AFL Round 10 Western Bulldogs v Gold Coast: All the news, action and fallout from Ballarat
The Gold Coast remains puzzled by Luke Beveridge’s inference of illegal tactics after Aaron Naughton’s limited late impact, as they prepare to be without a defender for a month.
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Gold Coast is mystified by Luke Beveridge’s inference of illegal tactics from their defenders after Aaron Naughton’s quiet second half against the Dogs.
The Suns are counting the cost of that fighting loss, with veteran defender Rory Thompson expected to miss more than a month with a meniscus injury.
He has only just returned from two seasons out with multiple ACL tears and was playing strong football when he limped off against the Dogs.
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He could miss between 4-8 weeks, with scans on Monday to diagnose the extent of the injury.
The Suns are likely to bring in key defender Caleb Graham after strong recent form, with top-10 draft pick Mac Andrew playing strong VFL football but not quite ready yet for an AFL debut as an intercepting defender.
Gold Coast defender Sam Collins started on the brilliant Naughton and was overwhelmed early, with Thompson moved onto him.
In the second half with Thompson sidelined he kept him quiet but post-match Beveridge suggested “there are reasons” why his star forward wasn’t able to dominate.
The Suns chose not to comment on Sunday but privately believed there was one clear free kick that was not paid as Naughton was held by Collins.
Coach Stuart Dew believed the club’s midfield pressure allowed them to limit the flow to Naughton.
Former VFL defender Collins is not known as a dirty player who scrags, with a series of highlights from their clash showing the pair throwing their weight around with little evidence of illegality.
Beveridge suggested the Suns’ second half tactics were off in what seemed to be a ploy to secure more free kicks for his forward half weapon.
“I’ve got to be really careful here,” Beveridge said.
“He’s been so dominant, there are reasons why he wasn’t in the second half.”
“We’ll do some follow up, he kept fighting and bringing the ball to ground which is what he does. He was just outstanding in that first half.”
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The Western Bulldogs have won consecutive matches for the first time in 2022 after defeating the Gold Coast Suns by 19 points in Ballarat.
However, the match was not without controversy with blocking incidents involving Aaron Naughton sparking interest post-match.
Naughton and underrated Suns defender Sam Collins played an enthralling head-to-head battle, but Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was coy as to why Naughton dropped off in the second half.
“I’ve got to be really careful here,” said Beveridge.
“He’s been so dominant, there are reasons why he wasn’t in the second half.”
Beveridge specified that Naughton’s quieter second half had nothing to do with a knee niggle the superstar key forward has been dealing with.
“We’ll do some follow up, he kept fighting and bringing the ball to ground which is what he does.
“He was just outstanding in that first half.”
Whilst Beveridge was perhaps alluding to the off the ball incidents involving Naughton, Suns coach Stuart Dew believed that his midfield “cranking up the heat” was the key reason the Suns were able to quell Naughton’s influence.
“We just changed the mix… the ball was coming down pretty freely in the first.
“I think we got more pressure on the ball and heat on the delivery.
“Sam Collins’ ability to rebound from the first ten minutes where things weren’t going his way… he fought it out.”
The Dogs levelled their season ledger at 5-5 and Beveridge hoped that the victory would lay the platform for the Dogs to burst in the back half of the season.
“Our mandate is to try and establish consistency,” said Beveridge.
“Throughout the course of the game we had momentum and then they spiked, credit to them they kept coming. Their perseverance was strong and they’re improving all the time.
“There were some fundamentals where we let ourselves down, for our lads to hold their nerve and come again… it was encouraging.
“Hopefully we can establish ourselves as a team who can string a few more together.”
The Dogs monstered the Suns at the coalface, winning the clearance battle 49-34 and Beveridge believed that proved a key factor in deciding the Ballarat thriller.
“Our midfield was always on edge and did a pretty good job, for our guys to be influential through that area was so important for us today.”
The Bulldogs’ list depth has been tested in recent weeks, with the likes of Tim English, Cody Weightman, Mitch Wallis and Jason Johannisen all having been unavailable.
Beveridge was pleased with the performances from youngsters Luke Cleary and Jordon Sweet who stepped up in the absence of several regular contributors.
“To see Luke [Cleary] play the way he did today, he had a really good game.
“Jordon [Sweet] fought a terrific fight against big [Jarrod] Witts, leading into the day he had had 43 more hit outs to advantage than any other ruck in the competition.
“It’s great for our club and our team that those boys can come in and play really important roles.”
Beveridge also sang the praises of Bailey Williams (two goals) who featured in a new role on the wing and Ed Richards, who repelled numerous Suns advances forward.
“We’ve had a lot of change through our wings. We are virtually playing inside midfielders and defenders on our wings and they’re doing a good job of it.
“[Williams] won his wing; we haven’t been able to say that about too many of our wingers over the past ten games.”
Tim English is likely to be available next week, but Beveridge is unsure how the English-Sweet ruck combo might look saying that Sweet’s form has presented the coaching staff with a “challenge” as English returns.
Dew was pleased with the fighting spirit his Suns showed, but rued the inability to gain any significant momentum.
“We never quite got going, but never gave up,” he said.
“You can look at those two ways, but we were up against a formidable opponent.
“We feel like we are building a consistent brand that our players and supporters can expect when we come to play.
“We’ll just keep chasing improvement and look forward to the next opportunity.”
Joel Jeffrey, who suffered the loss of a family member during the week, was one of the Suns best players in just his sixth AFL game.
“For a young lad to kick five goals in those circumstances, we are proud of him, and his family should be proud of him as well.
