Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge lauded the even contribution from his side, which boosted its finals chances after a 67-point win over Fremantle.
The pressure and pace of the Bulldogs proved far too much for Fremantle, kicking five goals to one in the second term to set up the 23.11 (149) to 12.10 (82) victory.
"I expected it to be an extremely tough and hard battle early, and the arm-wrestle inside. Obviously they got out to a bit of a lead in the first quarter that we managed to claw our way back, which was a positive sign," Beveridge said.
"The thing about Fremantle and what they've been able to do is we think they're a team who work extremely hard. Their balance in the game and all the phases has been really strong, and that's why they've been winning games.
"We just used the ball a lot better today (than in previous games), we really did. We used each other, but our distribution inside our front half was a lot better. We were able to really capitalise on a swag of forward 50 entries, and the differential there (14) suggests we should win the game.
"It meant if we didn't mark it, it meant the ground level contest was an opportunity for us, rather than their sweeping, uncontested mark game which really puts you on the edge."
Tom Liberatore not only produced 28 disposals and nine clearances of his own, he put his hand up to help limit the impact of Fremantle star Caleb Serong, who was forced to do it the hard way.
"Serong really towelled us up last time, so for him to play that role, similarly to what he did with Matty Rowell at Gold Coast, was really important for us," Beveridge said.
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13:09
Luke Beveridge | Post Match (RD14)
Bevo spoke to the media after the Round 14 victory over Fremantle.
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01:46
AFL RD14 | Box-office Bont
Marcus Bontempelli is a class above in his side’s dominant victory with three goals and a handful of assists.
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06:55
AFL RD14 | Match Highlights
All the best moments from our 67-point victory over the Dockers.
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00:37
Lobb dobs one with sneaky toe in goalsquare
Rory Lobb scores his second goal of the term after a fortuitous spillage allows him to quickly get boot to ball.
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00:47
Jamarra joins party with two towering clunks
The Bulldogs continue to run riot as Jamarra Ugle-Hagan stands tall to earn consecutive goals.
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00:50
Bont lifts the roof after stunning Freo’s best defenders
An outnumbered Marcus Bontempelli somehow manages to spin out of the contest and conjure a ridiculous snap.
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00:39
West works home crowd with sweet pair in milestone match
Rhylee West snares a couple of gems in his 50th game of AFL to get the Bulldogs faithful up and about.
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00:45
Returning Dogs lead the way with first two
Cody Weightman and Ed Richards both contribute an early goal on their return from injury.
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17:24
Luke Beveridge | 'We need an even spread of contributors'
Bevo speaks to the media ahead of the Round 14 clash against Fremantle
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07:33
Bulldogs Radio | Aaron Naughton (12th June)
Naughty joins Gary and Tim on SEN as part of our mid-season SEN membership day.
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"Sometimes he offers [to shut down an opponent]. I don't know how many examples there are of players who come back from concussion and just play the house down. He probably wasn't at his best last week, and sometimes being task-oriented for a change and not being so creative can right the ship a bit.
"The glint's in his eye when he offers, and it twinkles when you agree. With their midfield, there's a number of guys who are influential, and we thought with this thing, if it's a half-result, it's good for us. Caleb's a very good player, we think he's a really strong leader as well."
