When: Saturday 6 April
Where: Norwood Oval, Adelaide • Kaurna 
First bounce: 4:15pm AEST (3:45pm ACST)
Broadcast: Fox Footy, Kayo Sports
What’s on: Click here to find out what’s on for Bulldogs fans in South Australia during Gather Round...A Festival of Footy!

Tickets for our Gather Round clash with the Brisbane Lions are now SOLD OUT. This match is a fully ticketed event with no further tickets to be released.

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Dogs fans are always welcome at Pirate Life’s venue in South Melbourne. Members receive 2-for-1 South Coast schooners every Bulldogs’ game day, as well as 10% off everything all day, every day. Just present your Bulldogs’ membership card to take advantage of this offer!

LAST MEETING

Round 13, 2024, Marvel Stadium
Western Bulldogs 10.11 (71) def. by Brisbane Lions 17.12 (114)

After a relatively even first quarter, the Bulldogs struggled to stem Brisbane's momentum, conceding 10 goals to five in the first half. This buffer ultimately proved too much in the end, with Lions forward Eric Hipwood leading the charge for the visitors with six majors and 13 marks.

Skipper Marcus Bontempelli broke-through a heavy tag for 19 disposals and three goals, while Adam Treloar collected 30, eight marks and a goal. The loss to the eventual 2024 premiers saw the Lions take a 23-22 lead in the overall head-to-head record with the Bulldogs.

THE LINE-UP

Ins: Hynes, Johannisen, Cleary
Outs: Baker, Vandermeer, Gallagher
New: Hynes

WHO TO WATCH

After a dominant, five-goal performance in last week’s loss to Fremantle, star forward Sam Darcy will be looking to carry that momentum into Gather Round, where he will face the Brisbane Lions for the first time in his 33-game career.

Darcy, who currently sits equal-fourth in the Coleman Medal race, is no stranger to a day out during the AFL’s annual Festival of Footy. His three-goal outing in 2024 against Geelong at Adelaide Oval earned him the Telstra AFL Rising Star nomination for round 4.

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

• Martin Pegan, afl.com.au

The Western Bulldogs (2-2) could be excused for not being too disappointed by an even win-loss record as they battle an early-season injury crisis but would have been left frustrated by their defeat to Fremantle. The Dogs pushed the Dockers to the line, just as they did in their earlier loss to the Pies but now need to stay in touch with the pacesetters even as they wait for the cavalry to arrive.

Brisbane (4-0) has subtly sent a warning across the competition as it makes an undefeated start to the season even while rarely hitting the heights that propelled it to the premiership last year. The Lions learned last year when slumping to a 0-3 record that early-season form does not necessarily define a season but won't mind chasing a 5-0 start to a campaign for the first time in club history.