From before the opening bounce, the Western Bulldogs made it clear they were up for a battle.
The centre-square scuffle at Etihad Stadium signalled the Bulldogs’ determination to take it up to St Kilda and they eventually scored an upset nine-point AFL win.
It was only their second win in 20 games.
Midfielder Koby Stevens, who was best afield with 31 disposals and three goals, said the push-and-shove immediately before the opening bounce was no accident.
“We wanted to impose ourselves,” Stevens said.
“They’ve pushed us around in the past and they went after a few of our young players last year.
“We noticed that through the week and we wanted to go after them early and put a stamp on the game.”
The win also represented a return to form for Stevens, who has been up and down this season since joining the ‘Dogs from West Coast.
“He wanted to come back to Victoria and really wanted to come and play at our club, which is so important,” said coach Brendan McCartney.
“Experience tells me that when you have good young people who just crave opportunity and want to come to your club, there’s something about your club that they like and appreciate.”
After struggling for form over the last few weeks, Stevens said he felt much better in Saturday’s twilight match at Etihad Stadium.
But the most important thing was that they finally won again after seven straight defeats.
The Bulldogs had come under increasing scrutiny this week following the loss to Gold Coast.
“We’ve been knocked around the head a bit the last eight weeks and the best thing I love about the boys is they take it and they get up and they get to work the next day,” Stevens said.