“He’ll get more from that than we will, we know he’s a good player… he’ll get more belief.
“I think we saw today what he is capable of.”
Dew also revealed that Rory Thompson looks to have escaped an ACL injury but will receive scans in the coming days.
Bont masterclass saves Dogs after late Suns scare
A Marcus Bontempelli masterclass saw the Bulldogs strike gold in Ballarat, defeating the Suns by 19 points to level their season record at five wins and five losses to keep in touch with the top eight.
However, the Gold Coast Suns lost no admirers with another gutsy performance against a far more experienced and polished outfit.
The unlikely duo of Joel Jeffrey (five goals) and Ben Ainsworth (three goals) combined for eight goals for the Suns, who have shaken the tag of easy beats this season.
The Suns were ranked number one for clearances across the past month, but were no match for a star-studded Bulldogs midfield, who won the clearance battle 49-35.
Both sides were unwilling to give up possession early in the game and tried to build forward forays through uncontested marking.
It took eight minutes for the first goal of the contest, with Aaron Naughton the beneficiary of a powerful burst out of stoppage from Bailey Smith.
Naughton was the best player on the field in the first half, booting three majors and making Sam Collins and Rory Thompson look like amateurs.
Smith is quickly becoming one of the most impactful players in the game and was at his best producing a 34-disposal performance.
With Tim English ruled out through illness, the Dogs turned to rookie ruck Jordon Sweet to take the number one ruck mantle and he fought valiantly all day against the in-form Jarrod Witts.
Lachie McNeil (two goals) had some nice moments forward whilst the Dogs midfielders produced the goods yet again, with Bontempelli, Dunkley and Treloar all hitting the scoreboard.
Rankine shrugs off a couple of Dogs and kicks a ripper ðŸ‘#AFLDeadly | #AFLDogsSunspic.twitter.com/qctEA6qeJS
— AFL (@AFL) May 21, 2022
An incident involving Buku Khamis and Jy Farrar will come under scrutiny from the MRO after Khamis’ raised forearm struck Farrar in the back of the head during a marking contest.
It felt as though the Suns were clinging on for dear life in the second term, as they struggled to get their hands on the footy and were often a step behind their Bulldogs counterparts.
Approximately half of the Suns players did not have a disposal between quarter time and halfway through the second term, but the players responded with Stuart Dew’s troops wrestling the momentum back from the Dogs to keep themselves in the contest.
Mabior Chol produced a moment for the highlights reel late in the game when he gathered a loose ball, performed a ‘don’t argue’ and bounced it over a Dogs defender to reduce the margin to just 15 points.
Chol had kicked eight goals in three games in the lead-up to the contest but struggled to assert himself in Ballarat.
Whilst Naughton got the better of Collins in the first half, Collins showed why he is one of the most underrated key defenders in the game by bouncing back to restrict the key Dog to just six second-half disposals.
The Western Bulldogs looked as though they would pull away in the third quarter, but the Suns refused to bow, resulting in a tense final quarter which saw the margin cut back to just seven points at one stage.
The see-sawing battle was one of the games of the season and both sides will take positives out of an entertaining battle in regional Victoria.
HEARTBREAK FOR LUCKLESS SUN
Gold Coast defender Rory Thompson will be set for another stint on the sidelines after suffering yet another knee injury.
Thompson left the field midway through the second term and failed to take any further part in the match.
The big Sun spent an astonishing 1379 days on the sidelines, recovering from two ACL reconstructions before making his return earlier this month against Sydney.
Rory has been subbed out with a knee injury. He'll have scans during the week to determine the extent of the injury. #AFLDogsSuns#AFLDeadlyhttps://t.co/kG0uZRZubV
— Gold Coast Suns (@GoldCoastSUNS) May 21, 2022
MILESTONE MAN
Adam Treloar suited up for his 200th AFL match and stamped his authority on the game right from the get-go.
Treloar amassed 26 possessions and booted a goal, where his teammates swamped him as though he was a debutant kicking his first in the big time.
Ahead of the match, Treloar said he was most looking forward to running out alongside his daughter, Georgie.
“That will probably be my proudest moment,” he said.
The former Giant and Pie is one of the most universally loved players in the competition and looms as a key factor in the Bulldogs push up the ladder in the second half of the season.
NEW ROLE FOR DASHING DOG?
Having been known as a dashing defender throughout his AFL career to date, Bailey Williams took the opportunity to creep forward in a role higher up the ground against the Suns.
Williams kicked his first major since Round 16 last year and had five shots on goal as his piercing kick proved an asset for the Dogs going inside forward 50.
He finished with 18 possessions and kicked the goal to seal the game.
SCOREBOARD
BULLDOGS 4.5 6.12 10.15 15.16 106
SUNS 3.3 6.5 9.7 13.9 87
BOLCH’S BEST
BULLDOGS: Bontempelli, B. Smith, Macrae, Naughton, Treloar, Williams
SUNS: Jeffrey, Ainsworth, Swallow, Anderson
GOALS
BULLDOGS: Naughton 3, Bontempelli 3, McNeil 2, Williams 2, McComb 2, Dunkley, Treloar, B. Smith
SUNS: Jeffrey 5, Ainsworth 3, Chol, Rankine, Ellis, Farrar, Rosas
INJURIES
BULLDOGS: nil.
SUNS: Thompson (knee), Farrar (head).
UMPIRES Whetton, Stevic, Pell.
VENUE Mars Stadium, Ballarat.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
DYLAN BOLCH’S VOTES
3 M. Bontempelli (WB)
2 J. Jeffrey (GC)
1 B. Smith (WB)
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