A young Western Bulldogs outfit has defeated Sydney by seven points in an impressive display on Friday evening to record back-to-back wins.
The Swans rested a host of important players for the clash and ultimately paid the price as the Bulldogs pounced to record a 5.9 (39) to 5.2 (32) victory at Whitten Oval.
A foot injury to All-Australian ruck Ally Morphett further soured the night, with the Swans tall ruled out of the game in the third quarter.
Jess Fitzgerald carried on where she left off last week in her return to the midfield with 18 disposals and eight tackles, while Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner's (10 disposals, one goal) athleticism in attack created headaches for Sydney's defence all night.
The Dogs were diligent in defending at the contest, at times giving away free kicks for overzealous tackles, but doing a stunning job of forcing the Swans into poor ball use.
Sydney was often unable to hit targets by foot and inviting that Bulldogs pressure. Chains of possession were broken down, making everything arduous and slow.
As a result, the Bulldogs were able to swarm back into defence and close off leading lanes for the Swans' forwards.
A bright patch to start the second quarter allowed Sydney a little more freedom in attack, opening up enough to slot three quick goals, but the Dogs were then able to effectively stem the tide and slot one of their own with the aid of a 50m penalty.
The Dogs were structured well around the contest, maintaining the ball-winning layer on the inside, and the exit layer on the outside to generate transition play from the source.
Without Brenna Tarrant, who was one of three players rested for the game, Sydney's defence had to withstand a barrage of late forward entries from the Bulldogs, but simply couldn't gain any ground in its attempts to rebound.
The Dogs backed themselves in when it came to one-on-one contests, and peppered the goals until hitting the lead late by way of a neat Brit Gutknecht set shot.
Sofia Hurley (20 disposals, one goal) was outstanding for the visitors, clean and calm with ball in hand – somewhat in contrast to many of her teammates – while Laura Gardiner (31 disposals, eight clearances) racked up the touches.
Up next
Sydney will enter its mid-week footy fixture, staying in Melbourne to play Essendon at Whitten Oval on Wednesday evening, while the Western Bulldogs will enjoy a longer break before facing an up-and-about North Melbourne at Arden Street Oval on Saturday afternoon.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.1 3.3 4.5 5.9 (39)
SYDNEY 1.1 4.1 5.2 5. 2 (32)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Hartwig, Berry, Bennetts, Weston-Turner, Gutknecht
Sydney: Privitelli 2, Hurley, Morphett, Vale
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Fitzgerald, Woodley, Grigg, Bennetts, Ahrens
Sydney: Hurley, Gardiner, McEvoy, Heads
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Borg (left knee)
Sydney: Morphett (right foot)
LATE CHANGES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Sydney: Montana Ham (managed) replaced in the selected side by Aimee Whelan
Crowd: 2,856 at Mission Whitten Oval
