The Western Bulldogs have smashed pre-season premiers Brisbane in a stunning round-one upset.
The Western Bulldogs celebrate thrashing the Brisbane Lions in their first AFL match of the season. Picture: George Salpigtidis. Source: News Limited
SOMETIMES a long wait can be well rewarded.
If scriptwriters were searching for a theme to be extracted from the Western Bulldogs' 68-point thrashing of NAB Cup winner Brisbane at Etihad Stadium yesterday, it wouldn't have been too hard to locate it.
The Bulldogs players, not to mention their long-suffering fans, had waited impatiently to finally win a home-and-away match and yesterday's reward was perhaps the most complete performance of Brendan McCartney's 23 games as coach.
The previous win was way back in Round 12 last season. What followed was a miserable streak of 11 consecutive losses that had doomsayers fearing what 2013 might hold in store.
Given the Bulldogs were without captain Matthew Boyd, and were coming up against the form side of the pre-season competition, the Dogs' 19.13 (127) to 7.17 (59) whitewash of the Lions was even more meritorious.
The Bulldogs wanted it more -- and worked better as an unit -- than the Lions.
There were stories of reward for effort and persistence everywhere you looked for the Bulldogs, and you could understand why some of them were so vocal in belting out the club theme song.
Just ask Brett Goodes, who finally made his AFL debut yesterday at 29, and performed so well that it's almost an indictment of the competition that he was forced to wait so long.
His brother Adam had to wait until his third season for a Brownlow vote; Brett won't be far off gaining a vote in his long-awaited debut match.
Goodes performed very well off the half-back line -- something which has allowed the club's acting captain Bob Murphy to go forward again -- and he used the ball like the veteran he is in age terms, if not in terms of games played.
Just ask Dale Morris, who played his first home-and-away match in 595 days since suffering a career-threatening broken leg.
Morris offered up plenty of support and confidence to key defender Jordan Roughead, who kept Jonathan Brown to one goal for the game.
Just ask Nick Lower, who this time last year was struggling to adapt to life under Ross Lyon at Fremantle. Yesterday, Lower completely shut out Michael Tuck medallist Daniel Rich, restricting him to eight possessions.
Lower complemented a strong Bulldogs midfield that overwhelmed a much-hyped Lions engine room.
Will Minson played one of his best games for the club, dominating the ruck; Ryan Griffen was critical through the centre of the ground; and Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis showed why they are serious players of the future.
Ask Koby Stevens and Tom Young, who were bit players for their respective clubs West Coast and Collingwood last season, but who slotted in nicely yesterday. And maybe ask Adam Cooney, who started the week in hospital due to an infection to his troublesome right knee, but who finished it singing the Bulldogs' theme song for the first time since last June after a strong performance.
As good as the Bulldogs were, the Lions were nothing like the side that showed so much during the pre-season. They were denied the ball almost from the outset and could not wrest control at any stage.
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