Updated ,first published
The Western Bulldogs villains became heroes in a thrilling victory over a brave Melbourne after Joel Freijah and Rhylee West combined to kick the winning goal with just three minutes remaining for a three-point victory.
Melbourne’s Harvey Langford had a chance in the goal square with 20 seconds left but could not hang on to a mark and the Bulldogs’ hung on after spending the afternoon inventing ways to keep the Demons in the game.
And it had been Freijah and West who had been the main culprits.
Freijah became the first player penalised for taunting an opponent by rubbing the top of his head which saw a free kick to Will Lewis reversed and handed to Daniel Turner.
The moment was pivotal with Freijah’s undisciplined act seeing him on the phone to frustrated coach Luke Beveridge just moments afterwards as the Bulldogs missed the chance to go six goals up. “There were some pretty stern messages to one or two,” Beveridge said.
At that point, the Bulldogs’ pressure was higher than Melbourne’s. Their accuracy was excellent. They were losing centre clearance but dominating stoppages around the ground.
But such costly moments were stopping them from making the most of their ascendancy.
West had given away two 50-metre penalties that resulted in goals against the tide to the Demons.
However, he made amends when the game was up for grabs after the Ed Langdon had put the Demons in front with four minutes remaining.
Melbourne were streaming forward with Jack Steele running with ball when a desperate West ran him down to turn the ball over in a crucial passage of play. He sent the ball back inside 50 where Aaron Naughton marked and turned inboard to find Freijah inside 50. Naughton’s desperation inside 50 was critical.
As cool as ever Freijah kicked straight.
Beveridge was awed by West’s effort to force the turnover. “What a team lifting moment that was. It just inspires everyone,” Beveridge said. “That was a big moment in the game.”
It was enough for them to hang on after leading for their first three quarters. They led by 10 points at the first change, eight points at the half-time and two points at the final break and then three points at the finish.
The Bulldogs were stiff on occasions too, with James O’Donnell penalised for holding Harrison Petty when the Demon had initiated the contact.
But they relied on will as much as skill to get over the line as their mistakes made their hard work even more difficult given they had caught the Demons on the hop after the game’s start had been delayed by three minutes due to the Giants v Brisbane Lions game finishing later than scheduled.
Beveridge revealed that he told the players the story of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse to motivate them on their mission to beat Melbourne as they resolved to turn around their performance against Carlton when they were smashed at clearance. He said the players’ efforts to win four of the final five centre clearances in the desperate last quarter when up against rucking great Max Gawn was critical and a signal of their intent.
“For them to stabilise and hang in there and win another close one is quite outstanding and instils belief,” Beveridge said.
Melbourne star Kysaiah Pickett had also had an interesting lead in after he forgot his pass to the game and was forced to wait outside for half an hour before security let him in.
Neither event was necessarily connected to the Demons’ slow start but it was real as they were outnumbered at stoppage and looked flat. Their coach Steven King said they anticipated a strong response from the Bulldogs around the ball but “they weren’t strong enough for long enough, unfortunately.” Marcus Bontempelli was at his imperious best, Ed Richards was back to his best form winning the ball at stoppage and Ryley Sanders is developing into an excellent midfielder.
The Bulldogs appeared as though they were going to lead by 26 points with 66 seconds remaining in the half. But the Demons, inspired by a sudden burst from Pickett, kicked three goals in the time remaining to take momentum into the second half.
It took until the first minutes of the final quarter before the goal a game man Harry Sharp put the Demons in front after a moment Arthur Jones would like again. Jones sat on the ball in the goal square rather than rush it through and was penalised for holding the ball.
He then missed a set shot in a frenetic last quarter after kicking a miracle goal in the second quarter. Jacob van Rooyen also had his chance with a set shot in front but missed. The Demons were without defender Jake Lever for the final 10 minutes after he hit the ground hard and the Bulldogs also lost Luke Cleary to concussion. Bulldogs’ forward Cody Weightman is on the cusp of a long-awaited return while the Demons are comfortable they are managing their stars well through a long season.
The Demons could not reach the magical 100 points to win, and the Bulldogs deserved the four points.
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