The Western Bulldogs have gone down to North Melbourne in an AFLW practice match on Saturday afternoon.
The understrength Bulldogs were outworked by an experienced Roos outfit in the 2.2 (14) to 11.11 (77) affair at Arden Street Oval.
It marks an unofficial end to the 2023 preseason, with round one to come in a fortnight’s time.
A sluggish start saw the Bulldogs concede five goals in the first quarter, with Jess Fitzgerald’s snap midway through the term one of the few highlights.
Adjustments were necessary in the second, and despite some defensive lapses the Dogs held up better.
Keely Coyne was rewarded for effort with a dribbling goal, adding what would be her side’s second and last major.
Exiting defensive 50 was a struggle for the Dogs, whose backline were forced to work overtime to deal with the influx of Roos’ entries.
Improvements were visible after the main break, keeping the Roos to just two goals in a much-improved second-half, but the Bulldogs were unable to add any majors of their own.
Testament to the red, white and blue, they did not waiver, even when the game was well out of reach in the final term.
Kirsty Lamb’s grunt was important, while Maggie Gorham had some nice moments inside.
Isabelle Pritchard and Jess Fitzgerald were clean with ball in hand, while Issy Grant read the ball well in defence.
On the injury front, Millie Brown suffered a knee injury in the warm-up, while skipper Ellie Blackburn copped a corked quad in the second term and sat out the second-half as a precaution.
The Bulldogs will have two weeks to fine-tune their game-plan before facing Geelong at GMHBA Stadium in round one on Saturday 2 September.
>>> VIEW A FULL REPLAY OF THE MATCH HERE
Western Bulldogs 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.2 (14)
North Melbourne 5.1 9.5 11.7 11.11 (77)
Goals: Fitzgerald, Coyne.
