Fresh from the bye, there was much concern for the Dogs heading into their clash with Fremantle.
Much has been made about sides coming back from spotty form before the bye – which saw the Dogs lose three games on the trot after winning seven of the last eight between rounds three and 10 – and saw them fighting for their spot in the eight after their week off.
Meanwhile, the Dockers have been showing glimpses of form that saw them rocket up as one of the top six teams last year. Five wins out of their last seven, including a great response from being belted by GWS a fortnight ago when they accounted for Essendon.
With an incredibly shoddy percentage and a Dogs backline weakened, this signalled a golden opportunity for Fremantle to get a good win on the road and get one back against the Dogs after being embarrassed by them at home earlier in the year.
The Dogs have been a side that have floundered over the past month. Not even their win against North Melbourne before their bye was convincing.
But the Dogs seem to thrive on being counted out by the outsiders. With a backline held up with sticky tape, the usual suspects put the team on their back and recorded a crucial victory to keep themselves entrenched within the top eight – they call that an eight-point game, right?
This contest saw a close affair for three quarters, and the Dogs had their opportunities to break away, only for Fremantle to peg them back and take the lead on the back of a set shot by Sean Darcy.
A run of six goals seven-goal last term by the Dogs was enough to see it through and pick up their ninth game of the season.
COMETH THE MARRA
Coming into his third season in the AFL, how many of you would expect Jamarra Ugle-Hagan to command a game up forward in the manner he has?
We’ve seen him kick bigger bags in the past – the five goals he kicked against Melbourne last year really established that the young fella was coming of age. His performance against Brisbane earlier this year also was about maturity, responding to what was a difficult week in the lead-up.
But this just felt like there was more presence all around. All eight of his score involvements were either scores or immediate goal assists. But the thing that I took from this game was just how many looks at goal he was getting – seven shots on goal from this game for a return of 4.2; the next highest number was both Michael Walters and Jye Amiss, with four shots on goal and both of whom getting four goals each from it.
The thing about Jamarra has been his marking hands and how improved his aerial game has been this year. I have complained endlessly about the forwards the Dogs possess and how they all converge into one pack and get in each other’s way across the past two months; that remains a work in progress.
What stood out in this one with Jamarra in this game: 1) he got a run and jump for a mark without much impediment from Luke Ryan or Brennan Cox; both were responsible for him at numerous points. And 2) On top of his leading patterns, when he was involved in a pack situation, he had the strength and the nerve to hold several contested grabs, like he’d stolen Aaron Naughton’s talent. Nine marks overall from Ugle-Hagan in this game, four of which were contested.
It was a great performance from him. Like a few of the Bulldogs, he’d been under fire in recent weeks – for him; it’s been horrendous accuracy in front of goals – 16.22 for the season before this game.
It’s scary to think that at 21, we’re only scratching the surface with what he can do. Last year he kicked 18.16 from 17 games, and it’s taken him only two fewer games to eclipse that. If he continues to work on his kicking for goal, he’ll be worth the hype that came with the number one pick and then some.
THE SUPER SUB
It’s not often I make a highlight for a substitute, but given exactly how Rhylee West has been under pressure to cement his spot within the Bulldogs’ 22, this was a step in the right direction.
I’ve been vocal about Rhylee West this season and how he doesn’t seem to want to grab his opportu
I’ll leave the call on whether to pull Mitch Hannan out at the three-quarter time huddle was the right player to take off for all of you; I’d wager many Dogs fans would have been pleased to see him dragged – he didn’t exactly add much after kicking a goal in the opening term.
But it was interesting being there live and witnessing Bevo pull Rhylee West aside and give him a bit of a rev-up. Whatever was said, it worked because West attacked everything like his career depended on it. One of his first actions saw him burst through a contest in the forward line and then give a handball off to Cody Weightman for his second goal.
Not too long after that, he was involved in a contest and followed up with an inside-50 entry that led to Aaron Naughton kicking one of his two goals for the final term.
Those two plays turned a four-point game into a 16-point margin, and the Dogs never looked back. This ranks up there with the best of the substitutes this season: five disposals, three score involvements, two direct goal assists and two tackles in 26 minutes of playing time.
It won’t read pleasant numbers on the stat sheet, but on the eye, you can tell he influenced to shape the game in favour of the Dogs.
- BONTEMPELLI… 3 VOTES?
This has two parts because the midfielders had a day and a half from both sides. Let’s look at the winners first and between the three-headed midfield dog that is Jack Macrae, Tom Liberatore and Marcus Bontempelli, the trio combined for 27 (nine each, how evenly spread is that?) of their 43 total clearances, 10 of those coming from the centre bounce.
Macrae’s had a weird year, playing a fair bit across the half-forward line, his stats have dropped a little bit as a result, and you can see it on the field – he’s not as prominent of winning the ball and as a result, it diminishes his impact with the ball in his hands. Still, he kicked a goal, set up a couple more and had seven score involvements.
