The Saints outscored their opponent by 13 in the first quarter alone, winning the contested possession count by 11 and soundly defeating the Bulldogs at the coalface. The Bulldogs have always taken great satisfaction in their ability to dominate the middle, but some believe that Josh Dunkley and Lachie Hunter’s off-season exits may have permanently altered the team’s dynamic. 

Rather, supporters of the Dogs were forced to watch what appeared to be a rerun of Melbourne’s defeat the week before.
King called their performances inept and stated that the club was not prepared for the impact of losing Hunter and Dunkley. 

In order to succeed in this competition, you need to stand out, and they did. Now, I believe they missed it and believed they could perhaps survive the losses of Hunter and Dunkley without necessarily having to replace those players, King remarked.