Western Bulldogs v Collingwood
Friday 4th May, 2012, 7:50pm
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Team Line-up:
Western Bulldogs
IN: R Hargrave, D Giansiracusa
OUT: J Grant (hip), A Cordy (back)
To see the full Western Bulldogs team announcement, click here.
Collingwood
IN: H Shaw, B Reid
OUT: J Blair (leg soreness), P Seedman (omit)
Head-to-Head:
NAB Cup Round 1, 2012**: Western Bulldogs 3. 1. (19) def by Collingwood 4. 2. (26)
Round 6, 2011: Collingwood 15. 15. (105) def. Western Bulldogs 8. 9. (57), MCG
Qualifying Final, 2010: Collingwood 17. 22. (124) def. Western Bulldogs 8. 14. (62), MCG
Round 11, 2010: Collingwood 17. 11. (113) def. Western Bulldogs 16. 7. (103), Etihad Stadium
Round 1, 2010: Western Bulldogs 13. 15. (93) def. by Collingwood 19. 15. (129), Etihad Stadium
*Last time the Bulldogs defeated Collingwood was in Round 22, 2009
**Reduced game format
Click on the media player above to watch the BulldogsTV Match Day Preview for Round 6.
Last time they met:
• Last time the two teams clashed in season proper, Robert Murphy was the only Bulldog to poll in the Brownlow Medal during the hitout. The voting was Steele Sidebottom, 3, Dane Swan, 2, Robert Murphy, 1.
• The Bulldogs were trailing by 8 points at the end of three quarter time but only converted 1 goal from 6 scoring shots in the last term - ultimately allowing the margin to blow out to 48 points for the Pies to win
• The now retired Leigh Brown was Collingwood’s leading goal-scorer with 4 majors while Justin Sherman led the charge for the Bulldogs slotting through 3.
• Ryan Griffen put in a solid showing with 26 possessions (16CP, 11UP), 4 marks, 7 tackles and had 9 clearances. Steele Sidebottom on the other hand found 28 possessions, had 11 marks and kicked 3 goals.
Click here to watch video highlights from the last time the two sides met.
Recent Form:
Western Bulldogs (L L W W, 13th)
The Bulldogs are coming off the back of two wins - Melbourne in round 4 and GWS Giants in round 5. A goalless first quarter against GWS gave fans a scare but the Dogs rebounded to score 15 goals in the next three quarters. Although the Bulldogs have only won against two opponents who sit in the bottom three on the ladder, their hard fought efforts against Adelaide and West Coast Eagles (until midway through the third term) show they can still be competitive against good opposition. McCartney will lead his men into this match buoyed by the support of a large home crowd, ready to build on momentum.
Collingwood (W L W W, 10th)
After a nail biting victory over Essendon in the ANZAC Day clash, Collingwood approach Round six after a 9 day turn around - giving a number of key players time to put their hand up for selection after stints on the injury list. The pies have registered three wins for the season against Essendon (5th), Port Adelaide (15th) and Richmond (14th) and look to be finding their stride in this year’s competition.
Key Players:
• Will Minson has taken over the leading role in the ruck this year after putting in some solid performances, amassing 133 hitouts so far. Last time Dogs played Collingwood Minson dominated in the ruck with 56 hitouts to Cameron Wood’s 29 and the Bulldogs will be hopeful of winning that statistic again. However, Collingwood ruckman Darren Jolly was not in the Pies line-up during last year’s clash.
• Dane Swan hit back at any doubts over his form last week collecting 42 possessions (at 64% efficiency) as well as amassing 13 clearances, 6 tackles and 6 marks. He is a possible candidate to gain the attention of Liam Picken who has emerged as a highly qualified tagger.
• The Dogs’ Ryan Griffen also put in a good performance in Round 5 with 37 disposals (at 86% efficiency), 7 marks, 6 clearances and a goal.
• The ‘INS’ in the Collingwood line-up come team selection today could test the Dogs with big names Dale Thomas, Alan Didak, Heath Shaw and Ben Reid potential inclusions.
By the numbers:
• Collingwood are averaging 25.8 scoring shots per game while the Bulldogs are slightly behind with 22.6 shots on goal each match.
• The Bulldogs are ahead in the ruck averaging 40.6 hitouts compared to Collingwood’s 33.6.
• Sitting 8th in the league for inside 50s the Dogs are managing to get the ball into the forward line often enough however they are only ranked 16th in goal accuracy percentage
• The Dogs are getting their hands on the ball and often, sitting 2nd in the league for total disposals having collected 1934 possessions this year. Collingwood sit on 1753 disposals sitting 13th in the league.
Injury List:
Western Bulldogs
Daniel Giansiracusa (foot) - test
Lukas Markovic (hamstring) - test
Christian Howard (knee) - 1 week
Lindsay Gilbee (knee) - 2 weeks
Tom Williams (shoulder) - 8 weeks
Dale Morris (knee) - TBA
Jason Johannisen (knee) - TBA
For a complete injury update, watch the latest episode of BulldogsTV’s Medical Room here.
Collingwood
Daniel Farmer (hip) - test
Ben Reid (quad) - available round 6 - 7
Chris Tarrant (calf) - available round 6 - 7
Dale Thomas (hamstring) - available round 6 - 7
Health Shaw (hamstring) - available round 6 - 7
Brent Macaffer (knee) - indefinite
Andrew Krakouer (knee) - indefinite
Josh Thomas (foot) - indefinite
Luke Ball (knee) - Season
