1. All on the line

A finals berth is up for grabs, it’s as simple as that.

The Bulldogs have it all to play for against the Dockers on Sunday night. The Dockers can’t play finals, but they’ve put a strong block of form together in the run home and will have their sights firmly set on halting the Bulldogs in their tracks.

After results in other games on Friday and Saturday, only a win will do for the Bulldogs.

Melbourne jumped into the top eight after defeating Essendon, while St Kilda locked in their finals spot by defeating the GWS Giants.

The Bulldogs sit ninth at the moment, knowing a win would get them through to the business end of the season for a second consecutive year.

2. Guarding Freo’s forwards

There’s some star power in Fremantle’s forward line.

Big men Jesse Hogan, Matt Taberner and Rory Lobb combined for eight goals in their last outing.

Shutting down those avenues to goal will be ultra-important for the Bulldogs.

They’ve gone with three talls down back, in Alex Keath, Zaine Cordy and Ryan Gardner. Easton Wood also returns to bolster the Bulldogs’ intercept ability, alongside high-flyer Hayden Crozier.

The flipside is, can the Bulldogs’ rebounding brigade – led by the silky-skilled Caleb Daniel – drive them out of defence and into scoring opportunities.

3. Skipper v skipper

It’s a big game for first-year skipper Marcus Bontempelli.

The 24-year-old has been sensational in his new role, leading the Bulldogs to a position where they can reach the finals.

A big test awaits in his opposite number, Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe, on Sunday.

Fyfe has been an influential player against the Bulldogs in recent times, particularly with his stoppage work.

That’s been an area of strength for the Bulldogs all season – and particularly in recent weeks – led by Bontempelli, Jack Macrae and Tom Liberatore in the clinches.

4. The conditions

How much impact will the Cairns conditions have?

If games over the past month have been anything to go by, both teams can expect to be confronted with a strong breeze and a slippery footy at Cazalys Stadium.

Who can handle them best remains to be seen.

The Dockers have experienced it first-hand this season, but the Bulldogs will have a bit of understanding too, having played home games at the venue from 2014-17.

Adapting quickly – particular after a day game in perfect conditions at Adelaide Oval – will be crucial for the Bulldogs.

The Western Bulldogs left it to the second last game of the last round of the season, but they have locked in their spot in the 2020 finals.

The Bulldogs, who started their Sunday evening game in ninth spot, launched into the top eight with an eventually comfortable 30-point win over Fremantle in Cairns.

The Dogs will learn their opponent for the Elimination Final – which will be either West Coast or St Kilda - after Monday night’s game between Port Adelaide and Collingwood.

MATCH CENTRE | View all the team and player stats from the Bulldogs and Dockers clash.

They’ll be sweating on the availability of young spearhead Aaron Naughton, who was sent to hospital as a precaution with a facial injury, and Mitch Wallis, who left the field late in the game nursing his left arm.

The match was still in the balance midway through the last quarter, but the Bulldogs finally broke away from the determined Dockers with the last three goals of the contest.

Lachie Hunter and Tom Liberatore were superb for the Dogs for the entire four quarters.  Hunter won a match-high 34 disposals, kicked a goal and had 601 metres gained, while Liberatore recorded an astonishing 41 pressure acts to go with 25 possessions, 12 score involvements, eight tackles and seven clearances.

MACCA'S MVP | Vote for the Bulldogs best player in the clash against the Dockers for a chance to win a $20 McCafe Gift Card. 

Captain Marcus Bontempelli finished with a goal and 20 disposals, while Pat Lipinski was a bright light in his return to the senior side, kicking and goal and collecting 17 possessions. 

The Bulldogs had 10 individual goalkickers, with Tim English kicking two for the second week in a row.

After an even start, the Dogs established some breathing space during the second quarter with a burst of three straight majors, taking a 12-point lead into half time.

The Dockers kicked the first goal of the third term to get to within six points, but it was to be their last six-pointer of the match.

Bailey Smith snapped truly restore the Bulldogs advantage by the final change, and Hunter broke the tense deadlock at the 10-minute mark of the last quarter with a strong mark and converted set shot.

Dogs fans could rest even easier when Caleb Daniel and Bontempelli put the icing on the cake with late goals to send them marching to back-to-back finals appearances.

MATCH DETAILS

FREMANTLE                       2.2          5.4          6.5          6.8 (44)

WESTERN BULLDOGS     2.3          7.4          8.8          11.8 (74)

GOALS
Fremantle:  Fyfe 2, Darcy, Schultz, Crowden, Hogan
Western Bulldogs:  English 2, Wallis, Johannisen, Naughton, Bruce, Lipinski, B.Smith, Hunter, Daniel, Bontempelli

BEST
Fremantle: Fyfe, Serong, Ryan, Darcy, Cerra, Hogan
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Hunter, Bontempelli, English, Lipinski, Daniel

MACCA'S MVP | Vote for the Bulldogs best player in the clash against the Dockers for a chance to win a $20 McCafe Gift Card. 

INJURIES
Fremantle: Taberner (quad) replaced in selected side by Colyer
Western Bulldogs: Naughton (head), Wallis (shoulder)