1. Top two déjà vu

For the second time this year, the top two sides will face off in front of no crowds.

It sucks, we know.

But after a disappointing outing in round 11 – which saw the Dees add six opening-quarter goals – the Dogs will be eager to put on a better show for the red, white and blue faithful in lockdown.

With Geelong (also on 52 points) right on their tails in third spot, a win could not only see the Bulldogs reclaim top spot, but also give themselves a bit of breathing room in the run home.

04:22

Match Committee | Round 19

Brett Phillips joins Matt Rendell for this week's Match Committee.

2. Mouth-watering match-ups

No matter where you look on Saturday night, there’ll be a cracker of a contest.

Inside 50 there’s Josh Bruce and Aaron Naughton doing battle with Steven May and Jake Lever.

At the opposite end you’ve got Alex Keath and Bailey Dale both playing some fine footy, up against Tom McDonald and Bayley Fritsch.

And if you look to the middle you’ll see Marcus Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore going head-to-head with Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.

Get your popcorn ready, we’re looking forward to this one.

01:33

Alex Keath | 'Lots of growth to come'

Following the disjointed week on the Gold Coast, Alex Keath discusses his season individually, as well as the depth of the Bulldog defence.

3. Numerology

The Bulldogs are on track to break a different kind of record this weekend.

Some may call it quirky, some may call it useless.

But if they can hold Melbourne to 11.13 (79) – while ideally kicking more to register the win – the Dogs will become the first team in V/AFL history to concede the same score across four consecutive weeks.

Don’t believe us?

The Dogs’ last three weeks of footy have seen North Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast all score the same result - 11.13 (79).

Geelong is the only other team to have gone three in a row, back in the 1908 season, where each of their opponents registered 9.12 (66) across rounds 10 through 12.

05:06

Josh Dunkley | 'I've been dealing with it pretty well'

Hear from Josh Dunkley from his home during his time in quarantine.

4. Waiting for a mate

While there’s plenty more footy we could talk about, we thought we’d use this last point to make a public service announcement.

Come Saturday, the Olympics will be well and truly in full swing, which means there’ll be one slight change to the TV guide.

If you’re trying to find us from the couch – we’ll be over on 7Mate in Victoria, and Fox Footy everywhere else.

That’s 7Mate here in Victoria, and Fox Footy if you’re tuning in elsewhere.