That was a thrilling contest at the SCG, it had just about everything.

Goals from second-gamers, five-goal hauls, miracle kicks and great marks and wasteful kicking and effort right to the end.

Who could ask for more?

We'll be back tomorrow for a big Saturday of footy, starting with the Suns hosting the Demons at Carrara, then Hawthorn vs North Melbourne in Launceston.

We'll wrap up the day with Collingwood vs West Coast at Docklands.

You can join us again then, but for now, thanks for staying with us on the blog, and good night! 

The Western Bulldogs have given their AFL finals hopes another shot in the arm with an entertaining nine-point win over Sydney.

Joel Freijah kicked four goals as the Bulldogs seized control early and resisted a strong Swans fightback to post the 16.9 (105) to 14.12 (96) victory at the SCG on Friday night.

It was the Bulldogs' third-straight win and improved their record to 9-6, solidifying their spot in the top eight, while the Swans (6-9) face an uphill battle to play finals.

Bulldogs superstar Marcus Bontempelli (18 disposals, one goal) celebrated his 250-game milestone but was upstaged by his protege Freijah, who kicked a career-best four majors from 23 touches.

Key forwards Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton.added three goals each against an undersized Sydney defence, who lost Tom McCartin (illness) before the bounce and Dane Rampe (calf tightness) mid-game.

Swans superstar Isaac Heeney threatened to drag his side over the line with five goals and ruckman Brodie Grundy was outstanding after quarter-time.

Tom Papley lit a fuse when he targeted Darcy before the bounce and the Bulldogs' spearhead responded with the first two goals of the match.

Both were teed up by Tim English, who had three goal assists in the first term alone, and the Dogs led 4.2 to 3.5 after term one.

Darcy's brilliant finish on the run kick-started the second quarter and another two goals from Naughton helped the visitors skip 28 points clear before the main break.

But the Swans, despite a series of bad misses from set shots, hit back with three consecutive majors to trim the margin to nine points by halftime.

Sydney's Heeney and the Bulldogs' Freijah lit up the third quarter at opposite ends — kicking four goals and three respectively — and the lead changed hands six times as the teams repeatedly traded blows.

At one point the Dogs kicked four consecutive goals to reassert their authority, but Heeney's fourth meant the teams kicked 6.1 apiece in a rollicking third term.

The contest became an arm-wrestle in the final quarter and the Bulldogs hung on, with Hayden McLean blowing a late change to set up a grandstand finish.

McLean's miss with about one minute left continued the trend of the night, with the wayward Swans kicking 4.10 from set shots to the Dogs' 8.5.

Sydney swingman Aaron Francis faces scrutiny over a swinging arm to Lachie Bramble's body.

Francis and direct opponent Rory Lobb can also expect fines over their prolonged wrestling match in the final term.

AAP

The big on-field drama tonight was definitely the surface at the SCG. I lost count of the number of players who ended up on the turf because they couldn't hold their feet.

The Andrea Bocelli concert earlier in the year has been labelled as the main reason for the SCG being as bad as it is.

But that's been months, and the surface is still awful.

Players came close to being injured out there. 

There could have been a string of incidents that could have ended terribly for players, but this one with Bailey Williams demonstrates the point perfectly. 

The Swans fans at the SCG were pretty unhappy with the umpires at various stages during that game, and certainly not all the decisions went the way of the home side.

But the final free kick count was 22-16 in Sydney's favour.

The bottom line is that Sydney could - and perhaps should - have won that, if they were able to take their chances (aside from the brilliant Isaac Heeney).

Whereas every time the Swans closed in, or went ahead briefly, the Bulldogs were always able to kick the answering goal.

That, in the end, was probably the difference between the two sides. 

Marcus Bontempelli has spoken to Channel Seven in the rooms after the game.

The skipper has made his 250 games, and there were clearly a lot of his family who were there at the SCG.

Bontempelli paid tribute to them for helping with his footy journey.

"It has been such a long journey. As you know, they see the ups and downs," Bontempelli said.

"They really help you through those down periods and at different points you do feel a little bit blue and you are trying to get through tougher periods which we have had at the football club. Especially my fiancee.

"Often partners wear the brunt of that emotional toll when you come home, you are exhausted and moody and you are trying to navigate another week of football and disappointment at times.

"You lean on them so much. It is nice they all made the trip up and we can celebrate with a win tonight. Nicer than a sombre loss for sure."

• Rd 17: vs Fremantle (SCG)

• Rd 18: vs St Kilda (Docklands)

• Rd 19: vs North Melbourne (SCG)

• Rd 20: vs GWS (Sydney Showground)

These are all winnable games, but the Swans can't be counted on to get the job done. In any case, three games and heap of percentage is too much to make up at this point, barring a winning run of huge proportions.

Rd 17: vs North Melbourne (Docklands)

Rd 18: vs Adelaide (Docklands)

Rd 19: vs Brisbane (Gabba)

Rd 20: vs Essendon (Docklands)

This is an inviting set of games, three at home - the big question is the Lions at the Gabba, and also the Crows at Docklands.

But win three of those four, and that should consolidate their spot in the eight.

The crowd has thinned out after the Swans loss, but the players are gathered for a guard of honour for Marcus Bontempelli.

He gets chaired off by Aaron Naughton and Tom Liberatore, and the smiles are all on the Bulldogs after that exhausting win.

Well done to The Bont, he didn't have the biggest game, but his 18 touches were all worthwhile, he set up a couple of goals and snapped a beauty himself.

The siren goes, and two sets of tired players just stand there, exhausted.

But that is a vital win for the Bulldogs, keeping them in the eight and setting up a run for finals. For Sydney, they gave it everything, but their kicking for goal and inability to make the final pass when it counted caught up with them.

The Bulldogs go fifth, while the Swans are well out of contention.

The Swans have a chance in the final minute, they get it together and hit Hayden McLean inside 50.

But he hits the post!

That's the game.