The Western Bulldogs came close to pulling off an upset in the final round of the home and away season in a spirited performance against Richmond. In the end the Dogs fell just three points short of the minor premiers.
In front of 56,998 at the MCG, it was a see-sawing contest.
The Dogs held a slim margin at both quarter and half time before the Tigers took an eight point lead into the final change.
The Dogs peppered the scoreboard late and had a chance to steal it with less than a minute remaining when Brad Lynch lined up a tricky set shot from the boundary that resulted in a point – the final margin, 15.8 (98) to 14.11 (95).
The numbers
The Dogs’ engine room worked hard - Jackson Macrae collected 43 disposals, 14 marks, 11 score involvements and seven tackles.
Lachie Hunter (35), Marcus Bontempelli (29), Caleb Daniel (29) and Josh Dunkley (28) were also influential.
Billy Gowers finished his first season in the red, white and blue as the club’s leading goal kicker (26 goals). Gowers kicked three against the Tigers, while Brad Lynch and Dunkley (2 goals each) also finished with multiple goals.
You can quote me on that
Luke Beveridge
“We always say that when you [are] playing against an opponent that's recognised and respected in the way that the Tigers are now, it is a good opportunity to see how you stack up and we stacked up pretty well today.
“That'll give us a spring in our step as we have a break and then turn our minds on how we're going to prepare for 2019.”
VFL + VFLW
Footscray’s finals hopes were dashed when they were defeated by 27-points by Port Melbourne on Saturday.
The Borough took a lead into each break and despite some promising passages of play, particularly in the third quarter, the ‘Scray failed to wrestle the ascendancy back.
Tim English gathered 36 hit outs and kicked two goals, while midfielder Mitch Honeychurch (25 disposals, eight marks) was again solid for Footscray.
In the VFLW, the Western Bulldogs defeated the Darebin Falcons when Hannah Scott goaled after the siren to give the Dogs a four-point victory.
The Dogs trailed by 13-points at the final change, but a spirited final term saw them finish the season on a high.
In their first year in the state league competition (VFLW) the Western Bulldogs finished sixth placed on the ladder with a 7-7 record.
