2025 AFL Season Round 23: Melbourne v Western Bulldogs

This is the match report for the match played on 10 August 2025 between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs during round twenty-three of the 2025 season of the Australian Football League. Melbourne hosted the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. Max Gawn captained the hosts with Jack Viney as vice-captain. Marcus Bontempelli captained the visitors with Tom Liberatore as vice-captain. The hosts were coached by Troy Chaplin and the visitors were coached by Luke Beveridge.

Melbourne (15.9.99) were defeated by the Western Bulldogs (15.15.105).

Match Details

Season: 2025 AFL Season
Round: Round 23
Teams: Melbourne v Western Bulldogs
Date: Sunday 10 August 2025
Time: 3:15 PM
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 34,733

Match Results

Outcome: Melbourne def. by Western Bulldogs
Score: 15.9.99 - 15.15.105

Quarter Breakdown

	Q1			Q2			Q3			Q4			Final
Melbourne	3	.	4	4	.	6	11	.	9	15	.	9	15	.	9	(99)
Western Bulldogs	3	.	6	5	.	10	9	.	11	15	.	15	15	.	15	(105)
Margin	WBUL by 2			WBUL by 10			MELB by 10			WBUL by 6			WBUL by 6
Duration	30:12			29:37			34:27			34:50			2:09:06

Score Worm

This chart is oriented such that the margin is positive when the hosts (Melbourne) are in the lead and is negative when the visitors (Western Bulldogs) are in the lead.

Honour Roll

Melbourne

Captain: Max Gawn
Vice-Captain: Jack Viney
Coach: Troy Chaplin (caretaker)

Western Bulldogs

Captain: Marcus Bontempelli
Vice-Captain: Tom Liberatore
Coach: Luke Beveridge

Brownlow Votes

Player	Team	#	Votes
Marcus Bontempelli	WBUL	4	3
Ed Richards	WBUL	20	2
Aaron Naughton	WBUL	33	1

AFLCA Champion Votes

Player	Team	#	Votes	5	4	3	2	1

Player Statistics

Melbourne

#	Player	Pos.	ToG%	GL	BH	DI	KI	HB	MK	HO	TA	CL	CR	FF	FA	RF	IF
26	Adams, Jed	HBFR	86%	0	0	5	2	3	2	0	3	0	1	0	1	2	0
17	Bowey, Jake	BPL	81%	0	0	21	12	9	2	0	4	0	2	0	0	3	2
37	Chandler, Kade	HFFR	90%	1	0	10	6	4	3	0	4	1	1	1	1	0	1
46	Culley, Jai	WL	73%	1	0	16	7	9	2	0	5	5	1	2	0	2	1
31	Fritsch, Bayley	CHF	83%	2	3	14	11	3	4	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	4
11	Gawn, Max (c)	RU	87%	1	0	23	8	15	5	42	2	5	4	2	2	4	0
22	Howes, Blake	SUB↑	24%	1	0	5	3	2	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	0
15	Langdon, Ed	RO	89%	0	0	18	7	11	4	0	2	3	2	0	0	2	4
19	Langford, Harvey	HFFL	79%	1	0	14	7	7	4	0	2	0	1	1	0	2	4
25	McDonald, Tom	FB	95%	0	0	15	9	6	5	0	2	0	2	1	1	5	0
4	McVee, Judd	HBFL	75%	0	0	17	11	6	3	0	2	3	0	0	0	4	0
18	Melksham, Jake	FPL	77%	2	0	15	10	5	4	0	0	0	5	0	2	0	3
13	Oliver, Clayton	INT	81%	0	0	27	10	17	2	0	4	5	6	1	4	2	2
5	Petracca, Christian	C	83%	1	0	23	8	15	2	0	2	3	3	0	1	1	4
35	Petty, Harry	INT	78%	2	1	15	11	4	7	4	2	0	0	1	0	1	1
36	Pickett, Kysaiah	FPR	86%	1	2	22	19	3	4	0	2	1	4	0	0	3	7
24	Rivers, Trent	BPR	85%	0	0	22	17	5	8	0	1	0	5	1	1	6	5
3	Salem, Christian	INT	87%	0	0	24	17	7	5	0	3	1	1	0	1	4	1
32	Sparrow, Tom	INT↓	54%	0	0	8	3	5	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	1	0
10	Turner, Daniel	CHB	88%	1	0	16	9	7	8	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	1
2	van Rooyen, Jacob	FF	66%	1	2	11	10	1	4	6	3	1	0	1	0	0	3
7	Viney, Jack (vc)	RR	82%	0	0	18	6	12	4	0	1	1	3	1	1	0	2
6	Windsor, Caleb	WR	70%	0	0	21	12	9	3	0	1	1	7	0	0	2	2
Rushed					1
Total (23 players)				15	9	380	215	165	86	52	50	31	53	13	16	47	47

