Sunday afternoon at the MCG will see a battle between two round one winners, as the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn lock up at the home of football for the first time since the 2016 semi final – and we all know what happened there. However, the Hawks have had the wood over the Bulldogs in the two meetings since.
As a matter of fact, the Hawks have won 12 of their last 16 games against the Bulldogs, dating back to 2008. Not shockingly, Hawthorn have come into this weekend as the favourites of the two following the wins of both sides last week. The Hawks' win against the Crows was perhaps the more impressive of the two, considering that they had to beat them over at the Adelaide Oval in front of a raucous crowd of over 50,000 and they did it without their best midfielder in Tom Mitchell.
The Western Bulldogs' round one victory over the Sydney Swans shouldn't be discredited either. Their first half last weekend was sensational, keeping the Swans to just a goal and their tackling pressure drew shades of their 2016 form. They did allow the Swans to come back in the second half of that game and nearly blew a 40-point lead completely – but you must give credit where it's due, they held their nerve for a well-deserved win.
It's going to be an exciting game of football this – it's going to take more than one game to fully see where both sides are heading in 2019. But so far, the signs from both teams are promising. One side will end the weekend two wins from two games.
The Teams
Western Bulldogs
No Change
B: Taylor Duryea, Zaine Cordy, Hayden Crozier HB: Caleb Daniel, Easton Wood, Matthew Suckling C: Lachie Hunter, Tom Liberatore, Jack Macrae HF: Billy Gowers, Josh Schache, Josh Dunkley F: Toby McLean, Aaron Naughton, Sam Lloyd FOL: Tim English, Marcus Bontempelli, Mitch Wallis INT: Bailey Smith, Ed Richards, Tory Dickson, Bailey Williams EMG: Lewis Young, Jackson Trengove, Pat Lipinski, Fergus Greene
For the first time since they won the flag in 2016, The Western Bulldogs go into Sunday's game with an unchanged line up. Meaning Matthew Suckling got through his fitness tests during the week after suffering from an ankle injury, courtesy of dodgy Marvel Stadium turf last Saturday night. Pat Lipinski had 36 touches in the VFL and Jackson Trengove kicked three goals as a forward, but both were very unlucky not to make the side.
I'm happy that Luke Beveridge has opted to retain the likes of Bailey Smith, who was a bit quiet on his debut last week, but I believe that he will be better for it in the long run. Also happy that Tory Dickson gets another run this week after missing a couple of shots on goal that he probably would've nailed a couple of years ago. Again, I think he'll be better for it as the season goes along – considering he missed a bit of the pre-season.
Hawthorn
IN: Tom Scully OUT: David Mirra
B: Blake Hardwick, James Frawley, Jack Scrimshaw HB: Shaun Burgoyne, James Sicily, Ben Stratton C: Harry Morrison, Liam Shiels, Jarman Impey HF: Jarryd Roughead, Conor Nash, Isaac Smith F: Luke Breust, Jack Gunston, Paul Puopolo FOL: Ben McEvoy, James Worpel, Jaeger O'Meara INT: Ricky Henderson, Jonathon Ceglar, James Cousins, Tom Scully EMG: David Mirra, Dylan Moore, Mitchell Lewis, Kaiden Brand
One change to the Hawks team that beat Adelaide last weekend. I wouldn't have imagined many people would have had Tom Scully making his Hawthorn debut this early in 2019. Just 12 months ago, Scully played his last game for GWS after a very nasty injury in round two last year. Following the end of 2018, he was then offloaded to the Hawks for the bargain basement price of a fourth-round pick. Everyone knows how damaging Scully's best football is, so to get him for that, could potentially be one of the biggest heists in AFL history if he can get back to his best.
David Mirra is the unlucky one to make way for Scully. I say unlucky because thought he was solid overall against the Crows last week, recording 16 disposals, seven marks and four rebound 50s across half-back. But there probably wouldn't have been many others who would've found themselves on the outer. They're either young and need games, or they're the veterans in the side that need to play. Mirra's a veteran of the game, but he was purely brought in as a depth player.
Recent History (Past 10 Meetings)
Round 16, 2018 – Marvel Stadium: Western Bulldogs 9.5.59 def by Hawthorn 19.8.122
Round 23, 2017 – Marvel Stadium: Hawthorn 15.9.99 def Western Bulldogs 13.12.90
Semi Final, 2016 – MCG: Hawthorn 12.12.84 def by Western Bulldogs 16.11.107
Round 3, 2016 – Marvel Stadium: Western Bulldogs 13.12.90 def by Hawthorn 14.9.93
Round 3, 2015 – York Park: Hawthorn 19.13.127 def Western Bulldogs 8.9.57
Round 19, 2014 – York Park: Hawthorn 16.11.107 def Western Bulldogs 6.9.45
Round 17, 2013 – York Park: Hawthorn 13.17.95 def Western Bulldogs 11.10.76
Round 16, 2012 – Marvel Stadium: Western Bulldogs 6.8.44 def by Hawthorn 17.14.116
Round 23, 2011 – MCG: Hawthorn 16.17.113 def Western Bulldogs 10.7.67 Round 10, 2011 – Marvel Stadium: Western Bulldogs 9.8.62 def by Hawthorn 13.13.91
Players To Watch
Western Bulldogs – Marcus Bontempelli
He was hands down the best player on the ground in last week's win against the Swans, but during the week, he's received a fair amount of praise from journalists far and wide. One particular journo (Who will remain nameless) declared that the Bont will overtake Dustin Martin and Patrick Dangerfield at the end of the 2019 season. If he can continue to put in performances like he did last Saturday night, then it's a real possibility. Having said that, I have no doubt that the Hawks' on-ballers will target him a bit this weekend and will be one of the key players for Hawthorn to shut down.
Hawthorn – James Worpel Alongside James Sicily in the defensive 50, I thought James Worpel was Hawthorn's best player las week in Adelaide. The second-year player recorded 27 disposals, five clearances, eight inside 50s and two goals – which speaks volumes about him as an individual. It's a hard ask for him to have these sort of performances week in and week out, but for the Hawks to win this Sunday, they would love another good performance from him. Alongside Jaeger O'Meara, James Cousins and Liam Shiels, these four showed they can stand up in the absence of Mitchell
Final Verdict – Western Bulldogs By Three Points
This is a game I have been genuinely sitting on the fence on for the most part of the week. Hawthorn perhaps looked the better of the two sides, and recent history will dictate that they are the favourite of the two. However, after seeing how the Bulldogs composed themselves when they looked absolutely out of it in the last quarter tells me that they are every chance to take this win here. I'm picking them to win a thriller, but it's not with confidence.
Probably an outside chance, but I would love to see Tom Liberatore get into the face of James Sicily pre-game and throughout the game. Sicily is an elite talent (26 disposals, 10 marks and a staggering 15 rebound 50s) and is the key in the back line. However, when he gets his feathers ruffled, he can be largely ineffective – See Carlton's Jed Lamb from a couple of years ago. If the Dogs can curb his influence on this game, then that will go a long way towards helping the Dogs for their second win of the season.