At a rain-soaked Adelaide Oval on Friday night, the Western Bulldogs fell 37 points short of the Crows.

Trailing by just eight points at the main break, the Dogs dominated the disposal count and won the territory game for most of the first half, but were unable to convert when it mattered.

They now sit 4-5 after nine rounds and face Collingwood at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

The numbers

Jack Macrae gathered 36 touches despite having the close attention of tagger Sam Gibson. 25 of those possessions were contested, and if you add 10 clearances and 13 tackles, it was another all-round performance for the 23-year-old.

Marcus Bontempelli was strong (28 disposals, nine clearances, seven tackles), while Toby McLean (22 disposals), Lachie Hunter (23) and Luke Dahlhaus (23) were prime movers for the Dogs.

Defender Bailey Williams also impressed with his ability to win one-on-one contests.

You can quote me on that

“I think all of us as coaches want that desire and application and I don’t think any of our players strayed from that for a minute, so that’s great.  But it’s a little bit deflating seeing your opportunities go amiss,” - Senior Coach Luke Beveridge.

“They just had that little bit more polish than us, towards goal and going inside 50.  It’s disappointing but I think the effort was there from the boys for the four quarters,” - Luke Dahlhaus.

VFL

Footscray held off a surging Werribee side on Sunday afternoon.

The ‘Scray were able to withstand a late charge which saw the home side get to within eight points, after the Dogs had led by as much as 58 points during the third quarter.

The win puts Footscray just outside the VFL top 8 in ninth spot on percentage. 

Up Next

The Bulldogs are back under the Friday night lights when they take on Collingwood at Etihad Stadium at 7.50pm (AEST).

Footscray will face VFL ladder leaders Collingwood at VU Whitten Oval on Saturday, as they look to get back-to-back wins.