B. Howes replaced T. Sparrow.

Western Bulldogs

#	Player	Pos.	ToG%	GL	BH	DI	KI	HB	MK	HO	TA	CL	CR	FF	FA	RF	IF
13	Baker, Oskar	WL	73%	0	0	21	8	13	6	0	4	2	3	0	1	0	2
4	Bontempelli, Marcus (c)	RR	88%	0	0	33	17	16	5	0	5	7	1	2	0	4	7
29	Bramble, Lachie	BPL	84%	1	0	17	13	4	8	0	1	0	2	0	1	1	2
5	Busslinger, Jedd	INT↓	51%	0	0	8	6	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1
36	Cleary, Luke	HBFL	83%	1	0	14	9	5	4	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	3
31	Dale, Bailey	WR	85%	0	0	30	21	9	3	0	0	2	1	0	0	7	3
10	Darcy, Sam	FF	89%	2	0	18	9	9	5	4	0	0	8	1	2	1	2
44	English, Tim	RU	84%	0	2	18	11	7	8	23	2	2	0	2	0	0	1
27	Freijah, Joel	FB	85%	0	3	22	8	14	3	0	4	2	3	1	0	1	2
38	Garcia, Riley	SUB↑	33%	1	0	7	4	3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
39	Johannisen, Jason	HBFR	82%	0	0	16	13	3	2	0	1	0	3	1	2	3	2
8	Kennedy, Matthew	HFFR	81%	0	1	24	15	9	5	0	6	7	2	2	1	2	4
21	Liberatore, Tom (vc)	RO	80%	0	1	24	12	12	6	0	12	4	1	1	1	1	3
7	Lobb, Rory	CHB	100%	0	1	7	7	0	4	1	2	2	4	1	2	4	1
30	McNeil, Lachlan	INT	64%	1	0	7	3	4	1	0	1	1	3	0	1	0	2
33	Naughton, Aaron	CHF	86%	5	1	17	10	7	7	1	1	0	3	1	1	0	2
18	O'Donnell, James	BPR	100%	0	0	10	5	5	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	1
25	Poulter, Caleb	INT	70%	0	1	10	3	7	2	0	2	1	2	0	0	0	2
20	Richards, Ed	C	84%	2	1	31	17	14	4	0	2	14	3	1	1	2	6
9	Sanders, Ryley	INT	79%	0	0	12	4	8	4	0	3	1	3	0	0	1	1
23	Vandermeer, Laitham	FPL	61%	0	1	11	7	4	5	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
14	West, Rhylee	FPR	78%	1	0	11	8	3	6	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	6
34	Williams, Bailey	HFFL	82%	1	0	20	15	5	9	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	6
Rushed					3
Total (23 players)				15	15	388	225	163	104	30	49	46	46	16	13	32	62

R. Garcia replaced J. Busslinger.

Legend

ToG%: Time-on-Ground Percentage, GL: Goals, BH: Behinds, DI: Disposals, KI: Kicks, HB: Handballs, MK: Marks, HO: Hitouts, TA: Tackles, CL: Clearances, CR: Clangers, FF: Free Kicks For, FA: Free Kicks Against, RF: Rebounds Inside 50, IF: Inside 50s

Player Line-Up

Melbourne							Coach: Troy Chaplin
BACK							FOLLOWER		INTERCHANGE
	29	L. Bramble	27	J. Freijah	18	J. O'Donnell	11	M. Gawn (c)	13	C. Oliver
	36	K. Pickett	2	J. van Rooyen	18	J. Melksham	7	J. Viney (vc)	35	H. Petty
FORWARD							15	E. Langdon	3	C. Salem
HALF-BACK									32	T. Sparrow
	36	L. Cleary	7	R. Lobb	39	J. Johannisen			22	B. Howes
	37	K. Chandler	31	B. Fritsch	19	H. Langford
HALF-FORWARD
CENTRE
	13	O. Baker	20	E. Richards	31	B. Dale
	6	C. Windsor	5	C. Petracca	46	J. Culley	FOLLOWER		INTERCHANGE
CENTRE							44	T. English	5	J. Busslinger
HALF-FORWARD							4	M. Bontempelli (c)	30	L. McNeil
	34	B. Williams	33	A. Naughton	8	M. Kennedy	21	T. Liberatore (vc)	25	C. Poulter
	26	J. Adams	10	D. Turner	4	J. McVee			9	R. Sanders
HALF-BACK									38	R. Garcia
FORWARD
	23	L. Vandermeer	10	S. Darcy	14	R. West
	24	T. Rivers	25	T. McDonald	17	J. Bowey
BACK
Western Bulldogs							Coach: Luke Beveridge

