St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs meet on Thursday night in a crucial contest that will continue to shape the trajectories of their seasons.
The Saints (2-3, 102.5%) are rebounding from a narrow loss to GWS and have brought back Zak Jones in place of injured spearhead Max King.
The Bulldogs (2-3, 111.6%), meantime, will be looking for a better performance all around after slumping to Essendon, having faced enormous external pressure this week.
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The Dogs lose star forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (personal) and Tom Liberatore (concussion), while they omitted Oskar Baker. In come Rory Lobb, Riley Garcia and James Harmes.
The match gets underway at 7:30pm AEST from Marvel Stadium.
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 504), streaming on Kayo or via Hubbl.
LIVE MATCH REPORT
Ryley Sanders, the Bulldogs’ top draft pick who was praised as being AFL ready over the pre-season, was named as the side’s substitute for Thursday night’s clash.
It came after Sanders was visibly frustrated with being subbed out of last week’s loss to Essendon. Meanwhile St Kilda named Dan Butler as its sub, with no late changes made.
The Bulldogs pulled off a surprise move at the first siren, with defender Ed Richards swung into the centre bounce, most likely in the absence of Tom Liberatore.
And it was the Dogs that got the fast start, with the under-fire Aaron Naughton converting a set-shot opportunity in the opening minutes. But St Kilda hit back quickly, with Anthony Caminiti nailing his set-shot shortly afterwards.
With the game being played predominantly between the arcs, scores were hard to come by for both teams. But Cody Weightman took over midway through the first term.
Weightman earned himself a free kick then converted his set-shot, before adding a second major a minute later. His best highlight came a few minutes later, pouncing on a loose ball and dribbling through a stunning snap goal to give the Bulldogs a 19-point lead.
And when Naughton nailed a terrific goal on the run from a tight angle and Sam Darcy added another, the Dogs had a 31-point lead.
“They are on tonight, the Dogs,” commentator Alister Nicholson said.
Fellow caller Brian Taylor added: “This is devastating for the Saints and it’s getting out of control.”
The Dogs’ quarter-time lead sat at 38 points after Naughton’s third goal late in the quarter.
“It’s the perfect start,” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy.
“This is a script that ‘Bevo’ probably couldn’t have written himself.”
St Kilda’s slow start drew criticism from several former AFL players.
The Bulldogs’ scoring dried up at the start of the second term, but their pressure remained unrelenting.
Amid a stalemate, Bailey Dale provided a moment of brilliance, sprinting away from St Kilda’s (albeit sloppy) defence and nailing a long-range goal on the run.
But the Saints stopped the bleeding and regained some momentum in the back-half of the quarter.
After Zak Jones broke the Bulldogs run, young Saint Riley Garcia converted from a set-shot to kick his first AFL goal.
THE 3-2-1 …
A FIRST QUARTER SCRIPT EVEN BEVO COULDN’T WRITE
Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall put it perfectly at quarter-time.
“This is a script that ‘Bevo’ probably couldn’t have written himself,” the Fox Footy pundit said.
After six consecutive days in the headlines in which the club was central to mixed messaging accusations, rebuild speculation and puzzling selection calls, Luke Beveridge’s Bulldogs couldn’t have produced a more emphatic opening quarter against St Kilda.
The Bulldogs slammed on 7.1, while restricting to St Kilda to just 1.0, to open up a 37-point lead at the first change.
And it wasn’t as if the Dogs were totally dominant at the coalface or outworked the Saints dramatically on the outside.
The Dogs were just breathtakingly efficient. They went at 79 per cent kicking efficiency for the quarter – compared to St Kilda’s 60 per cent – while they had 15 inside 50s to the Saints’ eight. It meant the Dogs kicked a goal from nearly every second entry they had in the first term.
The forward line caused havoc, with Aaron Naughton and Cody Weightman kicking three goals each, while Sam Darcy added the other. Rory Lobb, who came in for the absent Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, also competed well in the air.
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