Player Ratings - Round 12

The Western Bulldogs headed into the bye with a firm grasp on second spot on the AFL ladder, returning to winning ways with a 28-point win over Fremantle.

The win - the club's first at Optus Stadium - was a struggle all evening, with only a raft of injuries to Fremantle players in the last term helping to pave the way for the Bulldogs to kick clear.

4. Marcus Bontempelli

Was ridiculous in the first half, with the performance highlighted by two long-range goals to keep Fremantle at arms length in a half were the Bulldogs really struggled to shake the Dockers. Was paid more attention in the second half, but still managed to have a big impact, and potentially raked in three more Brownlow votes - 9

6. Bailey Smith

Just nine kicks, two clearances and one tackle for him as he continues to learn a new role. Spent more time in the inside-midfield group in 2020, but is learning a more outside-dominant role. He'll get there, but it might take some time - 4

7. Lachie Hunter

This was probably his best game of the season. Won the 27 disposals as he was involved in several attacking chains for the Bulldogs, with only two teammates bettering his six score involvements. Did rob Bailey Dale of the greatest goal he'll never kick in the opening term, but it still resulted in six points for the Bulldogs. This was a really great performance - 9

8. Stefan Martin

A welcome addition to the side, but had barely got himself back into the swing of things until he suffered an injury to his AC joint early in the second term. Returned to the field to play out the half, but was eventually subbed out at the main break. With the bye approaching, the hope is that he may not miss any games, but it will very much be a wait-and-see prospect at this stage. The six disposals and eight hitouts were useful if not influential - 3

9. Hayden Crozier

Was on the end of a few boos from his former fans, which was unfortunate, but pushed past to contribute a positive display. Did his job defensively with six one-percenters and four spoils, and managed 19 disposals at 84% efficiency. His job was made easier due to a lack of tall options for Fremantle - 7

11. Jackson Macrae

Nothing to see here - just another 30+ disposal game from Macrae, this time finishing with 35 of them. I did feel that he drifted in and out of the match a little more than what we are accustomed to, but when the game was up for grabs in the final term, he took control and steered the Bulldogs through a nervous patch - 8

12. Zaine Cordy

Continues to do what is asked of him, although with just Rory Lobb to contend with for height in Fremantle's forward line, the lives of the Bulldogs key defenders was certainly made easier at the weekend. Seven spoils and seven one-percenters, while going at 100% efficiency with his seven disposals makes for an easy number to finish with - 7

14. Rhylee West

Subbed in at half time to replace the injured Stefan Martin. Spent most of his game across half forward, but managed just one kick from his four disposals. He's one of a few players that is being forced to interchange through different primary positions between VFL and AFL level, so the consistency for him is still something he's searching for, but it's easy to forget that we're talking about a guy 11 games into his career - 2

15. Taylor Duryea

Normally does the job, but did his job and then some this week. In a game where scoring was very difficult for large parts, he ensured that at least Fremantle struggled to hit the board. His five intercept marks were a game-high, as were his seven intercepts. Add to that his 22 disposals at 86% efficiency, and you have his best game for the year - 9

Taylor Duryea played an excellent yet underrated game on Sunday night. Source: AFL.com.au

17. Josh Bruce

Wasn't afforded many opportunities throughout the night, but the conditions were tricky for tall forwards. Kicked his only goal for the match in the final minute, but this forward line can afford for someone to have a quiet day in front of goal, and rely on the others to pick up the slack - 4

19. Cody Weightman

Impresses further with each passing week. Kicked multiple goals for the third time in his four games this season, and we got to see his usual flair with several high-flying attempts (albeit with Naughton getting in the way of most of them). An excellent example of Beveridge's idea of wanting players to show weeks of strong form before being brought into the senior side - 7

21. Tom Liberatore

Was worked overtime again this week, this time by Caleb Serong. But a dominant first half from Bontempelli forced a switch of magnets among the Dockers brains trust, and it let Libba off the leash. With scoring hard to come by, his two goals in the third term were as crucial as they were classy - 8

28. Anthony Scott

Back in the side as soon as he recovered from his head knock, which tells you just how valued he is by the Bulldogs. Didn't win a whole heap of the ball, finishing with just eight disposals and a goal, but did his job as a defensive forward with 19 pressure acts, rated in the top-10 on the ground - 6

Anthony Scott has proven himself to be a valued member of the Bulldogs Best 22 in 2021. Source: AFL.com.au

29. Mitch Hannan

Stat-padded a little bit with his only two goals coming in the last quarter when the game was already won. As mentioned on this week's episode, he's been behind the eight-ball all season, and it could mean that we can expect a bit more of this kind of form from him. Still, deserves credit for effort, with only one Bulldogs laying more than this five tackles - 5

31. Bailey Dale

Started the game with a brilliant effort on goal that would've gone through anyway had Hunter not made sure of it by marking on the line. Finished the game with another impressive outing, recording 22 disposals, nine rebounds and gaining more metres than anyone else aside from Bontempelli - 8

33. Aaron Naughton

It's been mentioned a few times this year, but giving him a really big score is just something I can't do. What makes that such a shame is that he did so much right at the weekend. Really, aside from his conversion, he did everything right. He took 13 marks, with five of them being contested and eight of them being taken inside-50 - both game-highs. He was absolutely dominant in the air, but could only turn into 1.5 on the scoreboard. It's such a shame - 7

34. Bailey Williams

Was rather quiet by his usual productive standards. Finished the night with just the 12 disposals and two rebounds - 4

35. Caleb Daniel

Thrown into the midfield to cover for the recent loss of several midfield stars and as a result spent a lot less time across the half back line than he has been accustomed to over the past couple of seasons. In particular, seeing him attend as many centre bounces as he did was unusual, but ground out a solid 23-disposal, six-tackle game - 8

37. Roarke Smith

We've talked a lot about Roarke in the past and the fact that for him to justify his spot he needs to make good on the footy that he does win, because he's not a big ball-winner. Did his bit in terms of going back with the flight when required, but won just the six possessions. The good news is that he didn't turn the footy over, but didn't have the impact required - 4

39. Jason Johannisen

Aside from one brilliant chase-down tackle, he really struggled his way through the game. Again, credit to him as the effort was there, with five tackles and 20 pressure acts, but managed just three kicks for the whole game, and looked very uncertain whenever the ball was up for grabs - 4

42. Alex Keath

With Rory Lobb being the only tall forward that the Dockers had for large portions of the match, Keath made sure that he didn't cause any problems for the Bulldogs defence, restricting Lobb to just the one opportunistic snap from the pocket for the whole game. Only managed the four spoils, but it felt like a lot more than that, given how frequently Keath prevented him from impacting the marking contest - 8

43. Ryan Gardner

Looked terribly rusty for most of the match, but this was his first game in over two months, so it was always on the cards. He was slow when on the ball, but had a really important moment in the third term, taking a clever intercept mark which went with his team-high seven spoils. He'll face sterner tests against sides with more height in the forward line, but this game will help with his match fitness - 4

44. Tim English

Did well to battle against Sean Darcy for the entire second half after losing ruck partner Stefan Martin early, before suffering a knock of his own in the last quarter. Played an important role at both ends of the ground, with two intercept marks, while floating forward to kick a goal of his own - 6