Match

Western Bulldogs vs West Coast Eagles

Commentary / 01 Apr 2018

Pre Game

59:30

Welcome to Etihad Stadium for the Western Bulldogs v West Coast Eagles Round 2 clash.

59:33

Outs for Bulldogs: F.Roberts, H.Crozier, T.Liberatore, S.Biggs

59:34

Ins for Bulldogs: E.Richards, L.Jong, L.Webb, C.Daniel

59:35

Outs for Eagles: W.Schofield

59:36

Ins for Eagles: W.Rioli

59:40

Don't forget to enter your tips for this match, you have until the bounce to make your selection.

00:00

Last week Western Bulldogs conceded 90 more disposals to the Giants than they had themselves, their worst differential in any game since 2015. In their 2016 premiership season the Bulldogs averaged 43 more per game than their opposition (ranked first).

Quarter 1

00:00

Q1 is now underway.

02:26

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Scott Lycett)

04:12

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Lachie Hunter)

04:18

Western Bulldogs have kicked the first major of the day following a transition from defensive 50. In the early running the Bulldogs have used the ball by hand on 14 occasions compared to just twice by the Eagles.

06:06

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Darling)

07:39

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Liam Ryan)

07:48

Shannon Hurn already looks to be a weapon off half-back for West Coast. The Eagles captain has already had six disposals, with five by foot at 100 per cent effectiveness. With this output he has already recorded 207 metres gained.

09:42

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Marcus Bontempelli)

09:46

Both goals to the Bulldogs have been launched from their defensive half, successfully resulting in uncontested marks inside their forward 50. The Bulldogs have already recorded 27 uncontested possessions compared to 15 by the Eagles.

11:35

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Billy Gowers)

13:26

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Toby McLean)

14:15

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Liam Ryan)

14:23

West Coast has capitalised on a turnover kick by Caleb Daniel, resulting in its second goal through Liam Ryan. The Bulldogs' kicking efficiency in their defensive half is just 57 per cent, well lower than the Eagles' at 77 per cent.

18:14

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Josh Dunkley)

18:51

The Bulldogs have now taken five marks inside forward 50 from just eight entries, with all five resulting in scores. In Round 1 against Greater Western Sydney, Western Bulldogs only took 11 forward 50 marks for the match.

19:53

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Daniel Venables)

21:07

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Willie Rioli)

22:21

Although the Bulldogs may hold a four-point lead, the Eagles have actually had three extra shots at goal. West Coast has kicked 2.4 (16) with two misses while Western Bulldogs have kicked 3.2 (20) from five shots.

23:17

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Rushed)

27:00

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jake Waterman)

27:03

Both sides are finding marking options inside forward 50, with West Coast now having taken eight such marks in that zone. In his second game, Jake Waterman has kicked truly to register only the Eagles' second goal from those marks.

29:30

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Liam Ryan)

30:23

The siren has sounded to end Q1.

30:33

West Coast took 10 marks inside forward 50 for the quarter, the most the Eagles have recorded in any term since Round 8 2007 against Melbourne. Unfortunately for West Coast it only converted two of those ten marks into goals.

Quarter 2

00:00

Q2 is now underway.

02:01

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Andrew Gaff)

02:04

Andrew Gaff continues his love affair with Western Bulldogs and kicks the first goal of the second quarter. He adds this to his two clearances and six disposals. Last year he recorded 77 disposals combined in two games against the Bulldogs.

04:03

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Scott Lycett)

04:06

The Bulldogs have been sloppy to start the second term, winning both centre clearances but turning the ball over three times from six disposals. In contrast, once the Eagles have had possession they have not turned it over from 17 disposals.

07:15

Bulldogs Interchange - Lin Jong off due to the blood rule.

08:03

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Liam Duggan)

10:20

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Billy Gowers)

11:08

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Liam Ryan)

11:19

West Coast is dominating in the middle, already with 16 more disposals within the midfield zone this quarter. The Eagles have launched ten possession chains from the midfield for the term, with all four scores for the quarter resulting from them.

11:24

Bulldogs Interchange - Jackson Trengove off due to an injury.

15:11

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Darling)

17:01

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Rushed)

18:18

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jake Waterman)

18:37

It's one-way traffic for West Coast this quarter, as it averages nine disposals per turnover while Western Bulldogs have turned it over every third disposal. The Eagles have had 39 disposals in their forward half compared to just six by the Bulldogs.

19:38

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Liam Ryan)

22:35

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Jeremy McGovern)

23:29

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Josh Dunkley)

25:57

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Darling)

26:22

It's going from bad to worse for the Bulldogs, with their 17th turnover from 62 disposals leading to another major for the Eagles. West Coast has launched 5.1 (31) from intercepts for the quarter.

