The Western Bulldogs have accounted for Adelaide by 45 points at Mars Stadium (Wadawurrung Country) on Saturday afternoon in Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

The 11.19 (85) to 5.10 (40) result marks the Bulldogs’ fifth consecutive win, taking them to a 7-3 win-loss ratio after 10 rounds.

The visitors were first to strike five minutes into the match, but it was all the Bulldogs after that – piling on five of the next six majors.

Despite the Dogs’ dominance, they struggled to convert some opportunities in the wet, heading into the main break with a 5.13 scoreline and just a 21-point advantage.

But as the weather dried up so did the Bulldogs’ inaccuracy in front of goal – slotting another four unanswered goals in the third while holding the Crows to just 1.2.

The last term was more contested, with neither side gaining momentum until skipper Marcus Bontempelli added his first of the day 13 minutes in.

Vice-captain Jack Macrae then followed suit with the final major score of the day.

Bailey Smith was prolific, collecting a game-high 37 disposals, six inside 50s and 566 metres gained in arguably his best outing this season so far, while Caleb Daniel (30 disposals, six tackles, six clearances, one goal) and Tom Liberatore (33 disposals, five tackles, eight clearances) went to work in the engine room.

Aaron Naughton clunked a Mark of the Year contender early, before going back and kicking truly, while Anthony Scott and Macrae added two goals each. 

Liam Jones created headaches for the Crows inside-50, cutting off a number of their forward forays with eight intercepts. 

Ed Richards and Bailey Dale worked hard all day with 20 and 36 possessions respectively, as did Bailey Williams (22 touches, one goal) and Tim English (21 touches, 29 hit-outs).

One of the few sour notes was seeing Jason Johannisen leave the field midway through the third quarter with a hamstring complaint, with Lachie McNeil injected into the game as the substitute.  

The Bulldogs will next take on Gold Coast at TIO Stadium in Darwin for the second week of Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

The team will again wear the Indigenous guernseys designed by Kerrup-Mara Gunditjmara and Yorta Yorta man Jason Walker.

WESTERN BULLDOGS     4.7    5.13    9.19   11.19 (85)
ADELAIDE                       1.2    3.4      4.6     5.10 (40)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Scott 2, Macrae 2, Gardner, Naughton, Williams, Daniel, Lobb, Weightman, Bontempelli
Adelaide: Rachele 2, Gollant, Rankine, Dawson

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Smith, English, L.Jones, Dale, Liberatore, Daniel, Bontempelli
Adelaide: Laird, Pedlar, Jones, Dawson, Rachele, Murray

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Johannisen (hamstring)
Adelaide: Hinge (concussion)

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Lachlan McNeil (replaced Jason Johannisen in the third quarter)
Adelaide: Sam Berry (replaced Mitchell Hinge in the first quarter)

Crowd: 10,114 at Mars Stadium