Match

Western Bulldogs vs Geelong Cats

Commentary / 03 Jun 2023

Pre Game

00:00
The Bulldogs recorded 18 more inside 50s than the Suns last round – their best result this season. However, the Bulldogs only booted a goal from just 16.7% of their inside 50s, compared to the Suns at 27.1%.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
02:24
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Aaron Naughton)
02:52
Aaron Naughton opens the scoring account tonight with a goal sourcing from a defensive midfield chain. The Bulldogs have scored the fifth least points from this zone this season - only averaging 13.8 points.
06:17
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Ed Richards)
06:52
The first two goals of this game have gone to the Western Bulldogs, with both goals coming from turnovers. Geelong gives up the seventh-most points from turnovers in the AFL - averaging 49.9 points from turnover against per game.
09:40
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Brad Close)
10:08
Brad Close slots Geelong's first opening goal for the game, with his goal coming from a turnover chain. Geelong scores 55.2 points per game from turnovers - ranked fourth in the competition.
10:43
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Marcus Bontempelli)
11:17
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Bailey Williams)
12:15
After having 18 more inside 50s than the Gold Coast last round, their biggest differential for the season, the Bulldogs haven't missed a beat with their territory game. They have had six of the first eight inside 50s for the game.
12:43
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Bailey Williams)
13:34
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
17:03
Geelong has been strong in the contest against the fourth-best clearance differential team, winning eight of the first 10 clearances of the game as well as having four more effective clearances than the Bulldogs.
17:11
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Zach Tuohy)
20:13
The Western Bulldogs have a clear motive to move the ball by foot with pace. They have a kick-to-handball ratio of 2.00, well above their season average of 1.42 as well as playing on from marks 52% of the time, above their average of 27.8%.
22:20
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
22:48
All of Geelong's goals have come from forward-half turnovers. They score the third most points on average from this source - scoring 35.3 points from forward-half turnover each game.
23:40
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Adam Treloar)
24:03
After spending 11 minutes on the bench (the most of any player other than the subs), Adam Treloar is having a real influence on tonight's game. He has had a game-high three clearances and has chipped in with a beautiful goal.
24:46
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Bailey Smith)
26:04
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
28:29
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
29:59
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Jamarra Ugle-Hagan)
31:16
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Rory Lobb)
33:28
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
34:18
The Bulldogs have been accurate when going inside 50. They have retained the ball 91% of the time when kicking inside 50 and have scored from 82% of their entries. In comparison, the Cats have an inside 50 kick retention rate of 17% and have only scored from 44% of their entries.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:33
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Bailey Smith)
02:58
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
03:30
The Western Bulldogs have been hungrier to win the ball after the ball has left the stoppage, winning 10 more post-clearance contested possessions than the Cats.
04:07
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Cody Weightman)
04:15
Cody Weightman bags the first goal of the second quarter, with the goal sourcing from Bailey Dale's kick-in. The Bulldogs score the equal-fourth most points from kick-ins in the AFL - averaging 4.4 points each game.
07:44
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Tim English)
09:35
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
10:17
Jeremy Cameron kicks his second goal of the night, making it the tenth time he has kicked multiple goals in a game this season.
11:23
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Jack Macrae)
15:24
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
15:26
Geelong has now scored two goals from forward 50 stoppages in this quarter. They score 9.9 points from this zone on average this season - ranked fourth in the competition.
17:04
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
18:15
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Caleb Daniel)
19:49
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Oskar Baker)
20:08
The Western Bulldogs' pressure has been electric. They have a pressure factor of 199, well above their average of 183. Geelong only has a pressure factor of 173, below their average of 181 for the season.
24:00
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
26:51
The Bulldogs have had 6 to 1 repeat inside 50s in comparison to the Cats in this quarter, but have only scored one goal from those repeat entries.
30:14
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Mitchell Knevitt)
30:17
In the second quarter, the Cats improved the quality of their entries when going inside 50, retaining the ball 50% of the time in comparison to the Bulldogs' 40%. They have also scored from 60% of their entries in comparison to their opposition's 40%.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:46