31:36

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Bailey Dale)

31:59

The siren has sounded to end Q2.

32:09

With a 37-point margin for the term, West Coast has recorded its best second quarter against Western Bulldogs since 1998. The Eagles were far cleaner with possession, marked by 39 more disposals but three fewer turnovers than the Bulldogs.

Quarter 3

00:00

Q3 is now underway.

00:37

Tom Barrass and Jeremy McGovern were pivotal in key defensive posts for West Coast in the first half. The duo combined for nine spoils and 11 intercepts, including five intercept marks.

03:56

Bulldogs Interchange - Jordan Roughead and is possibly out for the game.

05:40

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Mark LeCras)

06:12

Another clanger kick committed by the Bulldogs, this time by debutant Ed Richards, has marked their 43rd turnover. As a result the Eagles capitalise once again, now with 8.5 (53) launched from intercepts, including seven goals from midfield intercepts.

07:10

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Tim English)

08:12

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Daniel Venables)

12:08

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Matthew Suckling)

13:16

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Billy Gowers)

14:49

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Josh Dunkley)

15:07

Josh Dunkley has kicked the last two goals for the Bulldogs, however these were separated by 59 minutes of playing time.

17:10

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Rushed)

19:05

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Daniel Venables)

19:38

In his second senior AFL game, West Coast's Daniel Venables has shown attacking potential with three marks inside forward 50, returning 2.1 (13). The 13th selection in the 2016 National Draft took one mark with seven disposals on debut last week.

21:53

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Lin Jong)

24:36

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Bailey Williams)

24:41

In his 20th senior game, Bailey Williams has had the chance to kick his first goal at AFL level as he took a set shot from outside 50 metres. Unfortunately for the Western Bulldogs defender he missed, taking his career tally to nine behinds.

27:31

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Rushed)

28:19

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Rushed)

28:56

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Jack Macrae)

28:59

After prolonged effort across the last ten minutes the Bulldogs have finally kicked a major. In that time the Bulldogs have had 94 per cent time in forward half and 29 per cent more time in possession than the Eagles, but only managing 1.4 (10).

30:37

The siren has sounded to end Q3.

30:47

The Bulldogs generated 18 forward 50 entries across the third term and seven marks in that zone. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs they were wasteful inside 50, scoring 2.7 (19) with three complete misses from their attacking entries.

Quarter 4

00:00

Q4 is now underway.

01:52

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Mark LeCras)

04:09

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Liam Ryan)

04:42

Liam Ryan has looked at home at AFL level, icing an exciting game with a classy goal. Ryan has been dangerous in the air and on the ground, with nine kicks, five marks (including three contested), three tackles and now 3.3 (21).

05:53

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Billy Gowers)

07:51

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Lachie Hunter)

08:22

The Bulldogs have kicked consecutive goals for the first time in the match, however it may be too little, too late. Since the Eagles took the lead to 51 points, all 13 of the Bulldogs' disposals have been effective, kicking two goals from four inside 50s

09:33

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Scott Lycett)

11:29

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Jack Macrae)

15:55

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Rushed)

16:47

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Jackson Trengove)

18:31

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jamie Cripps)

19:13

The Eagles are keeping the Bulldogs at arm's length in a low pressure final term. With the goal to Cripps, West Coast have now launched 83 points from 62 intercepts, its highest output from this source since Round 1 2017 against North Melbourne.

21:50

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Rushed)

24:07

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Rushed)

25:06

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Darling)

25:17

Jack Darling has played a key forward role for the Eagles in the absence of Josh Kennedy. In his 154th match, he has equalled his career-high of 11 marks, four of which were contested, as well as kicking four goals.

26:27

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Rushed)

27:49

West Coast captain Shannon Hurn has been a general out of defence all day for his side. He has won 28 disposals, including 21 kicks at 90 per cent kicking effectiveness, and has recorded a game-high 508 metres gained.

29:11

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Daniel Venables)

29:48

West Coast has only won three more intercepts (70) than Western Bulldogs across the match, however the Eagles have now generated 98 points from intercepts as a result, their highest such output since Round 1 2016 against Brisbane.

30:46

SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Josh Dunkley)

31:34

SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Jack Macrae)

31:37

Jack Macrae can hold his head high in a poor day for the Bulldogs. He has won 31 disposals, including 19 kicks at 89 per cent effectiveness, as well as six clearances, generated six forward 50 entries and kicked three goals.

32:32

The siren has sounded to end Q4.

32:42

West Coast has completed a solid four-quarter performance to easily account for Western Bulldogs and register its first win for the year. This was the Eagles' biggest victory over the Bulldogs in Melbourne since 2007.