The Western Bulldogs have the circuit-breaking win they’ve craved all week, prevailing over Brisbane by 14 points in a low-scoring struggle at Marvel Stadium on a Thursday night which belonged to five-goal hero Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
Eric Hipwood’s set shot with less than six minutes to play drew Brisbane to within two points, but Aaron Naughton’s contested mark led to a Bailey Williams goal which effectively wrapped up the match in a chaotic final term.
Jack Gunston was Brisbane’s only real avenue to goal all night, kicking three majors and looking the most reliable set shot on what proved to be a quiet night for teammates Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher in front of goal.
Sensing the urgency, Chris Fagan coached the last quarter from the boundary line after spending the majority of matches this season so far from up in the box.
It was that sort of night, with the magnitude of the result evident to all involved.
Luke Beveridge said during the week during a tense and pointed pre-match press conference that at 0-2, his side had been here before and backed his players to dig themselves out of another hole.
It’s almost as if captain Marcus Bontempelli took the week’s commentary around his side personally, stamping his authority on the contest in the middle.
After a week of reckoning at the Dogs, all eyes were on the club as they sought a response following last week’s heavy defeat to St Kilda and Dermott Brereton noted in the commentary that the fired-up Bulldogs were “up for the fight” right from the outset.
It wasn’t a stretch to say that Thursday night’s game presented as a very early season litmus test for Beveridge’s men, who played with a level of intent not seen so far in 2023.
The Lions had plenty to prove as well, despite sneaking over the line against the Demons after a 38-minute delay last Friday night because of the Gabba’s power outage.
Fresh off his Rising Star nomination last week, Will Ashcroft continued his impressive start to life at AFL level by collecting 23 disposals and playing with a maturity befitting of a 100-game player, not someone suiting up for just his third senior game.
"The thing I love about Ashcroft's game, he is so aware of what is happening around him," Brereton said.
Jamarra’s touching tribute
The Bulldogs rallied around Ugle-Hagan this week after he was subject to horrific racial abuse by a member of the crowd last Saturday night.
Ugle-Hagan played with a point to prove on Thursday night and after kicking his side’s first goal of the evening, he pointed to his chest in homage to Nicky Winmar’s famous stand against racism in 1993.
The 20-year-old was one of his side's best players, putting a difficult week behind him to kick a game and equal career-high five majors, including both the first and last goal of the night.
“He has been a centrepiece tonight,” Gerard Whateley said on AFL Nation.
“His image (of pointing to his chest) will sweep the nation tomorrow morning in the papers."
"I'm just a boy trying to play some football, same as the other Indigenous boys"
— AFL (@AFL) March 30, 2023
Onya, Jamarra 👏#AFLDogsLions pic.twitter.com/MTabGwoDVX
Dunkley Derby catches fire
Thursday night footy brought Josh Dunkley’s high-profile switch from the Dogs to Lions well into the spotlight, so it would’ve been no surprise to see his every touch booed and jeered.
“You’ll know when Dunkley’s got the ball tonight,” Matt Hill said in commentary on AFL Nation.
Dunkley was impressive on what would’ve been a difficult night for him coming up against his old side, finding the ball on 23 occasions as well as taking nine marks.
FULL SCORE
Western Bulldogs: 1.2, 4.3, 8.4, 10.7 (67)
Brisbane: 1.3, 2.7, 6.8, 7.11 (53)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Ugle-Hagan 5, Lobb 2, Williams, Baker, Naughton
Brisbane: Gunston 3, Cameron, Hipwood, Neale, Rayner
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Ugle-Hagan, Bontempelli, Macrae, Liberatore, Williams
Brisbane: Neale, Gunston, Andrews, Ashcroft, Dunkley
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: N/A
Brisbane: N/A
CROWD: 23,665 at Marvel Stadium.