Rory Lobb had the primary and final laughs because the Western Bulldogs posted a crushing 49-point AFL win over Fremantle at Optus Stadium.
Lobb was enemy No.1 on Friday night time, with the previous Dockers ahead booed by the vast majority of the 47,503 crowd each time he touched the ball.
The 30-year-old was bodily focused even earlier than the primary bounce, however he kicked an necessary purpose late within the second time period and proved to be a daily distraction for Dockers gamers to assist lead the Bulldogs to the 17.16 (118) to 10.9 (69) victory.
The end result left the Dockers nursing a 2-4 file forward of a troublesome five-game stretch that can see them play Brisbane, Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong and Melbourne.
Fremantle additionally revealed throughout Friday’s match that ahead Matt Taberner had undergone microdiscectomy surgical procedure to repair a again damage, ruling him out for an undetermined interval.
The Bulldogs improved their file to 3-3 forward of subsequent week’s conflict with Hawthorn.
Bulldogs midfielder Marcus Bontempelli (31 possessions, eight clearances, two targets), Jack Macrae (29 disposals, 14 clearances), Tom Liberatore (25 possessions, seven clearances, one purpose) and Adam Treloar (35 disposals, two targets) starred by way of the midfield.
Bailey Williams and Aaron Naughton booted three targets apiece.
Lobb completed with 1.3 and 6 marks from 12 disposals in an up-and-down show.
“It’s all a part of it,” a relieved Lobb advised Channel 7 after the match, referring to the boos.
“They in all probability obtained me with a few set photographs there. I put a little bit of stress on myself to kick them.
“It’s in all probability probably the most nerves I’ve had in a sport for some time, aside from a last.
“I simply needed to play properly. I let myself down, however we obtained the win ultimately.”
Dockers large man Sean Darcy was a dominant determine early and he completed with 5 contested marks, 53 hitouts and a purpose in an intriguing ruck battle with Tim English (20 possessions, 34 hitouts, one purpose).
Caleb Serong (35 disposals, 10 clearances) continued his sizzling kind.
Lobb was laughing as he braced for a before-the-bounce scuffle with Alex Pearce.
The Dockers captain twice roughly bumped Lobb to spark a mini melee, with Jordan Clark pulling the Bulldogs ahead to the bottom within the fracas.
The Bulldogs had six behinds to their title earlier than Bontempelli lastly obtained their first purpose of the match on the 18-minute mark.
Fremantle had been fortunate to solely path by six factors on the first break.
It marked the tenth straight match by which the Dockers trailed at quarter time.
The deficit blew out to 25 factors within the second time period earlier than a Lachie Schultz purpose on the run and two fast majors to Sam Sturt obtained the Dockers again into the competition.
Enter Lobb.
The maligned ahead took a mark and blocked out the vitriol from the gang to kick an important settler for the Bulldogs shortly earlier than halftime, serving to the guests enter the lengthy break with a 19-point edge.
Lobb missed a straightforward set shot within the third quarter, with the Dockers going coast to coast straight after in a transfer that resulted in Michael Frederick snapping really.
However minutes later, with a lot of Fremantle gamers struggling with Lobb, Treloar made the many of the distraction by pouncing on Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s shanked set shot to snap an important purpose.
That main gave the Bulldogs a 23-point lead on the last change, and the guests banished the ghosts from final yr’s elimination last capitulation by sealing victory with a dominant end to the match.
