Player Ratings - Round 3

The Western Bulldogs turned a Good Friday into a Great Friday, demolishing North Melbourne by a club-record margin of 128 points, going 3-0 for the first time since 2009, and heading straight for the top of the ladder in the process.

Naturally, there were plenty of starring performances across the 22, and there will be some big scores to keep an eye on, so let's go for it:

1. Adam Treloar

In any other game, he would be a shoe-in for the three Brownlow votes. As it is, he's still probably good for two, as he produced his best display yet for the club. Was the best midfielder in the first half when the contest was fairly even for the most part, but broke the game open with two trademark running goals - his first for the club -to finish with three goals from his 27 disposals. Also managed 12 score involvements and nine inside-50s. Also gained 558 metres, which was the most of any Bulldog - 9

4. Marcus Bontempelli

Subdued for most of the game, but the beautiful thing about the midfield depth is that stars like Bontempelli can have off days, but still have the slack picked be up by the rest of the midfield group. Padded the stats a bit in the second half to finish with 18 disposals and a lovely long-range goal in the last term - 5

5. Josh Dunkley

At this point, I'm not sure what more he has to do to win back the trust of his teammates, as he eluded to on the eve of the season. His pressure game is as strong as it's even been, highlighted by a team-high eight one-percenters to go with an equal game-high 33 disposals. The performance was topped off by a smart crumbing goal late in the third term - 9

6. Bailey Smith

His ability to fend off tackles is not quite at Dustin Martin-levels, but it is better than most in the competition at the moment. Ran hard along the wings all day as he continued his outside-dominant role, to finish with another 26 disposals - 7

7. Lachie Hunter

Looks to have suffered the most from the Adam Treloar arrival, with his numbers noticeably dropping off in the last few weeks. Recorded just 18 disposals at the weekend; he's recorded less than that once in the past three years. The numbers aren't a reflection on a lack of work rate, more so that there are now more midfielders to share the ball with - 6

8. Stefan Martin

North Melbourne won the hitout count 34-17, but Todd Goldstein was nowhere near as influential as he has been in recent seasons against the Bulldogs, with Martin combining with Tim English to work him over. His agility and strength make him the prototype ruckman in a Beveridge-run side, and he doesn't need big numbers to have an impact. Just 10 disposals and nine hitouts, but his contribution is enough to give the Bulldogs midfielders a look-in - 7

10. Easton Wood

Looked reasonably comfortable in his return to the side, with his 22 disposals a feat that he has only bettered twice in his 174-game career. Also managed a team-high three intercept marks and 11 intercept possessions. North Melbourne didn't threaten too often going forward, but Wood was there to cut out most attacks whenever they did - 7

11. Jackson Macrae

Another 33 possesions and nine score involvements from the accumulator, who is now 408 disposals away from that top-10 spot that we will continue to keep track of throughout the season. One of many Bulldogs in line for Brownlow votes from the weekend - 8

15. Taylor Duryea

Hard to mark the back-flankers fairly, given how seldom they were called upon to actually do anything, but Duryea just continues toplay his role. Did his bit with six intercepts, and with another 21 disposals is starting to find a bit more of the ball - this was the first time since 2015 that he has managed three consecutive games of 20+ disposals - 7

17. Josh Bruce

It takes something pretty special to get a 10/10 in The Salty Bulldog Player Ratings; being the first Bulldog since Simon Beasley in 1987 to kick 10 goals in a match does manage to fall under that category. Given how challenging the last 12 months have been for him, what a wonderful feeling it must've been for him to hear his name being chanted in that final term - 10

They call him Bruce. Source: Getty Images

21. Tom Liberatore

Because of course Tom Liberatore was flying the flag against five opponents on his own as Bruce booted through his 10th goal. An immense performance that has gone under the radar given the extraordinary scoreline. 25 disposals is once thing, but 12 clearances was his joint-best return since 2016, and also contributed to 10 inside-50s. A stellar showing - 9

23. Laitham Vandermeer

Didn't stand out as he had down in recent weeks, but still had his moments. Directly set up two goals and had eight score involvements from his nine disposals, but also missed two very gettable set shots. Still, we're talking about a guy that is only 15 games into his career, so it's not unreasonable to suggest that what we saw today is the finished product, but the signs are good - 4

