Coach Williams wins as Dogs destroy Port
Western Bulldogs' caretaker coach Paul Williams says it's not about him.
He knows a 10-goal trouncing of the AFL's most hapless side, Port Adelaide, doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.
But the Bulldogs' annihilation of the lacklustre Power on Sunday fuelled Williams' ambition to win his club's permanent head coaching job.
"A win is better than a loss, there is no doubt about that," Williams said after the Bulldogs dismantled Port for a 24.13 (157) to 15.7 (97) victory at AAMI Stadium.
"But I have said right from the start, this isn't about me and my ambition to be a senior coach.
"Every decision I have made so far in this short reign is for the betterment of the club, it's not about personal gain for me."
Williams, who repeated his desire to coach the Dogs next year, described himself as a "pretty relaxed sort of guy".
And the woeful Power gave him a stress-free first game as head coach after Rodney Eade's midweek sacking.
The Bulldogs smashed a spiritless Port with a 10-goal opening term while Port managed just one major, on the quarter-time siren. Game over.
Port, shellshocked after consecutive record defeats, were down 74 points at halftime.
The visibly tiring Bulldogs were outscored in the last half by Port, a small solace for the Power's second lowest home crowd of 14,169 spectators.
"Once you're 10 goals down, the game is over," Power coach Matthew Primus said.
"We want to win games of footy ... but we just didn't give ourselves an opportunity."
The Bulldogs showed no sympathy for the confidence-sapped Port, who have now conceded a whopping 78 goals in their past three matches.
Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd was superb, collecting 39 disposals and three goals, and his hardnut midfield ally Daniel Cross gathered 30 touches.
Soon to be retired spearhead Barry Hall booted six goals and first-gamer Jason Tutt enjoyed an extraordinary debut, slotting three goals with his first three kicks and adding another later in an accomplished 26-possession display.
Rugged onballers Callan Ward and Tom Liberatore (27 possessions) ruled the packs, smooth-moving Shaun Higgins was influential and the 'Dog defence had few worries, apart from Port's John Butcher.
The Power forward, in just his second game, only had six kicks but each was a goal.
The 20-year-old was a rare highlight on another dark day for Port, but his performance was akin to saying the Titanic had good lifeboats: it mattered little in the big picture as Port sunk to their 18th loss from 20 matches this season.
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