THE WESTERN Bulldogs made an attacking statement in their final hitout before the season proper, making light work of Hawthorn at their home of VU Whitten Oval on Friday evening.

A seven-goal second quarter set up the 18.9 (117) to 11.7 (73) victory as the sun set in Footscray, in a performance that will no doubt give the Dogs confidence heading north to face reigning premier Brisbane in next week's Opening Round.

After noting their own defensive deficiencies around the contest last year, the Bulldogs were simply oppressive in tight. Efforts to close space, tackle, and smother were manic from the home side, led well – unsurprisingly – by veterans Tom Liberatore and Matt Kennedy.

BULLDOGS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

It meant that the Hawks' attempts to move the ball forward, even when the contest was won, often ended up impeded by defenders Buku Khamis, Rory Lobb, or a defensively placed Tim English.

Khamis' leap at the footy across the defensive half of the ground delighted the heaving crowd, with the fringe tall patrolling the backline with maturity and poise, proving his readiness to become a regular fixture in the side.

Connection between lines proved a concern for Hawthorn throughout the match, with long patches where it struggled to exit the back half, and others with repeat forward entries picked off. It led to some real indecision deep in defence, which allowed the Dogs' defence to remain well-structured behind the ball.

This did create headaches for key Hawks Mitch Lewis and Mabior Chol, who had to compete with the Bulldogs' defensive stocks in the air, and went largely unsighted. A tall Hawk who didn't get beaten, however, was Jack Gunston, picking up where he left off in his All-Australian 2025 season with three first-half goals. Notably, youngster Calsher Dear didn't feature, with coach Sam Mitchell opting to play him in the earlier VFL hitout.

With the Hawks struggling to regularly equalise in the air, it made life difficult for exciting smalls Jack Ginnivan and Nick Watson to impact at the fall of the ball close to goal. Both spent some time pinch hitting through the midfield, and started to get dangerous up the ground as the game wore on. Watson earned the admiration of the away crowd late in the piece with a spectacular flying mark at half-back.

How Hawthorn's midfield will shape up has been a topic of much discussion given the loss of James Worpel to Geelong, a shoulder injury to Will Day, and the failed attempt to recruit former Essendon captain Zach Merrett. As expected, new co-captain Jai Newcombe carried much of the load alongside Conor Nash, while the likes of Josh Ward, Connor Macdonald, Cam Mackenzie, Dylan Moore, and Josh Weddle featured heavily.

Newcombe, despite having a superb night leading the midfield, may come under the scrutiny of the Match Review Officer for a dumping tackle on Bulldogs star Ed Richards late in the third term. A head knock to Mackenzie may further thin the array of midfielders to choose from for next week's Opening Round clash with a similarly-depleted Greater Western Sydney midfield group.

Once that midfield group started to press forward and get busy on the deck, however, the visitors started to look dangerous in front of goal, with Watson and Macdonald both landing early third-quarter majors.

The Bulldogs were simply dynamic ahead of the ball, as Aaron Naughton was flanked by young pair Jordon Croft and Sam Davidson in Sam Darcy's absence with general soreness. Smalls Rhylee West and Oskar Baker stayed busy, while Arty Jones worked into the game beautifully to finish with three goals.

English seems primed for a strong season in the ruck after dispensing with Hawks counterpart Lloyd Meek, and also kicking two goals, finding rule adjustments in the ruck little concern.

Meanwhile captain Marcus Bontempelli shook off some nervous early kicks at goal to have a significant impact around the contest, and in the Dogs' transition into attack.

New faces
Hawthorn defender Noah Mraz was given an opportunity to show his wares in the absence of Tom Barrass, who missed with a back complaint. Mraz had some nice early moments, leaping at the footy and creating an aerial contest, but then had some disposals he would rather forget, playing on Aaron Naughton no less. Aidan Schubert also had his first run in the brown and gold, coming on after half-time. His clean hands on the deck inside 50 set up a neat goal to open the final quarter, with the 18-year-old not looking overawed at the level. Forward Matt Hill played the final quarter, moving well and evading some opposition pressure.

Young Bulldog Lachie Jaques found his feet in defence, taking some kick ins and demanding the footy on transition, while young ruck Louis Emmett offered support to English throughout the match. Former Sun Connor Budarick has found his home across half back for the Dogs, often taking charge of Nick Watson.

Round one chance
Dogs defender Michael Sellwood seems primed for an early opportunity in defence, selected ahead of former pick No.13 Jedd Busslinger – who appeared in the earlier VFL practice match. Jordan Croft did his chances of cementing his place in the best team no harm once more, moving well in tandem with Naughton and Davidson as talls inside 50, and should maintain his place even when Sam Darcy returns to the team.

Medical room
After an impressive opening three quarters, Bulldogs youngster Ryley Sanders copped a ball to the face and later failed his HIA, meaning he will not play in the Dogs' Opening Round game. Croft spent some time after the main break getting his hips/quads attended to, but also finished the match without any issues.

Cam Mackenzie was brought from the ground after a clumsy tackle attempt which saw him cop a cut on the chin and undergo a Head Injury Assessment.

Fantasy watch
A day after Sydney's Brodie Grundy starred to ease worries over the rucks, Tim English (RUC, $1,162,000) did likewise in a dominant performance for the Bulldogs. English had 23 disposals, 28 hitouts and kicked two goals for his 131. Connor Macdonald (FWD, $714,000) started at the first centre bounce and split his time between the midfield and forward line, scoring 86. Dogs recruit Connor Budarick (FWD, $506,000) caught the eye with a tidy performance across half-back for his 81, while popular rookie Lachie Jaques (DEF, $230,000) grew into the game to score 63. Dogs small forward Arthur Jones (MID/FWD, $327,000) was lively, kicking three goals to score 58 points.

WESTERN BULLDOGS    5.3   12.4   16.5   18.9 (117)
HAWTHORN                  4.0    6.2    9.4     11.7 (73)

GOALS 
Western Bulldogs: Croft 3, Jones 3, Sanders 2, Liberatore 2, English 2, Baker 2, Naughton 2, Davidson, Freijah
Hawthorn: Gunston 3, Butler 2, Watson 2, Ginnivan, Lewis, C.Macdonald, Mackenzie

BEST
Western Bulldogs: English, Sanders, Khamis, Bontempelli, Liberatore, Naughton
Hawthorn: Newcombe, Gunston, C.Macdonald, Impey, Ward

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Sanders (concussion)
Hawthorn: Mackenzie (head knock)