AFL Round 4

Fremantle v Western Bulldogs
Sunday 6 April | 5:10pm AEST (3:10pm AWST) 
Optus Stadium, Perth • Whadjuk 
Broadcast: Kayo/Foxtel

More details to follow.

NEED HELP ON MATCH DAY? 

The Bulldogs’ membership team will be at the match-day pavilion near Gate 1 (Barkly Street end). 

To contact us before match day:

• 📆 Monday – Friday, 10 AM – 4 PM
• 📧 membership@westernbulldogs.com.au
• 📞 1300 46 36 47

1. The Milestone Men

One milestone is reason enough to celebrate. Tonight, the Bulldogs will have three.

There won’t be a banner at Metricon Stadium like usual, but the efforts of Jack Macrae (150^th), Caleb Daniel (100^th) and Bailey Williams (50^th) certainly haven’t gone unnoticed.

Macrae and Daniel in particular, both premiership players, have been star performers for the Bulldogs for a number years.

Williams has now established himself in the side, alongside his great mate Daniel in defence, and has been a key contributor in 2020.

All three will be hoping to have an extra reason to celebrate at the final siren.

2. The Inclusions

Sam Lloyd and Toby McLean are two significant inclusions for the Bulldogs.

At their best, both have the capability to be shape the outcome of games.

Lloyd returns from a shoulder injury after two scratch matches. The Bulldogs’ 2019 leading goal-kicker will be keen to impress on return – even more so given he’s coming up against his old side.

It’s been a different 2020 for McLean, who has been influential at times but found himself in and out of the side.

The tenacious Dog will be hoping he can impact against the Tigers an reclaim a permanent position.

3. The (Richmond) Inclusions

Richmond might be missing some stars, but there’s no underestimating the reigning premiers.

The return of skipper Trent Cotchin from a hamstring is significant.

Sydney Stack, Jack Ross and Oleg Markov join Cotchin in the side this week, highlighting a deep Tigers’ list.

They might be without the likes of Dion Prestia, Bachar Houli, Shane Edwards, David Astbury and Nick Vlastuin, but a quick look at the Tigers’ 22 will tell you there’s no shortage of quality there.

And after a loss to the GWS Giants in a grand final re-match last week, these Tigers will be determined to bounce back.

4. The Big Game Player

A star was born last year against Richmond. And a new nickname – AstroNaught.

Aaron Naughton tore the Tigers apart, with five goals and 14 marks – nine of those contested. Even Jesus Christ would have struggled to stop him, according to Tigers’ coach Damien Hardwick.

There’s no Naughton this week. So who will make their mark on a huge Wednesday night stage?

Conditions have been challenging for key forwards on the Gold Coast.

But could this be the night for another Josh Bruce bag? At the other end, the Bulldogs will be desperate to keep superstar forwards Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt quiet.

Time will tell how this plays out… but it’s set up to be a cracker.

The Western Bulldogs have suffered their fourth loss of the season, beaten convincingly by Richmond by 41 points on Wednesday night at Metricon Stadium.

The Tigers re-established their premiership credentials in a slick performance, particularly in the first half where they booted 10 goals to three to set up a match-winning lead. 

They were cleaner, stronger with their intensity and more efficient when they swept the ball forward.

The Dogs were more competitive in the second half, but the damage had already been done.

The Bulldogs will now have five days to prepare for another tough assignment, against the Power on Monday night at Adelaide Oval.

The loss was further soured by a hamstring injury to Matt Suckling, who was ruled out during the first term.

Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin was best afield, kicking three goals to go with 26 possessions.

Jack Macrae could hold his head high in his 150^th game, collecting a game-high 37 disposals, four clearances, four tackles and having a team-high seven score involvements.

Mitch Wallis continued his impressive 2020 form up forward, kicking three majors to take his tally to 13 for the season.

The Bulldogs’ other two milestone men also fought out the game strongly, with Caleb Daniel winning 22 touches, the same number as 50-gamer Bailey Williams.

MATCH DETAILS

Western Bulldogs            1.1          3.5          4.7          7.7 (49)
Richmond                           4.3          10.4        11.10     13.12 (90)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Wallis 3, Vandermeer 2, Bruce 2
Richmond: Aarts 3, Martin 3, Castagna 2, Lynch 2, Riewoldt, Chol, Pickett 

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Macrae, Daniel, Wallis, Smith, Williams
Richmond: Martin, Grimes, Balta, Short, Bolton, Cotchin