Player Ratings - Round 9
The Western Bulldogs missed out on the opportunity to move up to third on the ladder this week, with a disappointing 41-point defeat to reigning Premiers Richmond on Wednesday night.
After kicking the first goal of the game, the Bulldogs looked lethargic afterwards; a concern given that they'll have to back up with a clash against ladder leaders Port Adelaide on Monday night. But let's see who'll be going into that match with some form at their backs.
1. Matthew Suckling
Started well and set up the first goal of the game, but suffered a hamstring injury soon after and sat out the remainder of the match. Definitely won't be seeing him on Monday and, given the condensed fixturing, it could be a while before we see him again - 2
3. Mitch Wallis
Looked about the only player capable of taking a mark inside 50 (took five) and kicking a goal for the Dogs. Kicked 3.1 and it could've easily been 4.1 had he not been forced to leave the ground due to the blood rule. Has kicked clear to become the Bulldogs leading goalkicker of the season thus far - 9
4. Marcus Bontempelli
Becoming borderline frustrating watching him play at the moment, given that he'll follow-up one great game with an ordinary one. This was of the latter variety, with 16 disposals but no impact. Also have to question his worth as a resting forward if he continues to kick so poorly in front of goal - 4
6. Bailey Smith
Tried hard through the midfield, but couldn't generate any real impact all night. Probably his least-effective performance for the season aside from the injury-affected game against North Melbourne - 5
8. Jackson Trengove
Never easy to front up and play a big match after being rushed in at the last minute, but didn't have much impact in his first game of the season. Played as a secondary ruckman - 4
9. Hayden Crozier
Had some moments as he usually does, but wasn't as influential as last week. One intercept mark and three spoils was down on his usual output - 5
10. Easton Wood
Lost count of the number of times he leapt to spoil/mark, only to get nowhere near the ball. Very unlike him, and it proved costly on numerous occasions - 3
11. Jackson Macrae
The best Bulldog on the ground, and it's not even a close contest. 37 disposals in shortened quarters is an enormous performance; it's just a shame he didn't have many mates along for the ride in his 150th game. The quiet achiever continues to lead the way in The Salty Bulldog count, and could yet win his first Charles Sutton Medal this year - 9
12. Zaine Cordy
Sizeable step back after I claimed he was in career-best form last week. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and mark it as a blip on the radar, but hopefully he see an improved performance on Monday. Eight spoils and eight one-percenters was a positive - 6
One of Zaine Cordy's team-high eight spoils. Source: Getty Images
16. Toby McLean
Seems to have shifted away from that tagging role, and it results in him looking out of place in the lineup. 15 disposals, but just five kicks. He's too skilled a footballer to spend his days just handpassing the Sherrin - 4
17. Josh Bruce
If you look at the stats and see 2.0 from eight disposals, you'd probably consider it a pass, but if you actually watched the game, you might see something completely different altogether. His kicking for goal is wildly inconsistent, and his numbers in general are well down on what he produced at St Kilda. I'll continue to defend him in that slippery conditions aren't conducive to his style of game, but he can't afford to ride that horse for the rest of the season; he needs to adapt - 4
20. Ed Richards
He's a run-and-kick-long type of player. He certainly has the ability to manage that, and the role he plays demands that type of style. Three kicks from 10 disposals is not a sign that you're playing the run-and-kick-long role all that well. Just 124 metres gained - 3
21. Tom Liberatore
His most subdued performance of the year. Missed a chance to claw the Dogs back into the contest in the second term that you would expect him to snaffle. 20 disposals and five clearances is ok, but just one tackle - 5
22. Sam Lloyd
Not great - 1
23. Laitham Vandermeer
A bit like Wallis, deserves credit for the fact that he's putting in a regular shift in an unfamiliar position. While his normal go is delivering the ball from the half-back line, he's putting together some results up forward. Another two goals sees him third in the goalkicking charts, which is great for him, but a concern for the forward line as a whole - 5
26. Billy Gowers
I went into this match really wanting to go easy on him, and not come off as that bully that just picks on Billy Gowers every week by giving him a 1 or a 0, and believe me, I still don't want that; I'd love to see this guy play well every week. But I can't do much for him if he goes into half time completely statless. Was rarely clean enough to gather the ball, and too slow whenever he did snaffle it. Looked a little better after half time, but still no impact once again. Sorry, Billy - 1
27. Patrick Lipinski
Has slowly descended into "well-off-pace" form, with just nine disposals. We know he's much better than that, but I can't put a finger on what's going on with him right now - 3
34. Bailey Williams
Definitely one of the better players for the night. Managed a team-high three intercept marks and nine intercept possessions out of a total of 23 disposals for the match. A sound return in his 50th game - 8
In his 50th game, Bailey Williams was one of his team's best. Source: Getty Images
35. Caleb Daniel
Down on the past few weeks of elite form that he has shown, but he wasn't terrible. A couple of off moments did stand out, but still managed a pretty solid game in his 100th appearance for the Bulldogs - 8
39. Jason Johannisen
10 disposals doesn't sound great on paper, and ideally he'd be winning twice that amount most weeks, but I thought he was ok, actually. He hit a target with each of his 10 disposals, and I thought he really ran and worked hard for the majority of the match. His efforts deserve a solid score, and I'm inclined to give him one - 7
42. Alex Keath
No doubt Richmond will be salivating over Jack Riewoldt's return to form, following his monstrous one-goal haul (which was in the back, anyway), but given the dominance of Richmond for most of the night, Riewoldt and Lynch only managed three goals. However, Keath was certainly down statistically on his usual output, despite eight one-percenters and five spoils - 5
44. Tim English
Has been subdued by more athletic ruckman in the past fortnight, and is a concern, given his importance to the Bulldogs when he is at his best. 13 disposals is ok, but took just three marks, with none of them being either contested or intercepts - 4
LEADERBOARD:
1. Jackson Macrae - 69 votes
2. Alex Keath - 64 votes
3. Caleb Daniel - 63 votes
4. Bailey Williams - 60 votes
5. Marcus Bontempelli - 56 votes