27. Patrick Lipinski

Demoted to the role of Medical Sub, but was given a reprieve minutes into the match, and was ok. Kicked a lovely goal on a tough angle in the second term, assissted two goals and had seven score involvements, but it's probably not enough to at least guarantee his spot in the side once again. Four inside-50 tackles though shouldn't go without credit, and he also covered the second-most ground of any Bulldog, covering 14.3km of grass, so the effort was definitely there - 5

28. Anthony Scott

Still finding his feet at the level, but enjoyed a solid enough showing. You imagine that he would keep his place in the side, given that the club rates him very highly internally, and also enjoyed a nice moment late on when he kicked his first goal at AFL level, on his non-preferred right foot, to0 - 5

30. Lachlan McNeil

Looked a fair deal more lively this week. Made up for two misses that he really should've converted with a great snap across the body in the third term. Yet to really see the pressure game that helped him make a name for himself in his junior years, but it should come with time - 5

31. Bailey Dale

It was good to see the coaches show enough restraint to keep him in his role across half back, despite the return of Jason Johannisen. Having said that, he did spend the last quarter in the forward line, setting up one goal and kicking another two himself as the Bulldogs went on a rout. Barely wasted any of his 23 disposals, and recorded six intercepts when he was in defence - 8

33. Aaron Naughton

This was easily his best performance since that breakout game against Richmond in 2019. Yes, he did kick a bag of six goals last year, but this was the game where all of Naughton's best traits were on display. He was dominant in the air all game with seven marks (two contested; four inside-50), and had significant influence on contests even when the ball hit the ground, with his Shane Biggs-like desperation to set up a Vandermeer chance in the third term a notable highlight. His 2.2 effort in front of goal probably should've been a 3.1 or 4.0 return given they weren't difficult opportunities, but they were the only blemishes on a near-perfect display - 9

34. Bailey Williams

Like many of the other defenders on this list, his score results from being a victim of his own team's utter dominance. There were no 1v3 heroics like last week, although there were still moments. His double-sidestep to set up Adam Treloar for a goal, and his inside-50 that set up Bruce's 10th goal (it still feels weird writing that) contributed to clear Bulldogs highlights. A solid game - 7

35. Caleb Daniel

30 disposals in another good game, but just 14 kicks, which is an unusually low ratio by his standards. Not that he did anything wrong with the ball when in possession, given he went at 83% efficiency. Also covered more ground that any other player, covering 14.4km across the afternoon - 8

39. Jason Johannisen

Another of those back-flankers that struggled because everyone else played so well. The phrase "solid without starring" was used a fair bit to describe his recent VFL outings, and I think it applies quite well here, also. He didn't do anything terrible and was decent when he did get on the ball, but 15 disposals is not enough for him to have a major impact on games. Granted, his lack of dominance wasn't entirely his own fault, and there will be sterner tests ahead, but didn't harm his chances on Friday - 6

42. Alex Keath

Another underrated performer. Injured his own teammate with his first involvement, but made amends after that. North were decent for most of the first half, but Keath held his ground really well during that period of time, registering three intercept marks and three contested marks for the game - both team-highs. Wasn't called upon quite as much in the second half, for obvious reasons, but did his job when it was needed - 9

43. Ryan Gardner

Literally the only thing that went wrong for the whole evening, and it took all of 11 seconds to happen. Showed great anticipation to read the ball and looked destined to claim the intercept mark, only for Keath to come in from the side and crunch his shoulder, injuring Gardner's AC joint. He was off the ground within the opening minute, subbed out of the game within four minutes, and will likely spend a significant period of time on the sidelines. Given how much he's improved since his return to the side, he will be missed - 0

The Western Bulldogs will likely be without emerging full-back Ryan Gardner for quite some time. Source: Getty Images

44. Tim English

A career-best three goals in his 50th game, which sits quite nicely alongside his 16 disposals and eight marks. With Naughton and Bruce already in the forward line, his presence helps to really stretch opposition defenders, and having watched us persist with six small forwards for so long, it's a nice sea change to experience. Made the club's efforts to break our greatest ever winning margin a certainty with the last goal of the game - 8