Burgeoning superstar Sam Darcy has kicked three goals on return from his knee injury to help lift the free-scoring Western Bulldogs to a comprehensive 72-point win over St Kilda.
Less than eight weeks after fearing his season was over, Darcy was an ever-present threat in the Bulldogs’ thumping 20.12 (132) to 8.12 (60) victory at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
The Dogs seized control early and comfortably improved their record to 7-6, while St Kilda fell to 5-8 with the top-eight slipping away.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 
Bailey Dale (26 disposals), Matt Kennedy (28) and key defender Rory Lobb (17) were all influential as the Bulldogs outscored their opponents in every quarter and posted their highest total of the season.
Darcy finished with 3.2 from 19 disposals, while Aaron Naughton (three goals), Ryley Sanders, Buku Khamis and Kennedy (two each) also hit the scoreboard.
But the Saints were well beaten, losing a lop-sided inside-50 count 68-40, in front of just 20,508 fans.
“A little bit disappointing,” Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains told Channel 7 in the rooms afterwards.
“I thought there’d be more coming in. But end of the day we got the four points and that’s what we came for.”
St Kilda also had just 20,522 show up for a Friday night clash with Fremantle at Marvel Stadium in May but seven days later drew 65,680 by hosting Carlton at the MCG.
Saints coach Ross Lyon pinpointed Thursday night as an issue across the AFL after he had also noticed the sparse crowd.
But he also said 20,000 is “decent” for “two of the lower-drawing clubs in the competition” on a week night.
“My media manager said Thursday nights are really difficult, most clubs are struggling because kids have got to get up for school,” he said.
“It’s a challenging night.”
The reverse fixture on the night of Easter Sunday in April drew nearly double, with 35,511 on hand for the Bulldogs’ 71-point home win at Marvel.
Meanwhile, the Saints have cause for concern over Hunter Clark, who faces scrutiny from the match review officer for a dangerous tackle on Matt Kennedy.
Zak Jones could also be looked at over an off-the-ball bump that floored James O’Donnell.
Darcy was rated the No.1 player in the competition before he went down injured in round six and provided an instant presence on return.
Teammates weren’t shy about targeting the 205cm forward early and he had several ‘nearly’ moments, settling for one goal as the Bulldogs took a 4.2 to 1.4 lead to quarter-time.
Without a touch in the first term, Naughton twice out-muscled direct opponent Callum Wilkie and kicked goals as the Dogs’ buffer ballooned to 41 points in the second quarter.
Three late majors kept the Saints’ slim chances alive at half-time, but they were brushed aside after the main break.
St Kilda fans were incensed by a 15-7 free-kick count in favour of the Bulldogs in the first half.
But they could have few complaints about the result after seeing their team thoroughly outplayed.
It was the Bulldogs’ fifth win in six outings against St Kilda since the clubs met in an elimination final at the Gabba in 2020.
Marcus Bontempelli was restricted to 14 disposals under close attention from Marcus Windhager, and took a nasty knee to the ribs in a second-quarter marking contest.
Windhager (16 disposals, one goal) worked tirelessly for St Kilda, with regular ball-winners Jack Sinclair (30 touches) and Nasaiah Wanganeen-Milera (31) busy.
– with AAP
