THE WESTERN Bulldogs have won a wildly fluctuating Grand Final rematch with Sydney, overcoming a slow start and a late Lance Franklin-inspired Swans comeback to prevail by 23 points at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

The Swans looked as if they were still smarting from their shock round one loss to Port Adelaide when they burst from the blocks to kick the opening four goals, jumping to a 23-point lead midway through the first quarter.

But the Dogs soon settled and looked to have control of the match when they led by 28 points late in the third term.

The Dogs would eventually record a 16.14 (110) to 13.9 (87) victory, but Franklin and the Swans gave them an almighty scare in the meantime.

Franklin kicked a goal in the shadows of three-quarter time that brought the Swans within 22 points, and then rammed on the first three majors of the final term, the last two majestic curling shots from outside 50m.

The last of those goals dragged the Swans within two points, and they hit the lead a minute later when Sam Reid marked and kicked his sixth goal.

But just when the Dogs were on the ropes they rediscovered their verve.

First, Marcus Bontempelli picked Harry Cunningham's pocket to mark in the goalsquare and goaled without breaking stride to put the Bulldogs four points up at the 17-minute mark.

Shortly after, Callum Mills seemed unlucky to be pinged for a deliberate rushed behind – he had Liam Picken bearing down on him – but Picken showed him no sympathy, running around from a tight angle to convert the resultant free kick.

Jake Stringer streamed through the centre to goal just over a minute later, and when Picken added the Dogs' fourth unanswered major eight minutes later the Dogs were 23 points up and home.

It was the perfect end to a joyous night for Bulldogs fans, who had earlier watched 1954 premiership player Angus Abbey and 1970-80s legend Doug Hawkins raise the club's second premiership flag.

Click here for full match details and stats

The Swans' disappointing night was further soured by a left ankle injury to Kurt Tippett and Zak Jones being reported for rough conduct on Travis Cloke just minutes later.

Tippett landed awkwardly after taking a strong mark midway through the first quarter, his ankle rolling underneath him. He was unable to take his kick and came straight from the ground, playing no further part in the game.

Jones cannoned into Cloke moments after the Bulldogs spearhead had marked, but did not appear to make head-high contact. Cloke was also able to get to his feet relatively quickly and goaled after receiving a free kick and 50m penalty.

Bontempelli (29 possessions, five clearances and two goals) was the star for the Dogs, while Ling Jong (23 possessions and eight marks) was outstanding in attack.

Jake Stringer (three goals) was also back to his barnstorming best, Liam Picken (21 possessions and two goals) worked his tail off in attack, Travis Cloke kicked three first-half goals and key defender Marcus Adams did well in his first game of the year.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge conceded after the match he had been worried when Franklin went on his last-quarter goalkicking spree.

"We were in a bit of trouble. It was a great effort to arrest that momentum because the Swans were flying at that point in time," Beveridge said.

"It was a strange one because we don't often sit on our hands, but there was a fair bit of trust in the boys and what they're capable of doing.

"There was a slight shift in roles but it was a tremendous effort to get that back on our terms."

Franklin (22 possessions, 11 marks and four goals) was brilliant for the Swans, and was ably supported by Reid, whose game-high six goals included three of the game's first four in a remarkable 15-minute burst.

Jake Lloyd had 34 touches through the midfield, while Josh Kennedy (23 possessions and five clearances) and Luke Parker (21 and five) did a power of work at the stoppages.

Swans coach John Longmire was pleased with his team's response to its poor loss to Port Adelaide. 

"Coming off last week we were really keen for our blokes to make an impact around the contest and strike at the ball and get their hands on the ball first," Longmire said.

"We had a really young team in tonight, so the way they went about it for the majority of the game I was really happy with.

"And to fight back, and obviously to lose Kurt in the first quarter, but then to keep going as long and as hard as what we did in that last term, and having young kids in their first games play 105-110 minutes, I thought the intensity and effort was pretty good."

The Swans' loss marked just the second time since 2006 that they have opened a season 0-2. But when they last did that in 2014, they recovered to make the Grand Final.

Sydney was missing eight players from last year's Grand Final team (Isaac Heeney, Ben McGlynn, Jarrad McVeigh, Tom Mitchell, Tom Papley, Dane Rampe, Xavier Richards and Gary Rohan) and unveiled three debutants: Robbie Fox, Nic Newman and Will Hayward.

But the Bulldogs were also missing seven of their Grand Final 22 (Dale Morris, Jordan Roughead, Tory Dickson, Toby McLean, Joel Hamling, Josh Dunkley and Clay Smith).

MEDICAL ROOM

Western Bulldogs: The Dogs emerged from the contest with a clean bill of health.
Sydney: Tippett's injury looked a nasty one. Coach John Longmire said after the match the key forward had escaped any bone damage, but had damaged the ligaments around his ankle.

NEXT UP
The Bulldogs play Fremantle next Saturday at Domain Stadium, a venue where they had lost seven games in a row before their dominant 2016 elimination final win over West Coast. The Swans return to the SCG to host Collingwood next Friday night.

WESTERN BULLDOGS   4.6   7.7  12.11  16.14 (110)
SYDNEY                          5.2   6.5    9.7   13.9 (87)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Cloke 3, Stringer 3, Bontempelli 2, T.Boyd 2, Picken 2, Jong, Murphy, Hunter, Suckling
Sydney: Reid 6, Franklin 4, Newman, Florent, Laidler 

BEST 
Western Bulldogs: Dahlhaus, Jong, Bontempelli, Stringer, Picken, Hunter, Cloke
Sydney: Reid, Franklin, Lloyd, Kennedy, Jones, Parker 

INJURIES 
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Sydney: Tippett (ankle) 

Reports: Zak Jones (Sydney) for rough conduct on Travis Cloke (Western Bulldogs) in the first quarter

Umpires: Hosking, Ryan, Mollison

Official crowd: TBC at Etihad Stadium