Western Bulldogs vs Brisbane Lions
Saturday 23rd June, 2012, 1:40pm
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Team Selection:
Western Bulldogs
IN: T Campbell (Bendigo Bombers)
OUT: W Minson (Suspended)
To see the full team announcement, click here.
Brisbane Lions
IN: A McGrath, S Black
OUT: J Polec, A Cornelius
Head-to-head:
Round 2, 2011: Western Bulldogs 19. 9. (123) defeat Brisbane Lions 6. 9. (45), Etihad Stadium
Round 12, 2010: Western Bulldogs 17. 19. (121) defeat Brisbane Lions 8. 8. (56), Etihad Stadium
Round 4, 2010: Brisbane Lions 13. 23. (101) defeats Western Bulldogs 12. 7. (79), Gabba
Semi Final, 2009: Western Bulldogs 16. 11. (107) defeat Brisbane Lions 8. 8. (56), MCG
Round 20, 2009: Brisbane Lions 12. 12. (84) defeated by Western Buldogs 15. 12. (102), Gabba
Watch a BulldogsTV Flashback on the media player above from the Bulldogs' 78-point victory over Brisbane last year at Etihad Stadium.
Last time we met:
• Bulldog Ryan Griffen was in fine form with his 33 disposals, three goals, four tackles and five marks on the day
• James Polkinghorne and Jack Redden were the only Lions players to kick multiple goals with two apiece.
• Only Bulldogs players ranked in the Brownlow voting with Matthew Boyd, 3, Ryan Griffen 2, Daniel Cross 1.
• The Western Bulldogs had 28 scoring shots to Brisbane Lions 15 - yet adversely Brisbane had more inside 50s with 52 to Bulldogs 50.
Recent Form:
Western Bulldogs
Coming off a solid 38 point win over Port Adelaide last weekend, the Bulldogs will be looking to build on the momentum and bring their win/loss ratio to six wins - six losses. The Bulldogs forward line is functioning better with their big men starting to string some solid performances together. Meanwhile the rest of the team is becoming more and more settled as Senior Coach Brendan McCartney’s men make a late charge in the season. Having won five of their last eight outings and remaining highly competitive against two top eight teams in Collingwood (3rd) and Geelong (7th) the Dogs have positioned themselves well. A win against Brisbane is needed to build confidence ahead of the business end of the season.
Brisbane Lions
The Lions have only notched four wins from their first 11 games for the season with an upset win over the top of the ladder West Coast their crowning glory. Their other three wins, while convincing, were against bottom three Gold Coast, GWS and Melbourne. Forward powerhouse Jonathan Brown has been missing in action for parts of the season through injury and lack of form, forcing the Lions to find new goal kicking options. Veteran Simon Black’s injury woes have also forced midfield duo Tom Rockliff and Jack Redden to continue to carry the brunt of the load through the centre - which they have done gallantly. In last week’s devastating loss to the Hawks only one Lions player had played more than 150 games, while 11 players had not reached the 50 game milestone.
Key Players:
• Jordan Roughead will look to step up this weekend as he assumes the first ruck duties in Will Minson’s absence. Facing his ex-team mate in Ben Hudson will make for an interesting matchup. If elevated rookie Tom Campbell is given the nod to debut, the young men could be required to share the ruck duties as well as rotate through the forward line alongside Ayce Cordy and Liam Jones
• The man most likely to be given a run with role on Ryan Griffen would be Andrew Raines who is becoming the Lions most valuable tagger. Griffen is no stranger to such attention and will be very eager to shake the hard tag.
• Emerging as a key player in the Lions future this season is Dayne Zorko. While limited in his experience at AFL level he has shown he can make an impact as well as sneak through a goal or two. The Broadbeach recruit was one of the Lions best players last weekend against the Hawks despite only having five senior games to his name.
• While making a name for himself as a fullback, Lion Daniel Merrett has spent much of this year roaming the forward line to assist Brown. The forward half is not foreign to Merrett - he was initially drafted as a key forward - and a seven goal haul against GWS proves he cannot be discounted. While Brian Lake is likely to line-up against Jonathan Brown, Mark Austin will match up against Merrett.
By the numbers:
• Brisbane are ranked third in the league for average rebound 50s per game (37) while Western Bulldogs are currently ranked last (30)
• In terms of disposals per game the Lions are averaging 20 less than their direct opposition while the Bulldogs on average have seen 21 more disposals per game than their opposition
• The Bulldogs are still winning at the stoppages ranking 4th in average clearances per game in the league while Brisbane is ranked 12th
• The Lions winning ball winner Tom Rockliff is averaging 26 disposals a game while the Bulldogs’ Matthew Boyd is finding almost 33 disposals per game on average
Injury List:
Western Bulldogs
Dale Morris (leg) - indefinite
Tom Williams (shoulder) - 1 week
James Mulligan (achilles) - 1 week
To see the Bulldogs full injury list, click here.
Brisbane Lions
Ash McGrath (knee) - test
Jesse O'Brien (groin) - test
Todd Banfield (stress reaction, fibula) - test
Matthew Leuenberger (achilles) - indefinite
Brent Staker (knee) - season
Brad Harvey (ankle) - season
Bryce Retzlaff (knee) -season
