Fremantle vs Western Bulldogs
Sunday 8th July, 2012, 4:40pm (EST)
Venue: Patersons Stadium

Team Announcement:
Western Bulldogs
IN: L Gilbee, M Wallis, M Austin, A Cordy, J Tutt, D Pearce, N Djerrkura
OUT: A Cooney (soreness), R Murphy (hip), D Addison (jaw), L Jones (omitted)

To see the full team list, click here.

Fremantle
IN: P Duffield, A Grover, K Bradley, S Hill, M Walters, C Sutcliffe
OUT: Z Clarke, A Silvagni, J Pitt

Head-to-head:
Round 24, 2011: Western Bulldogs 15. 17. (107) defeat Fremantle 8. 13. (61), Etihad Stadium

Watch highlights on the media player above from the last time the Western Bulldogs and Fremantle met in Round 24, 2012.

Round 5, 2011: Fremantle 12. 13. (85) defeat Western Bulldogs 11. 12. (78), Patersons Stadium
Round 17, 2010: Western Bulldogs 24. 14. (158) defeat Fremantle 12. 4. (76), Etihad Stadium
Round 18, 2009: Western Bulldogs 17. 9. (111) defeat Fremantle 11. 14. (80), Etihad Stadium
Round 1, 2009: Fremantle 13. 19. (94) defeated by Western Bulldogs 25. 7. (157), Patersons Stadium

Last time they met:
• Skipper Matthew Boyd was best on ground with 35 disposals, 11 marks seven tackles, five clearances and five inside 50s
• The Dogs led comprehensively on the stats sheet with more disposals (WB 382, Freo 336), contested possessions (WB 142, Freo 136), marks (WB 105, Freo 93), hitouts (WB 31, Freo 25), clearances (WB 36, Freo 24), tackles (WB 64, Freo 57) and inside 50s (WB 59, Freo 51)
• Fremantle on the other hand had a much less experienced side going into the game averaging 50 games while the Dogs had played 67.2 games on average.
• Daniel Cross laid a career high 11 tackles during the match.

Recent Form:
Western Bulldogs (L L W L L, 14th)
The Club has been openly disappointed in last week’s result and will be looking for a big improvement going into Sunday’s game. The Dogs have shown they have the ability to be highly competitive against good opposition and it is now a matter of regaining that form. Senior Coach Brendan McCartney will be looking for the players to be more consistent in implementing team structures and in their defensive efforts. 

Fremantle (L L W L L, 13th)
Fremantle need to string a number of wins together in the coming weeks to keep their finals dream alive. Sitting amongst a congested area in the middle of the ladder, Freo are one of five Clubs sitting on six wins just outside of the top eight. Coming off two losses to Collingwood and Essendon they will be eager to build momentum ahead of Melbourne, GWS and Port Adelaide in the next three rounds.

Key Players:
• Defenders Easton Wood and Christian Howard will take on added responsibility in the back half with Bob Murphy and Dylan Addison ruled out of the game through injury. Their ability to provide run and carry out of the back line as well as apply defensive pressure on Freo’s smaller forwards will be vital.
• Michael Barlow is beginning to find some solid form - making himself known last weekend with 37 disposals at 75% efficiency, seven clearances, four marks and four tackles. He currently leads Freo in disposals, contested possessions and clearances and will be looking to build on his good form
• Ryan Crowley is likely to get the hard task of lining up on Bulldogs Skipper Matthew Boyd as he continues to attract run with roles with the opposition’s big names.
• The run and chase of Luke Dahlhaus and Tory Dickson will continue to be valuable across the forward line and through the midfield on the weekend. Their pressure acts and defensive second and third efforts have embodied McCartney’s team orientated ethos.

By the numbers:
• In round 14 the Bulldogs had eight players who had played less than 30 career games -only Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast and Port Adelaide had more players with less than 30 games.
• The Dogs continue to dominate around the stoppages, currently ranked 3rd in the league in total clearances (526) while Fremantle are ranked 15th (475).
• Freo are however dominating in the tackle count and is currently leading the league in that stat having laid 975 tackles this season (58 more tackles than their direct opponents) while the Dogs have only laid 878
• As far as individual honours go Matthew Boyd is leading the league in total disposals this season with 412 (21 more than the second ranked in the league)
•  Brian Lake is also equal first for total marks in the competition while Freo duo Michael Johnson and Luke McPharlin ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the stat
• The Dogs are averaging more scoring shots per match (WB 22.3, Freo 20.8)

Injury List:
Western Bulldogs
Dale Morris (leg) - indefinite
James Mulligan (achilles) - TBA
Dylan Addison (jaw) - 4 weeks
Andrew Hooper (hamstring) - 2 weeks
Daniel Giansiracusa (foot) - 2 weeks
Robert Murphy (hamstring) - 2 weeks

To see the full injury list, click here.

Fremantle
Viv Michie (foot) - TBA
Aaron Sandilands (toe) - 7 weeks
Nat Fyfe (shoulder) - 3 weeks
Josh Mellington (hamstring) - test
Zac Dawson (knee) - test
Stephen Hill (ankle) - test
Anthony Morabito (ankle) - test
Hayden Crozier (ankle) - test