MATCH DETAILS

When: Wednesday 18 September
Where: Brighton Homes Arena, QLD
First bounce: 7.15pm AEST
Admission: Buy tickets now
Membership: Sign up today
Broadcast: Channel 7, Fox Footy and Kayo Sports

LAST MEETING

Round 2*, 2022 (S6)
Western Bulldogs 5.4 (34) def. by Brisbane 10.6 (66)

After a COVID-riddled campaign which saw the Bulldogs play make-up matches in Season 6, the Dogs finished their AFLW season with a gallant 32-point defeat to reigning premiers Brisbane. Taking the game to sunny Ballarat and entering the second half only a goal down, the hosts couldn’t stay with the powerful Brisbane outfit, as the visitors kicked five of the last six goals to run away with the contest. Ellie Blackburn led the way, collecting a game-high 25 touches and four tackles, while Rocky Cranston finished with two goals.

05:52

AFLW Match Highlights | R10 vs Brisbane

The Bulldogs and Lions clash in round ten of the NAB AFL Women's Competition

THE LINE-UP

Ins: Cleo Buttifant, Kaylee Kimber, Heidi Woodley, Ellie Gavalas
Outs: Ellie Blackburn (injured), Elisabeth Georgostathis (managed), Bree McFarlane, Analea McKee
New: Kaylee Kimber (club debut)

Kaylee Kimber will make her Club debut after joining the Bulldogs as an injury replacement player in August (Photo: Western Bulldogs).

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

– Gemma Bastiani, womens.afl

The Western Bulldogs showed some real grit and physical presence last week to make an early statement, but they just couldn't make that pressure last long enough to snag a win. Where it really breaks down for the Bulldogs is up forward, where they are converting a goal from just 5.2 per cent of their forward entries, and against Brisbane's tough defensive line, this conversion doesn't look likely to improve. The Dogs are heavily focused on getting numbers behind the ball to prevent opposition scoring, which then leaves them with nowhere to go once they do create the turnover. Brisbane's forward line, headlined by tall trio Dakota Davidson, Taylor Smith, and Eleanor Hartill will almost certainly cause the Dogs to populate their backline in a similar way, and ultimately get stuck in that half of the ground.

Through the middle, it would be reasonable to expect Dom Carruthers to run with either Ally Anderson or Belle Dawes. While Carruthers isn't strictly a tagger, she is a strong defensive midfielder that can force accountability from her direct opponent. But the real asset of Brisbane's midfield is its ability to spread the ground, and attack. Limiting that in any meaningful way will take a layered defensive effort from the Bulldogs. On top of it all, the Bulldogs will be without Ellie Blackburn.