Mature-aged wingman Will Hayes has continued his push for selection with another strong scratch-match performance.
The 25-year-old impressed for the second week running, as the Bulldogs edged past a combined Carlton-Essendon side by eight points on Friday afternoon.
Hayes played nine AFL games last year, in his first season on the AFL list, but has yet to break through for a senior game this year.
In an even team performance, there were plenty of players who contributed across four 20-minute quarters.
Fergus Greene had a say on the scoreboard, slotting four goals, with Tory Dickson also continuing his solid scratch match form with a goal and a hand in a couple of others.
Another experienced forward, Sam Lloyd, also had an impact – kicking three majors and spending some time through the midfield – as did big man Jordon Sweet with some nice tap work and two majors.
Development manager Jamie Maddocks on the midfield…
“Will Hayes again put in a really good performance, as he does with his tank he gets up and down the ground all day. He was involved at both ends of the ground, transitioning from defence and going inside-50. He had some important moments. Jordon Sweet started the game really well and had an impact around the ball, feeding it down to his mates at his feet. Billy Gowers was solid again, and we had an inexperienced midfield with guys like Riley Garcia and Cody Weightman spending time in there to get some experience. Riley was really good around the contest and Cody was good on the spread away.”
On the forwards…
“Fergus Greene kicked four and was pretty good for the most of the game. Tory Dickson again was lively early and had his moments, he passed the ball well to his teammates and hit the scoreboard. Sam Lloyd was good, he went through the midfield as well, he gave us some experience and brought teammates into the game. Bailey Dale does what he does, he kicked the ball well and had a couple of nice shimmies. Josh Schache looked a bit rusty early in his second game back, but then came into his own as the game went on as he does with his big tank. He did some nice things leading up, and went into the ruck as well.”
On the backs…
“Lewis Young was really important in terms of his positioning and setting up the game the way we want to play it. Deeper in defence behind him, Jackson Trengove helped everyone else set up. Buku Khamis had some good moments in the air too. When you get the ball in the hands of guys like Louis Butler or Brad Lynch, you know something good is likely to happen. We’ve got to get more of the ball into their hands to capitalise on their explosiveness.”
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.3 8.3 11.4 13.5 (83)
CARLTON/ESSENDON 3.1 6.3 9.7 11.9 (75)
Goals: Greene 4, Lloyd 3, Sweet 2, Dale, Dickson, Hayes, Weightman
