Western Bulldogs

2022 - 5 - 22

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Fox Sports"

Dogs coach's 'careful' answer fuels AFL mystery after star's ... (Fox Sports)

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has hinted star forward Aaron Naughton may have received some illegal treatment in the win over Gold Coast, ...

“He was just outstanding in that first half. “It was a shame he left a couple out there … It would be nice for him to walk away with more than just three.” “Bevo’s got a history of going there in the post-match press conferences,” he said on Best on Ground. “After the game what happens is you are pretty sure you know what happened, but you’ve got to go back to have a look just to make sure,” he said. When asked if he was speaking about blocking by Suns opponent Sam Collins, Beveridge repeated the line that he had to be “really careful”. “He kept fighting, kept bringing the ball to ground.

Williams seals win as Bulldogs outlast gutsy Suns (The Age)

The Western Bulldogs held on for an enthralling win against the Gold Coast Suns, Bailey Williams kicking what turned out to be the sealing goal with two ...

“For him to have an influence and an impact, it was a big last quarter when we needed it.” You can look at that two ways, but one thing’s for sure, we were up against a formidable opponent,” he said. But the feeling that they were only just hanging in there was confirmed as the weight of numbers began to tell against them. When skipper Marcus Bontempelli bounced through a leg-break, the margin had blown out to 32 points. At that point, it looked like the Dogs had control of the game. He also set up Ainsworth with a cleverly delayed handpass. Late in the first quarter, he kicked his second, prompting coach Stuart Dew to move Thompson on to him. “He probably had moments in the game that he’d probably make more of usually, so for him to persevere – we asked him to play a bit of a different role, he was forward, but in a bit of a freelance role,” he said. The ascendant Suns lost no friends in a gutsy performance. Jeffery bobbed up with two more eye-catching goals, Izak Rankine continuing a rich run of form with the assist. It held the Bulldogs to a lead of just seven points at half-time, and the Suns had won the quarter by a point against the run of play. For the first half of the second quarter, they thrashed the Suns around the ball, and Smith had the Sherrin on a string, bursting from the front of stoppages at will.

AFL Western Bulldogs fight off Gold Coast Suns to even their season ... (ESPN)

The Western Bulldogs have beaten a fast-finishing Gold Coast by 19 points to claim consecutive victories for the first time in 2022 and get their AFL season ...

"I've got to be really careful here. Jeffrey stemmed the bleeding by snapping his fourth and the Suns fought back from there, responding time and time again until the Bulldogs iced the game in the final minute. "We'll do some follow up. But he kept fighting, kept bringing the ball to ground and that's what he does." Because he's been so dominant and then there are reasons why he wasn't in the second half. Aaron Naughton looked set to break the game open with three first-half goals but was quietened by Sam Collins in the second half.

Western Bulldogs v Gold Coast - The Mongrel Review - The Mongrel ... (The Mongrel Punt)

The Dogs made it two in a row, knocking over Gold Coast at Mars Stadium in Ballarat. Hodgey has all the details in The Mongrel Review.

Perhaps a move back to the outside of the wide-open spaces could work for him? I don’t think it was unintentional, however, the inexperience of the Dogs forward may have played a part in it. I don’t know if I would call it a “cheapshot” however, there was a very ugly spoil attempt from Buku Khamis on Jy Farrar in the first quarter, with the forearm of Khamis collecting the back of Farrar’s head. Watching his cleanliness by hand immediately cast memories back to the time his dad was running around for the Bulldogs, and I believe he has inherited his father’s uncanny gift for ball usage in close. This means he is able to not only work over his defender around the ball but also escape a tag. Playing as a high half-forward, he tore Gold Coast to shreds around the ball early, and then later, once the Suns were able to quell the influence of Naughton, he had a massive final quarter with two goals, two contested marks and two clearances to end the spirited fightback. For those that said he is “past his prime” I would strongly urge you to rethink that theory, as he showed he can still impact the game in the right circumstance. They are still the best team in regards to “one disposal back to go forward” in the game, as they pull the pressure in and then open things up. Whether a facilitator or creator, he showed what he was capable of, and hopefully, he can continue his good form later into the season as the Bulldogs continue their push into the finals. Collins and the Suns’ defence lifted on Naughton after the matchup was switched back to Collins. Naughton kicked 3.2 from 15 disposals and had five marks, however, his quiet second half was a catalyst for the Suns fightback. The pentagon of pain, comprised of Macrae, Smith, Liberatore, Dunkley and Treloar absolutely feasted on the Suns with a combined 138 disposals and 30 clearances between them. In a throwback to the legendary call of West Coast premiership player Peter Wilson – “like a cork in the ocean” Jeffrey intercepted a defensive handball in the goalsquare to boot a ball over his head, but also equally impressively followed up a spoiling effort to snap another while having an arm pinned in a Caleb Daniel tackle late in the game.

Suns hopeful over luckless defender, Bevo plans Naughton 'follow-up' (AFL)

Suns hopeful over luckless defender, Bevo plans Naughton 'follow-up'. The Suns are hopeful over Rory Thompson's knee injury. By Michael Whiting - 16 hrs ago.