The Western Bulldogs have bounced back from a forgettable, goalless fortnight with their highest score of the AFLW season, trouncing Carlton by 33 points at Princes Park.
The Dogs moved past the Blues (both 3-6) into 12th position with their 9.7 (61) to 4.4 (28) victory on Thursday night, which was soured by ruck ace Alice Edmonds’s ankle injury.
The Bulldogs’ ruck stocks, already depleted with Jorja Borg’s season-ending knee injury, suffered another blow when Edmonds suffered a nasty rolled left ankle midway through the fourth quarter.
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She will undergo scans to assess the damage.
Best-afield Isabelle Pritchard, captain Deanna Berry, Jess Fitzgerald and Dominique Carruthers led a clinical midfield demolition.
Held to a heavily criticised, club-record low 0.3 against Essendon and 0.4 the week before against North Melbourne, the Bulldogs were back to their sizzling best.
“It’s been pretty brutal, to be honest, the week,” a relieved Bulldogs coach Tamara Hyett said.
“We were able to execute on a lot of things, which was very pleasing.
“Being able to get some reward for effort on the scoreboard always helps.”
Heidi Woodley ended the beleaguered Bulldogs’ protracted goalless drought — which stretched back to the fourth quarter of their win over Sydney on AFL grand final eve — when her snap bounced through the big sticks in the eighth minute.
Keeley Shearer, the hero of last week’s win against Fremantle, snapped truly to give Carlton the lead midway through the second, before the Dogs responded emphatically, getting right on top all over the ground to assume total control.
Berry’s crumbing goal put the Bulldogs back in front before draftee Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner’s slotted a neat dribbler in the last minute of the half and rolled an ankle during her over-enthusiastic celebrations.
The visitors dominated in marks (10-2), inside-50s (11-4) and tackles (24-13) for the quarter to hold sway by 13 points at half-time, prompting Carlton coach Mathew Buck to storm onto the ground and deliver some harsh truths.
The Blues, who were without gun forward Darcy Vescio — a late withdrawal with delayed concussion — appeared further inhibited with captain Kerryn Pederson struggling with an oblique issue.
Buck’s bake didn’t reap the desired result, as the Dogs continued to dictate terms in the third stanza, racking up 18 of the first 19 inside-50s.
The Bulldogs couldn’t land the decisive knockout blow — Harriet Cordner and Mimi Hill’s mop-up mastery on the last line limiting the damage to a single third-term goal — which finally came in a fourth-quarter rout, Sarah Hartwig booting two of the victors’ four majors down the stretch.
“I feel like we let ourselves down tonight,” Buck said.
“It turned into a perfect snowball, starting with executing fundamentals consistently and handling pressure.
“Over the first eight weeks of the season, we prided ourselves on cracking in around contest and defence.
“Tonight we just didn’t get that done.”
AAP
