BULLDOGS coach Rodney Eade claimed his AFL team was well below its best and Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said his charges did most things right, but it was the Bulldogs who came out on top at the MCG yesterday.
The Bulldogs won 16.14 (110) to 13.15 (93), despite Hawthorn outplaying them in most aspects of the game in the first half, then threatening to charge home from a 30-point deficit in the last term.
Hawthorn’s loss snap-ped a three-game winning streak.
Eade admitted it was a string of missed shots for goal by the Hawks in the first half that kept the Bulldogs in touch, with the Bulldogs having a 17-point lead at half-time, despite being generally outplayed and having three fewer scoring shots.
Bulldogs key forward Robert Murphy and classy youngster Shaun Higgins kicked three goals each without a miss in the first half.
Highly skilled half-back Lindsay Gilbee fired in a long running goal to end the half and make the Hawks pay for their wastefulness.
“We probably should have been three or four goals down at quarter-time to be honest, that’s what kept us in the game,” Eade said.
“I thought the skills and the decisions and the efficiency were reasonable.”
The Bulldogs lifted around the ground after half-time and piled on four straight goals midway in the third term to build a six-goal lead.
But they then allowed the Hawks to charge back into touch with the only three goals of the final term.
“The last quarter we made some poor decisions which is a bit disappointing ... there’s just some parts of our game that we need to get better, we’re not playing great at the moment,” Eade said.
“Having said that, we’re winning, so it keeps us on track and we hopefully can improve as we go along.”
Hawthorn&rsqu o;s young star forward Lance Franklin was superb with six goals, several of them brilliant kicks, but his colleagues in attack were wasteful, with the Hawks clearly missing the class of the injured Mark Williams.
Tall forwards Tim Boyle (1.2), Jarryd Roughead (2.2) and Ben Dixon (0.3) got their hands on the ball often enough early, but all missed set shots they should have snaffled.
Goal-kicking aside, Cl-arkson said the Hawks performed well.
“A lot of the key things that we look for throughout the course of a game, like clearances and inside 50s and good rebound and that sort of stuff, we were able to achieve,” he said.
“But you need to convert your opportunities when you get them.
“We had some chances early where we missed those chances and the Western Bulldogs took their’s.
“That& rsquo;s a credit to the Doggies and something we need to work at a bit more.”
Clarkson said there was nothing to explain the poor kicking, with Dixon in particular normally very accurate.
“He just had one of those days where he didn’t nail them, but that’s so unlike him in terms of the way that he kicked for goal, so he’ll bounce back strongly, he’ll probably kick them all next week,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eade is worried that an “overzealous” interpretation of the holding-the-ball rule could lead to a game where players let opponents get to the ball first.
Eade said it seemed that umpires were tipping the balance in favour of the tackling player, rather than the player attempting to gain possession, in an effort to stop play being clogged up.
“I think sometimes they’re a bit overzealous on it, to be honest,” Eade said.
“I remember (Bulldogs player) Farren Ray in the first quarter just had to go hard at the ball, did, and got pinged for holding it.
“I think our game really is about protecting the bloke who wants to make the play.
“If you’re going to err on a side I think you actually protect him, don’t you?”
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