1. Mission to Mars

Scientists and David Bowie have all asked over the years if there was life on Mars.

And as the Dogs travel to the freshly named Mars Stadium in Ballarat for this weekend’s historic clash with Port Adelaide, we’re about to find out about an issue much closer to home.

Is there life in the Bulldogs season?

At this point the math has become pretty straightforward: bring the points back up the highway, keep that September dream alive. 

So it comes down to this.  Fight, boys, and fight hard.

 

2. Life goals

The good news is the recent record against the Power has been pretty good, having won the past two, including a three-point season-defining win in Adelaide in Round 12 last year.

The bad news is Jack Redpath kicked four in both of those games, so we have to ask the question, where will the goals come from?

The Power are the fifth highest scoring team in the league so while the weather could keep the scores lowish, it’s all relative.

Here’s the good news, Red hasn’t been doing it on his own against the Power. Jake Stringer has hauls of four and three in the past two and Tory Dickon has three and two.

 

3. Iron Man

How can we not talk about Dale Morris. Here’s a bloke who snaps his arm in half against the Suns in Round 18 and tells Triple M that he wanted to play LAST week.

Unbelievable.  As the story goes, the youngest Morris was so impressed with his Dad’s post-op scar that he said, ‘’So, you’re like Iron Man.’’  Pretty much.

Moz also went on to tell the story of how the Bulldogs’ Dr. Zimmerman put it back in place in the rooms.  Something about ‘suction and pop.’  Good God. 

Anyway, the mighty 38 is back and that’s a very, very good thing.

 

4. The colour and the shape

Port Adelaide’s Hamish Hartlett told the press this week that the Power see Ballarat as a neutral venue, which, having not played much football at Etihad in recent times, they are happy with.

But the talented midfielder is only half right here.  True, the Port boys haven’t had a good record at the Docklands, they lost by 70 to Essendon in their one visit this year, and they haven’t beaten the Dogs there since Round 15, 2003.

But, any talk of Ballarat being a neutral ground is a bit off the mark.  Make no mistake, Ballarat is a Bulldogs town and the stands will be a sea of red, white and blue.  

And there’s one more thing.  In the old days, Mars was a monster, bigger than the MCG.   Since the redevelopment… that’s right, it’s almost identical in shape and size to Etihad.

Neutral, no. Hostile, very.