Western Bulldogs dismantle Richmond as Sam Darcy, Marcus Bontempelli star
Adem Yze said Richmond had their heart ripped out by a ruthless Western Bulldogs side in a clinical demolition on Sunday afternoon at Docklands.
Richmond coach Adem Yze admitted the Western Bulldogs “ripped the heart out of” his young team during a devastating second-quarter blitz on Sunday at Marvel Stadium.
After a competitive opening term, the Tigers were absolutely smashed as the Dogs booted eight goals in a row to swiftly end the contest which they won convincingly by 79 points.
Yze said it was a dispiriting period of the match for Richmond.
“The second quarter flattened us pretty bad,” Yze said.
“The second quarter just wasn’t to standard and that’s been a couple of weeks in a row where we’ve started OK and just didn’t maximise our opportunities at the start.
“I felt like that just affected our spirit ... our second quarter, we just lost our way.
“We’ve got to dig in and understand why we lost spirit so easily in that second quarter.
“Their (Bulldogs’) good players played well. Their execution, their polish was something that we need to get better at and they’re the type of team we’re chasing.
“When it was an execution error, they punished us; when we made the wrong decision, they punished us; and then if we went outside our game plan and went for something that we shouldn’t have with the ball, they punished us.
“So you’re not going to win many games giving up 89 points on turnover.”
Precocious Bulldogs key forward Sam Darcy was pivotal to the result, kicking five goals from 19 disposals and eight marks, and found himself in too much space too often.
Noah Balta had the task of manning Darcy, but Yze also blamed a lack of pressure further up the field for the youngster’s influential performance.
“There were a few decision errors behind the ball that gave him way too many easy opportunities and then obviously if you give a guy like Sam, who’s a talented kid and in great form, those opportunities, then it’s going to be really hard to defend,” Yze said.
“To play against these players, he (Balta) has got to get better at it and he’ll know that he didn’t play to his standard today.
“If there’s pressure on the ball, well, our defenders will look good. If there isn’t ... good luck defending them.”
In some better news for the Tigers, No.1 pick Sam Lalor (hamstring) is a chance to face Adelaide at the MCG next round and defender Nick Vlastuin is fine after copping a knee to the head twice from Darcy’s teammate Aaron Naughton on Sunday.
BONT, DARCY TEAR TIGERS APART
The Western Bulldogs are back in the top eight after shellacking a hopelessly outclassed Richmond outfit by 79 points at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
The Tigers started competitively, but couldn’t capitalise on their fleeting ascendancy and were made to pay a hefty price for their wastefulness as the Dogs piled on eight goals in a row to lead by 62 points early in the third quarter and promptly kill off the contest.
When the Bulldogs win, they win big and their 21.9 (135) to 8.8 (56) victory over Richmond ensured their last six wins have been by an average of 73 points. Their percentage also received another boost from 127.7 to 133.4.
After producing 13 goalkickers against St Kilda last week, the Bulldogs had another 11 against the Tigers, including six multiples.
The Dogs have now won four games in a row against Richmond, the last three of which have been by an average of 75 points.
The only dampener on the result for the Bulldogs was star midfielder Adam Treloar being subbed out at half-time due to calf tightness.
It continues a frustrating run for the All-Australian who has missed a considerable amount of footy already this year due to calf issues.
The Dogs will probably need to win five of their last nine games to book their place in September, and with Adelaide, the Brisbane Lions, GWS and Fremantle the only top-eight sides in their run home, they look well placed.
It was a case of boys against men as the Bulldogs finished with massive buffers in disposals (416-308), marks (128-74) and inside 50s (59-38), and when the huge gap in class and skill is added to that mix, the result was only going one way.
Superstar captain Marcus Bontempelli had a day out, finishing with a season-high 36 disposals to go with 15 contested possessions, seven clearances, 11 forward entries and three goals.
Meanwhile, prodigious forward Sam Darcy was pivotal as well with five goals from 19 touches and eight marks and Tim English starred in the ruck with 24 disposals, nine grabs, 28 hitouts, six clearances and two goals.
TIGERS FALL AWAY
Richmond’s pressure plumetted in the second stanza and the far superior Dogs took complete control, with 10 of the first 11 forward entries for the term.
It took the Tigers 22 minutes to register their only score for the period (a behind) as the Dogs registered their biggest half-time lead against Richmond (56 points) and the Tigers’ score of 1.4 (10) was their lowest half-time tally against the Bulldogs.
Richmond also committed 17 more clangers than the Dogs in the second term, which was a record differential in that stat for a quarter for the Tigers.
Richmond went 99 minutes without a goal against the Swans in their last game, and endured a 45-minute drought between their first and second goals this week.
BONT, WEST COMBINE
The play of the day occurred early in the second quarter when Bontempelli intercepted Tim Taranto’s handball by tapping the ball to himself with his outstretched left hand, and gathering it with his right before booting it deep into attack.
That is some grab from Rhylee West!#AFLDogsTigerspic.twitter.com/Q740qSGm0B
— AFL (@AFL) June 22, 2025
The ball went in the direction of Rhylee West who took a spectacular one-handed mark while diving backwards and fending off Nathan Broad at the same time in the forward pocket. West capped off the sequence with a converted set shot from 25m out.
VLASTUIN COPS IT TWICE
Late in the first quarter, Aaron Naughton took a screamer over Nick Vlastuin in the centre square after getting a shove in the back from Ben Miller. Unfortunately for Vlastuin, he got kneed in the head in the process, and in the third quarter, the Richmond veteran copped another knee to the back of the head from Naughton who attempted another speccy.
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