Inspirational Dawson opens up on losing his brother, leads Crows to domination of Dogs

The Western Bulldogs remain one of the great riddles of season 2026, but there is a danger they will be remembered as one of the great disappointments.

A strong start meant they won their opening four games, and were the last team to experience a loss. They then dropped their next four to serious premiership contenders Hawthorn, Geelong, Sydney and Fremantle, not helped by injury, particularly to Tim English – their only legitimate frontline ruckman.

However, entering Thursday night’s clash against Adelaide, they were again in good form. Or so it appeared, having won four (against Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Collingwood and Hawthorn) of their past five games. But dig slightly deeper and those victories were by a combined 15 points, and none more than the six against the Hawks in round 13.

That’s why this clash at Marvel against the resurgent Crows was important. It provided the opportunity to not only embolden their own finals, even, dare we say, premiership hopes, but also give the wider football world reason to believe they’re serious challengers.

Instead, this was a night where the Dogs were a disappointment, slumping to a 57-point loss, with coach Luke Beveridge bemoaning they were “second rate”. Put simply, they were blown away in the first term, trailing by 41 points by the first break against an opponent resembling a smooth-moving cheetah desperate for a kill.

The Crows were super efficient, booting nine goals from only 17 inside-50s for the term. At one point, they had eight goals from 12 entries, exposing the Dogs’ lack of size.

Led by brilliant skipper Jordan Dawson, arguably the league’s best captain in a season when he has endured family tragedy, the Crows did as they pleased in the opening stanza. They won contested ball 45-33, and dominated in space with a 67-36 advantage in uncontested ball.

Dawson had three goals in the first term, and finished with the third-highest ranking ever for a quarter, while rival captain Marcus Bontempelli failed to have an impact.

“I am not sure if I have seen a Bulldogs midfield humbled like this before,” analyst David King said during commentary on Kayo Sports.

“This is a mauling but, I tell you what, it is special to watch.”

For Dawson, this was surely one of the best games of his 166-game career. He finished best afield with 32 disposals, three goals, and five inside 50s, burning Matt Kennedy who had been sent to him.

“He is class, he is a warrior – we knew two or three years ago he was an outstanding leader,” coach Matthew Nicks said.

In the pre-game, Dawson opened up to Hamish McLachlan on Seven about the impact of his brother Jaryd’s death in April.

“It’s been a bloody tough time obviously, for myself and my family,” Dawson explained.

“I can’t thank the AFL enough, and all the captains and obviously the Crows as well.

“You obviously never wish this upon anyone, but you also don’t realise the support that you have and the generosity that you have around you until something like this happens, so from the bottom of my heart I just want to thank the AFL and also the Crows.”

Dawson admitted footy at this point had become a refuge for him.

“Especially the first few games back. I kind of felt like, in my life, there’s always been clarity and throughout the last few months I was probably lacking a bit of clarity and understanding of the world, and footy’s been that release and that understanding for me,” he said.

Dawson also spoke about his release of emotion after the Crows’ one-point win over the Cats in round 13.

“It’s still hard for me to talk about, obviously, but at that time, after a close game like that, the emotions are high,” he said.

“It was a moment I really felt like I wanted him [Jaryd] there for.

“To not have him there, it kind of hit me straight after the game … just looking around the stands and up to the sky and knowing that he wasn’t there, it was pretty overwhelming, but it didn’t take away from the happiness and joy I had as well.”

Beveridge said pre-game his team needed to handle the Crows’ intensity, the visitors not only having won four of their past five games after a lacklustre start, but ranked the league’s best pressure team.

They are also smart. Beaten by six points by the Bulldogs in round two, they, as Beveridge noted, sought “retribution, and they got it”, despite being without Izak Rankine and Taylor Walker this time around.

“We didn’t handle their pressure,” Beveridge said.

“I think I’m always one to give the opposition praise when you’re impressed by their level of game, and I thought all over the park they [Crows] were impressive, and were just second rate.”

