The Footscray Bulldogs have suffered a 25-point defeat at the hands of the Northern Blues.
The Blues prevailed 16.15 (112) to 13.9 (87) on Sunday afternoon at the Victoria University Whitten Oval.
The visitors dominated the opening stages, skipping out to a 32-point lead at the 25-minute mark of the first term.
Yet the Blues’ inaccuracy and late Bulldogs goals to Jack Redpath and Tory Dickson kept Footscray’s hopes alive come quarter time.
Facing a 20-point deficit, the Bulldogs fired early in the second term.
Goals to Dickson and Mitch Honeychurch in the quarter’s opening minutes cut the margin to seven points before the Blues steadied through Tim Totevski. For the next 20 minutes, the sides fought goal-for-goal.
Nick Lower, Michael Fogarty and Honeychurch led the Footscray revival in the middle.
At half time, the Blues’ lead was 12 points. The Bulldogs had lifted their pressure but were left to rue costly defensive-half turnovers in a 4.4 to 3.2 quarter.
The third term began with a five Footscray goals, including two to Dickson, as the Bulldogs raced to a 19-point lead.
But a determined Northern Blues outfit ensured that the Bulldogs’ buffer was short-lived.
Blaine Johnson marked strongly from opportunistic inside-50s for two successive goals halfway through the quarter. These were the first of four quick-fire Blues majors to wrest the lead back for the visitors.
A Jason Tutt running goal recaptured the lead for Footscray, who entered the final change two points ahead of the Blues.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, a comeback victory in front of an impressive home crowd was not to be.
After Tory Dickson bagged his fifth goal at the start of the quarter, the Blues piled on five unanswered goals to take the lead and the match by 25 points.
Johnson continued his dominance, netting a fourth goal through a set shot 35m out. Thomas, a constant threat all day, also nailed his third as the Blues outran the flat-footed Bulldogs.
Honeychurch was arguably the Bulldogs’ best with his tenacious tackling and slick hands.
Defenders Fletcher Roberts and Mark Austin also stood bravely. Austin marked over two Blues at a critical stage of the second term, while Roberts showed his mettle at ground level with a consummate display of lock-down football on multiple opponents.
Project player Jack Redpath led strongly, showed clean hands and finished with two goals. Nick Lower provided the highlight of the day with a towering mark on the EJ Whitten Stand wing.
Footscray travels to Bendigo next week to face the Bendigo Gold at Queen Elizabeth Oval on ANZAC Day.
Scores Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Footscray 2.0 6.4 12.6 13.9 (87)
Northern Blues 4.8 7.10 11.10 16.15 (112)
GOALS
Footscray: Dickson 5, Redpath 2, Honeychurch, Campbell, Sullivan, Jamieson, Foggarty, Tutt
Northern Blues: Johnson 4, Thomas 3, Wilson 2, Garlett 2, Armfield 2, Graham, Totevski, Holman
BEST
Footscray: Honeychurch, Dickson, Fogarty, Russell, Redpath, Roberts
Northern Blues: Thomas, Johnson, Wilson, Armfield, Graham, Totevski
