Geelong's Harry Taylor is now one of the most versatile talls in the game. After Tom Hawkins' late withdrawal with back soreness, the card-carrying defender started Saturday night's match inside the Cats' forward 50. As he's been doing increasingly of late, Taylor gave the Cats a strong target in attack, taking five marks in the first half and kicking 2.2. With the Cats down a tall defender after Jared Rivers' substitution with a knee injury, Taylor started the second half in defence. Not that stopped him hurting the Bulldogs on the scoreboard, with the big Cat drifting forward to mark and goal at the six-minute mark of the third term. The effort might have convinced Cats coach Chris Scott to leave Taylor in attack because he returned there soon after and finished the game with a game-high five goals.
2. Selwood goal survives review
Geelong skipper Joel Selwood can do almost anything on the football field and some Bulldogs supporters might argue he can now add kicking goals without feet to his repertoire. The source of the Bulldogs supporters' angst came at the 23-minute mark of the second quarter when Selwood pounced after Bulldog opponent Liam Picken was wrong-footed by a bad bounce in the Cats' goalsquare. Selwood slid in and soccered the ball through for a goal. Or did he? After the umpires and players had returned to the centre square, a belated score review was called for. The hoots of Bulldogs fans as they watched the replays made it clear they thought Selwood had had an 'air swing'. But with the video inconclusive, Selwood's goal stood.
3. Liam Jones
Liam Jones has been the Bulldogs' great forward hope since Barry Hall's retirement at the end of 2011. Last season, the 197cm Jones managed only nine goals from 12 games. In this year's first four rounds, he kicked five goals, but against the Cats he showed signs that, at 22, he might be ready to provide the strong target the Dogs are looking for. At the three-minute mark of the first term, he soared sideways across a pack to mark over Jared Rivers and converted the goal from close range. He took another high mark over Mathew Stokes at the 23-minute mark of the term – one of four contested marks for the quarter – and goaled again. Not surprisingly, Jones couldn't sustain that pace, but he finished the game one of the Bulldogs' better players with four goals.
4. Young Bulldogs
With senior players such as Robert Murphy, Ryan Griffen, Daniel Giansiracusa and Shaun Higgins, the Western Bulldogs entered Saturday night's game with 16 players who had played less than 50 games. In comparison, the Cats' team had nine players who had played less than 50 games. However, what the young Dogs lacked in experience they made up for in fight. Midfield hard nuts Tom Liberatore had a game-high nine clearances, second-gamer Jake Stringer showcased this thumping right boot with two of his three goals coming from outside 50m, while Jason Johannisen had 24 possessions.
5. Bulldogs maintain hard edge
Anyone worried that the hardened Cats would bully the young Bulldogs had not done their homework before Saturday night's game. The Bulldogs entered the match ranked second in the AFL for clearances while the Cats were ranked last. The Bulldogs proved those statistics' worth against the Cats, having the better of them at the stoppages 36-30, including a 17-11 advantage at centre bounces. They also won the contested possession count 150-134. All of which augurs well for the Dogs' future.
