WHERE & WHEN: Telstra Dome, 2:10pm (all times local)
MEDIA COVERAGE: Channel 7 (Melbourne 3pm, Adelaide 1:30pm, SA Regional 4:30pm, Perth 2pm, New South Wales 2pm, Queensland 2pm), Triple M (Melbourne), K-Rock, 3AW, NIRS (Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Darwin), 6PR, afl.com.au (live audio and scoring)
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Played: 141, Western Bulldogs: 53, Geelong: 86, Drawn: 2
LAST TIME: Geelong 13.12 (90) d Western Bulldogs 13.11 (89), round 16, 2006, at Telstra Dome
TAB Sportsbet: Western Bulldogs $1.72, Geelong $2.05
MILESTONES: If he plays, Bulldogs veteran Chris Grant will slot into outright 11th spot on the list of all-time AFL games played. The round one match will be Grant's 337th official game, which will take him clear of John Rantall, and place him 10 positions behind the league's most capped player, Michael Tuck (426 games). Two experienced players are set to debut for the Dogs: former Lion Jason Akermanis and former Eagle Andrew McDougall. Meanwhile, the Cats are talking about blooding their top draft pick from last year, Joel Selwood, while pacy Aboriginal youngster Nathan Djerrkura is also in the mix.
INJURIES: The Dogs have Grant (groin/abdominal strain) under an injury cloud, while Wayde Skipper (hamstring) and Michael West (knee) will both require fitness tests. Mitch Hahn (knee) continues to be assessed and it is unknown when he will be available. However the club is confident Luke Darcy and Robert Murphy will both make their returns to home-and-away football after having knee reconstructions in the past year. The Cats look likely to be without ruckman Steven King (calf) and Max Rooke (hamstring), but both should be ready to start their seasons in round two. While Tom Lonergan (kidney) is hopeful of playing this season, ex-Bomber Joel Reynolds (knee) will not.
RECENT HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY: The barest of margins has separated these teams in their last two encounters, with the Dogs claiming a one-point win in round four last year and the Cats reversing the result in round 16. Very little has divided the two sides in the past few years, with the Cats winning three of the last five head-to-heads. At Telstra Dome the ledger is square over the past three years with two wins apiece, and while the Cats missed the eight last year, finshing 10th, the Dogs managed to sneak into the finals, ending the 2006 home-and-away season in eighth position.
RECENT FORM: Both sides had encouraging pre-seasons, with the Dogs winning through to the second round of the NAB Cup and the Cats to the third. The Dogs crashed out at the hands of the Brisbane Lions, and while the result at Telstra Dome was a slight surprise, many positives came out of the team’s pre-season, especially the successful returns to the game of Luke Darcy and Robert Murphy after knee reconstructions. All up, the Dogs posted three out of four wins for the NAB Cup/Challenge series, two of which were over last year's grand finalists Sydney and West Coast. The Cats kicked off their pre-season with a thumping of the Tigers at Skilled Stadium before travelling to Darwin, where they managed to grind out a tough win over Port Adelaide in drenching rain. A week later the Lions would also end their NAB Cup aspirations. The Cats returned to their home ground to defeat the Demons in their final pre-season hit-out. Despite the side missing out on the chance to defend its 2006 pre-season premiership, Geelong coach Mark Thompson was satisfied with its overall performance – particularly the form showed by Brad Ottens, Joel Selwood, Nathan Djerrkura and David Wojcinski.
RED HOT PLAYERS: The Dogs saw their big movers from last year in Ryan Griffen and Shaun Higgins show good form throughout the pre-season and, while they aren't planning on introducing any first-gamers this week, they will also be encouraged by how pacy Tiwi Islander Malcolm Lynch fared. The Cats would have been pleased with the goal-kicking efforts of Ottens and Cameron Mooney early on, while Wojcinski showed signs he is returning to his best and Jimmy Bartel added a touch of class through the middle.
THE X-FACTOR: The Cats’ forwards are firing, with Ottens, Mooney and Nathan Ablett in form, and the Dogs are light on big defenders. Brian Harris won't be back until round three due to a suspension from last year, while Grant is unlikely to play. The Dogs will have to find a way to stop the Cats' height if they choose to stack the forward line with talls, although the absence of Steven King will mean Ottens and Mooney will have to assist Mark Blake in the ruck. Akermanis and McDougall will add potency to the Dogs' forward structure, as will Darcy and Brad Johnson, and their speed through the middle will test the Cats, who claim they are fitter than this time last year.
QUIRKY STAT: Two games decided by one point in the last year shows there is little separating the two teams, but it wasn't always like that. The Cats have a formidable record against the Dogs, and throughout history have put together four comprehensive winning streaks against them. The earliest began in round 13 of 1949, which kicked off 10 consecutive wins for Geelong, with the Dogs unable to register a victory until round nine, 1954. The Dogs also failed to beat the Cats between 1962 and 1968, 1978 and 1982, and 1988 and 1994. It's been a different story in recent times however, with the Dogs winning six out of the last nine clashes.
FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS: The Bulldogs have two players who have pulled on both guernseys, with Matthew Robbins and Peter Street spending time at both clubs. Robbins played for Geelong in 1996 and 1997, while Street also commenced his career at the Cats and was on their list from 2001 to 2003.
WHAT THE FAN SAYS: "I'm looking forward to seeing the Bulldogs starting the season competitive, having not lost any of their signature pace over the off-season. I'm afraid of more injuries ... and hope we don't succumb to the pressure of high expectations to win the flag." – Brian Nicholson, Bulldogs supporter.
WHAT THE COACH SAYS: "I think you can tell the Cats are up and running and have had a pretty good pre-season. From our point of view, it's as tough a first-up game as any in the competition. If you take last year out of the equation, they have been one of the better teams in the competition, they made top four the year before and they have everyone up and running. It's really going to be a tough ask for us." – Rodney Eade, senior coach.