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gryan Miers)
00:56
The Cats regain the lead early in the second half with a goal launched by Jake Kolodjashnij's possession gain in their defensive 50. The Cats score the sixth-least scores from this source across the competition - averaging 7.5 points each game from this zone and source.
02:32
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (James O'Donnell)
04:34
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Jamarra Ugle-Hagan)
06:22
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (James O'Donnell)
06:29
James O'Donnell kicks his first career goal and the Bulldogs' first goal of the second half. The goal came from a forward 50 stoppage, in which the Bulldogs average 8.9 points from this zone - ranked fifth.
08:26
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Marcus Bontempelli)
09:02
Jonathon Ceglar has been edging the rucking contest as he leads the hit outs against Tim English 17-11 and has Geelong lead the clearance count 13-12, although, the Bulldogs have scored two more goals than the Cats when these two have been battling in the ruck.
10:04
SCORE GOAL - Bulldogs (Jamarra Ugle-Hagan)
10:27
The Western Bulldogs now have 10 individual goal-kickers. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan finally gets his first goal, after being targeted five times when going inside 50 - the most targets of any player today.
12:20
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gary Rohan)
13:11
Gary Rohan slots an important goal for the Cats, sourcing from a defensive midfield chain launched by Isaac Smith. The Cats score 20.3 points launched from this zone each game - ranked second behind Melbourne.
15:36
Tom Liberatore's third-quarter performance to this point has been instrumental. He has already had nine disposals (quarter-high), of which four were won in a contested manner (equal quarter-high), two clearances (equal quarter-high) and six pressure acts (team-high).
16:16
Bulldogs Interchange - Ed Richards off due to an injury.
16:23
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tanner Bruhn)
16:39
Bulldogs Interchange - Marcus Bontempelli off due to an injury.
18:38
A strong intercept mark from Tim English to tame the Cats in the meantime. Despite being down in the hit outs, he has been influential around the ground, having 20 disposals, of which eight were won in a contested manner, nine marks, of which four have been contested and three have been intercepts and eight score involvements.
19:29
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
22:10
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Mark Blicavs)
22:22
Mark Blicavs extends Geelong's lead out to their biggest margin of the night. Their resurgence has been a result of their improved pressure, out-tackling the Bulldogs by 10 as well as registering a pressure factor of 187, well above their first-half pressure factor of 167.
24:42
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Lachlan McNeil)
28:46
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Rushed)
29:23
The Cats continue to find targets inside 50, retaining the ball 75% of the time when going inside 50 in comparison to the Bulldogs' 60% by foot. They retain the ball 50.3% of the time when they kick inside 50 for the season - ranked third.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:59
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Stewart)
01:41
Tom Stewart slots a crucial goal in the opening minutes of the final quarter. Geelong has been lethal from their forward half, kicking eight of their 13 goals from this zone today in comparison to the Bulldogs' five.
02:47
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Aaron Naughton)
05:21
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Mark Blicavs)
06:32
Geelong has been strong in 1v1 marking contests tonight, winning 58% of these contests. They have been the second-best team in these situations in the AFL - with a 1v1 win percentage of 33.6%.
06:35
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Rory Lobb)
12:25
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Oliver Henry)
13:01
Ollie Henry converts another set shot goal for the Cats, making it 8.4 (52) from set shot in comparison to the Bulldogs' 6.8 (44). Geelong has the second-best accuracy from set shots this season with an accuracy of 69.4%.
16:33
Geelong has now changed their style of play to be more fluent and direct by foot in this quarter. They are registering a kick-to-handball ratio of 3.00 (their average is 1.53), a mark play-on percentage of 28% and have gone inside 50 from 67% of their chains launched from their defensive 50. In contrast, the Bulldogs have only gone inside 50 from 13% of their defensive 50 chains.
22:15
Jeremy Cameron's work rate has been pivotal for Geelong tonight. He has had the most inside 50 kicks for Geelong with five as well as being the equal-most targeted player inside 50 for the game. Geelong has scored 1.1 (7) points as a result of his inside 50 kicks (second most for Geelong) as well as kicking 2.1 (13) himself.
24:28
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gary Rohan)
25:51
Gary Rohan's goal makes it six in a row for the Cats. All of his scores tonight have come from beyond 30 metres.
28:50
SCORE BEHIND - Bulldogs (Jamarra Ugle-Hagan)
28:53
Geelong takes home the chocolates in the end after battling hard to become victorious by 22 points. They proved why they are the fourth-best team from punishing their opposition from turnovers, scoring 65 points from this source. Of those 65 points, they scored 25 of those from attacking midfield turnovers.