: Michael Klein

RATTEN: IT’S UNACCEPTABLE

Change is coming at St Kilda after a deflated coach Brett Ratten declared “we can’t have this” following his team’s humiliating loss.

Lost for answers after a third defeat by more than 75 points this season, Ratten said he would look to his VFL side for new troops to arrest a concerning form slide.

After taking Geelong deep last week with its best pressure game of the season, St Kilda’s display against the Bulldogs was the complete opposite and Ratten let his players know in no uncertain terms.

“Eight days ago, win, lose or draw, you hold your head up high. After that, you don’t know where to look,” a flummoxed Ratten said.

“The gap between our best and our worst is just too big, it’s unacceptable.

“Our pressure was enormous against Geelong, but tonight we got out tackled … they won the ball and they got it back off us. It’s unacceptable and we have to do something about it.

“We can’t just keep going on like this, a good quarter here or there. Players who aren’t performing will have to go back to the twos.

“We’ve got players who are in pretty good form in the reserves and we’ll have to make changes. We can’t have that.

“The players were told that post game.”

St Kilda skipper Jack Steele after the final siren. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Luke Dunstan and Mason Wood were two names Ratten mentioned as possible inclusions for next week’s clash against North Melbourne.

“They’ll be talked about during the week, but we just can’t have a performance like that,” he said.

“It’s a tough game, AFL, but you can’t just drop off the face of the earth.”

Ratten said the loss was all “above the shoulders” and his players needed an attitude adjustment, and fast.

“We’re trying to put our finger on it,” he said.

“That’s four games (they’ve lost) by over 50 points.

“The pressure they applied to us, we were about half-rate to them. To put pressure on, it’s just a mindset, and we didn’t put ourselves in the game there.’

STAT CAN’T BE RIGHT

In a damning reflection of the St Kilda effort, or the desperation of the Bulldogs, the victors not only won the disposal count by 56. The Dogs also made 24 more tackles.

The Bulldogs seemed to walk the ball out of the centre square at will, and the final count of 19 to nine centre clearances defied the fact that St Kilda ruckman Paddy Ryder had 41 hit-outs, 24 more than his opponent Jordon Sweet.

It was such a poor night on the stats sheet for the Saints, there were Bronx cheers with key forward Max King took his first mark for the night deep in the final quarter, and he missed his set-shot.

St Kilda failed to capitalise on Paddy Ryder’s hitout dominance. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Adam Treloar was the only concern with an ankle injury. Picture: Michael Klein

UNHAPPY HOME

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said he “hates” Marvel Stadium, and that comment came after his team won last week.

Brett Ratten must, privately or at least this year, have similar feelings of dread when his team plays “home’ games.

The Saints got smashed by Essendon to the tune of 75 points, the Tigers walloped them by 86 and now the Bulldogs added a 111-point drubbing.

St Kilda has won just two of seven games at Marvel Stadium this year.

A dejected St Kilda walk off Marvel Stadium on Saturday night. Picture: Michael Klein

NO SHANKS

Last week King was in the gun for kicking 1.5, but that’s accurate compared to the efforts of a couple of his teammates on Saturday night.

First Shaun McKernan, and then Ryan Byrnes, produced two of the worst set shot shanks in 2021, maybe even years beyond that, in the opening quarter.

McKernan was only 35m out, just to the right of goal and sent his shot so far left of the posts no-one knew what happened.

Then Byrnes, kicking for his first AFL goal, from straight in front, about 45m out, shanked his right, and it landed in the forward pocket, 10m short of the sticks.

When early scoring momentum was crucial in a fast game, they were almost inexcusable misses.