The Western Bulldogs went down to Sydney in a hard-fought contest at the SCG, unable to recover from a first-quarter blitz by the Swans.

The 35-point defeat came after the Swans kicked the first six goals of the game, with Charlie Curnow dominating early and the Dogs failing to kick a goal in the first term.

The visitors steadied for the remainder of the game but despite an outstanding display by Bailey Dale - who finished with 32 disposals and kicked a towering goal from the centre square - they never got within range.

Now sitting at 9-7, the Dogs face the West Coast Eagles next week as they look to hold on to a finals spot with seven games remaining.

Match Details

SYDNEY                           5.3  8.5  10.10  13.12 (90)
WESTERN BULLDOGS      0.3   3.8   6.10  7.13 (55)

GOALS
Sydney: Curnow 6, McClean 3, Cleary, Warner, Hamling, Heeney
Western Bulldogs: Jones 2, Croft 2, Naughton, Dale, Sanders

BEST
Sydney: Curnow, Grundy, Heeney, McLean, McCartin, Mills
Western Bulldogs: Dale, Richards, Freijah, Sanders, Liberatore

INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Budarick (ankle)

LATE CHANGES
Sydney: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Nil 

Crowd: 35,227 at the Sydney Cricket Ground