Steve Barrett, AAP
The Western Bulldogs have bounced back from a forgettable, goalless fortnight with their highest score of the AFLW season, trouncing Carlton by 33 points at Ikon Park.
The Dogs moved past the Blues (both 3-6) into 12th position with their 9.7 (61)-4.4 (28) victory on Thursday night, which was soured by ruck ace Alice Edmonds’ ankle injury.
The Bulldogs’ ruck stocks, already depleted with Jorja Borg’s season-ending knee injury, suffered another blow when Edmonds suffered a nasty rolled left ankle midway through the fourth quarter.
She will undergo scans to assess the damage.
Best-afield Isabelle Pritchard, captain Deanna Berry, Jess Fitzgerald and Dominique Carruthers led a clinical midfield demolition.
Held to a heavily-criticised, club-record low 0.3 against Essendon and 0.4 the week before against North Melbourne, the Bulldogs were back to their sizzling best.
“It’s been pretty brutal, to be honest, the week,” a relieved Bulldogs coach Tamara Hyett said. “We were able to execute on a lot of things, which was very pleasing.
“Being able to get some reward for effort on the scoreboard always helps.”
Heidi Woodley ended the beleaguered Bulldogs’ protracted goalless drought – which stretched back to the fourth quarter of their win over Sydney on AFL grand final eve – when her snap bounced through the big sticks in the eighth minute.
Keeley Shearer, the hero of last week’s win against Fremantle, snapped truly to give Carlton the lead midway through the second, before the Dogs responded emphatically, getting right on top all over the ground to assume total control.
Berry’s crumbing goal put the Bulldogs back in front before draftee Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner’s slotted a neat dribbler in the last minute of the half and rolled an ankle during her over-enthusiastic celebrations.
The visitors dominated in marks, inside-50s and tackles for the quarter to hold sway by 13 points at halftime, prompting Carlton coach Mathew Buck to storm onto the ground and deliver some harsh truths.
The Bulldogs couldn’t land the decisive knockout blow – Harriet Cordner and Mimi Hill’s mop-up mastery on the last line limiting the damage to a single third-term goal – which finally came in a fourth-quarter rout, Sarah Hartwig booting two of the victors’ four majors down the stretch.
