The Western Bulldogs have suffered their second loss of the season, going down to Melbourne by 28 points on Friday night in Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

Playing in an empty Marvel Stadium due to the state’s fourth lockdown, the Dogs were outworked from the get-go in the 8.11 (59) to 13.9 (87) affair.

As hard as they tried nothing seemed to go right for the Bulldogs, who were slow to start and were forced into playing catch-up after quarter-time.

Despite winning the clearance count 36-27, costly turnovers on the outside left the Bulldogs back-six under siege.

There were glimpses of the Dogs’ potential scattered throughout, but ultimately not enough, as Melbourne had an answer for everything.

The hosts finally managed to find some rhythm late in the fourth quarter, but not enough to impact the result.

In his first game back in from injury after a month out, Tim English (two goals, nine marks) was impactful, while ball-magnet Jack Macrae (36 touches, nine tackles) continued his unbeaten run of 30+ disposals this season.

Josh Bruce edged closer in the Coleman Medal race, finishing with three goals to take his season tally to 33.

The Western Bulldogs are due to fly to Perth next Sunday to take on Fremantle, where they’ll look to bounce back from tonight’s defeat.

WESTERN BULLDOGS            2.2      6.5       6.8      8.11 (59)
MELBOURNE                           6.5      9.6       12.8    13.9 (87)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Bruce 3, English 2, Daniel, Naughton, Weightman
Melbourne: Fritsch 3, McDonald 3, Weideman 2, Gawn, Harmes, Jordon, Petracca, Pickett

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Macrae, Dale, Smith, Daniel, Bontempelli
Melbourne: Oliver, Petracca, May, Gawn, McDonald, Lever

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Garcia (concussion)
Melbourne: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Butler (replaced Garcia in second quarter)
Melbourne: Sparrow (replaced Langdon in the fourth quarter)