The critical error that lost Bulldogs the grand final

3 years ago 355

The Western Bulldogs made a captious mistake successful the 2021 AFL expansive final that outgo them victory, according to erstwhile subordinate Nathan Brown.

The Bulldogs blew a 13-point pb to go down to the Demons successful the play finale, and the large crushed wherefore was their nonaccomplishment to accommodate their strategy astatine the bounce erstwhile they repeatedly refused to person a sweeper - a roaming subordinate to unopen down the abstraction connected their broadside of the ground.

"You privation a turning point, it was successful the mediate of the crushed precocious successful the 3rd term," Brown said connected Nine's the AFL Footy Show.

"Melbourne emotion to get the shot retired the beforehand of the contention and the Bulldogs, the past clip they played them astatine the MCG [in circular 19] they acceptable up with 2 players that didn't let that.

"In the 3rd word they had to acceptable up the same, and I deliberation this is wherever Melbourne won the crippled and astatine the aforesaid clip wherever the Bulldogs mislaid it."

With each the momentum and a useful lead, the Bulldogs failed to unopen down the centre clearances, and quickfire goals to Melbourne to extremity the 3rd 4th wholly flipped the crippled connected its head.

"Late successful the 3rd term, Bulldogs were up 13 points, they didn't person a sweeper. They get sucked in, there's nary sweeper and monolithic abstraction to enactment with," Brown said.

"That's OK, it happens once. The precise adjacent clearance, they don't person a sweeper.

"You deliberation astatine this constituent they'd person learnt. You don't person a sweeper, you wage the terms against the Demons."

Again and again, the Demons feasted connected the oversight, arsenic Brown pointed retired successful the highlights.

With little than a infinitesimal to spell successful the term, Clayton Oliver again scored for the Demons, ending a highly pivotal transition of play.

"The crippled is implicit there," Brown said.

"They didn't acceptable up immoderate differently, they didn't alteration thing up. Bont [Marcus Bontempelli], [Tom] Liberatore, [Jack] Macrae, [Adam] Treloar was successful there. Did a connection travel from the bench? I'm not sure. Because everything they acceptable up the same.

"They ranked 17th for hit-outs this twelvemonth but 2nd for clearances truthful they backed themselves in, but astatine immoderate constituent successful that 3rd 4th they needed to alteration what they were doing."

Port Adelaide fable Kane Cornes said taking disconnected Bontempelli for a remainder was besides a large origin successful Melbourne reasserting their dominance.

"They're connected occurrence [and] helium comes disconnected the ground," Cornes said.

"Last crippled of the year, they've conscionable had a week off, surely you permission the champion subordinate successful determination to play 96 per cent of the game? Rest him guardant conscionable don't nonstop him off, due to the fact that what happened adjacent is stunning."

Demons extremity 57-year premiership drought

AFL large Matthew Lloyd agreed with Brown's investigation of the mistake successful the Bulldogs' strategy.

"That is precisely however they mislaid the game," helium said.

"It's the crushed they mislaid the 3 games of the play - Essendon, Hawthorn, and Port got them that way. That's wherefore it was a stunning turnaround successful the finals, due to the fact that they tidied that up.

"But they were exposed."

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