‘Flat-out bullying’: Liam Ryan’s ruthless move in victory over Western Bulldogs

The Western Bulldogs have held their nerve to secure a 14.16 (100) to 14.9 (93) victory over the West Coast Eagles at Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The round two contest in Melbourne proved a nailbiter from start to finish, with the leader changing hands on 12 occasions.

The Bulldogs were trailing by 12 points at three-quarter time, but managed to close the gap and level the scores with five minutes remaining.

Both sides traded goals before Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli sealed the game with a well-directed major from a 45-degree angle in the closing seconds.

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Eagles forward Josh Kennedy kicked four goals, while teammate Liam Ryan once again proved a fan favourite.

The 2020 All-Australian recorded two goals, two behinds and nine disposals, the highlight coming in the opening quarter.

Ryan’s fancy footwork to utterly embarrass Bulldogs defender Ryan Gardner was described by Channel 7 analyst Jimmy Bartel as “flat-out bullying”.

The small forward sold a couple of fakes before seamlessly sprinting past his opponent and converting the goal in style.

The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph tweeted: “Liam Ryan is a can’t-check-Twitter kind of player. If you look away for five seconds you miss him trying to jump on another bloke’s head or kick the most freakish goal imaginable. Just so bloody watchable.”

Eagles superstar Nic Naitanui was once again superb in the ruck, particularly during the second half.

The classy Bulldogs midfield was headlined by Bontempelli, who put on a masterclass at Marvel Stadium.

Many footy pundits have tipped him for the Brownlow Medal this year, and the Bulldogs skipper proved why on Sunday.

After recording 15 disposals in the opening term, the 25-year-old finished the contest with three goals, five clearances and 30 disposals.

Former Bulldogs teammate Bob Murphy said on AFL Nation: “Bontempelli is having a huge influence on this game. He hit that as sweet as he could on his right foot to kick the goal.

“This is a classic game of footy. Bontempelli is in rare form … he’s in scary form.”

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Speaking on Fox Footy, Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton urged the Eagles defender to clamp down on Bontempelli at halftime.

“All my time here at Fox Footy, I have never once called for a tag. But if you don’t tag Marcus Bontempelli in this second half you’re just going to let him cut you up slowly,” Brereton said.

“He had 15 possessions in the first quarter, three inside 50s. He is the difference at the moment with his class use of the footy.”

The Bulldogs remains undefeated after two rounds, and will next weekend take on North Melbourne at the same venue.