Player Ratings - Round 17

The Western Bulldogs slid back down to second spot on the ladder last week, following a disappointing 19-point loss to Sydney at Marvel Stadium.

Despite the relatively close margin, the Bulldogs were second-best all afternoon, and never really got their game going to challenge the Swans.

2. Lewis Young

For the second week in a row, Young was thrown around in various positions across the ground, including spending time both in the ruck and up forward. He won nine hitouts and also kicked his first career goal with a classy right-foot snap, while managed a team-high six spoils. It wasn't a starring performance, but his contributions over the past fortnight have been useful, and it would be a shame if he was forced out of the side after playing in an unfamiliar role - 6

3. Mitch Wallis

Booted an early goal, but was largely quiet otherwise. Just the eight disposals and four score involvements. It did no favours for his hopes of holding An extended spot in the side - 3

4. Marcus Bontempelli

A bit like his game against North Melbourne, where he won enough of the ball to have a major impact, but wasn't at his devastating best. He had 27 disposals at 70% efficiency, but it led to just three scores across the whole match - 7

6. Bailey Smith

Was the Bulldogs best player across the afternoon, but was particularly impressive during the first half, winning 17 disposals to half time alone. He finished with 27 disposals and gained a team-high 514 metres gained. As disappointing as the game was, it's been encouraging to see him produce some promising performances over the past three weeks - 8

7. Lachie Hunter

Really struggled to find the football once again, reaching just 17 disposals. It was a reasonable argument for him to have a low-possession count when the midfield was filled with stars like Dunkley and Treloar, but there aren't the big midfield numbers for him to share the footy with right now, so those disposal numbers aren't as high as we might expect - 6

11. Jackson Macrae

For the first time this season, he finished with less than 30 disposals, this time managing only 25 disposals. This was offset by nine cleareances and eight tackles in a hard-working display - 7

12. Zaine Cordy

Seven one-percenters and six spoils were both team-highs, but was once again noticeably caught out of position in several marking contests, particularly in the third term. Such lapses in judgement proved costly, as well - 5

15. Taylor Duryea

His “goal assist” at the end of the first half was as unfair as it was costly, given it undid a lot of the good work he had done to thwart several Swans attacks up until that point, with a team-high three intercept marks. Faded after half time - 7

17. Josh Bruce

Aside from his solitary goal, he was pretty ineffectual. Missed a great chance to put us in front in the second term, with his three marks inside-50 contributing to 1.2. It just goes to show how important taking your chances as a key forward is - 3

19. Cody Weightman

A step backwards after last week in terms of output. Two tackles inside-50 is always encouraging, but managed just 0.1 from five dispostals - 3

20. Ed Richards

Was encouraging when he did have the ball, registering 100% efficiency with his 14 disposals (including an early goal) and gained 336 metres as well. Need that 14 to be increased to around 20-25 at some stage, which has been a theme for Richards over the past couple of seasons - 6

21. Tom Liberatore

Can’t ever accuse him of not digging in, with 18 disposals and his 23 pressure acts being the third-most on the ground. It just wasn’t the sort of impact he has produced on a regular basis this year - 6

22. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan

There’s no doubt that there were encouraging signs, particularly early on. He flew for plenty of marks, and his pressure and chasing was noticeable, also. He ultimately finished with six disposals and no score, but there is definitely much to look forward to in time - 4

Despite having a quiet day on the stats sheet, there were still plenty of encouragimg signs from debutant Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. Source: Getty Images

28. Anthony Scott

His long-range goal was something I honestly didn’t think he had in him. However, it was the sole highlight in an eight-disposal, three-tackle game - 4

29. Mitch Hannan

The effort was obvious for the second week running, laying five tackles. But the output continues to elude him, going scoreless with his eight disposals. He’s scores 5.6 from nine games this season; how much longer can he stay in the side with these kind of numbers? - 4

31. Bailey Dale

One of the best for the Bulldogs. His 27 disposals at 81% efficiency made him a reliable option out of defence, and his 492m gained was second only to Smith for the team - 8

34. Bailey Williams

A team-high eight intercepts and gained 314 metres, but would’ve liked to have won more than his 16 disposals. The positive is that he too went at 81% efficiency - 7

35. Caleb Daniel

Across the four quarters, was at least the Bulldogs most consistent player if Bailey Smith was the best. Registered a team-high 30 disposals, and got into some useful positions every time he got the ball. The drawback was that he only went at 53% efficiency, with a game-high eight clambers - 8

38. Riley Garcia

Played as the ball of energy that the Dogs desperately want him to be, with a team-high 25 pressure acts to go with his 15 disposals. Will be an important player in that forwar line for the time being, with more experienced alternatives out injured - 7

The Western Bulldogs forward line has and will further benefit from the energy that Riley Garcia brings. Source: Getty Images

39. Jason Johannisen

Oh boy. It feels like every good Johannisen game is followed up with two quiet ones at the moment. At least that means that he should come good this week, s as he comes off a scoreless, 10-possession game against Sydney. Will have some concerns about keeping his place in the side once some players return from injury - 3

42. Alex Keath

Was crucial to keeping the margin as close as it was, with his direct opponent for the afternoon - Lance Franklin - being held for the majority of the match, and only scoring very late in the game. Hard to fault anything Keath did during the match - 8

44. Tim English

Continues to fight really well as the sole ruckman. While he only managed 21 hitouts, it’s a consistent figure over the past few games, and he also laid six tackles, clunked eight marks, and won 22 disposals. In fact, the only blight on his game was his conversion, kicking 1.2 and sending another out on the full - 8