WEST COAST has survived a massive scare against the Western Bulldogs to hang on to an eight-point win at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and keep their top-four aspirations alive.

The Eagles forfeited a 50-point lead in just over a quarter of football with the Bulldogs mounting an astonishing comeback after kicking just four goals in the first half. 

The Dogs, inspired by an incredible 40-possession game from captain Matthew Boyd, booted 11 goals to the Eagles' five - and 10 of the last 12 goals of the game - in the second half to whittle away the hefty deficit they faced at the 10-minute mark of the third quarter. 

Barry Hall, who ended with five goals, kicked a point with 13 minutes remaining that levelled the scores for the first time, before Daniel Giansiracusa goaled at the 17-minute mark to put them in front.

The Eagles hit back with a goal to Jack Darling at the 20-minute mark to again level the scores, before Andrew Embley and Mark LeCras missed opportunities to better the lead with six-pointers.

The Darling shot at goal came from a free kick paid against Liam Picken for holding, which Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade later described as "a bit dubious".

As the clock hit the 30-minute mark of red time, Dean Cox - who was the Eagles' best player with 27 touches and 37 hit-outs - took a game-saving grab deep in attack and kicked the sealer with less than a minute remaining to claim the game 15.13 (103) to 15.5 (95).

It was a brave victory performance from the Dogs, who were without Adam Cooney, Shaun Higgins and Dale Morris, who was a late withdrawal with groin soreness.

Morris' omission made it eight changes for the Dogs this week, with Nathan Djerrkura also missing with an Achilles injury and Lindsay Gilbee, Dylan Addison, Lukas Markovic and Jarrad Grant omitted.

However, the Eagles were without three of their own with Josh Kennedy - who kicked 10 goals in their round nine 123-point victory over the Dogs - Nic Naitanui and Daniel Kerr back in Perth.

Eade later said it had been too big a risk to play Morris, but he was likely to return against Essendon - with potentially Cooney and Higgins - after next weekend's bye.

Influential players
Boyd added 11 clearances to his 40 possessions to be best on ground for the Dogs, with seven inside 50s and 19 contested possessions summing up his contribution.

Aside from Boyd, the Dogs benefitted from Robert Murphy's leadership and run off half-back, with him racking up the next most possessions for a Bulldog behind the captain with 26. Luke Dahlhaus provided great pressure without amassing a stack of the ball while Hall was the game's most prolific goal-kicker.

Cox was enormous with his stats, which also included 13 marks, while Andrew Gaff had 31 possessions and nine inside 50s, as well as six rebounds from the other end. Matt Priddis - in his 100th game - was a tackling machine and laid 14 for the game, as well as collecting nine clearances, while Matt Rosa was the other Eagle to crack 30 touches.  

Quarter by quarter - with Jason Phelan
First Quarter
Debutant Scott Lycett replaced the injured Nic Naitanui in the Eagles' team and had an immediate impact with his first kick in AFL football a goal from close range. Fellow first-year player Gaff had an equally impressive first term with two goals in West Coast's hot start to the game. Giansiracusa dragged a goal back for the Bulldogs late in the quarter, but it was still a 27-point margin at the first break.
West Coast by 27 points

Second Quarter
Lycett continued his debut to remember with a second goal to start the second quarter. Luke Dahlhaus, one of the few Dogs to have a reasonable first half, replied with his second, but the Eagles continued to capitalise on their advantage at the stoppages. The margin blew out to 48 points before Hall booted his first goal of the day late in the term.
West Coast by 43 points

Third Quarter
Eade rang in the changes at half-time, but the Eagles got out to a 50-point lead before the coach's change of tactics started to have an impact. Boyd was instrumental in the reversal of fortunes with Hall important inside 50 with two goals. When Giansiracusa kicked a stunning volleyed goal, the margin was back to 19 points, but LeCras topped the Bulldogs' effort with a brilliant dribbled goal at the other end.
West Coast by 25 points

Fourth Quarter
With their season on the line, the Bulldogs kept coming in the last as the Eagles faltered. The Dogs rattled on five goals to take the lead for the first time in the game in the 18th minute of the quarter. Giansiracusa added another two to his tally with his fourth goal putting his team six points up, but that would be the last goal the Bulldogs would score. Even so, the result went right down to the wire with Cox taking a huge mark to settle the contest with a goal inside the last minute.
West Coast by 8 points

What the coaches said
Western Bulldogs - Rodney Eade
"You can have an honourable loss and take some positives out it and that was probably it.

"We started so poorly; we just didn't touch the ball early. I think we were a bit shell shocked.

"From our point of view, there were a lot of positives but we still didn't win, just a little lack of composure in inappropriate times in the last quarter hurt us."

West Coast - John Worsfold
"We still know where we're at. To let the Bulldogs get on top and dominate in the second half like they did on the scoreboard means there is a massive amount for us to learn from that.

"It's a matter of 'how much better do we need to be?' We're well and truly aware of that."

What it means
It means a whole heap of stuff has to go right for the Dogs to make the finals now. They have their second bye next weekend, which Eade later said was probably "two weeks too late", after their first was "two weeks too early", and will be 10 premiership points out of the eight should St Kilda beat Gold Coast on Saturday night, as expected. Still, they have four games remaining and can only win them all - and rely on other results going their way - to give themselves a shot.

It also means the Eagles are keeping the heat on Carlton and remain just two points behind them in the race for that all-important double chance. It puts 10 points between them and the sixth-ranked Sydney Swans, who have a bye this week, and gives them a firmer grasp on fifth spot, which could see them host their first final in Perth.

Dream Team highlights
Western Bulldogs: Boyd's ($413,900) 40-possession game equated to a 126-point Dream Team score. Giansiracusa was the only other player to break the century with 106.

West Coast: Cox ($396,500) put up a monster score of 155 on the back of his 27-disposal, 37-hitout effort. Priddis wasn't far behind with 150 thanks mainly to his 14 tackles.

The next four
The Bulldogs will head off on their second bye next weekend before they face Essendon at Etihad Stadium. In round 22, they're off to South Australia to play Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium before coming home to face Hawthorn at the MCG.

The Eagles have a good run home with next week's match against Richmond at Patersons Stadium, one they would expect to win. In round 21, they'll return to Melbourne for the last time before finals to face the Demons at the MCG before hosting Essendon in the west in round 22. Then, they'll complete the longest trip in footy to play the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

Western Bulldogs       2.1   4.2   10.4     15.13  (103)
West Coast                  6.4   10.9   13.11   15.5  (95)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Hall 5, Giansiracusa 4, Dahlhaus 2, Barlow, Ward, Stack, Jones
West Coast: LeCras 3, Darling 2, Lycett 2, Gaff 2, Shuey, Selwood, Nicoski, Lynch, Ebert, Cox

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Murphy, Hall, Ward, Giansiracusa, Dahlhaus
West Coast: Cox, Gaff, Priddis, Embley, Rosa, Hurn

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Morris (groin) out, replaced in selected side by Schofield
West Coast: None

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Andrew Hooper replaced by Jayden Schofield in the third quarter
West Coast: Beau Waters replaced by Patrick McGinnity in the last quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Nicholls, Chamberlain, Armstrong

Official crowd: 20,883 at Etihad Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs