The AFLW Bulldogs have boosted their side for Saturday’s Pride Game against Carlton, with vice-captain Brooke Lochland and fellow leader Izzy Huntington included in the line-up.
It will be Lochland’s first match of the season, having recovered from a hamstring niggle on the eve of Round 1.
Huntington also returns to the line-up, after missing last week’s loss to Melbourne with concussion symptoms.
Both will start on the interchange bench, replacing utility Nicole Callinan and draftee Amelia Van Oosterwijck.
Skipper Ellie Blackburn, Angelica Gogos, Lauren Spark and Hannah Scott will notch up their 25th AFLW games when they take to the field on Saturday.
It will also be the third installation of the annual Pride Game against Carlton, which celebrates inclusiveness, gender diversity and welcoming all people, no matter their sexual orientation.
From their previous two Pride meetings, the ledger stands at a win apiece – the Bulldogs triumphed by 73 points in 2018 thanks to Lochland’s record seven-goal haul, before a narrow two-point loss last season.
This year, both sides will enter Saturday’s contest off the back of defeats.
The match will be televised live on 7mate and Fox Footy from 3pm, with the first bounce at 3.10pm at VU Whitten Oval.
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AFLW ROUND 3
Western Bulldogs v Carlton
Saturday 22 February, 3.10pm AEDT
VU Whitten Oval
B: Angelica Gogos, Lauren Spark,
HB: Katy Herron, Ellyse Gamble, Naomi Ferres
C: Bailey Hunt, Kirsty Lamb, Gemma Lagioia
HF: Gabby Newton, Bonnie Toogood, Kirsten McLeod
F: Elisabeth Georgostathis, Deanna Berry
Foll: Kim Rennie, Ellie Blackburn, Aisling McCarthy
Int: Eleanor Brown, Dani Marshall, Izzy Huntington
Hannah Scott, Brooke Lochland
Emer: Nicole Callinan, Hannah Munyard
In: B. Lochland, I. Huntington.
Out: A. Van Oosterwijck, N. Callinan.
