THE Western Bulldogs have broken Sydney's undefeated streak for the season with a 27-point win on a windy Saturday afternoon at their home of Mission Whitten Oval. 

A seesawing affair, the Swans kicked four in a row in the second and third terms but the Dogs held their nerve, ramming home six goals to finish 9.6 (60) to 5.3 (33) in the second week of AFLW Indigenous Round. 

Firecracker Rylie Wilcox finished with a career-high three goals, while teammate Emma McDonald bobbed up in the final term with three of her own.

Co-captain Izzy Pritchard led the way with 23 disposals, nine clearances and four tackles. Celebrating her 75th game on Saturday afternoon, Elle Bennetts was everywhere, finishing with 20 disposals, three tackles and 477 metres gained with 100% game time.

Chloe Molloy was a shining light for the Swans, scoring three goals off 14 possessions. Tanya Kennedy made a successful return from a pre-season back injury, finishing with a whopping game-high 12 tackles. 

Young star Zippy Fish held up her end of the bargain, with 25 disposals and 546 metres gained, although she came off worse for wear late after running into the goalpost.

The result leaves both sides at a promising 3-1, giving the Bulldogs in particular some confidence.

Fearless Wilcox opened proceedings with two goals, her second an opportunistic slide through the pack helped along by a lucky bounce or two. 

Not to be outdone, Chloe Molloy sold some candy and snapped, the wind guiding the ball through to open the Swans’ ledger, before Pritchard extended the lead after scoring from stoppage.

Sydney tightened up its game in the second quarter, in particular around clearance and contested possessions. The side scored the only two goals of the quarter to reduce the half-time margin to four points.

Both goals resulted from the Swans taking their chances, with star Montana Ham throwing the ball on the boot out of a pack and co-vice-captain Sofia Hurley snapping on the run.

The Swans brought the pressure to the start the third, with the Dogs trying to kick into space and get out the back while the defence held up well.

It was a Molloy masterclass in the third quarter. Slipping a tackle and scoring to put the Swans in front for the first time of the afternoon, a deep entry by Fish then found her again out the back to extend their lead and wrestle momentum away from the Bulldogs.

Repeat forward 50 entries for the Bulldogs built relentless pressure before a scramble in the goal square led to a Jasmyn Smith goal, and it was party time for the Dogs from there.

Up next
The Bulldogs head to Kennedy Community Centre in Dingley next Saturday to take on Hawthorn at 1:05pm. A Sydney derby awaits the Swans at their home of Henson Park against GWS Giants on Sunday at 2.35pm.

WESTERN BULLDOGS            3.2   3.4   4.4    9.6     (60)
SYDNEY                                   1.0   3.0   5.2    5.3     (33)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Wilcox 3, McDonald 3, Pritchard, Smith, Carruthers
Sydney: Molloy 3, Hurley, Ham

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Pritchard, Edmonds, Bennetts, Wilcox
Sydney: Fish, Kennedy, Hurley, Ham

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Cann (nose)
Sydney: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Sydney: Smith (wrist)

Crowd: 2,142 at Mission Whitten Oval