Four goals from star forward Nyakoat Dojiok has inspired the North Melbourne Werribee Kangaroos to a 21-point win over the Western Bulldogs.

In their first meeting since last year’s Grand Final, the Kangaroos ground out a hard-fought 6.7 (43) to 3.4 (22) win over the Bulldogs in wet conditions on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the Bulldogs holding a slender three-point lead at the main break, four goals to zero in the second half from the hosts was enough to seal the win at Arden Street.

Maddie Di Cosmo (24 disposals, seven clearances) was damaging once again out of the middle, fighting hard in and around the contest to get her hands on the footy, while two brilliant snaps saw her cap off her performance with a couple of goals.

Alana Barba also stood up in tough conditions, battling relentlessly through a number of stoppages to pick up game-highs of 32 disposals and 12 clearances, in addition to her tackle pressure in which she laid seven tackles.

KANGAROOS v BULLDOGS Full match coverage and stats

Dojiok soccer magic

Nyakoat Dojiok’s goal was the highlight of the first half, using her soccer skills to kick her first of four. The star forward made the most of the conditions, soccering the ball off the ground all the way through an open forward line to increase the margin to nine points.

The difference

With scoring opportunities already hard to come by, a resolute Kangaroos defence made it even harder for the Bulldogs, with players like Stella Reid (14 disposals, nine intercepts) and Nicole Hayes (seven disposals, five intercepts) standing up to keep the visitors goalless in the second half, while the former also set up Dojiok’s fourth goal with a long bomb to the top of the goalsquare.

The ladder now

The victory sees the Roos jump the Bulldogs into second position, pending other results, clocking up a 4-1 record in the process to start their premiership defence.

What the coach said

VFLW coach Brett Gourley on the win: “I was so pleased. To come up against a team that had about 10 AFLW players in their side today and to perform the way we did was just outstanding. It was a pretty complete performance. We defended really well and our contest work was good, and we were able to get really good time in forward half as a result of that.”

On Barba and Di Cosmo: “I thought Alana Barba and Maddie Di Cosmo in particular were just outstanding. The way in which they were able to kill the game at the end and get repeat stoppages was fantastic. Their game awareness and ability to understand the conditions was brilliant today.”

On Dojiok: “She is just a phenomenal athlete. She can do things that nobody else can do. To kick four goals on a day like today, she is so valuable to us and we are incredibly fortunate to have her on our side. She just continues to perform week in, week out, and the scary thing is she hasn’t even hit her best yet, so we are really excited to see what she can do for the rest of the season as well.”

Next up 

North Melbourne Werribee will travel to take on Collingwood at Victoria Park on Sunday, May 25. The opening bounce is scheduled for 10.05am AEST.

NORTH MELBOURNE WERRIBEE       2.3    2.3    4.5    6.7   (43)
WESTERN BULLDOGS     2.0    3.0    3.2    3.4   (22) 

GOALS 
North Melbourne Werribee: Dojiok 4, Di Cosmo 2
Western Bulldogs: McLeod, Bishop, McDonald

BEST
North Melbourne Werribee: Barba, Di Cosmo, Dojiok, Blair, Ryan, Reid