AFL LIVE: Swans cling on as Brave Bulldogs suffer heavy injury toll

SYDNEY 16.6 102 d WESTERN BULLDOGS 12.16 88

INJURY-PLAGUED DOGS FIGHT TO END
The Western Bulldogs’ gallant 14-point defeat to Sydney has been compounded by injuries to stars Aaron Naughton and Ed Richards, who are set to miss a potentially season-defining stretch for the club.

The injuries to the gun pair, and a concussion to Anthony Scott, cruelled the Dogs’ bid for an upset victory against the reigning premiers, leaving them with just two fit men on the bench for the final 40 minutes of the match.

The Dogs are optimistic Naughton has not suffered a dreaded rupture to his anterior cruciate ligament, but will not know for certain the extent of the damage until after he undergoes scans on Friday.

Naughton had his right knee caught underneath him in a tackle from Lewis Melican in the second quarter, and hobbled off in clear distress with the assistance of trainers.

An ACL tear would end Naughton’s season and eat into a decent chunk of next year while damage to another ligament would likely result in him missing several weeks.

Richards failed a concussion test early in the third term after a clash of heads with Sydney’s Ollie Florent as the pair contested a ground ball.

The silky-skilled left-footer, with 18 possessions playing in the midfield, was arguably best on ground in the first half, continuing his strong run of form since being moved into the centre square.

Without Richards, the Dogs midfield lost ascendancy against the Swans, who received a massive lift from Chad Warner (four goals).

The Dogs activated their sub in early in the first quarter after Scott was concussed, also in a head clash.

FORWARD RESHUFFLE LOOMS FOR DOGS
Whatever the scans reveal for Aaron Naughton, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge will have to reorganise his forward line.

If he wants to persist with three tall forwards, there is an opening for maligned big man Rory Lobb, whose preferred role is deep in attack rather than as a forward who can play ruck.

Beveridge swung skipper and gun midfielder Marcus Bontempelli forward in the second half. Bontempelli was threatening at times but the Dogs lost his midfield drive.

With Ed Richards out next week and Tom Liberatore still a fortnight away from returning, the Dogs can ill afford to lose Bontempelli from their midfield.

Another option would be to play Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy as the two tall forwards and pick an extra medium-sized half-forward who would be able to lay more pressure.

One thing is certain we will see how the Dogs forward line functions without Naughton, whom some think should be played in defence.

WARNER STARS AGAIN
Chad Warner enhanced his reputation, and his claims for a first All-Australian blazer, with another stellar performance.

After a relatively quiet first half by his lofty standards, Warner was the Swans’ game-breaker as they made their move in the third term with 12 disposals and two goals.

Warner has made his name for his ability to burst clear from stoppage but his highlight came when he soared above the big men to take a spectacular high mark above his head deep in attack, then kicking truly.

His goal came amid a four-goal run which turned a match that had been in the balance firmly in the Swans’ favour.

Brilliant last week, the Swans midfield had their colours lowered for large periods of the game.
Brownlow Medal favourite Isaac Heeney had one of his quieter games in a red-letter season, limited to 23 disposals, although he did kick a big goal in the last term, while James Rowbottom had just nine possessions but laid a game-high 10 tackles.

Question: John, you were probably not at your absolute best tonight, but you hung on and found a way to win. How do you dissect it?

Longmire: That’s probably about right. It’s probably as simple as that. They were pretty good, considering they came off a five-day break after a pretty wet game up there (in Sydney against GWS), and they lost a couple of really important players tonight. So, yeah, I thought they played well, but we didn’t play as well as what we would have liked to have played. In the end, they had a number of scoring shots, and we were well beaten in the contest. We had a good third quarter, during which were able to hit the scoreboard and make a difference. But there are a few things that come out of that game for when we get back after the break (next week) to dissect, which is probably a good thing.

Q: Was your overall feeling after that game a positive one, given that you got the result?

Longmire: Absolutely, they are hard to win, games. You never walk out of a game that you’ve won and are disappointed. It’s really hard to do, to win a game footy. But there are some things we can work on, and I think that’s probably a positive for us when we get back, to get into it.

Q: What does it say about the maturity of Chad Warner that he has a quietish first half, but can still impose himself on the game when it is in the balance?

Longmire: He’s learning, and he’ll keep learning. He played well last week and there’s another challenge next week, and he will play against a gun midfield like he did tonight. I thought at halftime they were really good, the Doggies. The Doggies’ mids were all over us. But Chad played a little bit differently probably in the third quarter, he played a bit more forward and he was able to hit the scoreboard. He was pretty dynamic and that is a good sign, that he’s able to switch on like that and get himself going like he did in that second half. It was a credit to him.

Q: What did you think of his mark in the third quarter?

Longmire: It wasn’t bad, was it? We’ve been talking about it for a little bit, pushing him forward and we’ve been doing it more and more. I just said to him at some point going forward to take a mark, and back your spring in, so it was a reasonable jump.

SYDNEY 16.6 102 d WESTERN BULLDOGS 12.16 88

INJURY-PLAGUED DOGS FIGHT TO END
The Western Bulldogs’ gallant 14-point defeat to Sydney has been compounded by injuries to stars Aaron Naughton and Ed Richards, who are set to miss a potentially season-defining stretch for the club.

The injuries to the gun pair, and a concussion to Anthony Scott, cruelled the Dogs’ bid for an upset victory against the reigning premiers, leaving them with just two fit men on the bench for the final 40 minutes of the match.