Libba continues to do his thing; probably not much he does wrong; he burrows in when the ball is in dispute, and when the team doesn’t have the ball, he goes out and starts harassing blokes in hopes they get to turn it over: nine tackles and 31 pressure acts on top of 13 contested possessions just felt like as if it was a typical day in the office for him.
But the Bont has been in the top five in discussion for the Brownlow this year, and I’d dare say he’ll poll some votes in this one too. I wish they’d give Jamarra the three votes because he stood up when the club needed goals, and we all know how much the Dogs love to make it difficult for one another in the forward line.
But if the umps must give the maximum votes to a midfielder, give it to this man. Plenty of occasions in this game where he just made running the ball out of a centre bounce or a stoppage look so effortless. He had four of his five centre clearances in the second term and also kicked an important goal to take the lead before halftime.
He was everywhere in this game, and many of his 27 disposals mattered: 15 contested possessions, six rebound 50s, 26 pressure acts and six tackles. On the heatmap, at least a dozen of his touches were from the defensive half. Also, five score involvements, one goal assist, and the goal highlighted that he had his share of scoreboard generation for the Dogs.
How good will it be to see the Bont line up on Nick Daicos in the centre bounce next Friday night? Come on, you lot, you know you want to see it.
SO RIGHT, SERONG
So on the other end, the one that stood out for the Dockers was the work of Caleb Serong. It’s been a breakout year for the kid from Warragul… or Inverloch if you’d like to be technical.
Serong has been averaging career-highs in disposals, marks, tackles, rebound 50s, inside 50s, clearances and contested possessions… everything – okay, not goals; he’s still a little bit under from his PB of eight goals in 2021 – but plenty of time for a bag yet.
Serong’s not quite a noted goal kicker yet; maybe it’s the one last thing he needs to add to his game. Because the better midfielders are roughly on that 0.7-0.9 goals per game mark. Before the start of round 16: Tim Taranto has kicked 13 goals, Nick Daicos has 12 goals, the Bont has ten goals, Noah Anderson has 11… you get the picture. Serong only has four goals to his name this year.
Push that to the side; every other facet of his game is elite. Many have already called for him to get his first All-Australian blazer at the end of the season. He is top three in the league for disposals, top five for clearances, top 10 for contested possessions and top five for inside 50s. We can make a good argument for that.
He did his chances for a maiden All-Australian no harm in this game. Whilst the Dogs mids were going to work, Serong looked like he was working overtime to go pound-for-pound with them. He finished with a game-high 18 contested possessions and 12 ground ball gets, along with ten clearances (five centre bounce clearances) and seven tackles from 28 pressure acts.
It was a true blue-collared game. And where it separates him from great mate Andrew Brayshaw, who had 29 disposals – Serong’s kicks were cleaner and served more purpose. Brayshaw only kicked it at 42 per cent efficiency; Serong was going at 77 per cent. He also had seven score involvements, and two direct goal assists compared to Brayshaw’s four and none.
I have had high wraps on him since his draft year, and from the moment he stepped in the doors at Fremantle, he has been a ripper of a player, and it looks like he’ll be there for the long haul.
This is a bold take considering we are only four seasons and 73 games into his career. But at age 22, I reckon we’ll be seeing Caleb Serong in the discussions as one of the great Freo players of all time.
THE RUCK DUEL
Interesting to see how this one panned out as the game unfolded. Tim English, in game 100, was looking to have a big day when he took a strong mark inside 50 on Sean Darcy and then proceeded to kick the match’s opening goal.
It might be unpopular with the Dogs fans here, but I thought Tim English got shown up against the Freo big man when it was all said and done. English has had his issues against the bigger boys over the years, and whilst he’s been able to combat this with his skills and athleticism, playing more like an extra midfielder this year, this was a game that showed that if you put time and body into him, then his influence can be diminished.
Big Tim dipped in with ten tackles and 23 pressure acts all up, but compared to the other stuff, Darcy had him covered: 50 hitouts to 30 on one less contest – although the hit-outs to advantage was a lot tighter – 13-11 in favour of Darcy.
Darcy’s disposal numbers were also up: 18 disposals, 11 contested possessions, four contested marks, six score involvements for 1.1, and one goal assist. English 10 disposals, eight contested, two contested marks and one goal from two score involvements.
So, all in all, an excellent game from Darcy, probably one of Freo’s best in this one.
As an aside, I found it strange that Luke Jackson, for all his dominance over the past few weeks in Darcy’s absence, only attended nine ruck contests and two centre bounces. Josh Treacy had 16 ruck contests and four centre bounce attendances – what’s up with that, Mr Longmuir?
LIAM HENRY
I just wanted a bit here on Liam Henry; I watched the replay of the Essendon game during the week, and his performance on Nic Martin – being regarded as one of the better wing players so far this season – was outstanding.
