Joel Freijah and Rhylee West heroics seal thrilling three-point win
Updated ,first published
The Western Bulldogs’ villains became heroes in a thrilling victory over plucky Melbourne after Joel Freijah and Rhylee West combined to score the winning goal with just three minutes left to seal the three-point victory.
Melbourne’s Harvey Langford had a chance in the goal square with 20 seconds remaining but was unable to hit the target and the Bulldogs remained patient after spending the afternoon inventing ways to keep the Demons in the game.
And the real culprits were Freijah and West.
Freijah became the first player to be penalized for rubbing the top of his head to taunt an opponent, and Will Lewis’ free kick was turned over and awarded to Daniel Turner.
The moment was pivotal as it saw Freijah on the phone to manager Luke Beveridge, who disappointed him after his undisciplined behavior and the Bulldogs missed a chance to take a six-goal lead. “There were some pretty harsh messages to one or two people,” Beveridge said.
At this point the Bulldogs’ pressure was higher than Melbourne’s. Their accuracy was excellent. They were losing center spacing but dominated ground stops.
But such costly moments prevented them from making the most of their rise.
West had given away two 50-metre penalties that resulted in goals against the Demons.
However, he made amends when he entered the game-winning chance after Ed Langdon put the Demons ahead with four minutes left.
As Melbourne rushed forward with Jack Steele running with the ball, the desperate West rushed him down to turn the ball over in a crucial passage of the game. He sent the ball inside the 50 point indicated by Aaron Naughton and turned inside to find Freijah inside the 50 point. Naughton’s desperation within 50 points was critical.
Freijah hit a great shot as always.
Beveridge admired West’s effort to force the turnover. “What a great team-lifting moment that was. It’s inspiring to everyone,” Beveridge said. “That was a big moment in the game.”
It was enough for them to hold on after leading the first three quarters. They were ahead by 10 points at the first change, eight points at halftime, two points at the last half and three points at the end.
The Bulldogs were tough at times, too; James O’Donnell was penalized for holding Harrison Petty when the Demon initiated contact.
But they relied on willpower as much as skill to get over the line, as their mistakes made their hard work all the more difficult as they caught the Demons in the jump after the start of play was delayed by three minutes due to the Giants v Brisbane Lions match finishing later than planned.
Beveridge revealed that he told the players the story of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse to motivate them in their quest to beat Melbourne, and they decided to turn around their performance against Carlton. He said the players’ efforts to win four of their last five center shots in the final quarter, when they were helpless against the formidable Max Gawn, were critical and a sign of their intent.
“For them to stabilize, hold on and get another close win is pretty remarkable and instills belief,” Beveridge said.
Melbourne star Kysaiah Pickett also gained an interesting lead after forgetting her match pass and having to wait outside for half an hour until security let her in.
Neither incident was linked to the Demons’ slow start but was genuine as they were outnumbered and looked flat. Their coach Steven King said they expected a strong response from the Bulldogs around the ball but “unfortunately they weren’t strong enough for long enough”. Marcus Bontempelli is at his best, Ed Richards is back to his best form winning the ball in the stoppage and Ryley Sanders is developing into an excellent midfielder.
It looked like the Bulldogs would be ahead by 26 points with 66 seconds left in the half. But inspired by Pickett’s sudden attack, the Demons scored three goals in the remaining time to gain momentum in the second half.
The goal lasted until the first minutes of the final quarter before play-man Harry Sharp put the Demons ahead after Arthur Jones called again. Instead of rushing the ball, Jones sat on the ball in the goal square and was penalized for holding the ball.
Then, after scoring a miraculous goal in the second quarter, he missed a wild shot in the final quarter. Jacob van Rooyen also had a chance to shoot in front but missed. The Demons were without defender Jake Lever for the final 10 minutes after he went down hard and the Bulldogs also lost Luke Cleary to concussion. With Bulldogs forward Cody Weightman on the verge of a long-awaited return, the Demons are comfortable managing their star well over a long season.
The Demons failed to reach the magic 100 points to win and the Bulldogs deserved four points.
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