Round 22, 2025
Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
Sunday 10 August
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 34,733
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 3.4 | 4.6 | 11.9 | 15.9.99 |
| Western Bulldogs | 3.6 | 5.10 | 9.11 | 15.15.105 |
Western Bulldogs win by 6 points
Goalkickers: Bayley Fritsch 2, Jake Melksham 2, Harrison Petty 2, Kade Chandler 1, Jai Culley 1, Max Gawn 1, Blake Howes 1, Harvey Langford 1, Christian Petracca 1, Kysaiah Pickett 1, Daniel Turner 1, Jacob van Rooyen 1
Milestones:
First game
Jed Adams
First game as coach
Troy Chaplin
200 games
Ed Langdon (also with Fremantle)
First goal
Blake Howes (26th game)
Despite winning their last game by 83 points, Melbourne dismissed premiership coach Simon Goodwin during the week. His long-term assistant Troy Chaplin took control against opposition playing to keep their finals hopes alive. Melbourne's defence held up under pressure early, and a late Jai Culley goal cut the margin to two points at half time. They stayed close to the Dogs until the third quarter, when a seven goal to four term gave them a 10 point lead at three quarter time. The Bulldogs retook the lead, before Blake Howes kicked his first career goal to put Melbourne back in front. Two more goals by the visitors seemingly made the game safe, before a last minute goal by Daniel Turner put Melbourne a kick behind with 55 seconds left. They didn't get the chance at another goal to draw the game, and went down to a narrow loss.
Best were Gawn, McDonald, and Oliver. Blake Howes replaced Tom Sparrow in the fourth quarter. Caleb Windsor suffered a hamstring injury.
Links
Demonblog match review
Media
afl.com.au - 10/08/2025