Playing the wing position is a bit weird to judge; you don’t normally see them run against each other, trying to negate the other’s influence. You see them run, hold their width and judge how efficiently they link up with their teammates.
Liam Henry had some costly errors in this game; the moment in the third term where he went to go for the one grab and fumbled, it is a bit amateur hour. Did also kick one out of the full trying to get the ball out, leading to another Dogs goal.
Yet, I walked out of Marvel Stadium, thinking he still did more good than bad. It was a sound performance to back up his breakout game last week. Granted, he had a new Bulldog in Caleb Poulter for a lot of the afternoon, and whilst he had some moments, he will take a bit to adjust to the system at the AFL level.
Henry had 33 disposals, 19 kicks at 68 per cent efficiency, six marks, six score involvements and one direct goal assist. Watching him stream down the wings, he’s a very disciplined runner, like most wingers. He holds his line so well and, overall, uses it well.
He’s out of contract at the end of the year, and I know the Dogs enquired about his services last year; this is a good sample size of what he can add should he decide to exit Fremantle at the end of the season.
The Dogs haven’t quite nailed down spots on the wing, although Bailey Williams has been in great touch this year, and Poulter, Oskar Baker, Bailey Smith and even Rory Lobb have all been played through the wing at times, so this will be something for them to consider.
For the Dockers, they must lock him down and keep him for their future. There’s a good core of players all around, and a deep finals push isn’t too far down the road: Jye Amiss’s four-goal bag continues to highlight how great his season is going, Luke Jackson, Hayden Young, the midfield core led by Serong and Brayshaw, Jordan Clark, Brennan Cox… to name a few.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
James O’Donnell returned to the Dogs lineup, and in the defensive half – where he was thriving at VFL level, I might add – he was imposing in the air. He took a couple of strong intercept marks and was okay by foot, except for one or two decisions.
Bailey Dale was excellent in this game. We all know that he’s an elite user and rebounder off half-back. Still, there were plenty of good defensive efforts between his runs off half-back: 25 disposals, 14 kicks at 100 per cent efficiency, six intercept possessions and even suck forward for a goal.
Poulter’s debut game saw him with 12 disposals; his first kick for the Dogs was a shank kick that landed into Liberatore’s lap, which ended up being the game’s first goal. He had five score involvements and a goal assist as well.
Some of Adam Treloar’s foot skills were on display in this one. He went at 86 per cent efficiency in this one and had a pretty solid outing. Been underrated a bit this season for mine, works hard every week.
Aaron Naughton is back playing full-time forward this week after being thrown in defence basically out of necessity in the North game. The coaches tried getting him higher up the ground and giving Jamarra the space to lead and launch for the ball. There were times when he still tried to fly for something that he should’ve stayed down for, but it felt as if it was few and far between compared to other games – he had an outstanding last quarter.
Sam Switkowski didn’t get much of the footy in this game, but you could feel his pressure at times, and his ability to work hard across the forward half – six ground ball gets and 23 pressure acts from him in this one.
Brennan Cox would have to be among Freo’s best players. He had moments where he came off his direct opponent and influenced the contest through intercept marking or spoils – it was one of his best games of the season. He had 13 marks, four of which were intercepts and seven spoils.
Jye Amiss is going to be a hell of a player. He has this knack for kicking goals wherever he’s facing on the ground. He snapped a crazy goal from over his head. He finished with four majors. Beat Ryan Gardner and beat him well.
Luke Ryan had a good first term, but from there, the Dogs looked to have exploited his lack of size through Ugle-Hagan and Naughton. Finished with seven marks – two of them were intercepts.
I liked Jordan Clark’s game – he is not a renowned contested ball winner, but he had eight contested possessions and 17 pressure acts to go with his 20 disposals and six marks—an excellent performance.
Michael Walters kicked his four; a couple of them were hanging out the back like a bit of a seagull, but you can’t knock that when you kick them. He was outstanding in getting them back in it after a slow start and never really went away in the contest.
And on that note, I think that’ll do me for this one. A great win from the Bulldogs with a mid-strength defensive unit will reignite the Dogs’ season. Currently sitting in fifth and most likely bumped down to 6th once St Kilda dispose of whatever is left of the West Coast team on Sunday.
The Dogs will shift to Friday night, where a date with the ladder leaders Collingwood beckons, and given how they’re giving the Gold Coast an absolute pasting right now, that’s a reality check waiting to happen. Even more so when you remember that the Dogs embarrassed them last year before they began their big winning run in the second half of the season.
As for Freo, a loss has gone begging, and that’ll make their aspirations of making back-to-back appearances in the finals a bit more difficult. Next Sunday, they’re at home when they take on Carlton in what will be considered a must-win game for the Dockers – who knows what kind of Blues team we’ll get next week.
You know who’s a great bloke? The Doc. You can buy him a coffee for the work he does by clicking the link below. I’m sure he’d greatly appreciate it.
