Ayce Cordy kicked five goals as the outer of Victoria University Whitten Oval roared to life once more with the Footscray Bulldogs opening their VFL season with a resounding victory over Richmond.
The Bulldogs ran out 117-point winners to the delight of a strong crowd as competitive football returned to VU Whitten Oval for the first time since 1997.
Fittingly, the opening 15 minutes saw a hard-fought contest as both sides attacked the contest ferociously.
Former Western Bulldogs and Sydney Swan listed player Ed Barlow opened Richmond’s account with a goal on the run courtesy of some slick ball movement from the half back line.
The Tigers got the better of the opening stanza, kicking three of the first five goals, before the Bulldogs turned the tide.
The Bulldogs ramped-up their pressure throughout the first term and Richmond’s ball use began to suffer.
Tom Young and Jase Perkins, both key contributors throughout the day, sparked a run of four unanswered majors to round out the first term.
Dominating the contests and finding picking holes in the Tigers defence, Footscray carried its momentum into the second quarter booting three quick goals.
The Bulldogs finished the term with five goals to the Tigers’ one to take a 41-point lead into half time.
With Young and Brett Goodes running amok off half back and forwards Tory Dickson, Todd Finco and Cordy firing, the Bulldogs continued the charge in the final two terms.
Footscray kicked seven majors while restricting Richmond to one behind in a clinical third term. The Bulldogs’ finesse shone as goals were generated from both methodical inside-50 build-ups and quick entries from centre clearances.
A classy hard ball pick-up in heavy traffic followed by a 40 meter banana provided Finco with a goal and one of the highlights of the match halfway through the third quarter.
A fiery final quarter saw Cordy boot his fifth major from a strong overhead mark as the Dogs continued their dominance, booting eight fourth-quarter goals to the Tigers’ three.
The win yielded 11 individual goal kickers and even contributions around the ground.
While Goodes and Cordy registered most impressively on the stats sheet, the team’s pressure was a feature and the leadership of Lower, Markovic and other experienced hands critical.
Scores Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Footscray Bulldogs 6.1 11.4 18.7 26.9 (165)
Richmond Tigers 3.3 4.5 4.6 7.6 (48)
Goals
Footscray: A. Cordy 5, T. Dickson 4, J. Perkins 3, T. Finco 3, J. Russell 2, T. Campbell 2, M. Honeychurch 2, A. Greenwood , M. Fuller , T. Young , N. Jamieson , B. Goodes
Richmond: N. Batsanis 2, J. Wall 2, E. Barlow , S. Lloyd , T. Elton
Best
Footscray: Goodes, Lower, Cordy, Austin, Dickson, Jamieson,
Richmond: R. Young, N. Batsanis, A. Miles, M. Arnot, T. Elton, B. Helbig
