AFL Round 6: All the news, action and fallout from Western Bulldogs’ clash with GWS
Luke Beveridge didn’t mess around after a night of brutal injury news in Canberra, ruling three big names out for next week. But who will come in?
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A final-quarter blowout has helped the undefeated Western Bulldogs continue its best start to a season in 75 years on Friday night against a spirited, but outgunned, GWS outfit at Manuka Oval in Canberra.
But the sixth straight victory has come at a potentially major cost, with a triple injury blow souring the the 39-point win.
Tim English (concussion/jaw), Josh Dunkley (shoulder) and injury-cursed utility Lin Jong (hamstring) all went down on Friday night.
English was the victim of friendly fire when one of Aaron Naughton’s knees accidentally crashed into his jaw in an aerial contest in the final term, and he will enter the AFL’s 12-day concussion protocol.
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Coach Luke Beveridge said he would also have his jaw x-rayed to see whether he suffered any bone damage.
That happened moments after Dunkley dislocated his right shoulder.
Beveridge ruled all three out for next week’s huge clash with back-to-back reigning premier Richmond, but said he was confident in the club’s depth.
“There are many boys knocking on the door for a taste of it, whether it’s first up or they’ve been right on the edge of the 22, 23 and have dealt with some disappointment,” Beveridge said.
“So now there’s an opportunity to bring some of those lads in.
“The players who will play next week, who will come in for our injured players, quite possibly will make us a better team – they’re very talented young lads.”
Patrick Lipinski is in the box seat to come in after winning 35 disposals in the VFL on Thursday night, while Beveridge also endorsed Rhylee West, Riley Garcia, Mitch Wallis and Louis Butler.
He will also be tempted by the form of No.1 draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan who booted five goals in a VFL clash against the Giants on Thursday night.
Tim English was taken from the field with the assistance of the trainers after this incident. pic.twitter.com/iV7V6nEoMO
— AFL (@AFL) April 23, 2021
Meanwhile, GWS lost Nick Haynes (shoulder) and Xavier O’Halloran (shoulder) during the game in what was a bruising encounter.
Despite dominating possession (395-327) and centre clearances (17-7) for most of the night, the Bulldogs weren’t able to take full advantage of that discrepancy until the final quarter when they finally cracked the Giants’ resistance by booting nine goals to three to run away with the game, after leading by only three points at the final change.
The Bulldogs were prevented from ending the contest earlier because they were not only kept at bay by the Giants’ defensive unit, but also struggled to cope with the relentless pressure as the hosts served it up to the undefeated Dogs despite fielding nine players with fewer than 20 games’ experience.
The game was a sluggish, tight, highly-pressurised affair for the first three quarters and, while the Bulldogs led for the majority, they never really took a stranglehold of the contest with the margin failing to exceed 15 points until midway through the final term.
Risk taking was well and truly on the backburner for the most part in what was a stark contrast to the kind of footy that was being produced in the opening month of the AFL season. Instead of taking the game on and breaking the lines, both teams were tense and cautious.
Jack Macrae (40 disposals) led the way again for the Dogs in the middle and he got great support as usual from Adam Treloar (35), Dunkey (29) and Marcus Bontempelli (26).
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HAYDEN HANGER PERFECTLY TIMED
Hayden Crozier took the mark of the night early in the last quarter when his team really needed it. With the Bulldogs leading by only three points, he climbed over Toby Greene on the wing to take a superb chest mark at a decent height and the resulting chain of disposals finished up with a Jason Johannisen goal. It turned out to be a game-breaking play as the Dogs kicked nine of the last 12 goals to run out convincing winners.
GIANTS BRING THE HEAT
The best example of the Giants’ desperation and pressure came late in the third quarter when a sequence of Bulldogs possessions inside their forward 50 featured no fewer than four GWS smothers, as the Giants made space very hard to come by. The last of those disposals was a Macrae shot on goal which, you guessed it, was touched off the boot.
GREENE GOES BANG
The first of Greene’s four goals was outstanding. After accepting the handball from Matt Flynn, the stand-in GWS captain sold some candy to opposite number Bontempelli before letting one rip from 50m out on a tight angle and splitting the big sticks. He was his team’s best player again with 19 disposals, six marks and 11 score involvements.
