Where and when: Docklands, Friday 10 July, 7.40pm AEST
Head to head: Western Bulldogs 41 wins, Collingwood 99 wins, one draw
Last time: Western Bulldogs 15.9 (99) d Collingwood 13.11 (89), round 13, 2008, at Docklands
MISSING IN ACTION
Collingwood
John McCarthy (hamstring) – test
Brent Macaffer (knee) – 1-2 weeks
Sean Rusling (hip flexor) – 1-2 weeks
Anthony Rocca (achilles) – 3-4 weeks
Johnny Bennell (broken collarbone ) – 6 weeks
FORM
Western Bulldogs: WWWWW
Collingwood: WWWWW
SUMMARY
While last round was headlined by the highly anticipated clash between first and second on the ladder, this weekend will be kicked off when third meets fourth on Friday night at Docklands. With the exception of the ladder leaders, these are the form sides of the competition and promise an enthralling contest to open round 15.
The Magpies are coming off an important win, having sought revenge on the Bombers for their Anzac Day come-from-behind triumph. Their recent wins, while over sides ranked below them on the ladder, have all been convincing.
The bulk of Collingwood’s drive is stemming from its midfield, which is benefitting from an increase in options this season. Alan Didak, with a bigger engine in 2009, was in terrific form again on Friday night as he gained 35 possessions to cut up Essendon. Dane Swan continued to impress with 29 touches, ruckman Josh Fraser was back to his best while in attack Travis Cloke bustled his way to four goals.
The Bulldogs are coming off possibly the most surprisingly result this season. They stunned last year's premiers in the first quarter of Saturday night's clash with a nine-goal term, and kept the Hawks goalless until the third term. In the past five weeks, the Dogs have won by an average margin of 10 goals, and have increased their first-quarter scoring power from an average of two goals to over five.
Defenders Brian Lake and Ryan Hargrave are in rare form, Matthew Boyd and Adam Cooney are performing strongly in the midfield, and young tagger Liam Picken has become an important part of the side as the designated shut-down player.
QUESTION MARKS
Both teams share impressive records but are yet to beat anyone of note. Who will be the first to gain a top-four scalp?
The Bulldogs were lethal against Hawthorn last week. But can Mick Malthouse pick apart an opposition’s gameplan, as he did to Essendon a week earlier?
Mick Malthouse – on the impressive Western Bulldogs
“It’s just not a year; it’s been over several years that they’ve been able to perform at a fairly high level and generally that means that the side is maturing all the time. Now they’ve got the bigger bodies and they’ve maintained their skill level, so now they’re able to compete more often against the bigger sides and have a better outcome. That’s what makes them dangerous, that they’ve still got that level of skill but they’re highly competitive in close.”
VFL
Collingwood’s VFL team bounced back into finals contention last week with an impressive win over the lowly Frankston. This weekend the Magpies meet Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday from 2pm.
Collingwood VFL line-up:
B: Kevin Dyas, Tobias Thoolen, Ben Reid
HB: Anthony Corrie, Nathan Brown, Scott Reed
C: Jaxson Barham, Damian Peverill, Jarrad Blight
HF: Ryan Cook, Chris Dawes, Steele Sidebottom
F: Luke Rounds, Chris Bryan, Shannon Cox
Foll: Cameron Wood, Tristan Francis, Martin Clarke
I/C (from): Ryan Colbert, Daniel Frost, Lachlan Keeffe, Kris Pendlebury, Tom Sunburg, Luke Walker, Tim Hunt
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
