Western Bulldogs vs Geelong Cats
Friday, 25th May 2012, 7:50pm
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Team Lineup:
Western Bulldogs
TBA
For the full team announcement visit westernbulldogs.com.au from 6:25pm Thursday.
Geelong
TBA
Head-to-Head:
NAB Cup Challenge, 2012: Geelong 11. 18. (84) defeated Western Bulldogs 11. 9. (75), Simonds Stadium
Round 11, 2011: Geelong 23. 10. 148) defeats Western Bulldogs 13. 9. (87), Simonds Stadium
Round 20, 2010: Western Bulldogs 9. 6. (60) defeated by Geelong 25. 11. (161), Etihad Stadium
Second Qualifying Final, 2009: Geelong 14. 12. (96) defeat Western Bulldogs 12. 10. (82), MCG
Round 21, 2009: Western Bulldogs 16. 14. (110) defeat Geelong 14, 12, (96), Etihad Stadium
Last time they met:
• When Geelong took on the Bulldogs in Round 11 last year they won comprehensively across the stats board with 77 more disposals (+20 contested possessions) , 45 more marks and 22 more inside 50s.
• The Bulldogs leading goal kickers were Daniel Giansiracusa, 5, and Brian Lake, 3 - the now retired Brad Ottens was Geelong’s leading goal scorer with 5 majors while James Podsiadly kicked 3
• In Round 11, 2011 Geelong players had on average 29.1 more games under their belts
• The Bulldogs came back to win the final quarter by 8 points
Recent Form:
Western Bulldogs (W L W W, 11th)
Friday night’s clash will provide a good test as the Bulldogs look to build momentum after winning four of their last five games.
A loss to Collingwood (5th) mars that record in what could have been a five game winning streak. On that occasion, the Pies broke the Dogs stranglehold late in the fourth quarter to take out the win.
Last week the Dogs started slowly against a determined Gold Coast outfit in Darwin but regrouped after the major break and came back to secure the win. After a six day turn around the Dogs will be conscious of playing out the full four quarters at a high intensity.
Geelong (W W L L, 10th)
After falling in a closely fought battle against Collingwood (5th) last weekend, Geelong will be keen to get a win under their belt.
Defeating Hawthorn (6th) by a mere two points in Round 2, the Cats have only secured wins against Melbourne (18th), Brisbane (14th) and Richmond (13th) who sit on the bottom third of the ladder.
Geelong have been involved in a number of closely contested matches being pipped at the post by less than 3 goals on three occasions. Still very much a force to be reckoned with, the reigning Premiers’ tenth placing on the ladder is not necessarily an accurate indicator of their true ability.
Key Players:
• Brian Lake and Mark Austin’s ability to shut down Tom Hawkins and James Podsiadly will be a large factor in the result of Saturday night’s game. Statistically Lake is matching the numbers he put up in his standout seasons of 2009 and 2010, while Austin is growing in confidence and is currently leading the Bulldogs stats in ‘one percenters.’ Hawkins and Podsiadly pose one of the most threatening power forward combinations in the competition, ranked 2nd and 5th in the race for the Coleman Medal.
• Glancing through the midfield, Ryan Griffen and Luke Dahlhaus will likely be marked men for the Dogs, while Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel are two key playmakers for the Cats that could expect to find some close attention form the likes of Liam Picken. Depth in the midfield will be key, with the performance of Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore around the stoppages to be likely barometers of the Dogs night.. Wallis has continued to impress after his Round 2 Rising Star nomination while Liberatore has found his feet in 2012 after a slow start, now ranking 3rd at Whitten Oval for clearances and 5th in contested ball.
By the Numbers:
• Last year Geelong collected 77 more disposals than Bulldogs, yet this year the Dogs are leading the league in disposals and contested disposals while Geelong is ranked 11th and 12th respectively
• Geelong however are averaging 74.8 tackles per game (ranked 2nd in the league) to Bulldogs 68.2 (ranked 3rd)
• The Dogs have 23 players who have contributed goals this season (13 players contributing 4 or more goals) in comparison to Geelong’s 21 players with only 9 contributing 4 or more goals.
• Only 8 Bulldogs players have played every game this season whereas in the Geelong camp their line-up is more settled with 12 players.
Injury List:
Western Bulldogs
Dale Morris (leg) - indefinite
Tom Williams (shoulder) - 5 weeks
Jason Tutt (knee) - 4 weeks
Lukas Markovic (hamstring) - 3 weeks
Jason Johannisen (knee) - 3 weeks
Lindsay Gilbee (knee) - 2 weeks
Easton Wood (hamstring) - 1 week
Adam Cooney (knee) - test
Geelong (updated 15th May)
Allen Christensen (calf) - TBA
Tom Gillies (ankle) - TBA
Daniel Menzel (knee) - indefinite
Dawson Simpson (back) - indefinite
Jordan Murdoch (finger) - indefinite
Nathan Vardy (hip) - indefinite
Travis Varcoe (foot) - indefinite
Josh Cowan (achillies) - 2 weeks
Matthew Scarlett (thigh) - test
