IN THE first return fixture of the season, the Western Bulldogs made a second big statement against St Kilda.

Mercurial forward Sam Darcy was back in a big way for the Dogs, with three goals and a confident leap at the ball as his side overran the Saints by 72 points at a chilly Marvel Stadium.

SAINTS V BULLDOGS Full match details and stats

Darcy moved well in his first game back from a serious knee injury suffered in the round six win over the Saints, helping his side to a 20.12 (132) to 8.12 (60) victory on Thursday evening.

The Dogs have now beaten the Saints by a combined 143 points this year.

Their ability to release the ball to a runner from the contest was quite simply a game breaker. While the Saints went with them in terms of clearance numbers, winning the metric 40-39, it was the Dogs' second layer release that gave them the upper hand.

In partnership with that contested nous, the hard-running efforts of the Dogs on the wing and across half-back was exceptional. Sam Davidson and Ryley Sanders never stopped moving, while Bailey Dale's efforts out of defence were a constant issue for the Saints.

Normally a beautiful ball user, St Kilda's Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (31 disposals, nine marks) didn't quite have his pinpoint kick on show, despite working hard to find plenty of the footy. But he wasn't the only one a little bit off as the Saints as a whole struggled to neatly chain possession down the ground, often leaving them trapped in their back half and at the mercy of the Bulldogs' intercept markers.

Dale (36 disposals, 10 marks) was afforded plenty of space and time coming off the half-back line, while Bailey Williams' (17 marks, three contested) aerial intercept game was impressive early.

The Bulldogs' ability to control the footy was extraordinary, using short kicks to generate a running option, then sliding forward at speed. Such a style of attack allowed their key forwards to isolate themselves in one-on-ones, resulting in a combined eight goals between Buku Khamis, Darcy and Aaron Naughton.

After falling out of form in recent weeks, Naughton began to recapture his confidence, with two quick goals in the second term despite being forced to fight it out with Saints defender Callum Wilkie.

They were also helped by a determination higher up the field to gain attacking territory. The Dogs moved with purpose going forward, keeping the pressure on St Kilda's defence. While it did mean they were opened up on the turnover on the odd occasion, chances for the Saints to do so were limited.

In game 200, Jack Sinclair (30 disposals, 622 metres gained) tried hard to generate attack, while Wilkie (21 disposals, seven intercepts) stood strong under a barrage of Bulldogs attacking play.

A Bont scare
Fighting with a Marcus Windhager tag, Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli was working hard, but 13 minutes into the second term he came off a little worse for wear. Leaping in a pack in an attempt to intercept the footy, Bontempelli was exposed and copped a Cooper Sharman knee to the ribs. On his haunches, he was guided from the field by medical staff and taken down into the rooms for treatment. Thankfully for the Bulldogs faithful, he returned to the bench and, eventually, the field, ultimately finishing the game with just 14 disposals and three clearances.

Darcy's return
After seven rounds – and a bye – on the sidelines, Sam Darcy made his return from what initially looked like a season-ending knee injury. His last game? Round six against the Saints where his Bulldogs won by 71 points. At the time he was being discussed as potentially the best player in the game, but such talk died down while he was in rehab. Unfortunately for the Saints, even as he slowly worked his way through the game, he showed exactly why he was being added to that upper echelon on Thursday night. St Kilda struggled to find someone who could go with him given his combination of height and athleticism, and save for some poor kicking, he could have finished with a handful of goals.

Clark in hot water?
After a series of high-profile suspensions for dangerous tackles this year, St Kilda's Hunter Clark is set to be the latest to face scrutiny. A first-quarter tackle on Bulldog Matt Kennedy over the boundary line, with the dreaded slinging action on show, saw Kennedy's head bounce off the deck, resulting in a free kick to the Dog. Kennedy rose to take his kick, and did not come from the ground for a head injury assessment, which will work in Clark's favour, but it will no doubt earn a close look from the Match Review Officer.

ST KILDA                                 1.4    5.6    7.9   8.12 (60)
WESTERN BULLDOGS             4.2    10.4    16.9   20.12 (132)

GOALS 
St Kilda: Higgins, Keeler, Sharman, Windhager, Wood, Byrnes, Wanganeen-Milera, Hill
Western Bulldogs: Darcy 3, Naughton 3, Khamis 2, Sanders 2, Kennedy 2, Freijah, Richards, Davidson, English, McNeil, West, Hynes, Treloar

BEST 
St Kilda: Sinclair, Marshall, Wanganeen-Milera, Wilkie
Western Bulldogs: Darcy, Richards, Dale, Lobb, Davidson, Kennedy

INJURIES 
St Kilda: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Nil

SUBSTITUTES 
St Kilda: Jack Carroll (replaced Dan Butler in the third quarter)
Western Bulldogs: Cooper Hynes (replaced Buku Khamis in the final quarter)

Crowd: 20,508 at Marvel Stadium