Sometimes, it's tough to be the king.
If the defending AFL champions didn't know that already, they're fast finding it out.
The Western Bulldogs captured hearts last year with their first premiership since the 1950s.
But nine rounds into this season, they barely sit in the competition's top eight.
A 7-2 final quarter went against them this weekend after they had the lead at three-quarter-time and, with it, went the result against Geelong.
104-81 was the final score - against the Bulldogs.
But coach Luke Beveridge isn't panicking, making excuses, or blaming his players after getting only five wins from his opening nine games of 2017.
He says what his side needs is a more consistent performance across the team.
"I'm not going to hang any of our players out to dry. I'll never do that. The vast majority of our group were doing everything they could to win the game. Unfortunately, we need our 22 (players) week-to-week to have a really consistent and even contribution. We're almost there. We had the upper hand. The arm-wrestle was in our favour. We should have gone on with it."
All the talk in rugby league circles this week will be about the first State of Origin game, with lineups being named for the contest between New South Wales and Queensland in Brisbane, one week from Wednesday.
But on the club scene, this past weekend saw an important win for the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Three consecutive losses were threatening to derail a promising start to the season for a team that hasn't had much success in the last few years.
But the Dragons have roared back with a 30-14 win over the New Zealand Warriors.
They sit fifth in the competition standings.
Coach Paul McGregor credits his side getting back on the winner's list to their industry and approach.
"Outstanding. We've had a couple of tight defeats in the last three games. And the boys really deserved what they've done. (They've) come here with a real good attitude. They worked hard through the week. They made the opposition miss 57 tackles, which doesn't happen very often in NRL."
In rugby union, a rare ray of sunshine for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition.
They've claimed just their fourth win from eleven matches this season, beating the worst team in the beleaguered Australian conference, the Melbourne Rebels, 50-23.
The victory lifts them to second place in the Australian conference, behind the ACT Brumbies, keeping their hopes of the making the finals alive.
Fullback Israel Folau scored two of the Waratahs' eight tries in the win.
He's told Fox Sports that, looking forward to next week's clash in New Zealand against the Otago Highlanders, his side will, more or less, try and keep things simple.
"Look, I think we work on the same things regardless of who we're playing. We might tweak a few things here and there. But I think it comes down to our basic skills, and if we can execute (those). So I think those are the key areas of the game."
The Waratahs go into that clash next Saturday just one win behind the Brumbies.
And in motorsport, it was a big weekend in the Supercars championship at Winton in Victoria.
Scott McLaughlin of the Shell V-Power racing team won the season's ninth race, on Saturday.
Race Ten on Sunday, though, was as good as it gets for the Red Bull Holden racing team.
Shane van Gisbergen came first in that race and his team-mate, Jamie Whincup, came second.
Speaking to Fox Sports after the triumph, Van Gisbergen says he and Whincup going one-two at the apex of the race wasn't easy, especially against the efforts of championship leader Fabian Coulthard.
"Fabian was really quick at the end. So, when I got through to the lead, I had to try and put Jamie in between us, because I knew Fabian would be pushing. So, (it) worked out: got Jamie back into second, and a one-two. So stoked for all the guys."
Coulthard finished third in race ten.
He leads the drivers championship standings by four points over Whincup heading into the season's next race, in Darwin in four weeks time.
Share
