After a badly-needed victory over the Carlton Football Club last weekend, the Western Bulldogs face a massive task to make it back-to-back wins as they host Collingwood on Sunday Afternoon at Marvel Stadium. It’ll be the second time this season that the two sides have met, and if the first encounter was any indicator, this could be an interesting game to watch come Sunday.
Before their bye last weekend, Collingwood have been travelling well and have firmly situated themselves in the top four at the midway mark of the 2019 season. Before their bye, the last time they took the field, they were clinical against Melbourne on Queen’s Birthday. The last time these two sides met, the Pies overcame a stiff challenge from the Bulldogs to run out 14-point winners.
Collingwood have been well placed for this game for a while now. However, since the win against Melbourne, they have been rocked by the betting scandal surrounding their rising star Jaidyn Stephenson, who was eventually hit with a 10-match suspension for placing bets on Collingwood games and himself. How the Pies respond to what has been a rough week in the media will be interesting to see.
How the Bulldogs come out this weekend will also be fascinating to watch. Last Saturday night, they barely avoided another loss to Carlton after coughing up a 34-point lead on two separate occasions. However, there are good signs from their younger players all across the board and close wins like that can potentially hold them in good stead down the line.
The Teams
Western Bulldogs
IN: Josh Schache, Taylor Duryea, Ed Richards, Roarke Smith OUT: Tom Liberatore (Knee), Ryan Gardner, Bailey Dale, Toby McLean (All Omitted)
B: Jason Johannisen, Jackson Trengove, Bailey Williams HB: Caleb Daniel, Zaine Cordy, Easton Wood C: Lachie Hunter, Bailey Smith, Patrick Lipinski HF: Matthew Suckling, Josh Schache, Sam Lloyd F: Marcus Bontempelli, Aaron Naughton, Tory Dickson FOL: Tim English, Josh Dunkley, Jack Macrae INT: Hayden Crozier, Taylor Duryea, Ed Richards, Roarke Smith EMG: Lewis Young, Rhylee West, Toby McLean, Lachie Young
Luke Beveridge has made four changes to the side that beat Carlton last weekend. One of them only forced, with Tom Liberatore set to miss over a month of footy with a knee injury sustained last Saturday. Good news that it isn’t another ACL injury. Toby McLean headlines the three omissions, but in fairness to the team, McLean has struggled for impact all year round. Bailey Dale and Ryan Gardner hardly touched the football last week, so their omissions don’t come as a shock.
The ins for the club include the former Hawk Taylor Duryea, who hasn’t played an AFL game since round four, having missed with a hip injury that kept him sidelined for a couple of months. Josh Schache also comes back in to replace Gardner, having spent a lengthy stint in the VFL. Likewise Ed Richards, who has spent the past few weeks in the twos, whilst Roarke Smith will make his season debut on Sunday.
Collingwood
IN: Ben Reid OUT: Jaidyn Stephenson (Suspension)
B: Brayden Maynard, Jordan Roughead, Levi Greenwood HB: Jack Crisp, Darcy Moore, Jeremy Howe C: Tom Phillips, Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom HF: Josh Thomas, Jordan De Goey, Will Hoskin-Elliott F: Callum Brown, Brody Mihocek, Travis Varcoe FOL: Brodie Grundy, Adam Treloar, Brayden Sier INT: James Aish, Mason Cox, Chris Mayne, Ben Reid EMG: Ben Crocker, Josh Daicos, Max Lynch, Isaac Quaynor
As you might expect, Collingwood have only made the one change. With Stephenson suspended until the start of the Finals campaign, you would’ve thought it’d make sense to see them replace him with a like-for-like replacement. But they’ve opted to go for Ben Reid. It will be interesting to see how the trio of Brody Mihocek, Mason Cox and Ben Reid can work down forward. Given the fact that the Bulldogs’ defence isn’t overly tall, it may work to their advantage if they can get it down there enough.
Recent History (Past 10 Matches)
Round 4, 2019 – MCG: Collingwood 11.12.78 def Western Bulldogs 9.10.64
Round 10, 2018 – Marvel Stadium: Collingwood 13.12.90 def Western Bulldogs 8.7.55
Round 1, 2017 – MCG: Collingwood 12.14.86 def by Western Bulldogs 15.10.100
Round 21, 2016 – Marvel Stadium: Western Bulldogs 14.11.95 def Collingwood 14.8.92
Round 10, 2016 – MCG: Collingwood, 7.11.53 def by Western Bulldogs 11.8.74
Round 17, 2015 – Marvel Stadium: Western Bulldogs 15.14.104 def Collingwood 13.8.86
Round 13, 2014 – Marvel Stadium: Collingwood 15.8.98 def by Western Bulldogs 16.10.106
Round 12, 2013 – Marvel Stadium: Collingwood 15.9.99 def Western Bulldogs 9.11.65
Round 6, 2012 – Marvel Stadium: Western Bulldogs 11.11.77 def by Collingwood 15.8.98
Round 6, 2011 – MCG: Collingwood 15.15.105 def Western Bulldogs 8.9.57
Players To Watch
Western Bulldogs – Patrick Lipinski
Would be easy to mention Josh Dunkley in, given his game last week, but since being brought into the side in round 10, Patrick Lipinski has really looked at home as a player. Before the bye, he had 23 disposals against both North Melbourne and against West Coast. Last week against Carlton was his best game to date, recording a career-high 29 disposals, along with eight marks, five tackles, five clearances and two goals. He looks a likely type and I could see him having a big game if the Dogs are to pull off another win.
Collingwood – Brodie Grundy
You must think back to when these two teams last played and nearly the first thing that comes to mind is how dominant Brodie Grundy was in the air against an inexperienced ruckman in Tim English. On that Friday night, he had himself a day out with 58 hitouts and was arguably the most influential man on the ground. Whilst I am of the firm belief that English has grown in leaps and bounds since then, I fear it might be more of the same on Sunday afternoon, given the season that Grundy is having. Averaging 20.5 disposals, 41.8 hitouts, 5.5 clearances and 4.1 tackles per game.
Final Verdict – Collingwood By 18 Points
The Bulldogs will like their chances against the Pies, given how close they got in the previous game, and I do think they’re an outside chance to make it back-to-back wins here. However, the glaring issue at the moment is their ability to string four consistent quarters of footy together. They played good football for maybe over a half at best and it nearly cost them a win last week. They can’t afford to do that here against better opposition.
Jack Macrae will be an interesting point of discussion. Last week he managed to negate the influence of Patrick Cripps in stoppages and ended up having 37 disposals himself. Could he find himself doing a similar job on someone like Adam Treloar or maybe even Scott Pendlebury? Nonetheless another massive game looms for the midfield. I feel like the Dogs mids can match the mids the Pies have, but I think that Collingwood have enough talent at both ends to take another win.