Round 7
Western Bulldogs v Sydney Swans
7.30pm, Thursday 23rd April 2026
Marvel Stadium
A Charlie Curnow led Swans have destroyed the Bulldogs on Thursday night, as his seven majors proved too much to handle for the battered Dogs who went down, 18.18 (126) to 9.6 (60).
The Dogs third consecutive loss was again soured by more injuries as key forward Aaron Naughton suffered a sickening fall seeing him stretchered off his neck rattled into the Marvel Stadium surface.
As the Dogs celebrated their premiership heroes of 2016 in the 10-year celebration, it was the young pups who wanted to tell their own tales with three quick goals to start the first term. The Bulldogs built their opening quarter on pressure and equalizing the contest in attempt to alleviate the advantage they gave to Brody Grundy in the ruck.
The home sides endeavor to play for each other was evident as Marcus Bontempelli simply willed himself to every contest to try and spark his side to victory, finishing with 2 goals and 29 disposals. That spirit was ultimately broken midway through the second term, as the Dogs ran out of punches for the slick Swans who pressed down on the accelerator.
Pinpoint kicking, speed on the ball, dash and pure ruck dominance was the catalyst for Dean Cox’s men who simply broke down the Bulldogs, brutally. Not shy to use the corridor, the Dogs inexperienced defense found it difficult to contain the three key forwards for the Swans, however, were ultimately paying the price of what was happening further up the field.
Nick Blakey starred with 22 possessions, it wasn’t the quantity of his performance, it was the quality that stood out. Constantly breaking the lines, often leaving several Dogs defenders to eat his dust as he came streaming through the middle of the ground on multiple occasions.
First gamer Lachie Smith challenged Swans star Brody Grundy early in the piece, however much like his teammates, Grundy came out firing in the second half, kicking multiple goals and asserting his dominance on the game, with his hit outs to advantage being a standout, often putting his fellow midfielders into clean air with first class ruck work.
Despite the Dogs being undermanned in their forward half, it was Tom McCartin for the Swans who was simply unbeatable, (11 intercept possessions). He made life easier for his defenders by containing Aaron Naughton throughout the night and his leadership was evident given the Swans unbreakable structure behind the ball.
The Dogs were left helpless as the dashing swans carved them up, and applied pressure in all aspects of the game, forcing the Dogs into making continuous bad decisions with the footy, finishing the game with 82 turnovers, a season high for the Pups.
The Bulldogs, once the last undefeated side of the competition have slipped to 10th following a horror run of injuries and will face another tough challenge when they meet Fremantle at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
For the Swans, seeing Charlie Curnow attack the footy with vigor and putting seven on the board will make them feel more at ease as they enjoy the view from the AFL’s Everest.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.2 6.3 8.5 9.6 (60)
SYDNEY 3.4 7.10 12.15 18.18 (126)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli 2, Naughton, Lewis, Dolan, Richards, Hynes, Williams, Baker
Sydney: Curnow 7, Amartey 3, Warner 3, Grundy 2, Papley, Lloyd, Cootee
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Dale, Williams, Bramble
Sydney: Blakey, Curnow, McCartin, Papley, Mills, Warner
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Naughton (neck)
Sydney: Nil
Crowd: 29,523
Read more from Kristian Cavallo HERE
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About Kristian Cavallo
Third year university student, looking to explore my passion in writing particularly about AFL.
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