Tall forwards fire
Tim English, Aaron Naughton and Josh Bruce had a big impact against the Lions.
All three have already had their moments in 2021, but on Saturday we got a great snapshot of them working in sync.
English was arguably best afield, alternating between his forward and ruck roles. He kicked 3.3 to go with 17 disposals, but it was his marking (nine marks, five of those contested) inside-50 and around the ground which was most impressive.
Naughton attacked the ball ferociously and finished with 2.5 and four contested marks, while Bruce claimed two contested marks – and three intercepts – to go with his goal.
Up the other end…
The Bulldogs highlighted a need to improve defensively after 2020 and have started brilliantly on that front.
They’ve conceded just 239 points across the opening four rounds – ranked first in the AFL.
In his first game for 2021, Lewis Young claimed a team-high 13 intercepts and helped shut down Joe Daniher and Eric Hipwood, alongside the likes of Alex Keath and Easton Wood.
Bailey Dale has been a revelation across half back, generating 417 metres gained from 21 disposals, while Taylor Duryea impressed with and without the ball, helping to put the clamps on Charlie Cameron.
Perfect start
For the first time since 2008, the Bulldogs have started the season with four consecutive wins.
It’s foreign territory for this current Bulldogs’ playing group – only Easton Wood was on the list that year, and he hadn’t made his debut yet.
The Bulldogs sit on top of the table, as one of three undefeated teams alongside Melbourne and the Sydney Swans.
Funnily enough, if you cast your mind back to Round 5, 2008, the Bulldogs drew with Richmond – and former Bulldog Nathan Brown celebrated on the siren. That group went on to win their next three games, to have a 7-1-0 record, before dropping their first game by just three points to North Melbourne in round nine.
That means some digging through the history books to find the last time the Bulldogs won five games in a row to start a season… which was all the way back in 1946.
Just some added motivation to produce another good performance against the Suns this Saturday, at Marvel Stadium.
