A dirty night at the office against a renewed Carlton side has been compounded for the Western Bulldogs, with prime mover Bailey Williams withdrawn from the contest in the second quarter with a hamstring injury.
Down a rotation following Williams' withdrawal, the Bulldogs' endeavour to add speed to the contest - a ploy that appeared to be paying dividends - came unstuck, allowing Carlton to storm home in the final quarter. The Blues scored 5.3 to 2.2 in the final stanza, to register their first victory since early March.
The manner in which Williams' injury occurred, and the location being so high up the back of his leg would suggest the 28-year-old will be sidelined for longer than a standard hamstring injury usually dictates.
Williams joins the likes of Cody Weightman, Sam Darcy, Tim English and Tom Liberatore on the sidelines, with coach Luke Beveridge bemoaning his side's inability to win contested possession without some of those names.
“We can't rely on the usual suspects to win that category in the columns,” Beveridge said, after his side were obliterated in the contested possession count, 140-109, at the hands of a reinvigorated Blues side.
“We need more to be better at that side of it, so that's part of our journey to progress in those facets and there are a number of boys who are finding their way with that.
“It's as big a differential or discrepancy as there's been in a game for us for a long period of time.
“Historically there have been one or two that have got a lot of those contested possessions for us – one or two who aren't in our team at the moment – so others need to pick up that vibe and that slack.
“Until they do, we're going to be a bit vulnerable.”
Worsening matters, the Bulldogs also turned in a poor showing at VFL level earlier in the day, losing to Carlton by 20 points. Beveridge lamented the lack of selection pressure presenting itself from their state-league underbelly.
“We played a really disappointing game against Carlton at state-league level today as well,” he said.
“We haven't had a good day and we've always been at our best when there's been real competition for spots and … that really isn't there at the moment.”
