The Western Bulldogs will have two club debutants and a familiar face run onto the MCG on Saturday night when the red, white and blue clash with Melbourne to open the season.

Oskar Baker and Rory Lobb will play their first games for the Bulldogs after crossing in the off-season, with the speedy winger Baker tackling his former side in the Demons.

Lobb, who has kicked 143 goals across his 140 games, adds firepower to an already exciting forward line, combining with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Aaron Naughton over the pre-season.

Liam Jones returns to the Bulldogs' line-up nearly 14 years after making his debut for the red, white and blue in 2009.

04:27

Before the Bounce | Round 1

Join Brad Johnson and John Donohue as they break down the Round one match-up with the Demons, thanks to Pedigree.

After playing 66 games for the Dogs, Jones joined Carlton for his next 95, before going full circle to re-join the club in late 2022.

Jones will play alongside Alex Keath and Josh Bruce in a new-look backline.

Cody Weightman will miss the clash due to a groin complaint, while Ryan Gardner continues to recover from elbow surgery.

Hayden Crozier, Buku Khamis, Jordon Sweet and Toby McLean have all been named as emergencies for the blockbuster clash.

The Bulldogs will select one emergency to be the sub – which will be announced one hour prior to the game and can be used at any time throughout the fixture.

The match will begin at 7.25pm at the MCG and can be watched live via Channel 7 and Fox Footy.

ROUND 1 TEAM

Melbourne v Western Bulldogs
Saturday, 18 March, 7.25pm AEDT
MCG

B: Taylor Duryea, Liam Jones, Caleb Daniel
HB: Bailey Dale, Alex Keath, Ed Richards
C: Bailey Williams, Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae
HF: Bailey Smith, Aaron Naughton, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
F: Anthony Scott, Sam Darcy, Rory Lobb
R: Tim English, Tom Liberatore, Adam Treloar
Int: Jason Johannisen, Josh Bruce, Mitch Hannan, Oskar Baker

Emerg: Buku Khamis, Toby McLean, Jordon Sweet, Hayden Crozier