Player Ratings - Round 1

The Player Ratings are back for Season 2022! I'm sure by now you'll all be familiar with how this works, but let's just run through a quick refresher:

After every game, the team at The Salty Bulldog sit down and rate every players' performance and award a score out of 10. The score will be based on how well they performed their role, so while raw statistics will be a key factor in the scores of some players, that won't be the case for everyone.

Unless they actually take to the field, Medical Subs will not be mentioned in these articles and will receive a default score of 0.

In a match that grabbed headlines more for what happened after the game, the Western Bulldogs fell 26 points short of Melbourne in the Grand Final rematch.

Aside from a second-quarter purple patch where the Bulldogs booted through six goals in 12 minutes, the Demons were in control for most of the night, and exposed a number of on-field flaws for the Bulldogs to rectify over the course of the season.

1. Adam Treloar

Tried his heart out all night and was one of the Bulldogs most effective players. Was part of the second-term blitz where he created plenty of drive from the centre and even scored a goal of his own, before adding a second late in the game to go with 26 disposals - 8

4. Marcus Bontempelli

Just could not get going at all. His numbers were ok - 17 disposals, seven marks, seven tackles, six score involvements and a goal - but he was nowhere near his best. The game was there for him to take control of at the start of the last term but couldn't bring the blistering form of last year. Also played just 72% of the game - no Bulldog spent less time on the ground - 4

5. Josh Dunkley

Another who worked hard, but probably didn't have the impact that his efforts deserved. 29 disposals and five tackles was encouraging, but only managed the three clearances. It wasn't a bad game, but it didn't quite reach the heights that he is capable of - 7

6. Bailey Smith

Wasn't always clean with the ball, but was arguably among the best two or three Bulldogs on the ground all night. His 33 disposals went at 66% efficiency, but credit has to be given for his 11 tackles (game-high) and his eight clearances (third-most) - 8

7. Lachie Hunter

He was in and out of the side that many times that by the start of the game I'm not sure if he knew whether he was playing or not. 13 disposals - his lowest tally in five years - suggests the latter. Initially named as the Medical Sub and brought in late to replace the injured Johannisen. One inside-50, one score involvement and zero clearances doesn't make for great reading for a midfielder either. Does he keep his spot for Round 2? Possibly - he hasn't been dropped since 2015 - but if he was already on the outs due to poor form, it's hard to see him staying in the side for much longer unless something drastic changes - 2

Lachie Hunter’s name was a big talking point heading into the game, but the performance was ultimately underwhelming. Source: Getty Images

9. Hayden Crozier

Brought in as a late replacement, he holds the honour of kicking the Bulldogs first goal of the season. I've made mention that it will be a challenge for him to break back into the senior side, but I think he did enough to keep his spot into next week, at least. 19 disposals and 12 marks is a solid return, even if it did only lead to four scores - 7

11. Jackson Macrae

Won a stack of the football, with his 39 disposals and 11 clearances both being game-highs. However, all of that possession only resulted in four scores. Macrae has improved on his ability to be more damaging with the football in recent seasons, but it was lacking in this particular game - 8

12. Zaine Cordy

Despite only recording the three disposals, Cordy's job is not normally to win the ball, so we'll factor that into account. However, that's when Cordy is playing his customary lockdown defensive role - a position he spent a lot of the night not playing. Between playing down back, up forward, and in the ruck, it felt like the coaching staff were struggling to know what to do with him. He set up a goal for Treloar in the second term, but it was about the only thing of note that he did all night - 2

13. Josh Schache

For the second time in consecutive seasons, Schache froze under the primetime lights at the MCG. His two key moments for the night were playing on from directly in front and being caught holding the ball in the second term, and dropping an uncontested mark in defence in the third term, opening the door for Bailey Fritsch to goal. A desperately disappointing start to the year given that he showed such promise towards the end of last season - 2

19. Cody Weightman

Kicked a goal on the quarter time siren, but did very little else. He wasn't even able to apply much pressure to the defence when the ball hit the ground, laying just one tackle and nine pressure acts all night. I'm not sure how much of the pre-season he missed due to ankle surgery, but it could be that he's started the season behind the eight-ball as a result - 2

20. Ed Richards

Has received high praise both internally and externally ahead of this season, and was afforded a Round 1 berth as a result. Didn't win a whole heap of the ball (14 disposals), but was generally quite clean when he did find the footy. It won't go down as one of his finest, but it's something to build on - 5

21. Tom Liberatore

Arguably the most important component in the whole side, but he was very quiet, managing just 14 disposals. Crucially, however, he was kept to only three contested possessions and one clearance, which is where he earns his paycheck - 3

23. Laitham Vandermeer

One of a plethora of Bulldogs small forwards that need to hit the scoreboard with greater regularity this season, and proceeded to boot 0.0. The fact that he managed to collect 17 disposals is encouraging, but they resulted in just one score, and laid only tackles for the game (none inside 50). Granted, we're only talking about someone in his 24th game, but bringing pressure isn't something you gain from AFL-level experience - 3

29. Mitch Hannan

Another player who, particularly in the absence of Bruce, needs to have a big season. Aside from a clever snap in the second term, it was not a great night. The goal was one of just eight disposals, and he failed to take a mark - 2

31. Bailey Dale

Solid enough. His 554 metres gained was second only to Macrae and it came from 25 disposals, even managing to drift forward and score a goal. There were times when the Bulldogs really struggled to clear the defensive 50, which hurts his score, but he was far from our worst - 7

33. Aaron Naughton

The only tall that I think can hold his head up high. Sparked the Bulldogs into action in the second term with three goals in the quarter, and appeared to be the only forward who looked even close to kicking a goal. He finished with 4.1 from six marks, but the "Naughton-or-bust" approach is far too predictable and he needs some help, quickly - 8

Aaron Naughton was arguably the only tall to play well for the Bulldogs. Source: Getty Images

34. Bailey Williams

Melbourne scored six goals from Bailey Williams turnovers - a league record. Not a great start to the season - 1

35. Caleb Daniel Much like his fellow back flankers, was regularly placed under siege trying to clear the ball out of the defence, but did manage to clear the defence seven times from his 26 disposals, and only turned it over twice. Probably the best of the back flankers - 8

37. Roarke Smith

Had some neat moments and had some awful ones as well. Unfortunately for him he's developed a reputation for being one of the whipping boys among sections of the fanbase, but he ultimately picked up 16 disposals and used it fairly well for most of the night, so it could've been a lot worse - 4

42. Alex Keath

Had no idea where Ben Brown was in the opening term, allowing Melbourne's No.50 to control the game and give Melbourne their fast start with two early goals. Although Brown would only kick one more goal for the Keath, you wouldn't put that down to an improved showing from Keath - 3

43. Ryan Gardner

Another late in, but didn't have a great game, either. Often charged with the responsibility of being third-man in to kill off marking contests inside the opposition 50, Gardner just wasn't able to impact enough contests throughout the night. Like Keath, he lost the sense of where opponents were on far too many occasions - 3

44. Tim English

For me, this is the toughest player to judge, because the score is dependent on how you're judging him. As a tall (very tall) midfielder, he was solid enough; he was actually pretty good. He won 20 disposals and eight clearances - pretty good numbers for most midfielders. The problem is that he was still found wanting when it came to the more physical side of being a No.1 ruckman. He did take six marks (two contested) and managed 18 hitouts, but we're still waiting for him to show that physical presence that all good ruckman have, put his hand up and say "I'm going to be the main big man". It's the next step in his development, and it's needed soon - 7