The Dogs are optimistic Naughton has not suffered a dreaded rupture to his anterior cruciate ligament, but will not know for certain the extent of the damage until after he undergoes scans on Friday.

Naughton had his right knee caught underneath him in a tackle from Lewis Melican in the second quarter, and hobbled off in clear distress with the assistance of trainers.

An ACL tear would end Naughton’s season and eat into a decent chunk of next year while damage to another ligament would likely result in him missing several weeks.

Richards failed a concussion test early in the third term after a clash of heads with Sydney’s Ollie Florent as the pair contested a ground ball.

The silky-skilled left-footer, with 18 possessions playing in the midfield, was arguably best on ground in the first half, continuing his strong run of form since being moved into the centre square.

Without Richards, the Dogs midfield lost ascendancy against the Swans, who received a massive lift from Chad Warner (four goals).

The Dogs activated their sub in early in the first quarter after Scott was concussed, also in a head clash.

FORWARD RESHUFFLE LOOMS FOR DOGS
Whatever the scans reveal for Aaron Naughton, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge will have to reorganise his forward line.

If he wants to persist with three tall forwards, there is an opening for maligned big man Rory Lobb, whose preferred role is deep in attack rather than as a forward who can play ruck.

Beveridge swung skipper and gun midfielder Marcus Bontempelli forward in the second half. Bontempelli was threatening at times but the Dogs lost his midfield drive.

With Ed Richards out next week and Tom Liberatore still a fortnight away from returning, the Dogs can ill afford to lose Bontempelli from their midfield.

Another option would be to play Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy as the two tall forwards and pick an extra medium-sized half-forward who would be able to lay more pressure.

One thing is certain we will see how the Dogs forward line functions without Naughton, whom some think should be played in defence.

WARNER STARS AGAIN
Chad Warner enhanced his reputation, and his claims for a first All-Australian blazer, with another stellar performance.

After a relatively quiet first half by his lofty standards, Warner was the Swans’ game-breaker as they made their move in the third term with 12 disposals and two goals.

Warner has made his name for his ability to burst clear from stoppage but his highlight came when he soared above the big men to take a spectacular high mark above his head deep in attack, then kicking truly.

His goal came amid a four-goal run which turned a match that had been in the balance firmly in the Swans’ favour.

Brilliant last week, the Swans midfield had their colours lowered for large periods of the game.
Brownlow Medal favourite Isaac Heeney had one of his quieter games in a red-letter season, limited to 23 disposals, although he did kick a big goal in the last term, while James Rowbottom had just nine possessions but laid a game-high 10 tackles.

Oh no. A 50m penalty has ended what was a gripping contest.

The Dogs closed the gap to eight points with three minutes remaining in the final term and were coming with a rush. At the same time, the Swans had slipped into survival mode, looking to wind down the clock.

But soon after Sydney’s Hayden McLean took a mark at half-forward, the ball was knocked from his hand during the contest by Laitham Vandermeer.

It looked like accidental contact, but the umpire ruled that the interference was late and awarded a 50m penalty, taking McLean to the front of goal. He kicked truly to put the Swans 14 points ahead and that iced the game.

Bad kicking proved costly to the Bulldogs, while efficiency proved the difference for the top-of-the-table Swans. The finals score 16.6 102 to 12.16 88.

The Swans are in lockdown mode.

They are trying to save this game as the clock ticks inside three minutes.

The Swans lead by eight points.

Sydney are starting to feel the heat in the final term.

The Bulldogs will not go away. They have been smashed by injury but they will not die and have closed the gap to eight points.

Their young gun Jamarra Ugle-Hagan snapped a 40m cracker to give his side a huge boost.

The Swans looked to have the game in their grasp, clearing out to a 30-point lead, but the Dogs have pulled it back to 8 points with three minutes left in the final term.

Poor kicking has been costly for the Bulldogs, their last three shots nefore Ugle_hagan’s major were behinds. They have kicked 12.16 for the night, compared to the Swans’ 15.6,

If they can convert, this game is up for grabs.

Injuries looked to have slowed the Bulldogs to a crawl.

The Swans have edged out to a four-goal lead in the last term as the game starts to slip from their opponents’ grasp.

Chad Warner has become the second-half star, and what a player he is. He booted the first goal of the last quarter to bring up four for the match, which is some return for a mid-forward.

The Bulldogs pulled one back with a goal from James Harmes in the last quarter, but the Swans kicked their 14th major of the night when Warner found teammate Taylor Adams free in front of goal.

To borrow the commentary from a famous Swans moment, Chad Warner, you star!

The midfield dynamo has just kicked his third goal after taking a hanger in the goal square – over teammate Brodie Grundy, no less.

This has been an impressive game by Warner, who was relatively quiet with 10 possessions in the first half but has already amassed eight disposals and two goals in the third term.

He’s been a key reason as to why the Swans have turned a four-point deficit at half-time into a three-goal lead.

Injuries look to have slowed the Dogs to a crawl.

Ed Richards is out of the game after failing a concussion test, the Bulldogs have confirmed.

That’s a cruel blow for the Bulldogs. Richards had continued his strong form in the midfield, and was best afield in the first half.

The Dogs will have to fight hard from here to reel in the Swans without a player that had been so important for them.

He now joins Anthony Scott (concussion) and Aaron Naughton (knee) out of the game tonight.

The Swans lead by 12 points with three minutes remaining in the third term.