Blog log from R24 of 2024: Western Bulldogs vs Western Sydney

Sunny skies but a big wind blowing at Ballarat at the start of this one, GWS won the toss and will kick with it in Q1.
Cadman roves the first centre clearance kick at the hotspot but gets slam tackled by Liam Jones, free kick is straight through with the breeze for the first goal! (Q1 0:56)
Weightman swerves through a nice set shot into the wind after dropping the knees in possession to suck a high contact free on Whitfield 35m out on the flank. (Q1 2:59)
Weightman gets another chance deep in the pocket 20m out but his grubber turns too early for a behind. (Q1 7:03)
Hogan reaches over Lobb in a pack 15m out to juggle a mark for his first goal. (Q1 8:29)
The Bulldogs are owning territory into the wind, eventually a Richards kick from the HFF swerves to the hotspot where English marks in front of the pack… but shanks OOTF. (Q1 21:17)
Liberatore bobs like a cork in the ocean in a pack 40m out on a slight angle and catches some high contact by Coniglio to earn a free. His kick falls in the square to be rushed. (Q1 23:53)
Greene earns a high contact free on Duryea 50m out on the flank, starts his kick outside the right goalpost to ride the wind behind him… doesn’t swerve enough, just a point. (Q1 26:32)
Cadman gets a set shot after the QT siren on the boundary 30m out, again he can use the breeze to blow it in and he threads the important goal! (Q1 27:37)
Richards snaps off a step off the left peg from 40m on a slight angle, the ball bounces high behind Naughton but shaves the left post on the way through. Unlucky. (Q2 0:37)
The GWS kick in doesn’t clear half way, on the repeat inside 50 Darcy gets a free for a block by Taylor 30m out on a slight angle and bends it home. (Q2 1:23)
Briggs holds Bontempelli after the next bounce, Bramble lets fly from 50m on a slight angle but it’s just wide. (Q2 3:00)
Dale intercepts a dump kick just outside 50m on a slight angle, breeze at his back and he bangs through a lovely finish. Dogs already in the lead very early in Q2. (Q2 5:08)
McMullin gets back to the square to touch through a Treloar ping from the HFF. (Q2 7:06)
Bontempelli releases Richards to jet away from Ward after a stoppage on the HFF to goal from 20m. (Q2 9:23)
Taylor drops an intercept mark from a long, high ball to the hotspot looking into the bright sun, Williams accepts the crumb over the back for another one for the Bullies. (Q2 11:18)
Darcy catches the ball out of ruck at a throw-in and rams through another one off the left, the Bulldogs are taking a hold of this game with the wind! (Q2 12:38)
Keeffe roves in the pocket and feeds outside to Greene who hits the post from 20m. Not a good day for L’Orange so far, everything going wrong. (Q2 14:37)
Haynes gathers Freijah’s untidy rebound dump kick on the HFF and hoofs it back low to the hotspot for Green to mark and goal into the breeze. (Q2 16:38)
Kelly rolls through another one for GWS after the bounce roving Cadman’s contest to a Peatling clearance 30m out in front. (Q2 18:23)
Dale passes to Gallagher just inside 50m on a slight angle, whose kick swings left with the breze. (Q2 24:34)
Naughton marks at the hotspot on a repeat inside 50 speculator, he kicks truly. (Q2 27:46)
Peatling sharks a Gallagher handball in the goalsquare but snaps wide over the right shoulder. (Q2 30:53)
Freijah shanks a behind from a set shot after the HT siren from 40m on a slight angle, does the old ABC logo spin for a behind to the right. (Half Time)
Weightman does a one-two with Williams but misses a mid-range snap in to the wind. (Q3 5:34)
Hogan misses a hurried snap from near CHF. (Q3 5:46)
Greene wins a HTB free on Treloar who was trying to run away from a pack 40m out on a slight angle. GWS needs a captain’s goal… it’s a shank and off hands for a behind. (Q3 6:39)
Weightman feeds Bontempelli cruising past on the HFF after a stoppage, the Bont bangs the snap into the wind, blows it down but just over the goal line for a huge goal! (Q3 8:47)
Ugle-Hagan has not done much today with Darcy the main target, but he juggles a Macrae pass to mark over Buckley 30m out on a slight angle… wind skews the shot right. (Q3 10:54)
McMullin swerves in a nice set shot with the breeze from 45m on the flank after catching O’Donnell HTB at a ball up. (Q3 13:47)
GWS are undermanned in midfield and unsuited to this ground in the extreme, and they are only barely still in touch after being torched in Q2. (Q3 14:17)
Callaghan bustles up members wing and passes to Hogan 40m out on the flank, who leaves his set shot near side right. (Q3 17:22)
Darcy Jones roves at half back, bounces off an Arthur Jones challenge but gets caught HTB by Weightman 40m out in front… his set shot is blown down to be rushed. (Q3 19:51)
Ugle-Hagan has a snap from half forward smothered off the boot, crumb falls for Gallagher who tries his luck on the turn from 40m on the flank… huge goal into the wind! (Q3 25:17)
Rain also falling in Ballarat now, GWS are joining the long line of non-Victorian sides to have a really bad time on the goldfields. (Q3 25:42)
Liam Jones slips over to allow Hogan to mark near the goalsquare for his second goal. Giants still technically in touch though they aren’t much chance at all. (Q3 27:03)
Hogan pokes a short pass to Greene 40m out on a slight angle just before the 3QT. He’s already missed one chance for a captain’s goal in Q3, GWS need this badly… he delivers! (Q3 32:17)
Richards threads a sensational snap from the boundary 35m out within the first twenty seconds of the bounce for Q4! (Q4 0:20)
The Dogs handball their way from the next bounce as well, Bontempelli gives wide to McNeil who turns and shoots off a step from 40m on the flank but that one is narrow left. (Q4 1:42)
Hogan marks a short Darcy Jones pass just inside 50m but chooses a pass across half forward for Ward 40m out in the corridor. Ward shoots into the teeth of the wind… miss right. (Q4 2:49)
Greene bounces through another big goal to an empty square into the wind from 50m on a slight angle after Brown forces a turnover on outer wing. (Q4 5:19)
Weightman roves on the HFF and gives to Liberatore whose quick snap is narrow to the left. (Q4 9:07)
Bontempelli switches from outer wing to the centre with a lovely long kick to Arthur Jones in space, he goes quickly to the pocket for Naughton to play on past Keeffe for the goal! (Q4 15:40)
Things looking bleak for the Giants now, just about out of chances. (Q4 16:21)
Liam Jones intercepts over Hogan in defensive goalsquare, driving rain hiding the tears of Giants faithful. (Q4 17:21)
On the rebound Arthur Jones marks on the wing and gets a 50m penalty for late contact from behind by Haynes, he goals from near the hotspot. That’s the ball game. (Q4 18:05)
Liberatore has another chance for a mid-range snap from the HFF after Himmelberg drops an intercept mark, this one wobbles through to kick off junk time. (Q4 20:45)
Daniel skids through some more garbage from mid-range, the dam walls have broken in Ballarat. (Q4 22:46)
Arthur Jones gets a contact free on Himmelberg 40m out in the corridor but shoots wide left. (Q4 24:20)
Naughton marks a long Gallagher kick from the centre to the pocket 20m out but shanks across the face to the right and OOTF. (Q4 28:06)