THE WESTERN Bulldogs have steamrolled Greater Western Sydney by 32 points to notch their first back-to-back wins of the season.

Luke Beveridge's side flexed their muscles with five unanswered goals in the third quarter to set up a 17.11 (113) to 12.9 (81) victory at Canberra's Manuka Oval on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (4-3) move into seventh place on the ladder ahead of Sunday's matches, having defeated the Giants in eight of their nine meetings since 2020.

GIANTS v BULLDOGS Full match coverage and stats

James Harmes impressed in his recall with a game-high four-goal haul, while captain Marcus Bontempelli had his usual influence before being managed out in the final term.

Joel Freijah also starred with 27 disposals, nine clearances and 19 contested possessions after recovering from a hit to the head in the third quarter.

The 19-year-old, with his head over a ground ball, was collected by a side-on Tom Green. A free kick was paid against Green.

Meanwhile, the Giants (4-3) drop from fourth to sixth after suffering back-to-back defeats.

Jake Riccardi led the Giants with three goals, as Bulldogs defender James O'Donnell helped nullify star forward Jesse Hogan (two), who was returning from a calf injury.

GWS defender Lachie Ash finished with a game-high 31 disposals, while Lachie Whitfield shook off an ankle complaint to finish with 30.

Whitfield had limped off the ground in agony late in the first term after taking an innocuous kick outside of the contest, and played on with heavy strapping.

Riccardi kicked two first-quarter goals as the Giants had the better of the play early, boasting a six-point lead at the first break.

The second term was a see-sawing affair, with the Bulldogs soaring to lead by 13 points, before Hogan and Toby Bedford levelled the scores at 7.5 (47).

Giants skipper Toby Greene (two goals) could only give his side a one-point lead when his soccer kick hit the post.

And the lead was short-lived, with Tim English slotting a major after the siren thanks to a rucking infringement by Giants counterpart Kieren Briggs.

The Bulldogs emphatically shut out their opponents from the contest to kick 5.3 to 0.1 in the third quarter, and reached a game-high 52-point lead on their way to victory.

Bulldogs debutant Jedd Busslinger, replacing an omitted Liam Jones, provided an early highlight in the opening term when he denied Darcy Jones’ left-foot snap at goal with a mark on the line.

He subsequently gave up possession to Finn Callaghan, but the highly rated Giants midfielder matched his gaffe in the next play.

Bevo loves a tall story
There's no secret Luke Beveridge loves his forward line tall, and he wasn't going to let the absence of Sam Darcy and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan change the structure. Regular defender Buku Khamis started the match alongside 150-gamer Aaron Naughton, and when that brought little result Rory Lobb was added to the mix at quarter-time. They only finished with four goals between them, but the trio of targets made the Bulldogs' attack unpredictable with every forward thrust.

Young Dog stands up to a big job
Taking Khamis and then Lobb out of the backline - and with Liam Jones dropped - it was left to first gamer Jedd Busslinger to be the biggest Dog in defence, and the debutant didn't disappoint. Taken with pick 13 in the 2022 National Draft the West Australian had certainly served his apprenticeship at state league levels, and it showed as he played a key role in keeping the Jesse Hogan-led Giants attack goalless in the third term. Busslinger finished with 12 disposals and four marks and showed he can be a key player in this side for the next decade.

The other Green could have problems
GWS aren 't exactly spiralling out of contention, but a strong start to the season has been halted by consecutive losses, and Adam Kingsley will want all hands on deck to turn things around. However, he may be heading into the Sydney Derby without prime mover Tom Green, with the midfield bull sure to garner MRO scrutiny for a bump that caught Joel Freijah high. The young Dog looked in trouble but managed to play on and was one of his side's best by the final siren, but Green and his coach will no doubt go to bed with more than just Saturday's loss on their minds. 

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY   3.3    7.6     7.7     11.8 (81)
WESTERN BULLDOGS               2.3    8.5   13.8    17.11 (113)

GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Ricardi 3, Greene 2, Bedford 2, Hogan 2, Thomas, Green, Cadman
Western Bulldogs: Harmes 4, West 3, Lobb 2, Kennedy 2, Richards, Khamis, Johannisen, English, Naughton, Davidson

BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Whitfield, Callahan, Buckley, Ash, Riccardi
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Kennedy, Bontempelli, Freijah, Harmes, English

INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Callan Ward, replaced Xavier O'Halloran in the third quarter
Western Bulldogs: Cooper Hynes, replaced Marcus Bontempelli in the fourth quarter

Crowd: 12,234 at Manuka Oval