SWFL 2017 rd 2: Bunbury defeat AMR Hawks despite serious injuries

First it was Ryan Davis early in the final quarter who clashed with Hawks' Jack McMahon in a ruck contest, both players taking a hard hit.

After a few minutes spent laying on the ground, McMahon slowly walked off the field with a severe blood nose but the crowd held it's breath for Davis who still hadn't moved.

Bunbury and AMR trainers ran to the aid of the young player, offering the stretcher but eventually helping him walk off the field, his arm heavily bandaged.

Davis was quickly rushed to hospital, suffering a broken arm.

Just minutes after the game resumed, a second Bulldog went down, this time clutching his knee.

Connor Walker was quickly attended to by trainers that weren't already preoccupied with getting Davis to the hospital.

He was slowly assisted off the field, limping so as to ensure he didn't put any pressure on his right leg.

Bunbury coach Jamie Nani said he hoped for the best for the two injured players.

"We don't know much at this stage," he said.

"Connor is a tough and resilient guy so hopefully his isn't too bad.

"But Ryan's doesn't look too good so that's disappointing."

The injuries disrupted the play of the Bulldogs, whose game was heavily affected by the loss of two teammates.

The home side only scored one point in the final term, as the Hawks went on to take back some of the lead with four impressive goals helped by the hard forward work of Mitchell Payne.

But the game certainly didn't start that way, the Bulldogs dominating play for the first three quarters.

Kyle Bassett made the first mark on the scoreboard with a goal for the Bulldogs followed by another from Matt Martin.

The Hawks kicked poorly under pressure, struggling to communicate with one another and losing a number of free kicks to holding the ball calls.

Young gun Patrick Farrant was on fire in the first term, sealing a goal of his own and taking some excellent marks in the mid field.

The Bulldogs led the Hawks by 20 points at quarter time.

Augusta Margaret River coach Matt Jamieson told his side to calm down and show composure with the ball at the break.

But it didn't help the Hawks in the second term, the Bulldogs extending their lead thanks to goals from Asten Preedy, Aidan Clarke and Harry Creasy.

The wind was quite a hindrance for the accuracy of the home side, who also scored six points in the quarter.

Jake Rodgers, Jackson Ellis and Payne were quick to return many of the home side's goals but the margin had gotten out to 30 points at half time.

The Bulldogs confidently ran back onto the field, but missed a number of scoring opportunities early in the third term.

But clumsy hands and missed targets cost the Hawks just as many, the visitors only able to pull together two points for the Bulldogs 22.

Despite being up by 50 points at the last break, the Bulldogs struggled with the wind again and became frazzled by the injuries, limiting the side to just one point in the final term.

The siren finally blew on a long quarter, hindered by injury time, with the Bulldogs claiming victory over the Hawks 11.15.81 to 8.10.58.