Player Ratings - Round 3

The Western Bulldogs are finally off the mark in Season 2022, recording a narrow 11-point win over the Sydney Swans on Thursday night.

Despite dominating proceedings over the course of the night, inaccurate kicking for goal kept the Swans in touch, but the weight of numbers ultimately proved too great, allowing the Bulldogs to bank the four points.

1. Adam Treloar

He managed to collect 27 disposals, but didn't do so with the same damage and penetration that he did last week. Played mostly outside, recording only one clearance, but gained only 248m with ball in hand. All up, a fairly mixed game - 6

2. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan

So, so much to love about his performance. To be fair, 1.2 from seven disposals doesn't sound like a big night, but he would have won many fans over with the contests he provided. He laid a bone-crunching hip-and-shoulder in the second term, produced back-to-back tackles in the last term which led to Keath's goal, and provided a contest against Dane Rampe - arguably the best one-on-one defender in the competition - which led to Bontempelli's sealer. The big bags of goals are what we all want to see, but the pressure and contest he brought played a crucial role in the win - 7

3. Mitch Wallis

Named as the Medical Sub and introduced very early on in the game but only won the six disposals. Missed a chance you would have expected him to nail in the third term, but made amends when he snapped truly in the final term. Given the lack of goals that have come from the Bulldogs smalls so far, it'll be interesting to see whether Wallis is given another opportunity - 4

4. Marcus Bontempelli

Slowly working his way back to peak fitness following that ankle injury, and not a moment too soon. Spent more time in the midfield this week, and had a massive impact, particularly late. Killed a potentially dangerous marking contest deep in Sydney's forward line in the final minutes, before kicking the sealer up the other end. Bont with the sealer; I feel like we've heard that one before... - 8

The Bont saved the game with match-defining moments at both ends of the ground. Source: Getty Images

5. Josh Dunkley

Was the chief midfield enforcer over the course of the night, giving us a glimpse of his early-2021 form. He picked up 31 disposals, laid 11 tackles, and notched six clearances. He wasn't required to be used as a run-with midfielder this week given that there was no dominant midfielder from the opposition, so it was nice to see an off-the-chain Dunkley getting back to his best - 8

6. Bailey Smith

His running power was sorely missed last week, and it was great to have it back in the side. He won 31 disposals and gained 731 metres (second only to Bailey Dale). The downside was that he only went at 58% efficiency, and recorded seven clangers - 7

7. Lachie Hunter

His best game of the season. He was the dominant midfielder on the ground in the first half, and picked up 18 disposals to half time. His influence faded in the second half, but he still finished the night with 28 disposals and five score involvements. A desperately-needed return to form - 7

11. Jackson Macrae

Found the footy at will in the first three quarters, but strangely went missing during the final term. He was deployed on the wing far more, and collected just one disposal for the term. In fact, his notable contribution in the last quarter has conceding what could've been a potentially costly 50-metre penalty, that gifted the Swans a goal and put them within striking range for the final minute - 7

12. Zaine Cordy

Subbed out of the game halfway through the first term after sustaining a concussion. He didn't touch the football prior to the incident, but spent time up forward, down back and in the ruck. He won't play next week either, due to the AFL's concussion protocols. Given how he's been used all over the ground to start the year, it will be interesting to see who the Bulldogs bring in to replace him - 1

15. Taylor Duryea

Only picked up the eight disposals all night- the new clubhouse leader in terms of his lowest possession tallies at the club - but can take heart from the fact that none of Sydney's small forwards caused too many problems throughout the night - 7

19. Cody Weightman

In a side so inaccurate that it looked more likely to handpass a goal rather than kick one, Weightman's 3.0 was a pivotal return in a side that only kicked nine goals all night. In particular, the two goals he kicked in the third term went a long way to answering the challenge posed by the Swans at the start of the second half - 8

