A suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury to Western Bulldogs star forward Sam Darcy has overshadowed his club's massive 71-point win over St Kilda on Easter Sunday at Marvel Stadium.
The Bulldogs tall flew in a marking contest towards the end of the first term, landing awkwardly in what looked to be a hyperextension of his left knee.
The 21-year-old limped off the ground following the incident and went straight down into the Bulldogs rooms, and was immediately substituted out of the game.
The devastating injury seemed to inspire Darcy's teammates, with the Dogs piling on seven unanswered goals after the tall was subbed from the game while also keeping the Saints goalless in the second term.
Two of those goals came from skipper Marcus Bontempelli, who returned to the side this week for his first game of the season following a long-term calf injury.
Bontempelli appears to have not missed a beat, finishing the night with 30 disposals, eight clearances and two goals.
Like they did in their Gather Round performance against the Giants, the Saints started the game with momentum, kicking four of the first five goals.
Their run from behind along with their ability to pick through the Bulldogs' defence with short kicks caught the Dogs off guard, with forward Mitch Owens finishing off their work with two goals in the first five minutes.
But following the injury to Darcy late in the quarter, the Bulldogs lifted, particularly their other tall forward Aaron Naughton (three goals, seven marks), who took over as the main target in the forward 50.
The Dogs' midfielders got on top in the middle dominating centre clearances and kicking seven unanswered goals.
Despite having a number of shots close to half-time, the Saints couldn't convert, with the Dogs heading into the main break with a 28-point lead.
After the long break, the Saints finally broke the run of Bulldogs goals with the first of the second half coming through Higgins.
But Saints supporters' joy was short lived with the Bulldogs kicking a further five majors, including a running goal from 50m out to veteran defender Jason Johannisen, much to the delight of Dogs fans and his teammates.
Veteran mid Tom Liberatore shone in the final term when he wound back the clock to chase down St Kilda's Bradley Hill, only to follow up with a goal of his own to get Bulldogs' fans on their feet.
The heat well and truly came out of the game in the fourth quarter, with the Dogs dominating disposal and adding a further five goals to St Kilda's two to walk away 71-point winners.
Darcy goes down
One of the competition's most exciting young players, Sam Darcy, left the field in the 24th minute of the first quarter clutching at his left knee. Darcy flew in a marking contest in the Bulldogs' forward 50, landing awkwardly and seeming to have hyperextended his left knee. The 21-year-old, who leads the Bulldogs' goal kicking, hobbled from the field and went straight down into the rooms. The sub was made at quarter-time, with second-gamer Cooper Hynes replacing Darcy in the game. It's a devastating blow for the Bulldogs as Darcy was in spectacular form leading into Sunday's match.
The Bont is well and truly back
Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli made his return on Sunday night and seems to have not missed a beat. The six-time All-Australian looked to be back to his best, finishing the game with 30 disposals, 442m gained, four marks and eight clearances. 'The Bont' also hit the scoreboard with two goals in the second term. Dogs supporters will be stoked to see their skipper back on the field.
Fast starting Saints fade again
For the second week running, the Saints have come out of the blocks firing, outscoring their opponents to start the game. Last week against the Giants they kicked four of the first six goals, and tonight they kicked four of the first five. But as they did in Gather Round, they faded away, coughing up the lead to the Dogs from half way through the first quarter. In fact, the Saints didn't score a goal from the 15 minute mark of the first term, through to the two-minute mark of the third term. Ross Lyon will be looking to address these fade outs during the week.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.5 8.8 13.13 18.19 (127)
ST KILDA 4.1 4.4 6.8 8.8 (56)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 3, West 3, Bontempelli 2, Freijah 2, Kennedy 2, Sanders, Johannisen, Richards, Liberatore, McNeil, Williams
St Kilda: Owens 3, Higgins 3, Sinclair, Wilson
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Naughton, West, Kennedy, Liberatore, Sanders
St Kilda: Owens, Higgins, Wilkie, Windhager, Sinclair
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Darcy (knee)
St Kilda: Nil
LATE CHANGES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
St Kilda: Angus Hastie, replaced in the selected side by Zak Jones
SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Cooper Hynes (replaced Sam Darcy in the first quarter)
St Kilda: Zak Jones (replaced Liam Henry at half-time)
Crowd: 35,511 at Marvel Stadium
