Oh captain, my captain

Looking at Marcus Bontempelli’s first-quarter stats, you just knew he was in for a big game.

14 touches, five clearances and three inside-50s in the opening term turned into 30 touches, five clearances, six marks and seven inside-50s by the final siren.

Add in a clutch captain’s goal – his third of the day mind you – to ice the game late, and you’ve got the definition of a captain’s game.

As teammate Aaron Naughton put it simply post-match: “he is a freak player”.

Cometh the men, cometh the moments

While it’s easy to single out the skipper, there’s no denying the last 10 minutes of Sunday’s win was full of big moments from a number of Bulldogs.

From that captain’s goal, to Lachie McNeil’s intercept and Laith Vandermeer goal on the run.

From Bailey Williams taking on three, to Josh Bruce and Aaron Naughton converting late.

From Adam Treloar on the inside, to 150-gamer Tom Liberatore and Jack Macrae’s ball-winning efforts.

Trailing by two straight kicks at the final break, the Bulldogs knew collectively they needed to lift – and that they did.

There’s no place like home

610 days.

That’s how long it had been since the Western Bulldogs had played in front of their home crowd at Marvel Stadium.

And boy, was it nice to be back on Sunday.

With roughly 21,000 in attendance – the majority of them Bulldogs supporters - hearing the roars of the red, white and blue faithful in those dying minutes was electric.

We just hope your heart rates have since recovered.