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ROUND 8 ? Manuka Oval, Canberra
Western Bulldogs 4.4 9.6 14.10 14.17 (101)
Sydney Swans 3.2 4.7 6.9 9.9 (63)
Swans lose spark as Hall fires.
The Swans struggled for the second week in a row as they went down to the skilful Bulldogs by 38 points in the Nation?s Capital.
The Swans were hit hard even before arriving in Canberra, losing Moore to an ankle injury and Mumford to suspension as a result of a bruising encounter with the Cats. It only got worse for the Swans with Bradshaw a late withdrawal with knee soreness, replaced in the side by Paul Bevan in his first game of the year. The Bulldogs also lost Griffen with back tightness, who was replaced by the veteran Eagleton.
The Swans were without their big men meaning Pyke had to shoulder the majority of the ruckwork with White as back-up. White?s move out of the forward line and Bradshaw?s late withdrawal meant the Swans were relying on Playfair, in his first game since 2008 as the focus of their attack. The Bulldogs had shown only glimpses of their brilliant pre-season form and Hall was not quite the messiah they had hoped, booting only one goal in the previous two games.
The game started quickly with Bolton ? playing in the forward line ? dropping a mark before the ball rebounded to the other end, only for Hall to take the mark. A 50m penalty gifted the Bulldogs their first goal, only 40 seconds in. Bolton held the next one but missed as the Swans started with a small forward line ? Bevan, Bolton, Rohan and Hannebery rotating through. Hannebery opened the Swans? account with a brilliant left foot snap from the boundary line before Bolton curled one from the same boundary after the Bulldogs kicked the ball out of bounds on the full.
LRT was started on Hall and Grundy on Hahn - who kicked a clever goal from mid-air. Rohan?s second effort after dropping a mark saw him kick his second AFL goal with great endeavor. The Swans were tackling well and playing on at all opportunities, Bevan lively in the forward line and applying plenty of pressure early. Rohan had a tough job, being picked up by Lake and beaten by his experience and superior strength on a few occasions. The Swans were clogging the Bulldogs forward line but a free kick to Higgins off a Shaw high tackle saw the scores leveled. Lake was outmarking the Swans? forwards at every opportunity and dragged Rohan forward to kick a goal of his own. The Bulldogs were winning the hard ball and took an eight point lead into quarter time.
The Swans again started the second quarter sprightly; a beautiful pass from Bevan resulted in a great mark by Grundy and a shot on goal by Bolton who missed. McVeigh then missed running in on a tight angle only moments later. The Swans were made to pay with Eagleton thumping one into an open goal square from the resulting turnover. Boyd then set up Hall for another goal before a free against Goodes in the Swans? forward 50 was rushed up the other end for another Hall goal.
The Bulldogs had more of the ball but the Swans were winning the inside 50s; they just weren?t using the ball well. Another miss by Kennedy before Goodes got a lucky 50m penalty and scored his second goal. Sloppy skills killed the Swans as they turned over the ball too easily and Stack got onto the end of one of the turnovers for another goal to the Bulldogs. A free against Richards for holding gave Lake his second goal of the afternoon right on the half time siren to send the Bulldogs into the break up by 29.
The Swans went into the third quarter with Kennelly struggling with a knee complaint but it was the Bulldogs who were one down with Murphy not returning a few minutes into the third quarter with a knee problem of his own. Malceski was thrown into the Swans? forward line and the Bulldogs ascendency was made even more impressive as they had laid only 14 tackles. Strong marks to O?Keefe and Bevan saw Bevan line up for goal only to hit the post. The opportunity was rued only seconds later when Hall, now matched up on Grundy, kicked truly for the Bulldogs.
The Swans missed again while the Bulldogs couldn?t put a foot wrong with Stack slotting another after roving a stoppage. Smith was doing an excellent job on Giansiracusa, keeping the key Bulldog very quiet. LRT was also getting into the game after being moved off Hall but the Swans couldn?t get it past the middle. Goodes sharked a stoppage to kick a goal like only Goodes can but there were still no options up forward for the Swans. Richards and Mattner were thrown up there but Richards couldn?t find the middle of the goals before Hill turned Rohan inside out to kick one for the Bulldogs. Credit to Roos for trying nearly everything as Smith was thrown into the middle, Rohan played across the half back line and Richards up forward with LRT even having a turn at the centre bounce.
Shaw?s job on Akermanis deserves a mention as does his run and carry but the Swans still couldn?t penetrate the lead the Bulldogs had set up. A sloppy kick in by the Swans resulted in another goal to Stack as the Swans lost their spark. Goodes gave away an easy free on Hall who made him pay with another goal while Lake?s experience for the Bulldogs kept Playfair quiet. Hannebery kicked his second with another beautiful kick but the forward line was almost non-existent for the Swans. Both teams were almost equal in clearances and inside 50s but the Bulldogs? superior skills gave them a deserved 49 lead into three quarter time.
The Bulldogs didn?t kick another goal for the match but peppered the goal for seven behinds. Goodes tried his best and seemed to be playing everywhere as he slotted another goal. The delivery into the forward 50 gave Bevan and the other smalls almost no chance but Goodes kicked truly again to finish with four. There were a few (tiny) glimmers of the Swans as a Rohan tackle forced a holding the ball free but Playfair was still being outmarked and a slow Pyke was caught holding the ball. Kirk goaled for the Swans right at the end but it was still a thrashing with the Swans outplayed, outmarked and outclassed to the tune of 38 points.
To be fair this was not the Swans? full strength team and very far off it ? missing their key defender, first and second rucks, their key forward and a good small forward. Pyke battled hard and did a few good things, at least providing a contest on most occasions. The run from Shaw (29 possessions) and Kennelly at times was good but LRT and Grundy were well beaten. Smith had a good game while through the midfield McVeigh (30 possessions) and possibly O?Keefe were the only shining lights as the Swans found it hard to get hands on the ball. The delivery into the forward line didn?t help the Swans in any way ? Bevan tackled hard and provided a contest while Playfair wasn?t horrible. The youngsters in Rohan and Jetta tried hard but went missing at times although Hannebery had a consistent game. Goodes was Goodes and although it took him a while to get into the contest, he influenced the game ? just not when it counted.
For the Bulldogs it was the Barry Hall show and rightly so as he marked, tackled and scored 5 goals just like the full forward they have been lacking for so many years. Cross (32 possessions), Boyd (29) and Cooney (24) got a lot of the ball for the Bulldogs but it was a big team effort as everyone contributed in a dominating display. The Swans have now run both Geelong and the Bulldogs into form and if the Bulldogs continue like they did on Saturday they are certainly a top four team.
The Swans will be hoping to regain Bradshaw (almost certainly) and McGlynn (50/50) for this week?s clash against Fremantle. With Mumford out for another week, the Swans will be forced to rely on Pyke and White again unless they give Currie a chance but it seems unlikely as Roos hasn?t mentioned him at all. This week?s game will be another stern test and the running Fremantle side will show the Swans up if they don?t come to play.
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Hall 5, Stack 3, Lake 2, Eagleton, Hahn, Higgins, Hill
Sydney Swans: Goodes 4, Hannebery 2, Bolton, Kirk, Rohan
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Lake, Hall, Cross, Boyd, Stack, Hudson, Cooney
Sydney Swans: Goodes, McVeigh, Shaw, Mattner
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Murphy (knee), Griffen (back tightness) replaced in selected side by Eagleton
Sydney Swans: Bradshaw (knee) replaced in selected side by Bevan
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Farmer, Chamberlain, McInerney
Official crowd: 14,308
