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The Match
Western Bulldogs vs Gold Coast Suns. Saturday 19th of May 2012 @ TIO Stadium, Darwin. First Bounce 7.40pm
Last Time Around
R14 2011 at Carrara
WBD 17.8.110 def GCS 13.10.88
The Form Line
After a month of uninspiring form, the Western Bulldogs have an opportunity to go to 4 wins and 4 losses. Scrappy wins against Melbourne and GWS were followed by a heartbreaking loss to Collingwood, with 4 late goals blowing out the result. The Dogs finally got some reward for effort with a hard fought upset win against North Melbourne.
The Suns are holding up the ladder with Melbourne, winless after 7 rounds. Encouraging recent matches against Essendon, North Melbourne and an unlucky loss against Fremantle were offset with a disappointing loss last week, becoming the first victim of the Greater Western Sydney Giants, a result that had some media commentators questioning the tenure of coach Guy McKenna.
The Medical Room
The Bulldogs backline must be walking on eggshells, with key defenders Dale Morris and Tom Williams, as well as Rebounding defender Easton Wood all unavailable, as well as Lukas Markovic still under a cloud. Midfielder Adam Cooney will miss this week after being a late withdrawl against the Roos, and the Dogs still await the return of youngsters Christian Howard and Jason Tutt, and veteran Lindsay Gilbee
The suns aren't doing much better for defenders, with Nathan Bock gone for the season and Jarrod Harbrow out until at least Round 16. David Swallow will miss 8 weeks with a knee injury incurred against GWS, with the club taking the opportunity to promote StKilda discard Andrew McQualter for another shot at the bigtime. Young ruckman Dan Gorringe will also miss.
The Match-ups
This is how I think some of the match-ups will pan out.
Ablett vs Picken
North Melbourne showed their hand early on in Liam's tagging job on Brent Harvey, taking every possible opportunity to try and physically intimidate the dogs Terrier. It backfired spectacularly and Harvey was a non-factor.
Ablett is the best midfielder in the competition and stopping him goes a long way to limiting Gold Coast chances. Although virtually untaggable this is the sort of job Liam thrives on.
Griffen vs Brennan
As much as I'd pay a truckload of money to watch Ryan Griffen go head to head with Ablett, I'll settle for a duel against the athletic Jared Brennan, who remains an underrated midfielder in my opinion.
Minson/Roughead vs Smith/Fraser
The Gold Coast's ruck recruit against the bloke they should have recruited. Scott Clayton was keen on Minson but was overruled, and this year the dogs have reaped the benefits of that decision. Having said that, Zac Smith is a very talented ruckman, and Roughead will need to work hard if he's to make the second ruck spot his.
Lake vs Day
Last week GWS veteran Chad Cornes had a field day running of Sam Day. All Australian Brian Lake, who is finally returning to career best form, must be licking his lips at the prospect of putting his contested marking, counter-attacking style to good use against the Gold Coast
The Prediction
The past fortnight has showed that the Bulldogs are starting to really understand the game plan that Rookie coach Brendan McCartney has put forward, and last week's upset win against the Roos, and to a lesser extent the scare given to the Magpies the previous week, have had more to do with the Bulldogs hard work around the ball than what some would consider the poor form of the opposition. Intensive pressure and winning contested ball at all costs have become the order of the day.
Darwin is known for its hot humid conditions when the AFL comes to town, and these conditions must surely favour the sun-loving Gold Coast outfit. Unfortunately I doubt thatthe form of their captain and the conditions will be enough to generate an upset, and I see the Bulldogs winning rather comfortably.
Dogs by 56 points.
Western Bulldogs vs Gold Coast Suns. Saturday 19th of May 2012 @ TIO Stadium, Darwin. First Bounce 7.40pm
Last Time Around
R14 2011 at Carrara
WBD 17.8.110 def GCS 13.10.88
The Form Line
After a month of uninspiring form, the Western Bulldogs have an opportunity to go to 4 wins and 4 losses. Scrappy wins against Melbourne and GWS were followed by a heartbreaking loss to Collingwood, with 4 late goals blowing out the result. The Dogs finally got some reward for effort with a hard fought upset win against North Melbourne.
The Suns are holding up the ladder with Melbourne, winless after 7 rounds. Encouraging recent matches against Essendon, North Melbourne and an unlucky loss against Fremantle were offset with a disappointing loss last week, becoming the first victim of the Greater Western Sydney Giants, a result that had some media commentators questioning the tenure of coach Guy McKenna.
The Medical Room
The Bulldogs backline must be walking on eggshells, with key defenders Dale Morris and Tom Williams, as well as Rebounding defender Easton Wood all unavailable, as well as Lukas Markovic still under a cloud. Midfielder Adam Cooney will miss this week after being a late withdrawl against the Roos, and the Dogs still await the return of youngsters Christian Howard and Jason Tutt, and veteran Lindsay Gilbee
The suns aren't doing much better for defenders, with Nathan Bock gone for the season and Jarrod Harbrow out until at least Round 16. David Swallow will miss 8 weeks with a knee injury incurred against GWS, with the club taking the opportunity to promote StKilda discard Andrew McQualter for another shot at the bigtime. Young ruckman Dan Gorringe will also miss.
The Match-ups
This is how I think some of the match-ups will pan out.
Ablett vs Picken
North Melbourne showed their hand early on in Liam's tagging job on Brent Harvey, taking every possible opportunity to try and physically intimidate the dogs Terrier. It backfired spectacularly and Harvey was a non-factor.
Ablett is the best midfielder in the competition and stopping him goes a long way to limiting Gold Coast chances. Although virtually untaggable this is the sort of job Liam thrives on.
Griffen vs Brennan
As much as I'd pay a truckload of money to watch Ryan Griffen go head to head with Ablett, I'll settle for a duel against the athletic Jared Brennan, who remains an underrated midfielder in my opinion.
Minson/Roughead vs Smith/Fraser
The Gold Coast's ruck recruit against the bloke they should have recruited. Scott Clayton was keen on Minson but was overruled, and this year the dogs have reaped the benefits of that decision. Having said that, Zac Smith is a very talented ruckman, and Roughead will need to work hard if he's to make the second ruck spot his.
Lake vs Day
Last week GWS veteran Chad Cornes had a field day running of Sam Day. All Australian Brian Lake, who is finally returning to career best form, must be licking his lips at the prospect of putting his contested marking, counter-attacking style to good use against the Gold Coast
The Prediction
The past fortnight has showed that the Bulldogs are starting to really understand the game plan that Rookie coach Brendan McCartney has put forward, and last week's upset win against the Roos, and to a lesser extent the scare given to the Magpies the previous week, have had more to do with the Bulldogs hard work around the ball than what some would consider the poor form of the opposition. Intensive pressure and winning contested ball at all costs have become the order of the day.
Darwin is known for its hot humid conditions when the AFL comes to town, and these conditions must surely favour the sun-loving Gold Coast outfit. Unfortunately I doubt thatthe form of their captain and the conditions will be enough to generate an upset, and I see the Bulldogs winning rather comfortably.
Dogs by 56 points.
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