Dogs Bite Hard On Wavering West Coast
by Tim Stone, reporting for AFANA from Subiaco, WA
The Dogs have staged a stunning defeat of the West Coast Eagles by 9 points in round 13 at Subiaco Oval on Sunday. The hardest road trip in the AFL, along with the fear of a tough contest, was not enough to deter a determined Bulldogs squadron which defied the odds to end a 4 year losing streak at Subiaco for Melbourne based clubs.
The Dogs of Footscray lead for almost the entirety of the game, in doing so managed to fend off a an almost expected strong finishing West Coast outfit.
The oh-so-familiar scenario faced West Coast, the "great escape artists" as they had been dubbed by the media almost came to fruition. The Eagles however were unable to live up to their reputation, falling 9 points shy to a side that were underestimated, under manned, but undeterred.
The Eagles position on the ladder can be considered flattering in contrast to recent form, "escape" victories over Geelong and Carlton preceded the 2 games on the trot they have now lost. On the back of losing the number 1 ruckman in the league this week in Dean Cox they are in desperate need of a return to form.
The Eagles now hang precariously to their 2nd place on the AFL ladder, with a low percentage and within one game of Collingwood, Melbourne and the Bulldogs. Faced with the immediate danger of missing out on a home final, this is also backed by the strong potential of slipping out of the top four.
The game started positively enough, with Lynch deceptively centring a kick to the top of the square, Hunter was able to mark unopposed and goal 6 minutes in.
Not even the anticipation and jubilation the home crowd generated from Gardiner's first run on the park for 2006 could stem the tide as the Bulldogs silenced the home crowd to a whisper at quarter time, ahead by 9 points. Judd's late goal restored some pride to the scoreboard.
The Dogs were dominant but wasteful in the second with 3 minor scores before the Eagles capitalized on their opportunities at the other end. Undisciplined defence on the goal line saw Staker and Hunter both able to mop up from one-on-one contests, both goaling unopposed as the ball spilled off hands and into their waiting arms.
The quarter was low scoring, the Eagles scoring the only 2 goals of a quarter that by all accounts belonged to a Dogs outfit that outplayed and outwitted West Coast, only unable to capitalize with a total of 6 minor scores.
West, Gilbee and Cross dominated the supposed best midfield in the league of Judd, Cousins, Kerr and Fletcher. The scoreboard simply flattered the hosts.
A game begun to shape itself itself heavy on the gritty one percenters, the Dogs to the betterment of this seemed more disciplined against arguably the most disciplined team in the league.
To half time it was the visitors holding firm and disappointing the home crowd as they crushed the multiple wave of attacks forged by West Coast time and time again with ease.
Even though the Bulldgos lost the quarter 2 goals to none, they were the better team of the quarter and the half, 2 or 3 goals better than what the scoreboard suggested.
It didn’t take long after half time. Skipper started the second half in the best possible way and ended the Dog's goal drought, stemming back to the 20 minute mark of the second quarter. Surprisingly they had not lost the lead in spite of this statistic.
Johnson goaled 1 minute later from a set shot on the tightest of angles and all of a sudden a 1 point lead had become 13 in just 3 minutes. The margin begun to better reflect the reality of the game.
Rodney Eades men looked drilled and clinical as they established a lead, and showed no signs of releasing their grip on the game. Cooney was instrumental as he ran into an open goal on the end of a chain of handballs that culminated from a ball up on their attacking 50.
Boyd dumped Kerr from a heavy shepherd in the next start of play, and when Judd found his dash and blazed toward the goal -- only to hit the post, it didn't seem like it was going to be West Coast's day.
The premiership quarter (third quarter) was the defining point of the game, where the Bulldogs dominance of the game was finally rewarded on the scoreboard. 4 goals to none had West Coast behind by 23 points going into the final break.
The game was being won and lost on the Bulldogs ability to win the 50/50 contests, that West Coast in previous games had the ability to turn into 60/40's.
When the Eagles knuckled down in defence, the Dogs refused to turn the ball over. When the Eagles finally worked the ball into a scoring position, it was simply run down by the Dog's tenacity.
In spite of their "great escape" ability, this game always seemed to have the better of them.
2 minutes into last change Johnson had the ability to destroy the Eagles twice but was unable to finish, the nail in the coffin seemingly only 1 goal away. Unlike previous opponents the Dogs never showed signs of releasing the game, and every possession that didn't belong to West Coast was one possession closer to victory for the Dogs.
Embley finally goaled for the Eagles, an effort that hadn't been seen since the 19 minute mark of the second quarter.
19 points adrift, it was going to get worse before it got better for West Coast as Cooney thumped his charging torso into Dean Cox, sending the giant ruckman to the turf.
The game went forth without him, and when Jones missed out on an obvious free kick on the goal line for being held, the focus turned to frustration for West Coast. Johnson marked in the square at the other end and goaled to make it a 25 point lead at to rub a little salt in the wounds.
The Eagles were not written off howver, their fighting quality shined as Selwood and Embley goaled in quick succession, and had Hunter not hit the post in place of his normal last quarter heroics, it would have been game on.
The "great escape artists" looked almost destined to repeat their feats of previous weeks, with half a quarter to go they were only 2 goals shy of the lead. The dream was dashed however, as West Coast turned the ball over on their 50 metre arc, only to have 4 Bulldogs sprint in unison, ball in tow towards their goal. Giansiracusa finished off a thrilling goal that ended the game and brought silence to a crowd that had been jubilant not 20 seconds before.
The defences went up as the Dogs played man on man with extra players roaming loose in defence. Time was their friend, but West Coast's enemy.
Glass goaled but it was all in vain as time wore on and the siren sounded to acknowledge the magnificent defeat that the Western Bulldogs had inflicted, slaying the mighty West Coast side by 9 points and taking the 4 points back to Melbourne. They were the first team from Melbourne to achieve such a feat in 26 attempts.
As the Dogs congratulated each other in jubilation, they moved their season to 9-4, pulling off a win that stats and good reason assumed would go the Eagles way. A voodoo, a seemingly impossible road trip for all Victorian teams, broken in round 13 by the Bulldogs.
A season altering victory hails the Dogs as contenders, while West Coast hang on vicariously to a home final position, for now.
West Coast Eagles 2.5 4.7 4.11 8.16 (64)
Western Bulldogs 4.2 4.8 8.10 10.13 (73)
GOALS
West Coast Eagles
Andrew Embley (2)
Adam Hunter (2)
Adam Selwood (1)
Brent Staker (1)
Chris Judd (1)
Darren Glass (1)
Western Bulldogs
Brad Johnson (4)
Wayde Skipper (1)
Rohan Smith (1)
Adam Cooney (1)
Brett Montgomery (1)
Chris Grant (1)
Ryan Hargrave (1)
Article last changed on Friday, July 07, 2006 - 11:07 PM EDT
