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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n In the end, Hawthorn fire starter Nick Watson ignited a blaze the Hawks could not control.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Wizard\u201d terrorised the Western Bulldogs in the opening half of their clash at the MCG and in the process tormented his opponent Michael Sellwood.<\/p>\n In typical explosive fashion, Watson kicked three inspiring goals across the first two quarters, making the most of his midfield cameos, and lifting Hawthorn to a 27-point lead by the long break.<\/p>\n He ran the hapless Sellwood ragged and even appeared to have the better of the Bulldog defender in a fiery quarter-time melee that spilled over the boundary line and into the fence.<\/p>\n It was the sort of all-in that would have had the AFL bean counters licking their lips as they tallied up the fines.<\/p>\n But then Watson said something about Sellwood as he walked off the ground at the half-time break that he might, in hindsight, like to take back.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s giving me a bit,\u201d Watson told Kayo Sports at the time. \u201cI don\u2019t care if he talks as long as he walks the walk, so I\u2019d love to see it in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n What he saw in the second half was a Hawthorn horror show. Luke Beveridge maintained his faith in Sellwood, and he gained the upper hand, fighting back to keep Watson to just two possessions in the final two quarters.<\/p>\n After the game, Sellwood told Kayo Sports that he was one of 10 children growing up, so scrapping was in his nature.<\/p>\n \u201cI just love that side of things,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cI was one of 10 \u2013 with four older brothers \u2013 so we were always wrestling, and I was trying just to pick up the scraps, I guess.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always had that mongrel about me that stands up well. Opposition fans won\u2019t like it, but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n As the Bulldogs were getting high-fives from their fans along boundary fence after the final siren, a Hawks fan had a few choice words for Sellwood, which he said he \u201cwasn\u2019t happy with\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to repeat what he said \u2026 but I wasn\u2019t happy with it,\u201d Sellwood later explained on Seven in the rooms.<\/p>\n \u201c[He called me a] weak something, yeah. I pointed him out, and he cowered a bit, which was quite funny. Hopefully he gets kicked out or something.\u201d<\/p>\n As Watson faded from the game and failed to kick another goal, the determined Bulldogs lifted themselves from the canvas to steal the match.<\/p>\n They piled on 8.2 to the Hawks\u2019 1.11 after half-time to seal a six point victory \u2013 12.5 (77) to 9.17 (71).<\/p>\n As the game became an arm wrestle until the end, every moment counted.<\/p>\n None more than defender Nick Coffield charging back towards the goal square with three minutes left on the clock to knock the ball from Hawthorn forward Mitch Lewis\u2019 hands as he appeared to claim a mark.<\/p>\n The umpire must have been a millisecond away from blowing his whistle. It was that close. Had the mark been paid, it would have been a certain goal.<\/p>\n It was so close that Sam Mitchell would not be drawn on whether it should\u2019ve been a mark, saying umpiring was a tough job.<\/p>\n But Coffield\u2019s last-gasp desperation mirrored the approach of his side. He said after the game that the Bulldogs had wanted to make a stand.<\/p>\n They were tired of being \u201cwalked over\u201d by Hawthorn, he said, including a 40-point thumping during Gather Round.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve humiliated us a few times now,\u201d Coffield told The Age.<\/p>\n \u201cSo Bevo gave a little bit of a stir-up just to take the fight to them a little bit more, and I don\u2019t think we did that in the first half, but I feel like we responded well after half-time.\u201d<\/p>\n With Watson subdued after the long break, defensive forward Will Lewis took up hostilities with Hawthorn skipper James Sicily.<\/p>\n They wrestled on the centre wing, pushed and shoved inside the Bulldogs\u2019 forward 50, and traded heated words in the goal square.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, that created a bit of tension in the game, but we thought Will really did his job and played his part on the night,\u201d Beveridge said after the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure that the numbers, the stat sheet will say that, you know, Hawthorn probably should have won the game.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I just thought our back line were just supreme, outstanding. They weathered a pretty big storm all night, and to keep them to that total in the second half, as far as the scoreline goes, was really significant.\u201d<\/p>\n Beveridge said the Bulldogs came to the MCG knowing that in recent times Hawthorn had their measure.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a team that, if you give them space, their pressure is quite outstanding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo to forge a way through that, to weather that storm and then to come out the other side with a victory is quite significant for us.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the players definitely came in with the right mindset, [and] definitely made a decision to make a stand.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Mitchell was not left lamenting his Hawks\u2019 efforts, but he was certainly deflated by their inaccuracy.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that we weren\u2019t up for the fight,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone watched the Hawthorn side tonight and went, \u2018Gee, they were off tonight\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t kick our goals, we didn\u2019t make the most of our chances, but it wasn\u2019t through a lack of effort.\u201d<\/p>\n Hawthorn, playing without injured spearhead Jack Gunston, had 77 more disposals and 17 more entries inside their forward 50. They could not buy a goal \u2013 even a late shot from Mabior Chol skewed off his boot and went out on the full.<\/p>\n The Bulldogs won the game from forward-50 stoppages. Tellingly, they managed 5.1 (31) in that area, compared to Hawthorn\u2019s 1.4 (10).<\/p>\n \u201cSome of our best footy of the year was played tonight, and some of our worst, so they really took their chances, and we weren\u2019t able to take ours,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n \u201cExecution is important, and I get more mail about goal kicking than anything else, but we probably do more work on goal kicking than anything else, so [we\u2019re] still looking for answers.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitchell was not surprised that the Bulldogs tried to blanket Sicily out of the game, calling Lewis an \u201cantagonist\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cJames has played some great footy. I suspect he\u2019d be in a lot of the All-Australian sides at the halfway mark of the season, so we suspected that he\u2019d probably get a fair bit of attention from [Will] Lewis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I thought James played really well with a fair bit of attention.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bulldogs lost Lachlan McNeil to concussion early in the game, forcing Beveridge to shuffle the decks and throw Rory Lobb forward, while Hawthorn big man Mitch Lewis appeared to badly injure his ankle but was able to play out the game.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ecd2ecdc8c29071a4119d593a25a1fd2188f41d5.jpeg\")
Michael Sellwood and Nick Watson had plenty to say to each other throughout a fiery match.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fb8425eb1aef9c06fac301667da5d77db424482d.jpeg\")
Will Lewis, Nick Coffield and Adam Treloar after the Bulldogs\u2019 stirring win.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/457b7cbe54a3a7558a0f8877cea4da788b680c3f.jpeg\")
James Sicily and Jai Newcombe lead the Hawks off the ground after their loss to the Bulldogs.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Tim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19f8fe43b34fc54f6815b4d821b46ecc02282fc2.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"After](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ee6664a295d62677e97f2940f8f670ddc1d32198.jpeg\")
After 637 days out of the Western Bulldogs side with some horrific injuries, Cody Weightman made his return in style on Friday night.AFL Photos<\/p>\n