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The Western Bulldogs have posted their highest score since AFL season and gave embattled coach Luke Beveridge some relief from fierce criticism with 91 points Richmond.
Under the spotlight after four losses in their previous five games, the Bulldogs were dominant from the opening spurt in their crushing 19.19 (133) to 6.6 (42) victory at the MCG on Saturday night.
The Dogs held their opponents scoreless in the first quarter and were never challenged in a result that improved their record to 4-5 ahead of a tough away clash with Greater Western Sydney next week.
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Injury-riddled Richmond (1-8) slipped further into the mud, losing Maruis Rioli Jr. (shin), Sam Banks (concussion) and Jack Graham (hamstring) in the process.
The contest never reached great heights with both sides guilty of numerous skill errors.
Aaron Naughton, Sam Darcy and James Harms (four goals each) cashed in on the Bulldogs’ territorial dominance in a lopsided 50 (77-41) win.
Adam Treloar (41 disposals), Marcus Bontempelli (32), Bailey Dale (30) and Ed Richards (34) were prolific ball carriers, with captain Bontempelli and Riley Garcia adding two goals each.
Dion Prestia (23 disposals, one goal) battled hard for Richmond on his return from injury, Shai Bolton kicked two big ones from 19 touches and Daniel Rioli (26 possessions) was busy but the Tigers had few winners.
Bontempelli ignited his side with a classy opening goal under pressure, but the Bulldogs did not take the full hit of their early control, leading 3.6 to 0.1 at the first break.
Former Melbourne prop Harms kicked his first three goals for the Bulldogs in season two as they extended their lead to 47 points by half-time.
It got ugly for Richmond in the second half when Treloar broke right-footed under pressure on the touchline and the margin temporarily exceeded 100 points.
Unlucky Tigers linebacker Graham was replaced with another soft tissue injury just minutes before Banks was hurt on an awkward tackle from a marking contest in the third quarter.
Dogs ruckman Tim English accidentally took Banks’ legs out from under him after being pushed into the contest by Noah Balta.
Play was stopped for several minutes while medical personnel examined Banks, who was carted off the field in a medical booth.
In a social media post, Richmond said the 21-year-old was “awake in the rooms and doing well” after the collision.
Rioli was injured in the dying stages and was also taken out in a medical cab after his left leg was caught and twisted under the weight of Treloar’s tackle.
The Bulldogs kicked six to two goals in the final quarter to complete the rout.
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