The Dogs enjoyed a more open contest early in the second term when the teams exchanged goals, Beveridge noting his team had been able to “stabilise the game”. But the Crows then settled. While the Dogs began to win the clearances, this benefit was questionable. The Crows had averaged 35 points from clearances per game this season; they had 36 by half-time.

The Bulldogs are at their best when they handball from stoppages, and then link up – and that was rarely seen.

English – so important to the Dogs for they were 7-1 with him in the line-up this season before Thursday night – was well beaten by Lachlan McAndrew, while veteran midfielder Adam Treloar was a shadow of himself, spending considerable time on the interchange in the third term.

Beveridge said the Bulldogs wanted to save Treloar “up for a run at it in the last quarter, and he came on at the start of that last quarter, and had an impact”.

Treloar had six touches in th final term, but finished with only 10 for the game. His senior career is on a knife edge.

Bontempelli stood out with his pink boots, and finished with 29 touches. But he never really got going. He was goalless, having had 19 to this point of the campaign.

He had James Peatling as his opponent at the opening centre bounce, while Sam Berry later had that responsibility.

Nicks said through the week he had various plans for the Bulldogs great. This included letting him roam free, and it worked a treat.

As the Bulldogs begin their reflection, it’s not all doom and gloom.

It’s been great to see Cody Weightman back, the small forward lively in his second on the bounce after a long lay-off.

They are 8-7, have a winnable game against St Kilda next week with Tom Liberatore (knee and concussion) expected back, and remain firmly in the finals hunt.

However, this was a team many pundits believed could – even should – finish in the top four. That’s yet to happen in the Beveridge era, despite appearing in two grand finals for one unforgettable flag.

Based on Thursday night’s performance, it’s likely to remain a strange anomaly.

With Russell Bennett

Bulldogs veteran Tom Liberatore could return to the field next Sunday, either in the AFL or VFL.

Luke Beveridge gave an update on Liberatore, who has been recovering from both a knee injury and concussion.

“The plan with Tom is to train through in the lead up to the St Kilda game [next Sunday] and see how he is managing and coping with our full drills and his comfort level,” Beveridge said.

“He’s been cleared on the concussion side of it, but we want to dot our I-s and cross our T-s around our own duty of care with him.

“If he gets through the week, then he should be able to play next Sunday at either level.”

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says he sat Adam Treloar for much of the third quarter to save him for the final term.

Treloar had six possessions in the last term but is still battling to regain his speed and running power.

“We thought we would save Adam up for him to have a run at it in the last quarter, and he made an impact,” Beveridge said.

“With the five [on the bench], you use players in different roles. With his profile, at the moment, we would look for a spot in the last quarter.”

Crows star Josh Rachele started the night by getting a kiss on the cheek from his mum, and he’s ended it with four goals in a big win.

Rachele said coach Matthew Nicks put the hard word on his side to go hard from the start.

“Nicksy put the pressure on us early in the week. Last time we played them, we didn’t really get going until the final term, [so] he said to bring that hunger and pressure from the start,” Rachele told Kayo Sports.

Rachele also loved what he saw from Riley Thilthorpe after he hasn’t been at his best early in the season.

“I love playing with the big fella when he has that hunt and grit. He’s had some criticism this season, but that happens when you are an All-Australian,” Rachele said.

With this game done and dusted, fans and commentators are tearing shreds off this retro jumper and its connection with losing.

The Dogs wore it in 1935 and reportedly went 2-2-14 with the dry cleaners “accidentally” shrinking them in the wash post season.

The club brought them back in 2003 and Essendon thrashed them by 67 points.

As Kayo Sports commentator Matt Hill quipped: “They shrunk the first ones, they might incinerate these jumpers.”

Crows 114, Dogs 63 with eight mins to go.

Brayden Cook and Wayne Milera have added their names to the scoresheet as the Crows keep running up the score.

They were a little patchy in the third term, but they’ve looked ready to strike in this final term.

Treloar just had a kick for goal from 50 metres out, but his shot went wide of the mark.

Crows 112, Dogs 55 with 15 mins left to play.