“Naughton plays better without JUH” “Relegate St Kilda” - AFL fans react as Western Bulldogs record stunning 60-point win
The Western Bulldogs have responded to the doubts leading up to their clash with St Kilda by crushing the Saints in a ruthlessly dominant performance. The final result of the match being: St Kilda: 64 (9.10) vs Western Bulldogs: 124 (19.10)
The result was a 60-point margin win that handed St Kilda coach Ross Lyon one of the worst defeats in his 151 games at the club. Lyon, who had already expressed disappointment at the Saints' performance this season, is sure to be even more frustrated at their loss to the underdog Bulldogs.
Ross Lyon is not the only one to express disappointment. During and after the match, fans have poured out scathing remarks.
Fans of the Western Bulldogs also took to Twitter to celebrate the win and praise Naughton’s brilliant performance.
Table Turn as the Western Bulldogs Put on Dominant Performance
Questions about Luke Beveridge’s ability to lead his team have been answered in remarkable fashion. Now the spotlight has been turned on St Kilda, who put up one of their weakest performances in a while.
The Saints looked completely out of it in this contest. They started really slow and failed to put pressure on the Bulldogs, who easily bullied them out of center clearance. Though they made some improvements in the final term, it was too little too late as the Dogs had the match won by then.
To put it simply, they played as though they had already been defeated before the game. Their senior players, Rowan Marshall, Rob Steele, Seb Ross and Callum Wilkie performed below expectations. The fact that the Saints were the favorites to win this match now seems absurd and frankly, this season is slipping out of their grasp.
Bulldogs forward, Aaron Naughton, looked incredibly sharp, kicking a career-high six goals to secure the win for his team. Cody Weightman also put on a terrific performance from the start, hitting the Saints with three first-quarter goals, a callback to his highlight-worthy effort against Gold Coast where he delivered four first-quarter goals.
Rory Lobb made sure Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s absence wasn’t felt, as he occupied Callum Wilkie and Zaine Cordy and attacked the ball like he owned it.