Round six opens up with a Friday night clash that – even I'll admit – may cause a number of grunts and groans, as the 16th-placed Western Bulldogs host the 18th-placed Carlton Blues under the roof of Etihad Stadium in a match that whilst it may not guarantee the excitement of a game deserving of the Friday night lights, there is still a certain amount of intrigue around this contest.
With these two bottom-four sides struggling to get any amount of continuity in their respective games, it's going to provide somewhat of a spectacle to see two ultimately young sides give it a red-hot contest – regardless of how poor either side uses the ball.
Last week, the Bulldogs seemingly went back to square-one with a demoralising loss to the Fremantle Dockers over in Perth. They were slow with the ball, adapted horribly with the greasy football and had no answers for Freo's on-ballers all throughout the game. They have proven that they can match sides above them and they showed against Sydney a couple of weeks ago that their best can give sides a scare.
However, like they showed last week, their worst can be absolutely putrid, and if they turn up in that sort of frame of mind, Carlton can definitely give them a beating. Despite being winless from five games, their have been patches all throughout those five games that have showed promise from Brendon Bolton's men. In round one, they opened up their season with five goals in quick succession over the reigning premiers.
But since then, the club, the coach and the players have faced an enormous amount of criticism in terms of where Carlton are really heading. Scoring has been a major issue even before Brendon Bolton was appointed coach of the club. The Blues have failed to score 100 points in 38 consecutive games and have averaged 67 points per game in 2018 - 16th in the league in this statistic after being last in the league in 2017 and 17th in the league in 2016.
Last week against a highly-fancied opponent in the West Coast Eagles, they looked very competitive and looked as if they were hungry for the ball once again. They eventually fell by 10 points to the Eagles, but when you consider that they did it with no captain Marc Murphy, no Sam Docherty – arguably their best player right now, and along with Matthew Kreuzer is has shown cracking form in recent times – it's very impressive that they stuck with them for four quarters.
In recent memory the Blues have struggled against the Dogs. Not only have they lost four of their past five encounters, but in their past three games against the Sons of the West, Carlton have only scored an average of 54 points a game. Their forward set up must change if they are to beat the Bulldogs. Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow are impressive youngsters they can build around, but they need everybody to fire up if they are to get up. It's going to be an intriguing battle – it may not be “sexy” football to watch, but embrace yourself for a scrap. The Teams
Western Bulldogs
IN: Lachie Hunter, Hayden Crozier, Bailey Williams OUT: Tory Dickson (Hamstring), Mitch Honeychurch, Lukas Webb (Both Omitted)
B: Matthew Suckling, Aaron Naughton, Zaine Cordy HB: Jason Johannisen, Easton Wood, Hayden Crozier C: Bailey Williams, Lachie Hunter, Ed Richards HF: Josh Dunkley, Marcus Bontempelli, Mitch Wallis F: Luke Dahlhaus, Tom Boyd, Billy Gowers FOL: Tim English, Toby McLean, Jack Macrae INT: Patrick Lipinski, Bailey Dale, Caleb Daniel, Lin Jong EMG: Lewis Young, Jackson Trengove, Lukas Webb, Mitch Honeychurch The Western Bulldogs have made three changes ahead of this game, with only one forced out. Tory Dickson will miss the next 4-6 weeks with a hamstring injury suffered in the loss to the Dockers last week. Mitch Honeychurch and Lukas Webb are dropped for this game - Honeychurch in particular a bit stiff to miss out after what I thought was a solid effort in a team that got belted.
They will welcome back Lachie Hunter from suspension - a critical part to the team’s set up, Bailey Williams also back after missing a week with an ear infection, whilst former Docker Hayden Crozier is also back after injuring his knee in the opening round of the season. It’ll be a bit exciting to see what this guy can do after he did his knee early in that match.
Carlton IN: Caleb Marchbank, Matthew Kennedy OUT: Jed Lamb, Jarrod Garlett (Both Omitted) B: Lachie Plowman, Liam Jones, Caleb Marchbank HB: Aaron Mullett, Sam Rowe, Kade Simpson C: Zac Fisher, Patrick Cripps, Sam Kerridge HF: Sam Petrevski-Seton, Charlie Curnow, Dale Thomas F: Jack Silvagni, Levi Casboult, Matthew Wright FOL: Andrew Phillips, Ed Curnow, Paddy Dow INT: Matthew Kennedy, Harry McKay, Cam O’Shea, Lochie O’Brien EMG: Jarrod Garlett, Jed Lamb, Matt Shaw, Kym Lebois
The Blues have made two unforced changes to the side that went down gallantly to the West Coast Eagles by 10 points last Saturday evening. The backline will be bolstered with the return of Caleb Marchbank into the side - easily a player that is in Carlton’s best 22 and they will benefit from having him back into the team. Ex-Giant Matthew Kennedy is also back in the side after missing with injury.
