The footy world was abuzz with the return to action of Sam Darcy, and the Western Bulldogs capitalised on his enormous presence to put this game beyond doubt early in the third quarter.
To me, this game felt a lot like the “haves” versus the “have nots” of the league, as the Dogs, with talent across the board (except maybe in defence) gave the Saints little opportunity to play their own game.
Even with their superstar captain tagged out of the game by Marcus Windhager, the Dogs were a cut above the Saints all over the park.
Of course, the story coming out of the game will be Darcy, as he slotted back into the team as though he had not missed a beat, and left David King having to clean himself up in the commentary box, but there was a lot more to the win than just one player, despite what you’ll hear and read elsewhere.
The Saints cracked in. Well, most of them, anyway. However, it was a polished and slick Western Bulldogs unit that cruised to a 72-point win to kick off Round 14.
As always, HB has The Big Statements from this one.
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