THE Western Bulldogs suffered a horror injury toll as they went down to a Jeremy Cameron-inspired Geelong by 75 points at the Cattery on Friday night.
Sam Darcy went down with what appears to be a serious knee injury early in the game before Tom Liberatore was withdrawn with a concussion and key backs Rory Lobb and James O’Donnell suffered hamstring injuries late.
The Cats did enough early damage to build the foundation for a 19.17 (131) to 8.8 (56) victory at GMHBA Stadium, before a late flurry of goals against a depleted Dogs outfit.
The home side was ruthless, expertly using the ground’s width when it had ball in hand, then squeezing the opposition when without it.
Although the Bulldogs’ midfield has long been its strong suit, the absence of ruck Tim English for the second consecutive week, combined with an efficient Oisin Mullin tag on captain Marcus Bontempelli (14 disposals, two clearances), meant the visitors were second best in the contest.
Struggling to get the ball into space under the Cats’ in-tight pressure, the Dogs were further challenged by the narrow confines of GMHBA Stadium.
While the likes of Buku Khamis, O’Donnell, and Rory Lobb have been praised this year for their newly stingy efforts, they were not given a chance to maintain that sort of form given the pure speed with which the ball was coming into their vicinity.
The visitors did rally in the third quarter, despite having just three rotations on the bench in the second half. Oskar Baker (13 disposals, two goals) became an avenue to goal, finding space inside 50 on multiple occasions, and Aaron Naughton (10 disposals, three goals) led with intent.
Ed Richards, despite heading into the match under a significant injury cloud, was the Dogs’ best with 30 disposals and 30 tackles, working both ways through the middle of the ground.
Worst case scenario
Down by six goals, and only looking dangerous in the front half when Sam Darcy had his hands on the footy, the worst possible scenario played out for the Bulldogs. Leading up to the footy early in the second quarter, Darcy’s left knee awkwardly twisted underneath him without any contact, and he immediately grabbed at the joint as he fell to the ground. Darcy pounded the ground before the medical staff could get to him, and looked devastated as he came from the ground. As he headed to the rooms, Darcy threw his mouthguard in frustration, unable to totally straighten the leg. It was the same knee that Darcy hyperextended in round six last year, and spookily, father Luke ruptured his ACL against the Cats at GMHBA Stadium in Round 6, 2005.
Another three down
On return from a hamstring injury, much-loved Dog Tom Liberatore was ruled out for the second half with a head knock, further thinning the side’s bench. He succumbed to the head knock late in the second quarter, and failed to return to the bench for the night, instead remaining in the club’s rooms. Before too long, key defender James O’Donnell was felled by a hamstring issue, unable to take part in the final quarter, and matters were only made worse when fellow defender Rory Lobb came off with 10 minutes left on the clock, reporting his own hamstring concern. The stocks have been significantly thinned ahead of the club’s round seven opener against Sydney on Thursday.
GEELONG 6.4 12.6 13.11 19.17 (131)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.2 3.3 7.5 8.8 (56)
GOALS
Geelong: Cameron 10, Dangerfield 2, Dempsey, Neale, Martin, O.Henry, Humphries, Kolodjashnij, Smith
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 3, Baker 2, Croft 2, Lewis
BEST
Geelong: Cameron, Smith, Holmes, Dempsey, Edwards, Martin
Western Bulldogs: Richards, Baker, Kennedy, Naughton
INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Darcy (left knee), Liberatore (concussion), O’Donnell (right hamstring), Lobb (left hamstring)
Crowd: 33,200 at GMHBA Stadium
