Dogs hammer hapless Dons

The Western Bulldogs have returned to the winners list with a commanding 46-point victory over Essendon at the Telstra Dome on Friday night.

It may not have been their best effort of the season, but the 23.15 (151) to 15.15 (105) victory will give Bulldogs fans hope that they can challenge the likes of Geelong, Hawthorn and North Melbourne deep into September.

Trailing by eight points midway through the second term, the Dogs slammed on the final six goals of the quarter to wrest the advantage from their opponents, before kicking 13 majors to 10 after the break to cruise home.

The undermanned and undersized Bombers battled hard early, but with Dustin Fletcher missing through injury and Paddy Ryder forced to spend time in the ruck, the Bulldogs' forwards eventually got on top.

Mitch Hahn was the main beneficiary with a career-high six goals, while Brad Johnson, Robert Murphy and Will Minson presented well all night and were a constant threat to the Bombers defence.

Given that Essendon was missing its best two ruckman, it came as no surprise that the Dogs dominated in the middle of the ground and at the stoppages.

Ben Hudson and Minson dominated second-gamer Tom Bellchambers in the ruck and the Dogs onballers were provided first use of the ball for the majority of the night.

Adam Cooney collected 28 disposals in a best on ground performance, with Daniel Cross, Ryan Griffen, Matthew Boyd and Jason Akermanis (four goals) playing important supporting roles.

Given the Bulldogs were sitting in third place on the ladder and Essendon was out of finals contention, many of the fans that had braved the cold and ventured to Telstra Dome on Friday night would have expected a one-sided contest.

But the Doggies had won just one of their previous five matches and begun the match sluggishly, with Lloyd giving the Bombers a perfect start by booting the first goal of the match from outside 50.

The Bombers attacked the contest from the opening bounce, ran hard, tackled aggressively and took a slender one-point lead into the first change.

When Lloyd kicked the first goal of the second term the Bombers had opened up a nice little break on their opponents, but the Dogs sensed an upset was on the cards and duly lifted.

The Dogs started winning the ball in the midfield and with Hahn, Murphy and Johnson presenting up forward, it didn't take long for a momentum shift to occur.

When Johnson kicked his second major of the night the Dogs had booted six goals in a row, to take a commanding 28-point lead into half-time and looked to be cruising.

Lloyd's third at the start of the second half reduced the Bombers' deficit to less than four goals, but the Dogs upped the ante from that point on to run away to a comprehensive victory.

WESTERN BULLDOGS: 3.3, 10.6, 19.8, 23.13 (151)
ESSENDON: 3.4, 5.8, 9.11, 15.15 (105)
GOALS: WESTERN BULLDOGS: Hahn 6, Akermanis 4, Johnson 4, Minson 2, Welsh 2, Eagleton, Murphy, Harbrow, Boyd, Cooney
ESSENDON: Lloyd 4, Stanton 2, Michael 2, McPhee, Lonergan, Lovett-Murray, McVeigh, Nash, Monfries, Dyson
BEST: WESTERN BULLDOGS: Cooney, Hahn, Cross, Murphy, Johnson, Griffen
ESSENDON: Stanton, Lloyd, Lonergan, Monfries, Johnson, Lovett
INJURIES: WESTERN BULLDOGS: Nil
ESSENDON: Welsh (hamstring tightness), Watson (ankle)
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Gilbee (virus) and Ray (virus) replaced in Western Bulldogs side by Higgins and Everitt.
UMPIRES: Donlon, McLaren, Hendrie
CROWD: 37,294 at the Telstra Dome

Sportal AFL Player of the Year votes:
3. Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs)
2. Mitch Hahn (Western Bulldogs)
1. Daniel Cross (Western Bulldogs)