Round 3 2024

W.Bulldogs v West Coast
Round 3, 2024

Captain on captain. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sun, 31 March 2024 (1.00pm EDT)

Venue

Docklands

Attendance

22,991

Result

Lost by 76

Score

WB 16.10.106 - 3.12.30 WCE

Brownlow

3 A.Treloar (WB)
2 M.Bontempelli (WB)
1 A.Naughton (WB)

Ladder

18th

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West Coast suffered yet another humiliating loss, pumped by the Bulldogs under the Docklands roof to remain mired at the foot of the ladder. The visitors started brightly, kicking two of the first three goals, but then fell in their usual massive hole, unable to find another goal until the last term. In the meantime the Bulldogs kicked 12 in a row to give themselves a handy percentage boost while holding the Eagles to their lowest ever score at the venue. Tim Kelly had 28 possessions and nine clearances and Jeremy McGovern stood up in defence with 11 marks and 24 disposals.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Western Bulldogs		2.4.16		8.6.54		11.8.74		16.10.106
West Coast		2.2.14		2.3.15		2.7.19		3.12.30

Goals: Cripps, Waterman, J.Williams

Best: McGovern, Yeo, Kelly, Duggan

Injuries: Brockman (concussion), Ginbey (finger)

Reports: Cripps for striking C.Weightman

Substitutes: (WCE) L.Edwards for Brockman (concussion) in the third term; (WB) Poulter for Liberatore at three-quarter time

Jumper: Clash, white shorts

Named sides

	West Coast				Bulldogs
B:	40.Jamieson	37.Barrass	28.Cole	B:	31.Dale	19.Jones	34.Williams
HB:	19.Hough	20.McGovern	31.Jones	HB:	29.Bramble	24.Khamis	39.Johannisen
C:	14.Duggan	11.Kelly	5.Hunt	C:	12.Gallagher	1.Treloar	13.Baker
HF:	9.H.Reid	2.Waterman	13.Long	HF:	9.Sanders	33.Naughton	3.Weightman
F:	21.Petruccelle	27.Darling	15.Cripps	F:	14.West	2.Ugle-Hagan	23.Vandermeer
R:	32.B.Williams	6.Yeo	7.Ginbey	R:	44.English	4.Bontempelli	21.Liberatore
I:	10.Brockman	16.L.Edwards	18.Chesser	I:	35.Daniel	10.Darcy	15.Duryea
	34.J.Williams	41.Maric			11.Macrae	25.Poulter
E:	3.Gaff	24.Johnston	30.Barnett		38.Garcia	7.Lobb	18.O'Donnell

In: J.Williams

Out: Barnett

From the coach

"Obviously the scoreboard speaks for itself. Our inability to hit the scoreboard is a fair concern, we’ve been going after a lot of things, contest, clearance and those types of things, so, there’s some small wins there, but we need to get better at converting and keeping it in our front half, albeit we had 51 inside-50s today and they had the same amount. So, we look at some of those things and go, ok, well there’s a little bit of improvement there, but it’s no excuse for the loss, and obviously we’re in a build, it’s going to take time. We’ll look at some positives, but we’ve got to be better than that.

"...There’s going to be ups and downs, we’ll have some good days, but today, we’ll always take things out of the game as a learning experience, and I think there is parts of the game we’re starting to see our identity. Our mids are working their backsides off to give some supply, clearances, centre-bounce clearances, our senior players look good and fresh and playing their part. There's some things there that we will still take positives from, but in terms of the holistic look at the game, we can’t put it all together at the moment. So that’s something we’re working on and will continue to work on.

"...We’re not hiding from anything. So we’re pretty pragmatic, but you can’t be down on yourself too much, we just want to get better. If they turn up with the right attitude on Monday, reflect on what we need to get better at, then take the next step forward, and just keep moving forward. It’s not ‘let’s just get games into these kids’, or ‘let’s hope McGovern plays really well’, we need to get better, all of us. We’re together this week, I think we train on Thursday here, and then head to Adelaide. It’s a great chance to get together and bond and connect and have conversations around getting better."

Reserves

Round 1 (30 March)

The Eagles reserves' season kicked off with the now-standard 64 point loss, hammered by Swan Districts at Bassendean. West Coast staged a mini-revival in the third term, narrowing the margin to 2 points before the home side ran away, clsing out the game with 11 of the last 12 goals. Andrew Gaff put his hand up for a recall with 29 disposals and nine tackles and Loch Rawlinson kicked three goals during the third-term burst.

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Swan Districts		2.4.16		8.6.54		13.8.86		21.11.137
West Coast		2.3.15		3.7.25		9.11.65		10.13.73

Goals: Rawlinson, Ruscoe 3, Dewar 2, Lucassen, Trew

Best: Witherden, Gaff, Rotham, Rawlinson, Ruscoe

Injuries: tbc

Reports: H.Edwards for rough conduct, Witherden for striking

Named side:

	West Coast
B:	64.Mercer	42.H.Edwards	63.Hansen
HB:	38.Baker	35.Rotham	23.Witherden
C:	51.Sparks	71.Sambo	55.Gillbee
HF:	43.Dewar	50.Ruscoe	36.Rawlinson
F:	75.Eastough	54.Barker	70.Lucassen
R:	39.Livingstone	29.Hall	26.Trew
I:	56.Creasey	76.Lloyd	61.McCarthy
	60.Mouritz
E:	62.Alone	74.Anderson	65.Hutchinson
	73.Narkle

New: Kye Barker (Collie), Jason Gillbee (GWS Giants), Clay Hall (Peel Thunder), Coen Livingstone (Perth), Loch Rawlinson (Sturt), Trey Ruscoe (Collingwood), Harley Sparks (Carey Park)

Late changes: Gaff, Barnett for Lloyd, Mouritz

Injury list

In the leadup to the match the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:

Player		Injury		Expected return
Hewett		Foot		Post-bye
Allen		Knee		8-10 weeks
Bazzo		Groin		6-8 weeks
Flynn		Hamstring tendon		6-8 weeks
A.Reid		Knee		3-4 weeks
Ryan		Hamstring		2-3 weeks
Sheed		Foot		1-2 weeks
Culley		Knee		1 week
H.Edwards		Finger		Available