Here's a couple of things to keep an eye on while watching the Dogs take on North Melbourne this Saturday night.
1. The Glove
The return of Bulldogs backline general Dale Morris can’t be overstated.
With Matthew Boyd, he’ll bring crucial experience to a still very young side, but perhaps most importantly he'll bring a versatility that not many players can match. Need evidence? Between rounds round seven and round ten, Morris’ principle opponents were Eddie Betts, Jessie Hogan, Jeremy Cameron and then Alex Fasolo.
And what about North Melbourne? In round six, he split time between Jack Ziebell, Lindsay Thomas, Jared Waite and Drew Petrie.
Welcome back, Moz.
2. Playing the percentages
There’s an ad that’s been running on Fox Footy all year where the coaches are asked to point out the game/s on the schedule that don’t matter. Hilarity ensues at the varying responses.
Of course all games are important, but if the men in charge are honest they might admit that a few do indeed carry a bit more weight than others. This week’s game is one of those games.
Just three per cent separates the Bulldogs and North Melbourne on the ladder and a loss could be the difference between playing your first final interstate and keeping your double-chance hopes alive.
So much to play for, so much on the line. This is why we love the footy.
3. When we were kings
It used to be a given that when the Western Bulldogs took the field you could pencil in a win at the coal face.
For the first fourteen games of the season the Dogs were undefeated in the contested possession count and had won ten of those games, including a hard-fought win over the Swans at the SCG. Since then, the Dogs have lost the battle in this critical area three out of the last four games. And their record? Two and two.
A win this weekend in the ‘phonebox’ as Luke Beveridge likes to call it will go a long way toward a win on the scoreboard.
4. The elephant in the room
The Bulldogs, despite having over twenty players go through there, have been rock solid down back all season.
They hold their opponents to 74.9 points per game, which places them third in the League behind Sydney and Geelong. If defence wins premierships, then they’re certainly moving in the right direction, but there is an issue at the other end of the ground.
At 86.6 points per game, the Dogs sit 10th overall and to be a player in September, you don’t have to be David King to know this needs to rise. The good news is the Dogs place seventh in the League for inside 50 entries.
With Tory Dickson and Tom Boyd finding some spark last week and Jake Stringer back on deck, could this be the week we kick a big (winning) score?