20. Ed Richards

His 16 disposals was a season-high, but we're still waiting to really see him reap the rewards that his pre-season has deserved. Wasn't overly clean with the ball, either, going at just 62% efficiency, but it was an improvement on last week - 5

21. Tom Liberatore

When the game was on the line in the last term, the Bulldogs turned to Liberatore, and thrust him straight into the middle. He didn't disappoint. He won seven disposals and four clearances in a tense last term, underlying what a critical component he is to the Bulldogs midfield brigade. There's no doubt the Bulldogs are a much more formidable side when Liberatore plays predominantly as a midfielder, and as he regains his fitness, this is something we should be expecting to see more of - 8

23. Laitham Vandermeer

Much more like the Vandermeer that we're such big fans of. He picked up 18 disposals, which is a career-high, contributed to seven scores, and even managed to bag his first goal of the season. It was a very encouraging performance, and he's set the bar in terms of what we should expect from him every week; the key now is replicating this performance - 7

28. Anthony Scott

Wasn't as much of a standout forward target this week, failing to score or even contribute to a score from his 11 disposals. He's still a useful player to have in the side, but with Jason Johannisen closing in on a return and Lachie McNeil booting five goals in the VFL last week, he'll be nervous - 3

29. Mitch Hannan

Went from having a quiet game with big moments last week, to a quiet game with no moments at all this week. Failed to score from his four disposals, or even win a hitout as the designated backup ruck. After struggling last year, this season was crucial for him, and it's not been a great start - 2

31. Bailey Dale

A mixed performance, gaining a game-high 734m from his 27 disposals, but picked up eight clangers in the process - 7

33. Aaron Naughton

For the second week in a row, he was well held in front of goal, only kicking 1.2 from eight disposals and three marks. To be fair, his night will always look a lot better if he kicked straight, and he's still trying to build forward chemistry with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. Unfortunately, he's the one that the Bulldogs are turning to for goals, and he just hasn't been able to deliver over the past two weeks - 5

35. Caleb Daniel

A bit like Dale, Daniel is just missing something from his game that has been present in the previous two seasons. He only picked up 19 disposals against the Swans, and even through he used it reasonably well, the cutting edge is lacking from his game right now - 5

37. Roarke Smith

A quieter game from him this week, only managed the eight disposals. The AFL Player Ratings didn't think much of his performance either, rating his performance as the sixth-worst on the ground - 3

42. Alex Keath

A return to form on Thursday night, Keath demonstrated exactly what has endeared him to Bulldogs fans over the past two seasons. Mopped up effectively down back with six intercept marks out of his 10 intercept possessions, and took a game-high 12 marks. Also showed the rest of the team where the big sticks were, when he kicked a crucial last-quarter goal - 8

Alex Keath was back to his defensive best on Thursday, but also managed to boot a rare goal late in the game. Source: Getty Images

43. Ryan Gardner

So often divides opinion among the fanbase, but won over a legion of fans after his performance on Thursday night, managing to keep Lance Franklin in check all night. Sure, Franklin's 2.0 from 19 disposals sounds like a reasonable night, but one of those goals came in the goal square, and most of his disposals were won up the ground. Gardner was smart enough to allow Franklin to receive the ball in non-threatening positions, and subdued him to immense effect whenever he was in dangerous areas. Given the fire that the key defenders have come under in the opening fortnight, this performance deserves every ounce of credit - 9

44. Tim English

He played the role of a tall midfielder excellently once again; we know he can do that. What separated this performance from the first two games was his ability to succeed in the ruck. Yes, Tom Hickey was withdrawn from proceedings about halfway through the third term, but even at that stage, the hitout numbers between the two were similar. At the end of the night, English won 28 hitouts, with 10 being won to advantage, compared to 21 and 3 respectively last week. This was on top of the 24 disposals, 12 score involvements and eight clearances he won during the night. And this is with him having to shoulder 95% of the load most games; imagine what he could accomplish if he had a ruck partner - 9