HUNTER THREADS THE EYE
There won’t be too many better goal assists produced this year than the one Lachie Hunter executed early in the second quarter. Despite being hemmed in on the boundary line by his direct opponent, he still managed to centre the ball with precision to hit little Lachie McNeil, who was sandwiched in between tall Giants Jeremy Finlayson and Sam Taylor, on the chest with a sensational pass. McNeil finished the job from there
SCOREBOARD
GIANTS 1.1 4.5 6.8 9.11 (65)
BULLDOGS 2.3 5.7 6.11 15.14 (104)
LERNER’S BEST
Giants: Greene, Ash, Cumming, Taranto, Taylor, Hopper.
Bulldogs: Macrae, Treloar, Dunkley, Liberatore, Bontempelli, Keath, Dale
GOALS
Giants: Greene 4, Taranto, Himmelberg, Stone, Hopper, Ward.
Bulldogs: Bruce 2, McNeil 2, Liberatore 2, Dale 2, Naughton 2, Hunter, Johannisen, Bontempelli, Treloar, Macrae.
INJURIES
Giants: Haynes (hamstring), O’Halloran (shoulder).
Bulldogs: Dunkley (shoulder), English (jaw/concussion), Jong (hamstring).
UMPIRES O’Gorman, Mollison, Power
VENUE Manuka Oval
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LERNER’S VOTES
3 J.Macrae (WB)
2 A.Treloar (WB)
1 T.Greene (GWS)
Another shattering blow for injury-cursed Dog
Iinjury-cursed Bulldog Lin Jong faces another long stint on the sidelines after a right hamstring setback ruined his comeback match before quarter-time on Friday night.
The luckless utility’s appearance against Greater Western Sydney in freezing Canberra was his first at AFL level since having season-ending ankle surgery in September last year.
All-Australian Giants defender Nick Haynes also exited the contest in the opening term with a right hamstring issue.
This is Jong’s third hamstring injury in as many years, with the previous two requiring multiple months of recovery because of tendon damage.
He was in a foot race with former Dog Callan Ward in pursuit of the loose Sherrin when he over-stretched trying to bump his opponent off balance.
An emotional Jong immediately grabbed at the back of his right leg, before two trainers helped him from Manuka Oval.
“He’s had some bad luck, Jongy, with his hamstrings. He’s had some high-grade injuries, usually through mechanism, where he’s been tackled and had pressure on a side,” coach Luke Beveridge said post-match.
“I haven’t seen the replay, but it appears as though something similar happened, so it’s an emotional night for him and his teammates.
“When things like that happen in games; they’re that connected, the boys, you’re not sure how that’s going to affect them.
“So, again, that just accentuates the outcome in the end of how enormous it was, because you can go out in sympathy a bit for your teammates. I think we’re going to lose him for a while.”
Jong’s wretched run started when he broke his collarbone in the Western Bulldogs’ famous elimination final defeat of West Coast in 2016 that kick-started their drought-breaking flag triumph.
The 27-year-old tried valiantly to return in time for the Grand Final but ended up celebrating the Dogs’ victory over Sydney from the sidelines after being a senior staple all season.
He ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee the following year, and underwent a conventional hamstring tendon reconstruction.
Jong broke his collarbone again in mid-2018, with his injury history also including a broken jaw and appendicitis, which are the key reasons he’s missed 38 senior matches since 2017.
The first AFL footballer of East Timorese and Taiwanese descent took a mental health break from playing midway through the 2019 season as injuries took their toll.
Lin Jong was helped off the field after this incident in the first quarter.#AFLGiantsDogspic.twitter.com/mIqwgy658Q
— AFL (@AFL) April 23, 2021
Jong signed a fresh one-year deal in November last year to extend his AFL career into a 10th season, but he now faces another fight to regain his spot in the unbeaten Bulldogs line-up.
Lachie McNeil replaced Jong in the game as the Dogs’ medical substitute, while young gun Tanner Bruhn was subbed in for Haynes.
In an eerie coincidence, the star Giant suffered a hamstring tendon tear in the corresponding clash between the clubs four years ago at the same venue.
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