Carlton v Western Bulldogs at the MCG, Sunday, 2.10pm (AEST)

THE TEAM

B: Ryan Houlihan, Setanta O’hAilpin, Andrew Walker
HB: Bryce Gibbs, Bret Thornton, Heath Scotland
C: Kade Simpson, Adam Bentick, Marc Murphy
HF: Matthew Lappin, Lance Whitnall, Brad Fisher
F: Luke Blackwell, Brendan Fevola, Jarrad Waite
FOLL: Cain Ackland, Anthony Koutoufides, Andrew Carrazzo
I/C (from): Joe Anderson, Jordan Bannister, Adam Hartlett, Ryan Jackson, Josh Kennedy, Jason Saddington, Simon Wiggins.

In: Jordan Bannister (first game for 2007), Ryan Jackson (returns after missing past four matches with a broken hand), Simon Wiggins (missed the past four matches with a hamstring injury)

MILESTONE
Bret Thornton 100 games. Thornton will become the 150th Carlton player to play 100 AFL games for the Carlton FC.

LAST TIME
Telstra Dome, round 15, 2006: Western Bulldogs 16.14 (110) defeated Carlton 11.14 (80)

Carlton created many scoring opportunities in the first half, but failed to capitalise and went into half-time one point down to the Bulldogs. Carlton’s pressure continued in the third quarter, but again, they failed to put away their opposition and found themselves heading into the final term with the scores locked at 70 points each. Unfortunately, for the Blues, the Bulldogs found their groove in the final term and ran out winners by 30 points. After a loss to the Kangaroos a week before, the Bulldogs were relieved to survive a game Carlton had every chance of winning.

Adam Bentick (25 disposals, seven tackles) and Nick Stevens (35 disposals, five tackles) were best on ground for Carlton while Brad Johnson (three goals), Farren Ray (24 disposals, eight marks) were best a field for the Bulldogs.

CARLTON WIN PERCENTAGE

Against the Bulldogs: 63.16 per cent
At the MCG: 49.38 per cent
Against the Bulldogs at the MCG: 66.67 per cent

The last time the two clubs played at the MCG was in 1996. The Bulldogs won by 16 points. In the last three games against the Western Bulldogs, the Blues have gone down by 25, 46 and 30 points respectively.

AVERAGE DISPOSALS

Carlton (top three): Heath Scotland (26), Ryan Houlihan (22), Andrew Carrazzo (21)
Western Bulldogs (top three): Daniel Cross (28), Scott West (28), Matthew Boyd (22)

GOALS

Carlton (top three): Brendan Fevola (32), Brad Fisher (13), Lance Whitnall (11)
Western Bulldogs (top three): Brad Johnson (24), Adam Cooney (16), Shaun Higgins (14)

TACKLES:

Carlton (top two): Adam Bentick (57), Andrew Carrazzo (42)
Western Bulldogs (top two): Scott West (42), Daniel Cross (32)

FROM THE COACH'S BOX
“We want to play the game on our terms. When you look at how Sydney played last week, they played on their terms and denied the Bulldogs possession of the football. The Swans were also very good around the clearances and the contested possessions, so, this will be an important part of our game plan too,” - assistant coach Tony Liberatore.

FROM THE PLAYER
“We pride ourselves on contested footy as do they – with the likes of Daniel Cross and Scott West. I think it will be a quick and exciting game to watch and hopefully we can get away with a win,” - Brendan Fevola.

LAST FIVE GAMES

Carlton: Loss (Bris); Loss (St.K); Loss (Coll); Loss (Kang); Loss (Adelaide)
Western Bulldogs: Win (Haw); Loss (WC); Win (Melb); Win (Coll); Loss (Syd)

The Blues head into this weekend’s game on the back of six consecutive losses. In saying that, Carlton has been in match-winning positions in all but one game this season. The club’s coaches have blamed skill errors and lapses in concentration as the reason for their form and are all too aware that both of those problems will need to evaporate before Saturday’s game. This will be crucial to the Blues’ chances of victory against a side that prides themselves on skill execution and hard-running.

Last weekend, Sydney proved the Western Bulldogs game plan is vulnerable under pressure. However, Carlton must not fall into the trap in believing the Bulldogs’ midfielders are soft targets – after all Scott West and Daniel Cross are the side’s leading possession-getters and leading tacklers.

The big question: Will the Blues be able to match the hard and fast-running Bulldogs outfit for all four quarters?

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.