THE WESTERN Bulldogs have ended a 257-day winning drought, overcoming Hawthorn by one point in a dramatic finish at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The Bulldogs trailed by 14 points nine minutes into the final quarter, but clawed back through Luke Dahlhaus and Clay Smith, who booted a supergoal to put his team up by a point.
Jordan Lewis then missed a set shot to level the scores, before Liam Jones hit the post at the other end to give Brendan McCartney's team a 1.10.6 (75) to 2.8.8 (74) lead, which it held through the desperate final minutes.
It was the Bulldogs' first win since round 12 last season, snapping a 14-game losing streak that included 11 home and away games, an exhibition match in London and two NAB Cup round one matches.
Despite that, the team did not sing the song in the rooms, but McCartney said the result was a timely confidence boost.
"It was good for them (the players) to get a win and think their way through it against a high quality club who are probably a little bit behind us in their preparation and work," he said.
"They wanted to hang in there; that was a good sign, because we haven't been able to do that for a while now.
"When teams have gotten on top of us, they've got right away."
It was a forgettable night for the Hawks, with Luke Breust and David Hale both subbed off after suffering leg injuries, and coach Alastair Clarkson admitting the team was "rusty" and not good enough in contested situations.
But, he said neither player's injury was a major concern, with Breust receiving a knock to the side of his lower left leg and Hale to his left ankle.
"We just took them off as a precaution; I don't think either are serious, but we might give them a rest next week, we'll just wait and see," Clarkson said.
Lance Franklin threatened to win the game for Hawthorn, giving spark to what was at times a lacklustre contest. He booted five goals, including a brilliant running supergoal, and also put two shots out on the full in a typically hit-and-miss display in front of the big sticks.
The winners were superbly led by experienced midfielders Matthew Boyd and Ryan Griffen, although McCartney would have also been encouraged by the performances of recruits Koby Stevens, Brett Goodes and Nick Lower.
Draftee Jake Stringer kicked an outstanding goal with his first kick after being subbed on during the third quarter, but he was later subbed off with a rolled ankle.
The Bulldogs were their usual tenacious selves at the contest, winning clearances 41-30 and contested possession 118-107. They again struggled to find a consistent focal point up forward, but spread the workload with 10 individual goalkickers. Griffen was the only multiple scorer, with two.
Alongside Franklin, Hawthorn gained good service from recruit Jonathan Simpkin and star midfielder Sam Mitchell, who was slow to get going in his first hit-out of the season but worked his way into the contest.
The Bulldogs will regain Adam Cooney for next week's clash with Fremantle, after he was rested with a minor hip complaint.
The Hawks could regain several players, including Liam Shiels, Grant Birchall and Shaun Burgoyne.
What it means: Hawthorn has some work to do on its skills and ball movement before round one, but there is no cause for alarm just yet. The Bulldogs will hope to build on the win, and early signs are that their off-season recruiting has netted players who will add significant depth to the list.
What they said: "They (the Bulldogs' players) fought their way through, but they used their brains, too. It wasn't just all grunt. There was some contest and effort, but they thought their way through when they had the ball." – McCartney
"It's early on. We were a bit rusty tonight. We need to get better, but it's fortunate for us we've still got three our four weeks to get ourselves right prior to round one." – Clarkson.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.3.3 0.5.3 0.8.4 1.10.6 (75)
HAWTHORN 0.1.3 1.3.5 1.6.6 2.8.8 (74)
SUPERGOALS
Western Bulldogs: Smith
Hawthorn: Franklin, Roughead
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Griffen 2, Murphy, Johannisen, Stevens, Goodes, Jones, Stringer, Dickson, Dahlhaus
Hawthorn: Franklin 4, Hale 2, Savage, Smith
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Griffen, Boyd, Liberatore, Minson, Smith
Hawthorn: Franklin, Mitchell, Lewis, Simpkin, Cheney, Suckling
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Stringer (ankle)
Hawthorn: Breust (left leg), Hale (ankle)
Reports: Nil
Official crowd: 8,162 at Etihad Stadium
