Round 19
Gold Coast v Western Bulldogs
3:15pm, Sunday 19 July 2026
Peoples First Stadium, Gold Coast
The Western Bulldogs have broken a Sunday afternoon arm-wrestle with a five-goal burst in the third term to run away with a vital four points over the Suns who slumped to an eighth loss in a row as the pressure starts to mount in the sunshine state.
The Dogs 11.11 (77) to 9.14 (68) win has Luke Beveridge’s men sitting in seventh spot as their endeavors to return to finals has taken another step further, with a wildcard spot all but secured.
Marcus Bontempelli was at his unstoppable best, showing his class by being clean and polished in the conditions, he willed his team to another four points, finishing with three goals and 23 disposals in another impactful performance, particularly for his Brownlow chances.
The Dogs had other valuable contributors with Bailey Williams being forced into a move into defense due to the absence of Bailey Dale, and produced a brilliant performance, swooping on loose balls all afternoon finishing with 29 disposals. Tim English was back to his best following a week on the sidelines due to a back injury, producing 20 disposals and 10 marks, working tirelessly across the ground to be an option for his team.
Touk Miller was the Suns best on the afternoon, being brutal inside the contest, and using his leg speed on the outside to produce a game high 39 disposals and nine clearances whilst Matt Rowell looked back to the form of last season with 26 disposals and 11 tackles, working ever so hard on the defensive struggles the Suns have been presenting.
With a strong breeze in the direction to the left of your TV screen or radio dial, neither team established a strong advantage during the first half, with the Suns using a possessive style of play to create speed from their rebounders, however their forward entries often letting them down.
The Dogs were comprehensively beaten at stoppage in the first half and tightened that area of the game early in the third quarter as an Ed Richards bending checkside continued the run of five unanswered goals as the Suns felt the heat from the rampaging Dogs.
The shift in intensity was evident, with the Dogs being able to get numbers back to counterpunch any attack from the Suns as well as showing more intent in the contest as the clearance battle became halved. Bontempelli’s men found an extra gear with Matt Kennedy being the beneficiary of the Bulldogs forward half pressure, booting two in the quarter and three for the match.
Damien Hardwicks men fought hard in the final term in attempt to resurrect their season however lacked any polish in their forward fifty and simply didn’t look threatening as their ball movement forced their forwards to have shots from difficult angles, which explains their 14 behinds on the scoreboard.
The Dogs will face the wounded Tigers next week as they search for a much-needed percentage booster whilst the Suns will look to pick themselves up off the canvas for a big clash against the Blues.
A Dogs Observation
Another four points added to the bank on Sunday afternoon as the guys put in a much-improved performance on last week. Given the Suns are a high possession team, we had to endure, chase and be patient for our opportunity all afternoon.
The third quarter dominance was the best football we have played since the Hawthorn win on that wintery Friday night at the MCG. Five unanswered goals that was built off forward half pressure and a period of dominance around the contest.
Again, a theme for this season was our ability to close out the close game, the Dogs backline weathered the storm of a Suns push and were able to help each other out as a unit to secure another big win, almost securing our spot in the wildcard round.
Ultimately, there’s still improvement to be had in this group, with only 43 inside fifties for the game the Dogs will need to find a way to up that number to provide more opportunities at goal, as Beveridge still searches for a linkman further up the field to assist this problem.
That problem, that is the forward line seems to be becoming more of a talking point as we get closer to September, Rory Lobb struggled to get involved until the third term which begs the question if he should be sent back to defence to steady up the backline. Jordan Croft, still a developing prospect would have liked more impact in the game, however going forward he could be the player that unlocks a more potent version of our forward line, given the talent we have at ground level.
All eyes turn to next Saturday evening against the Tigers at Marvel Stadium as we still search for our best mix and complete version of our game. A massive next five weeks will determine how confident we aim towards an eighth finals campaign under Luke Beveridge.
Malarkey Votes
THREE VOTES – Marcus Bontempelli: ‘The Bont’ was at his damaging best yet again, setting the tone early as the Suns came up for the contest, he produced three brilliant goals and led the team superbly. Not much more can be said about this man, a true Bulldog great.
TWO VOTES – Touk Miller: Looked to have been given the license to more midfield time on Sunday afternoon and was brilliant. He amassed 39 disposals, was hard at the contest and was always making himself a threat as the Suns moved the ball forwards. His pressure was notable and looked to be back to his best, a big game from the former captain.
ONE VOTE – Bailey Williams: Moved into defense, Williams was brilliant, a throwback to his 2021 season where he read the ball to perfection, was tidy with his ball use and showed leadership when assisting his key backs in the contest. A really positive performance from Bailey.
GOLD COAST 1.2 6.6 6.10 9.14 (68)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.2 5.6 10.9 11.11 (77)
GOALS
Gold Coast: Lombard 2, Petracca 2, Patterson, Long, King, Andrew, Humphrey
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli 3, Kennedy 3, West, Richards, Naughton, Lobb, Jones
BEST
Gold Coast: Rowell, Miller, Powell, Andrew, B.Uwland, Petracca
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Williams, Richards, English, Sellwood, Kennedy
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Crowd: 14,809 at People First Stadium
Read other round 19 match reports HERE
Read more from Kristian Cavallo HERE
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Third year Media and Communications student at La Trobe University, exploring the many modes of writing, commentating and editing through my passion of sport, particularly AFL as a passionate Western Bulldogs fan.
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