- A football fan suffered an embarrassing moment on Thursday night
- The incident took place prior to the Bulldogs win against St Kilda
A footy fan appeared to pull his hamstring during the coin toss ahead of Thursday night’s clash between the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda.
Burgeoning superstar Sam Darcy has kicked three goals on return from his knee injury to help lift the free-scoring Western Bulldogs to a comprehensive 72-point win over St Kilda.
However, there was an agonising moment for the footy fan before the match, as he stepped into the middle of the oval at the Marvel Stadium to flip the coin.
Stepping forward with his right foot, he flicked the coin up into the air, but immediately appeared to wince in pain while hobbling on one leg.
Less than eight weeks after fearing his season was over, Darcy was an ever-present threat in the Bulldogs’ thumping 20.12 (132) to 8.12 (60) victory at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
The Dogs seized control early and comfortably improved their record to 7-6, while St Kilda fell to 5-8 with the top-eight slipping away.
A footy fan appeared to pull his hamstring in an embarrassing moment prior to the Bulldogs clash against St Kilda on Thursday
The fan had appeared to perform the toss but instead was left grimacing while grabbing his hamstring
Bailey Dale (26 disposals), Matt Kennedy (28) and key defender Rory Lobb (17) were all influential as the Bulldogs outscored their opponents in every quarter and posted their highest total of the season.
Darcy finished with 3.2 from 19 disposals, while Aaron Naughton (three goals), Ryley Sanders, Buku Khamis and Kennedy (two each) also hit the scoreboard.
Marcus Bontempelli was restricted to 14 disposals under close attention from Marcus Windhager, and took a nasty knee to the ribs in a second-quarter marking contest.
Windhager (16 disposals, one goal) worked tirelessly for St Kilda, with regular ball-winners Jack Sinclair (30 touches) and Nasaiah Wanganeen-Milera (31) busy.
But the Saints were well beaten, losing a lop-sided inside-50 count 68-40.
And they have cause for concern over Hunter Clark, who faces scrutiny from the match review officer for a dangerous tackle on Matt Kennedy.
Zak Jones could also be looked at over an off-the-ball bump that floored James O’Donnell.
Darcy was rated the No.1 player in the competition before he went down injured in round six and provided an instant presence on return.
The man had thrown the coin in the air but appeared to immediately pull up in agony
The Bulldogs would go on to thump St Kilda 20.12 (132) to 8.12 (60) at Marvel Stadium
Bailey Dale (pictured) took 26 disposals as he and Sam Darcy were the stand outs
St Kilda suffered their fifth defeat by the Bulldogs in their last six outings since the clubs met in the elimination final at the Gabba
Teammates weren’t shy about targeting the 205cm forward early and he had several ‘nearly’ moments, settling for one goal as the Bulldogs took a 4.2 to 1.4 lead to quarter-time.
Without a touch in the first term, Naughton twice out-muscled direct opponent Callum Wilkie and kicked goals as the Dogs’ buffer ballooned to 41 points in the second quarter.
Three late majors kept the Saints’ slim chances alive at half-time, but they were brushed aside after the main break.
St Kilda fans in the crowd of 20,508 were incensed by a 15-7 free-kick count in favour of the Bulldogs in the first half.
But they could have few complaints about the result after seeing their team thoroughly outplayed.
It was the Bulldogs’ fifth win in six outings against St Kilda since the clubs met in an elimination final at the Gabba in 2020.
