After a round of close games last week, this game between the Bulldogs and Essendon was one of the first blowouts of the season. The result is even more surprising, given that most pundits had both sides finishing around the mark for finals at the start of the season.
Essendon fans might point to their injuries as a reason for their loss, but the margin is the real kicker at the end of this contest. Some of the players the Bombers are now missing include the likes of Sam Draper, Jade Gresham, Lewis Hayes, Harrison Jones, Darcy Parish, and Jordan Ridley. However, the Bulldogs are also missing a lot of quality players, including Sam Darcy, Riley Garcia, Liam Jones, Adam Treloar, and Cody Weightman, even if Jones is out of the team by as a result of their own choice at the time.
Particularly troubling for the Bombers was that they managed only one goal in the first half. This would have been okay if they could have stopped the Bulldogs from scoring, but the Dogs rammed home ten goals in the same period. Only the Dog’s inaccuracy kept this game from being even more of a one-sided affair.
While Essendon were abhorrent, there is plenty to celebrate for Dogs fans. The game, without Sam Darcy, saw Riley West and Buku Khamis work as a potent threat up forward while Aaron Naughton was held to just one goal for the game, and he’d be very disappointed he was unable to join in the feast. Bailey Dale also had a great game, racking up 49 possessions and suffering from a fatal dose of leather poisoning. The Western Bulldogs’ engine room also seemed to hum harmoniously, even when their star, Marcus Bontempelli, was sent forward. The only downside for the Bulldogs was the injury suffered by Arthur Jones. Jones was subbed out of the game after appearing to injure his hamstring in the second quarter.
For Essendon, it seemed like things went wrong one after another. The team struggled to score early, kicking multiple behinds from gettable opportunities before Xavier Duursma kicked his team’s first goal halfway through the second quarter. Duursma was one of the Bombers’ few decent players, as even captain Zach Merrett had his colours well and truly lowered. Young guns Isaac Kako and Nate Caddy were also well-held in the game, combining for only 15 possessions between them, with neither player registering a scoring shot.
Another issue for the Bombers was the fact that, despite losing the possession count, they were also out-tackled by a ferocious Bulldogs unit.
Now onto the main points from the game.
Luke Beveridge is owed an apology
It’s safe to say that there are plenty in the media who owe the Bulldogs coach, Luke Beveridge, an apology. Despite having a list full of talented players, many felt that Beveridge wasn’t getting the most out of his players, as they just managed to make it into the finals in 2024 after missing them altogether in 2023.
Without setting the world on fire, the Bulldogs now sit in a strong position, just outside the top 4 after leapfrogging Adelaide and currently sitting on the best percentage in the league with 132.6. This also comes after the Bulldogs were forced to play without Marcus Bontempelli for the first month of the season, where they lost to Collingwood, Fremantle, and Brisbane. They also lost their prodigiously talented young star, Sam Darcy, and have been forced to endure the ongoing Jamarra Ugle-Hagan story.
Since Bontempelli’s return, the Bulldogs have only lost one game in the last month, to the Gold Coast in Darwin. Aside from the 91-point win over Essendon, the Bulldogs notched up another 15-goal win over Port Adelaide, as well as a 71-point win over Port Adelaide and a 32-point win over Greater Western Sydney.
It seems that Beveridge is getting the most out of his players now.
Jamarra Who?
A lot has been made about the absence of the mercurial but troubled star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. In the last week, Ugle-Hagan had reportedly checked into a health retreat a week after the Bulldogs announced that the forward had been granted a leave of absence from the club following numerous incidents that caused the relationship between the player and the club to sour.
While Ugle-Hagan and his managers may have been hoping that the Bulldogs’ forward line would be struggling without him, the opposite may just be true. Even without talented second-generation star Sam Darcy, who suffered a serious knee injury against the Saints in Round Six. However, the Dogs have still found multiple avenues to the goal and are currently ranked the number one scoring team in the competition.
In the game against Essendon, Sudanese swingman, Buku Khamis, kicked three goals and another second-generation player, Rhylee West, kicked four goals in an impressive display. His shrug of Archie Perkins really emphasised the gulf between the teams. One was up to it, and the other had grand plans that were just shoved aside.
Kennedy Stars again
Matthew Kennedy has again played a starring role for the Bulldogs. Since arriving at the club after leaving Carlton during the 2024 trade period, he has been a standout. Kennedy was involved in the Bailey Smith trade, which saw them lose Jackson Macrae to the Saints and Bailey Smith to Geelong while they received Kennedy and Geelong’s pick 20, who they have used to pick up Cooper Hynes.
While most fans have been awed at the impact that Smith has had at Geelong since crossing over, many are overlooking the impact that Kennedy has had on the Bulldogs’ midfield.
Kennedy, who left Carlton seeking a new club that could promise more midfield minutes, has allowed the Bulldogs to free up Bontempelli to move forward, similarly to what Melbourne has tried to do with Christian Petracca and what Carlton has done with Patrick Cripps to admittedly less success.
In the game against Essendon, Kennedy was once again prolific, gathering 31 possessions, kicking one goal and two behinds, and had nine score involvements. There have been some impressive recruits this season, but when you weigh expectation against what has been delivered, Kennedy might just be the best of the bunch.
Duursma’s bright light
Many Essendon players had a bad night against the Dogs, but Xavier Duursma was one of the few players who could be happy with his output. Duursma picked up 20 possessions and went at 80 per cent efficiency.
Duursma also kicked Essendon’s only goal of the first half, after taking a juggling mark on the goal line and then snapped truly from the pocket. Fourth-year player Nick Martin also had a decent game, gathering 25 possessions and kicking a goal.
However, Essendon’s captain, Zach Merrett, was quiet for the game after again starting in the forward line. Merrett, a key part of Essendon’s midfield, has played more forward since Essendon lost Jones in their game against North Melbourne in Round Eight.
Controversial Double Free Kick Call
It seems like the umpires cannot stay out of the spotlight in recent times. Last week the umpires missed a seemingly blatant trip, and in the game between Sydney and Carlton, the umpires awarded a controversial out-on-the-full free kick against Mitch McGovern after the ball hit his foot and bounced before going over the line.
The game between the Dogs and Essendon was not without its controversial calls, as well. Early in the game, the Western Bulldogs were awarded a downfield goal. Following a goal from Lachlan McNeil, Laitham Vandermeer was awarded a downfield free kick after Vandermeer received a seemingly innocuous tap from Mason Redman.
The double goal allowed the Western Bulldogs to extend their lead from 12 points to 24 points, and not that they needed it, but it really did give the Dogs a kick start.
The month ahead
This win moves the Western Bulldogs into fifth place with a record of 6 wins and 4 losses. Next week, the Bulldogs travel down the highway to play Geelong at GMHBA Stadium before their bye in round 12. After the bye, the Dogs will play in back-to-back Thursday night games against Hawthorn and St Kilda, respectively.
If the Dogs can win at least two of these games, it should set them perfectly for the second half of the season, and winning all three would be ideal. However, losing two or more games could be critical given how log-jammed the ladder is this season.
Meanwhile, the Bombers now drop to 5-4, and have a poor percentage on the back of several narrow wins and blowout losses. The Dons should rebound next week against Richmond before playing the Lions, Carlton, Geelong and Fremantle in their next month before heading to the bye.
Given their big losses, Essendon will either need to win a significant chunk of those games or win some of them by big margins to correct their shattered percentage. Anything other than this could see the Bombers miss the finals again, especially as they have a tough run home and need to play catch-up in Round 24 to make up for their cancelled Opening Round game against Gold Coast.
