End of the purple reign?

You’ll hear it a bit this week – the Bulldogs haven’t beaten Fremantle in Perth since 2009. 

While it’s true, the Dogs won by 63-points in round one that season on the back of five goals from Mitch Hahn, there hasn’t been a lot of opportunities either.  Every game since 2012 has been at Etihad Stadium. 

Still, the Dockers recent record against the Bulldogs is imposing, winning four of their last five by an average margin of 29 points. 

But the Dogs kicked off their 2016 season with dominant 11-goal win over the Purple Haze in round one, and on the back of that, the Luke Beveridge’s men will be looking to start a similar streak going back the other way.

Boyd’s Domain

While talk of the Dogs’ difficulties at Domain Stadium are a part of the narrative in the lead up to this Sunday’s game, there’s one player that seems to enjoy the old Subiaco.  Matthew Keith Boyd racked up a then career-high 45 touches in round 5, 2011 and averaged a solid 38.3 disposals against the Dockers over 2011/2012.

You can add to that an impressive 32.3 in the past eight contest between the two sides.

Boyd has gathered 43.9% of his disposals in the back half of the ground over the last two seasons, up from 17.5% over the previous two, so, the chances of his hitting those midfield-boosted heights are slimmish, but it’s Boydy, so you’d be brave to write him off.

The Pav factor

What impact does a retiring great have on a football club’s on-field performance in a farewell game?

One thing we can be sure of is there is no hard and fast rule, and over the years we’ve seen a range of results.  Luke Beveridge was asked about it on Tuesday and he said that if ever there was a team that would be driven by sentiment it will be Fremantle this weekend as they say goodbye to a 353-game great of the club. 

Bevo was right, the Dogs will need to be ready for anything.

In any case, it’s been a remarkable career.  Well done, Pav.

The numbers game

As August turns to September and we arrive at the pointy end of the season, all attention begins to turn to finals.

So, where do we sit going into Round 23?  In short, depending on Sunday’s result and others around the League, the Dogs can finish in up to three different positions, including in the top four.

For that to happen the Dogs will need to beat Freo, the Pies beat the Hawks, the Roos take down the Giants and the Crows beat the Eagles.  If either the GWS or West Coast lose and the Dogs triumph over the Dockers, then a home final is on the cards.

Worst case, we remain in seventh regardless of the weekends’ results.  Got all that? Good. Bring on the weekend.