Western Bulldogs defeat St Kilda by 57 points at Etihad Stadium in Round 2

THE Western Bulldogs have plenty to bark about following a comfortable victory over St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

AFL: Round 2 St Kilda v Western Bulldogs

THIS time it was Jason Johannisen’s turn to step into the spotlight.

Days after Jake Stringer was compared to a young Gary Ablett Snr, Johannisen was the one who continued the superstar-in-the-making theme as the Western Bulldogs brushed aside St Kilda in Nick Riewoldt’s 300th game on Saturday night.

The moment came in the second term when Johannisen cleverly intercepted a Jade Gresham handball on the back flank, then with a cpouple of bounces rocketed back up the ground to widen the Dogs lead to 27 points nearing half-time.

Even after the lung-busting run, Johannisen’s 50m pass was laced-out perfectly on to Stringer’s chest as he kicked his first goal on an otherwise subdued night.

But that’s the beauty about these gung-ho Dogs, if it is not Stringer, or Jack Macrae, or Luke Dahlhaus, or Marcus Bontempell, another young gun will bob up, and at half time, Johannisen’s brilliance lit up what was a dour affair, at times.

And for all the talk about how sexy Luke Beveridge’s men play, defensively they tightened the screws, keeping the Saints to only five goals in the 57-point win at Etihad Stadium.

It was the Dogs’ 11th-straight win under the roof.

Nick Riewoldt celebrated his 300th match. Picture: George Salpigtidis.

The Saints didn’t have the same polish as the Dogs and despite a strong performance from Riewoldt, playing in defence and forward, Alan Richardson’s men took a step backwards on Saturday night after an encouraging effort against Port Adelaide last weekend.

As well as Johannisen, 193cm defender Adams looks a great find for the Dogs, holding down the full-back spot in only his second game. The mature-age first-year draftee is primed to take the baton from veteran Dale Morris as the rock on the last line.

By three quarter time, Adams, 22, had helped blanket the Saints forwards, while managing 18 possessions, including 11 contested, and five tackles. He looks like he has been doing it for years at the top level.

However, the Dogs were scrappy, too, for periods and could have put the Saints away much earlier had they not squandered their dominance in the first term, kicking only three goals from 19 inside 50s.

Yet, they still had more polish than the Saints, with Mitch Wallis, Lachie Hunter and Tom Liberatore busy all night trying to work the ball through the midfield corridor.

The Saints worked their way back in the contest in the second term on the back of front-line midfielders Jack Steven, David Armitage, Jack Newnes and Jack Billings, who is primed for a break-out year after an injury-riddled second-season last year.

Liam Picken nearly dragged down this stunn. Picture: George Salpigtidis.

Billings’ delivery into the forward line was exquisite hitting up Riewoldt near half-time, but the Saints were let down by costly skill errors in the back half, early, and were much better last weekend against Port Adelaide.

Indeed, Riewoldt will kick himself for missing two set shots in his milestone game, including a 15m howler in the first half, which would have kept the Saints in the game.

Riewoldt reeled in a vintage high overhead mark on Adams midway through the third term and nailed his first goal of the night from to cut the lead to 27 points. It broke a half-hour goal drought.

But the Dogs’ forwards missed more chances in the third term as Matthew Suckling, Dahlhaus, Stringer and Mitch Wallis all sprayed decent chances, surely frustrating coach Luke Beveridge.

To the Saints’ credit, their defenders were battling doggedly as the Dogs threatened to break the game open. Sean Dempster kept Stringer on a tight leash and Sam Fisher battled manfully in the marking contests with Tom Boyd. Jarryn Geary was tough, as always.

Boyd took a step forward taking a clutch overhead mark on Shane Savage to push ahead by 38 points only seconds out from the last change before the lead ballooned out in the final quarter.

There was controversy early when Newnes ploughed into an unsuspecting Dahlahus, flooring the Dogs’ livewire and forcing him to the bench.

The AFL match review panel will look at the incident, which happened about 40m off the ball in the first term, although Dahlhaus played the rest of the match.

WESTERN BULLDOGS 13.15 (93)

ST KILDA 5.6 (36)

GOALS

Western Bulldogs: T Boyd 3 J Stringer 2 L Picken 2 C Daniel J Johannissen L Hunter M Wallis T Liberatore T McLean.

St Kilda: N Riewoldt 2 J Bruce J Lonie J Newnes.

Umpires: Sam Hay, Shane McInerney, Brendan Hosking.

Venue: Etihad Stadium.

Originally published as Western Bulldogs defeat St Kilda by 57 points at Etihad Stadium in Round 2