The Western Bulldogs will be looking to return to the winners list they meet West Coast at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.

MATCH INFORMATION

AFLW – Round 9
When: Saturday 5 March
Where: Optus Stadium
Game Starts: 9.40pm AEDT (6.40pm AWST)
Broadcast: 7mate. The match will also be streamed live on womens.afl, the Official AFLW app and Kayo Sports.

You can follow @BulldogsW on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for live updates throughout the match. Don't forget to tag all your posts with the official club hashtag #MightyWest

 

2021 SUMMARY

Western Bulldogs 8th (5-4) 88.2%

West Coast 12th (2-7) 53%

 

LAST MEETING

Round 4, 2020

West Coast 4.6 (30) def. Western Bulldogs 3.8 (26)

Despite a late charge from the visitors at Leederville Oval, the Bulldogs couldn’t quite clinch the win in their last meeting with the Eagles. Then-defender Izzy Huntington swung forward late in the absence of Bonnie Toogood, converting a late goal to close the gap to just five points, but the Dogs were unable to find a second major. Captain Ellie Blackburn was prolific in the 19-disposal outing.

 

TALKING POINTS

Neutral-ish ground

In their three-year history, the AFLW Eagles have only played at Optus Stadium twice – both against Fremantle in the Western Derby. On both occasions however, they have suffered heavy losses, with an average losing margin of 56 points. With the hosts holding no clear home-ground advantage – despite maybe being slightly more accustomed to the weather and time zone -  the Bulldogs should enter the clash with some confidence. 

Covering Gamble

The Bulldogs will be forced into making at least one change this weekend, with defender Ellyse Gamble missing the final two games through suspension. Hannah Scott looms as a potential addition, having returned from a pre-season quad injury through the VFLW last weekend, with Bailey Hunt, Alice Edmonds, Amanda Ling and Jemima Woods all featuring at state-level too.

The run home

For the Bulldogs to remain in the hunt for finals, they will need to register wins in their final two games. They will enter Saturday’s clash as the favourites, before hosting reigning premier Brisbane at Mars Stadium next weekend. They’ll also have to hope Collingwood loses both its matches, and that Gold Coast loses at least one game to sneak into the top six.