Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
Saturday 29 June 2013, 7:40pm
Venue: MCG

Head-to-head:

Round 4, 2012: Melbourne 9. 13. (67) defeated by Western Bulldogs 13. 10. (88), MCG
Round 15, 2011: Western Bulldogs 19. 13. (127) defeat Melbourne 8. 15. (63), Etihad Stadium
Round 7, 2010: Melbourne 9. 12. (66) defeated by Western Bulldogs 10. 10. (70), MCG
Round 8, 2009: Melbourne 15. 7. (97) defeated by Western Bulldogs 15. 14. (104), MCG

Last time they met:

• Adam Cooney got the three Brownlow votes, followed my Luke Dahlhaus (two) and Matthew Bate (one)
• Liam Picken had an equal career best 13 tackles for the game
• Mark Jamar bettered Will Minson in the ruck dual with 46 hitouts to 40, however the Bulldogs’ big man beat Jamar around the ground with three clearances and six tackles
• The Bulldogs had 92 more possessions than Melbourne with their efficiency12.4% higher than their opponents

Recent form:

Western Bulldogs
Eyeing their fourth win of the season, the Bulldogs will be looking for their young stocks to stand up against opponents with similar levels of experience. The Bulldogs will be focussing on a full four quarter effort, as momentary lapses have caused headaches for the young side this season. Stronger for longer with undoubtedly be the theme of the day.

Melbourne:
After a tumultuous start to the season, Melbourne will be eager to build on the improved showing against St Kilda last weekend. In their first game under new coach Neil Craig, the Demons had 55 more disposals and 27 more marks than their 2013 average and posted their third shortest losing margin for the year of 35 points. With just one win under their belts, Melbourne need a competitive showing against a similarly placed, developing side.

Key match ups and gamebreakers:

• Nathan Jones has been the key accumulator for Melbourne this year, including 23 possessions at 95.7% efficiency last weekend. Jones currently leads the Demons’ clearance count which will be vital coming into Saturday’s game without leading ruckman Mark Jamar and the suspended Jake Spencer. The 25-year-old is currently ranked equal 11^th in the league in total clearances.
• In the lead up to his 50^th career game, Liam Jones has been slowly building in form and confidence. While the 22-year-old has not matched the four goal hauls from round three and five, his work rate and coverage of the ground has been much improved. He also had seven marks (four contested) last week against Richmond, three of which were inside the forward arc.
• The Western Bulldogs are set to field one of their most potent forward line ups so far this year, with Tory Dickson a likely inclusion to the setup. While Liam Jones and Jake Stringer have shown they can kick multiple goals while assuming key posts in the forward line, debutant Lachie Hunter proved he can impact at senior level.

What we said:

“They looked like they had more appetite to compete last week and certainly shared the ball around a little more and the stats indicate that. They all got more of the ball, they got more ball in space and they just looked like a team that wanted to stand for something. So the start is important, how we play is really important and how we defend is super important on Saturday.”

- Senior Coach Brendan McCartney

What they said:

“The playing group are really determined to improve so we can start to bridge that gap as the season wears on. Continual improvement is what we are looking for both for individuals, in individual development and continual improvement and development for the team in general.”

- Interim Senior Coach Neil Craig