It may not go down as an example of the modern game at its most exhilarating, but that won’t bother the Western Bulldogs, after they dispatched of Carlton by 21 points in front of 33,915 fans at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The Dogs came into the marquee fixture with a record of one win and four losses and a negative result could have made a September appearance difficult, but the Dogs delivered on the back of a dominant Marcus Bontempelli performance.
The neutrals would have been hoping for a Bontempelli v Crips match up, and got what they wanted after Cripps’ 10 disposal, five clearance first term. From quarter time on Bontempelli and Lin Jong shared the job on Cripps, and ‘the Bont’ got busy himself, picking up 11 touches, two inside 50s and two score involvements to help send the Dogs into the main break 23-points up.
He ended his night with 30 disposals, ten above his season average, seven marks, seven tackles and seven inside 50s in a vintage display.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the home side. The Blues jumped the Dogs at the beginning of both the second and third terms, and with Fremantle’s eight goal to zero run on either side half time fresh last week, the Dogs needed to hold the line and hold the line they did.
While both sides would have been unhappy with their turnover counts, the Blues spilt the pill more often and the Dogs were able to make them pay often enough to bank the four points and keep the season alive.
Bontempelli, Jack Macrae (32 disposals), Lachie Hunter (29) and Matt Suckling (25) were the Dogs chief ball winners, while 19-year-old Patrick Lipinski bobbed up and kicked three goals in his third AFL game, and Billy Gowers kicked two in game number six.
And as he did last week, big man Tom Boyd looked mobile, strong and confident and again kicked the Dogs first goal but blotted his copy book by missing three others.
What the contest may have lacked in polish it found in theatre with Caleb Daniel’s famous helmet, the one that he’s worn since his junior footy days, was broken and discarded for the first time in his AFL career.
The Dogs return to Mars Stadium in Ballarat next week to take on Gold Coast.
Western Bulldogs 4.5 7.8 9.12 11.14 (80)
Carlton 3.1 4.3 6.6 8.11.59
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Macrae, Hunter, Suckling, Wallis
Carlton: Cripps, Fisher, Thomas, Phillips, Casboult
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Lipinski 3, Gowers 2, Wallis, Macrae, McLean, Boyd, Daniel, Dale
Carlton: Casboult 2, McKay, Fisher, Phillips, Wright, C.Curnow, Silvagni