Making way for the pair is former Gold Coast Sun Jarrod Garlett and Jed Lamb. The Blues will be without Matthew Kreuzer and Jacob Weitering this week either after they both missed last week with injuries. Levi Casboult will play his 100th game for the Blues Friday in what has been somewhat of a bumpy career. Strong hands and a kicking-style that was once considered laughable, he has been a very solid contributor in recent seasons.
Recent History (Past 10 Meetings)
Round 17, 2017 – Melbourne Cricket Ground: Carlton 9.8.62 def by Western Bulldogs 12.10.82 Round 4, 2016 – Etihad Stadium: Carlton 7.7.49 def by Western Bulldogs 13.7.85 Round 14, 2015 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 9.10.64 def Carlton 7.11.53
Round 5, 2014 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 13.13.91 def by Carlton 18.11.119
Round 20, 2013 – Etihad Stadium: Carlton 13.11.89 def by Western Bulldogs 16.21.117
Round 17, 2012 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 12.12.84 def by Carlton 16.6.102
Round 16, 2011 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 14.12.96 def Carlton 9.15.69 Round 15, 2010 – Etihad Stadium: Carlton 8.10.58 def by Western Bulldogs 20.6.126
Round 5, 2009 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 13.12.90 def by Carlton 21.7.133
Round 17, 2008 – Etihad Stadium: Western Bulldogs 15.8.98 def by Carlton 18.18.126
Players To Watch
Western Bulldogs
Billy Gowers
For those who don't about the AFL history of Billy Gowers, he was previously rookie-listed by the Carlton Football Club ahead of the 2015 AFL Season. Whilst he didn't play a game for the Blues, he used the experience to excel playing for Footscray in the VFL and was picked by the Dogs last year as rookie-listed player. Since then, he has been a pretty decent find up forward for the Bulldogs. He has played every game and has kicked 6.6 from his five starts. I believe he's gradually improving with every game and could be one that is in for a big game.
Luke Dahlhaus I'm putting the spotlight on Luke Dahlhaus after what I can only describe as a completely underwhelming start to the year. So far, he's averaged 22.8 disposals per game, which is the lowest that's been since 2014, however he's averaging career best numbers in marks (5.2 per game), clearances (four per game) and is averaging okay numbers in inside 50s and tackles – 4.2 tackles per game and 3.4 inside 50s. Kicking however has been a huge issue in his game right now and he'll want to get back to his best here.
Carlton
Patrick Cripps Having watched Carlton's game against West Coast last week, there was one player who was an absolute standout, and it was this man. He's started the 2018 year so well, he recorded nine clearances, seven tackles and 36 disposals against Richmond – 25 of those being contested and last week against the Eagles, standing in as captain for the injured Marc Murphy, he amassed 34 disposals, 11 tackles, eight clearances and seven inside 50s in a dominant display. The Bulldogs must put some time into him if they are any chance to win.
Harry McKay A top-10 pick back in the 2015 AFL Draft, Harry McKay showed during last week's game against the Eagles that he is one player that will be an incredibly dangerous player in the future, and will be one player that will be a huge factor in this result. If he can emulate his four-goal haul against the Eagles last week against a depleted Bulldogs' defence, then it could be the difference in this match. He's very tall (200cm tall) and a decent size at 95-96kgs, he could be a handful for the Bulldog defenders.
Final Verdict
I'm picking this without any conviction whatsoever. The Western Bulldogs would be absolutely keen to bounce back from a dismal performance after a fortnight that had plenty of promise. But make no mistake about it, Brendon Bolton will have his Blues up and about for this one.
The thing that Luke Beveridge and the Bulldogs must fix is their tackling issues. They are the worst in the league at tackling, averaging 52.6 tackles per game. It was clearly evident that they are so with the number of broken tackles last week against the Dockers and the number of times they allowed them to waltz out of stoppages. Patrick Cripps could be in for a massive game if the Dogs were anything like last week.
But, I predict, despite coming back from Perth on a six-day break, I think the Dogs have enough to win in what I think will be a bit of scrappy affair. Marcus Bontempelli recorded 30 disposals and kicked two goals last time these two sides met and will need to lift after he was kept pretty quiet in terms of his influence on the contest last week, and Jason Johannisen will need a big game as well, because for what he was paid last year, he's not doing nearly enough to solidfy that investment.
Western Bulldogs By 21 Points
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