The good
Winning the clearances by 16 Western Bulldogs Development Coach Peter German believed the Dogs ability to get first use of the ball was a real positive from the game. Young Tom Liberatore equalled his personal best with 9 clearances while Matthew Boyd (6), Mitch Wallis (5) and Adam Cooney (5) were instrumental.
 
Area for improvement
German said the Bulldogs still need to maximise the full value of their disposals and inside 50s to become a really damaging team. The ability to drive the ball into the forward line to their teammate’s advantage and the ability to capitalise when in possession of the ball is an area for improvement.
 
Stat that mattered
Winning the contested ball kept the Bulldogs in the game against the Cats and is an area that the Dogs pride themselves on this season. The Bulldogs (148) won the contested possession count convincingly against the Cats (130). German said the Dogs showed they were hungry to win the ball and they did.
 
Player of the day
German nominated Mark Austin as the Player of the day against the Cats for convincingly winning his match up against key forward James Podsiadly. Austin  stopped Podsiadly from having any major influence on the game restricting him to one goal and six disposals at 50% effeciency  - Podsiadly is averaging 2.2 goals this season including two five goal hauls. Austin himself collected seven disposals (at 86% disposal efficiency), three marks and eight ‘one percenters’.
 
Dream Team Analysis
•  It was the usual suspects racking up the Toyota AFL Dream Team points this week with skipper Matthew Boyd leading the charge with 111 points. Boyd found 34 possessions at 88% disposal efficiency, five marks, six clearances, four inside 50s, three rebound 50s and three tackles to top it off.

• Dynamic duo Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore both pulled out a 94 point performance with 24 disposals and four marks and a goal apiece. Liberatore also had nine clearances and four rebound 50s while Mitch Wallis laid five tackles and had pinpoint accuracy with 96% disposal efficiency.

• Ruckman Will Minson ($382,200) shouldered the Bulldogs ruck duties with 32 hit-outs for the night. He also collected 20 disposals (12CP, 8UP) and had 3 clearances for a total of 91 Dream Team points.