After another week of intense scrutiny from the media, including rumours of player unrest emerging from the shadows once again, the Western Bulldogs, sitting bottom of the ladder heading into round three, host the Essendon Bombers in what is looming as a must-win game for the Sons of the West.
You could not have sculptured a worse start to the season for the Bulldogs so far. Injuries have played their part so far with veterans Dale Morris and Liam Picken out with knee and concussion issues respectively before the season even began. An 82-point thumping from Greater Western Sydney was made worse when Tom Liberatore ruptured an ACL for the second time in his career.
Last week against the Eagles they were let down again with a second-quarter lull costing them dearly, as West Coast as they piled on six unanswered goals en route to a 51-point trouncing. Lots of questions have been asked about the collective effort of the men that have donned the red, white and blue over the past fortnight. They've been smashed in contested possessions, and have been outworked completely.
Despite the fact that they face an uphill task on Sunday afternoon, the Bulldogs have won the past three encounters with the Bombers, which included an exciting encounter the last time these two sides met, which included plenty of fast-paced football and exciting moments all throughout the match.
Essendon started the 2018 season well, overcoming Adelaide in the opening round, before going down to the Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium last Saturday night. Expect a Bombers side that will be fired up this week, particularly former Bulldog Jake Stringer, who plays his old side since his less-than-harmonious exit from Whitten Oval.
The Bulldogs will welcome back a few familiar faces this weekend, but will it be enough to get them over the line for their first win of the year?
The Teams
Western Bulldogs IN: Tory Dickson, Jack Redpath, Mitch Wallis OUT: Jordan Roughead (Concussion), Jackson Trengove (Shoulder), Lukas Webb (Omitted)
B: Zaine Cordy, Aaron Naughton, Bailey Williams HB: Matthew Suckling, Easton Wood, Lachie Hunter C: Josh Dunkley, Luke Dahlhaus, Bailey Dale HF: Jason Johannisen, Marcus Bontempelli, Lin Jong F: Tory Dickson, Jack Redpath, Billy Gowers FOL: Tim English, Toby McLean, Jack Macrae INT: Mitch Wallis, Ed Richards, Mitch Honeychurch, Caleb Daniel EMG: Tom Boyd, Fletcher Roberts, Lukas Webb, Shane Biggs Whilst there are a couple of big outs heading into this clash, the Western Bulldogs will welcome back premiership forward Tory Dickson alongside Mitch Wallis and Jack Redpath for their first games of the 2018 season. Dickson and Wallis have both spent the past fortnight in the VFL, with both men kicking four goals each last weekend in the final practice match, whilst Redpath returns from a suspension that should've ended last week, but nevertheless, he is a vital in as the Dogs would love to have a big body down forward.
Jordan Roughead suffered a concussion during last week's loss to the Eagles and will sit this game out, whilst Jackson Trengove will spend the next few weeks on the sideline with a cracked shoulder blade, leaving the club short on talls. This leaves Tim English, in just his fourth AFL game, will have to shoulder most of the ruck load in this contest. Lukas Webb has been dropped after his game last week. Essendon
IN: Orazio Fantasia, David Myers, Mark Baguley OUT: Kyle Langford, Michael Hartley, Josh Begley (All Omitted) B: Matt Dea, Michael Hurley, Adam Saad HB: Brendon Goddard, Mitch Brown, Conor McKenna C: Dyson Heppell, Jake Stringer, Andrew McGrath HF: Darcy Parish, Cale Hooker, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti F: Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher, James Stewart FOL: Tom Bellchambers, David Zaharakis, Devon Smith INT: Josh Green, Orazio Fantasia, David Myers, Mark Baguley EMG: Michael Hartley, Shaun McKernan, Kyle Langford, Josh Begley
The Bombers have made three changes themselves ahead of this game, headlined with the return of Orazio Fantasia after missing the first couple of games with knee issues. Fantasia kicked 39 goals in 20 games for the Bombers last season and looms as a huge threat in this contest. David Myers also comes back in to provide grunt in the midfield, whilst Mark Baguley should make a strong contribution to the backline.
Recent History (Last 10 Matches) Round 19, 2017 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 19.13.127 def Essendon 13.19.97 Round 22, 2016 – Etihad Stadium: Essendon 7.11.53 def by Western Bulldogs 14.9.93 Round 18, 2015 – Etihad Stadium: Essendon 5.10.40 def by Western Bulldogs 19.13.127
Round 18, 2014 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 14.10.94 def by Essendon 15.11.101 Round 7, 2014 – Etihad Stadium: Essendon 10.13.73 def Western Bulldogs 9.11.65
Round 16, 2013 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 14.6.90 def by Essendon 18.13.121
Round 14, 2012 – Etihad Stadium: Essendon 21.14.140 def Western Bulldogs 8.8.56
Round 21, 2011 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 15.11.101 def by Essendon 23.12.150
Round 1, 2011 – Etihad Stadium: Essendon 16.17.113 def Western Bulldogs 8.10.58
Round 22, 2010 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 17.5.107 def Essendon 11.12.78
Players To Watch
Western Bulldogs
Caleb Daniel
In what was his first game of the year, last week was not Caleb Daniel's finest hour, he got the football very few times and when he did get the pill, he struggled mightily to do anything with it. But then again, you could say that to a fair portion of that 22 from last Sunday. Nonetheless, he is one that needs to rebound this week. As we all should know by now, his best football is very dangerous and capable of tearing games apart.
Billy Gowers
In just the two games so far this season, Billy Gowers has shown that he has the capabilities to be a good forward. Despite his inaccuracy in front of goal last week (1.3), he found himself in very good positions more often than not, and if he continues to work on his finishing in front of the big sticks, then he'll be a very valuable pick up. It's going to be interesting to see how he manages to play with Dickson and Redpath back in the team.
Essendon
Jake Stringer
It's going to be very fascinating to see how the Bulldogs fans react to someone who was once considered a fan favourite of the club. It's hard to believe it was less than three years ago that Jake Stringer was an All-Australian forward and also a premiership player. Could be in for a big day if the Dogs play the way they have in the past couple of weeks. After a solid first round performance against the Crows, was hardly seen in Essendon's loss to Fremantle.
Joe Daniher
After booting 65 goals last year, Daniher has only managed two goals in two games at the start of this year. Could've single-handedly dragged the Bombers over the line the last time these two sides met, kicking 6.4 in the loss. Given the state of the Bulldogs defence he is in optimum position to replicate his performance last year, perhaps even better it. Zaine Cordy did a solid job on him in the final quarter last time. Could he be the man to get the job first? Final Verdict The Western Bulldogs have lost their opening two games by a combined total of 133 points - that is how abysmal they are travelling at the present time. Questions still remain about whether or not Essendon are a legitimate premiership contender, but they should knock off the Bulldogs here.
The Dogs haven't been 0-3 since 2012 when they were under Brendan McCartney, but if there is one glimmer of hope, is that the Bombers play a fast-paced sort of game, which means defensively, they're not so good. In 2017, they conceded an average of 91 points per game, which was seventh-worst in the league. If they can avoid bombing long inside 50 - which plays to the advantage of Michael Hurley - then perhaps the Dogs are in with the chance, but unless they can sustain four quarters of effort, then I'm going to tip the Bombers to win by a considerable margin.
Essendon By 34 Points