Head to head: Hawthorn 73 wins, Western Bulldogs 75 wins, two draws
Last time: Western Bulldogs 14.16 (100) d Hawthorn 12.12 (84), round three, 2010 at Etihad Stadium
MISSING IN ACTION
Hawthorn
Max Bailey (knee) - indefinite
Campbell Brown (knee) - test
Rhan Hooper (hamstring) - 3-4 weeks
Simon Taylor (fractured leg) - 1-2 weeks
Western Bulldogs
Ayce Cordy (shoulder) - season
Lukas Markovic (shoulder) - test
Shane Thorne (knee) - 7 weeks
FORM
Hawthorn: WWWWW
Western Bulldogs: WLLWW
SUMMARY
It's hard to fault the Hawks' recent form. Six straight wins have seen them lift from 14th spot to inside the top eight, with percentage keeping them one rung above ninth-placed North Melbourne. A win over Essendon in the first week of the split round came after crushing Adelaide in Tasmania the week before. Wins over Carlton and the Sydney Swans before that were important given their respective ladder positions.
Meanwhile, the Dogs entered the break on the high of two big wins, albeit over two relatively uncompetitive sides. First they thrashed the Brisbane Lions at home before travelling across the country to the do the same to West Coast. After round 11 they had slipped to sixth but they've since climbed back to fifth and are one game out of the top four.The Bulldogs have the better recent record having won three of the last four clashes between the sides, but the Hawks have had more success in MCG games with five wins from eight head to heads.
PLAYER TO WATCH
In his matches in 2008 and 2009, Jarryd Roughead failed to kick a goal only once each season. This season, he's recorded doughnuts three times at the halfway mark. Against the Dogs in round three he booted 4.2, but over the past month he's managed just four majors in total. The Hawks maintain he's defensively on song - when will his offensive game catch up?
Keep one eye on Jarrod Harbrow to see if he avoids the path of Jordan Lewis this time around, and focus the other firmly on Barry Hall, particularly in the last quarter. His runaway finish against the Hawks in round three saw the spearhead nail four goals - six for the game - to seal the win for the side after it led by five points at three-quarter time.
QUESTION MARKS
The Hawks are the form side of the competition as the only one to win every game since round eight. However they are yet to beat a side as near to the top four as the Dogs are. Will they announce their return to the big stage this Friday?
Callan Ward and Sam Reid are gasping for a spot in the senior side, and with Jason Akermanis to return through the VFL this week, things are getting tight. With Shaun Higgins and Tom Williams chances to come in, how many changes will Rodney Eade make and how close is the side getting to being settled?
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
Long-range form points to the Hawks but it's the Dogs that have the biggest knock-out punch when they get their run together. Like the Hawks, they haven't had many wins against teams in contention, but they have a sound midfield and a powerful forward weapon that will once again exploit the Hawks' weakened backline.
PREDICTION
Western Bulldogs by 28 points
Chat with host Ben Oliver and other fans in the AFL Match Centre on afl.com.au from 7.10pm Friday or join the conversation on Twitter: #aflhawksdogs
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
