Head to head: Western Bulldogs 17 wins, Adelaide 15 wins
Last time: Western Bulldogs 17.16 (118) d Adelaide 12.14 (86), round seven, 2009 at AAMI Stadium
MISSING IN ACTION
Western Bulldogs
Tim Callan (knee) - TBA
Ayce Cordy (shoulder) - 3 weeks
Christian Howard (hip) - 4 weeks
James Mulligan (hamstring) - 1 week
Liam Picken (ankle) - 5-6 weeks
Shane Thorne (knee) - 12 weeks
Callan Ward (groin) - 6 weeks
Easton Wood (knee) - test
Adelaide
Nathan Bock (hamstring) - 1-2 weeks
Trent Hentschel (knee) - TBC
Brodie Martin (knee) - indefinite
Brad Moran (knee) - indefinite
Andy Otten (knee) - season
Sam Shaw (shin) - 2-3 weeks
James Sellar (hamstring) - 2 weeks
Rory Sloane (ankle) - 3-4 weeks
Scott Stevens (concussion) - test
Brad Symes (knee) - indefinite
Nathan van Berlo (hamstring/back) - test
FORM
Western Bulldogs: LWWL
Adelaide: LLLL
SUMMARY
Both teams are coming off disappointing losses - the Dogs to the Brisbane Lions by 22 points on the road and Adelaide to the Blues by 48 at home. Neither side is playing the sort of football expected of them pre-season, but the Crows' situation is far more alarming. Neil Craig's men haven't looked anywhere near the top-four side that many predicted this year and, while they haven't been hitting the scoreboard, the problem looks to be through the middle where they've looked slow and haven't generated nearly enough attacking entries. The Bulldogs are a side well-equipped to expose that weakness with their slick ball movement on the fast track at Etihad likely to cause Craig all kinds of issues if he can't shake his players out of their collective funk.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson has spent longer than expected on the sidelines after a virus/golf cart fender bender so he should be cherry ripe. It will be interesting to see how the wily forward works around new focal point, Barry Hall. Does he still have the legs to play further up the ground?
Tyson Edwards is one of the Crows' over-30s who have received plenty of unfavourable press following his team's 0-4 start to the season. The veteran had 41 possessions in his 300th game midway through last year, but hasn't been anywhere near that sort of form this season.
QUESTION MARKS
Will the real Bulldogs stand up? Widely thought of as grand final material pre-season, the Dogs have failed to live up to that billing so far.
Do Adelaide's veterans still have what it takes? Neil Craig will be hoping so or he might have to make some tough decisions on them before the season is over.
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
The Bulldogs are hurting after a performance that was well-below expectations and that doesn't bode well for the out-of-form Crows. Rodney Eade has threatened to swing the axe and whatever side he puts out on Friday night will be looking to inflict some pain. The Bullies are excellent at disposing of not-so-good teams and disappointing Adelaide falls into that category.
PREDICTION:
Western Bulldogs by 50 points
Follow Mic Cullen's inside view of Western Bulldogs v Adelaide at #afldogscrows on Twitter.com from 7.40pm Friday or @AFL_MicCullen#afldogscrows
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
