The Western Bulldogs have completed their pre-season campaign with a 33-point loss to Collingwood in Moe in the JLT Community Series on Saturday.
In hot conditions at Ted Summerton Reserve, just three points separated the teams at three quarter time, before the Magpies booted eight goals to three in the final term.
The Bulldogs used one less player than the Magpies after the late withdrawal of midfielder Caleb Daniel, and importantly emerged without major injury concerns, with Round 1 just around the corner.
Ruckman Jordan Roughead fell awkwardly in the opening minutes and spent some time on the bench being assessed, though he returned to the field before sitting out the second half as a precaution.
Despite the loss, there were plenty of positive signs for the Dogs.
Tom Liberatore underlined his impressive pre-season with a commanding performance in the midfield, collecting 28 disposals (16 contested) and kicking a goal.
First-year defender Aaron Naughton did his chances of playing in the season opener no harm with another composed effort in defence, with the 18-year-old winning 13 possessions and taking a team-high eight marks.
Jackson Trengove stepped up his feats from last week’s JLT win over Hawthorn, finishing with 24 touches, four marks and 19 hitouts.
Jackson Macrae (27 disposals) and Toby McLean (26) also won plenty of the ball, Marcus Bontempelli kicked three goals and Lin Jong booted two majors from 18 disposals in his second game back from a knee reconstruction.
The Bulldogs got off to a flier and led by 27 points at quarter time, but the Magpies dominated the second quarter to reduce the margin to four points at the main break.
The teams traded blows in the third, before the Pies ran away with the win in the final stanza.
Match details
Collingwood 1.5 5.13 8.16 16.17.113
Western Bulldogs 6.2 7.4 9.7 12.8.80
Goals
Collingwood: Cox 4, Varcoe 3, Reid 2, Phillips, Thomas, Brown, Adams, Sidebottom, Grundy, Treloar
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli 3, Jong 2, Wood 2, Dahlhaus, Dunkley, Johannisen, Gowers, Liberatore
Best
Collingwood: Sidebottom, Cox, Treloar, Murray, Adams, Brown
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Macrae, Bontempelli, McLean, Johannisen, Trengove
