The Western Bulldogs remain the only undefeated side to start the 2026 season, despite a second-half fightback from Essendon on Sunday evening.

Under the rare open roof of Marvel Stadium, the Bulldogs recorded the 14.15 (99) to 9.11 (65) victory to keep a clean sheet, but the 34-point margin was their narrowest over the Bombers since round seven, 2022.

Even in the absence of hard nut Tom Liberatore and breakout star Richards, the Dogs controlled the contest. By half time, they were leading the clearance count 22-9 (ultimately winning the metric by 14), and the contested possessions 62-47.

ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 09:36

    Luke Beveridge | Post-Match (R4)

    Watch Western Bulldogs’s press conference after round four’s match against Essendon

    AFL
  • 08:08

    AFL R4 | Match Highlights

    The Bulldogs and Bombers clash in round four of the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season

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  • 00:23

    AFL R4 | Team Song: Western Bulldogs

    Watch the Bulldogs celebrate their round four win

    AFL
    Video
  • 00:33

    AFL R4 | Naughton 300: Dogs star reaches milestone

    Aaron Naughton slams home his 300th goal of the season after fellow forward Jordan Croft makes the handy assist

    AFL
  • 01:00

    AFL R4 | Jones pulls every trick out of the bag

    Arty Jones boots a beautiful running goal from outside the arc, and takes a ridiculous speccy seconds after to kick two quick goals

    AFL
    Video
  • 00:45

    AFL R4 | Williams finishes brilliant Bont play

    Bailey WIlliams finds himself open to snap an easy goal after a brilliant handball from Marcus Bontempelli started the play

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    Video
  • 00:33

    AFL R4 | Captain Bont opens the show with typical class

    Marcus Bontempelli kicks things off in style with a trademark finish on his lethal left.

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    Video
  • 06:47
    exclusive
    exclusive

    Bevo's Brief | Round 4

    Head Coach Luke Beveridge provides an exclusive insight leading into Round 4 against Essendon on Easter Sunday.

    AFL
    Video
  • 14:47

    Luke Beveridge | "Big challenge to make sure our preparation is on point"

    Bevo speaks to the media ahead of the round 4 clash with Essendon

    AFL
    Video

The win was soured somewhat by ruck Tim English, small forward Arty Jones and defender Rory Lobb all failing to play out the contest.

Arty’s party

In his first game at the top level since a nasty concussion sustained against Brisbane in Opening Round, Arty Jones made his mark on the contest early. First, a stunning long-range goal that sailed over the head of teammate Sam Davidson in the goal square. Then, not two minutes later, Jones rose above a pack in the hotspot and although he was the smallest player in the crush, he pulled down a stunning mark and followed up with a beautiful set shot to record his second major of the quarter.

WESTERN BULLDOGS             7.2    10.7    10.14     14.15 (99)
ESSENDON                              1.3    1.7      5.9        9.11 (65)

GOALS 
Western Bulldogs: Jones 3, Naughton 3, Darcy 3, Bontempelli, Bramble, Williams, Kennedy, Dolan
Essendon: Gresham 3, Edwards 2, May 2, Wright, Caldwell

BEST 
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Lobb, Sanders, Kennedy, Bramble, Naughton
Essendon: Roberts, Prior, Edwards, Durham, May

INJURIES 
Western Bulldogs: English (right knee), Jones (hamstring)
Essendon: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Western Bulldogs: Ed Richards (knee soreness), replaced in selected side by Lachie McNeil
Essendon: Nil

Crowd: 38,786 at Marvel Stadium