Score Timeline

Quarter	Team	Scoring Event	Score			Time
Q1	WBUL	Ed Richards behind	0.0.0	-	0.1.1	02:16
	MELB	Jacob van Rooyen behind	0.1.1	-	0.1.1	03:20
	WBUL	Aaron Naughton goal	0.1.1	-	1.1.7	05:22
	WBUL	Tom Liberatore behind	0.1.1	-	1.2.8	07:00
	WBUL	Aaron Naughton behind	0.1.1	-	1.3.9	08:42
	MELB	Bayley Fritsch behind	0.2.2	-	1.3.9	10:38
	WBUL	Tim English behind	0.2.2	-	1.4.10	11:49
	WBUL	Sam Darcy goal	0.2.2	-	2.4.16	14:13
	WBUL	Matthew Kennedy behind	0.2.2	-	2.5.17	15:56
	MELB	Jake Melksham goal	1.2.8	-	2.5.17	17:51
	MELB	Kysaiah Pickett behind	1.3.9	-	2.5.17	19:13
	MELB	Kysaiah Pickett behind	1.4.10	-	2.5.17	19:58
	MELB	Jacob van Rooyen goal	2.4.16	-	2.5.17	21:53
	WBUL	Lachie Bramble goal	2.4.16	-	3.5.23	26:01
	WBUL	Joel Freijah behind	2.4.16	-	3.6.24	27:39
	MELB	Jai Culley goal	3.4.22	-	3.6.24	28:47
Q2	WBUL	Aaron Naughton goal	3.4.22	-	4.6.30	03:37
	MELB	Bayley Fritsch behind	3.5.23	-	4.6.30	04:46
	WBUL	Laitham Vandermeer behind	3.5.23	-	4.7.31	07:47
	WBUL	Joel Freijah behind	3.5.23	-	4.8.32	09:27
	MELB	Bayley Fritsch goal	4.5.29	-	4.8.32	10:28
	WBUL	Lachlan McNeil goal	4.5.29	-	5.8.38	12:32
	WBUL	Caleb Poulter behind	4.5.29	-	5.9.39	14:42
	WBUL	Rory Lobb behind	4.5.29	-	5.10.40	18:51
	MELB	Harry Petty behind	4.6.30	-	5.10.40	28:36
Q3	WBUL	Aaron Naughton goal	4.6.30	-	6.10.46	00:49
	MELB	Jacob van Rooyen behind	4.7.31	-	6.10.46	03:04
	WBUL	Aaron Naughton goal	4.7.31	-	7.10.52	04:31
	MELB	Kade Chandler goal	5.7.37	-	7.10.52	07:53
	WBUL	Tim English behind	5.7.37	-	7.11.53	10:01
	MELB	Bayley Fritsch goal	6.7.43	-	7.11.53	10:42
	MELB	Rushed behind	6.8.44	-	7.11.53	12:47
	MELB	Bayley Fritsch behind	6.9.45	-	7.11.53	13:30
	WBUL	Bailey Williams goal	6.9.45	-	8.11.59	14:10
	MELB	Kysaiah Pickett goal	7.9.51	-	8.11.59	18:05
	MELB	Harry Petty goal	8.9.57	-	8.11.59	20:19
	MELB	Jake Melksham goal	9.9.63	-	8.11.59	22:46
	WBUL	Sam Darcy goal	9.9.63	-	9.11.65	25:01
	MELB	Max Gawn goal	10.9.69	-	9.11.65	30:53
	MELB	Christian Petracca goal	11.9.75	-	9.11.65	32:52
Q4	WBUL	Rushed behind	11.9.75	-	9.12.66	01:57
	WBUL	Luke Cleary goal	11.9.75	-	10.12.72	03:06
	WBUL	Ed Richards goal	11.9.75	-	11.12.78	05:27
	WBUL	Rushed behind	11.9.75	-	11.13.79	06:52
	MELB	Harry Petty goal	12.9.81	-	11.13.79	08:22
	WBUL	Ed Richards goal	12.9.81	-	12.13.85	11:51
	WBUL	Riley Garcia goal	12.9.81	-	13.13.91	13:27
	MELB	Harvey Langford goal	13.9.87	-	13.13.91	14:59
	MELB	Blake Howes goal	14.9.93	-	13.13.91	19:20
	WBUL	Rhylee West goal	14.9.93	-	14.13.97	21:16
	WBUL	Aaron Naughton goal	14.9.93	-	15.13.103	22:39
	WBUL	Rushed behind	14.9.93	-	15.14.104	24:38
	WBUL	Joel Freijah behind	14.9.93	-	15.15.105	30:55
	MELB	Daniel Turner goal	15.9.99	-	15.15.105	32:06

Links

2025 AFL Season

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