Buku Khamis will line-up for his first game of the 2023 AFL season against Essendon tomorrow night.
Khamis is one of four inclusions to the Bulldogs’ round 19 team, alongside Bailey Smith, Oskar Baker and Josh Bruce.
Sam Darcy exits the side after suffering a corked quad, while James O’Donnell and Lachie McNeil will miss through concussion protocols.
Last week’s substitute Riley Garcia also comes out, while Bailey Williams has been confirmed as this week’s substitute ahead of the fixture.
The match will celebrate Ed Richards and Alex Keath’s 100th AFL matches, while also marking the 29th anniversary of the EJ Whitten Cup.
Named in honour of Club legend Ted Whitten, the Cup has been played at alternating home games since 1995.
In recent years, the Bulldogs have improved the historical ledger to have claimed the Cup on 14 occasions, narrowly pipping Essendon’s 13 wins.
Tomorrow night’s first bounce will be at 7.50pm at Marvel Stadium, and broadcast live on Channel 7 and Fox Footy.
Reserved seating for the fully-ticketed match is now exhausted. Standing room tickets are available here.
AFL Team | Round 19
Essendon v Western Bulldogs
Friday 21 July, 7.50pm AEST
Marvel Stadium
B: Laith Vandermeer, Ryan Gardner, Josh Bruce
HB: Bailey Dale, Alex Keath, Ed Richards
C: Caleb Poulter, Marcus Bontempelli, Oskar Baker
HF: Jack Macrae, Aaron Naughton, Adam Treloar
F: Cody Weightman, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Anthony Scott
R: Tim English, Caleb Daniel, Tom Liberatore
Int: Bailey Smith, Rhylee West, Taylor Duryea, Buku Khamis
Sub: Bailey Williams
Emer: Rory Lobb, Jordon Sweet, Riley Garcia
IN: Khamis, Bruce, B.Smith, Baker
OUT: Darcy (injured), McNeil (concussion), O’Donnell (concussion), Garcia (sub)
