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The Western Bulldogs have begun their premiership defence well seeing off a spirited Collingwood to record a 14 point win.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Collingwood Magpies 12.14.86
Western Bulldogs 15.10.100
The reigning premiers return to the MCG, where they’ll be hosted by one of Australia’s biggest clubs. It’s the Collingwood Magpies facing off with the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:50pm AEDT Friday night.
For every club the first game of the season is tense and emotional. It’s the culmination of a long build-up over the offseason.
But I’d say it’s a particularly nervous occasion for tonight’s two clubs, albeit perhaps for different reasons.
The Dogs are making their first meaningful appearance after starring in one of the great stories in modern footy.
Having finished seventh and won the flag should give them a lot of confidence, but it also raises the pressure on a team still mostly made up of younger players.
Although there isn’t a genuine reason to expect a premiership hangover, they’ll be relieved to put out some good early performances and put any fears to rest.
There were some signs of inconsistency during the pre-season, which might indicate a slight lack of preparation having played all the way through September.
Collingwood have made a number of changes to their squad over the summer, but most of their team tonight will still remember last year’s humiliating 80-point Round 1 loss to Sydney after so much pre-season optimism.
This time around they appear to be starting the season somewhat below full strength, with Jamie Elliott, Levi Greenwood and new recruit Daniel Wells all unavailable through injury.
They also have to make do without Jordan de Goey after that young man’s misbehaviour.
They welcome Will Hoskin-Elliot from GWS and Henry Schade from Gold Coast to the side tonight. Interestingly, veteran recruits Chris Mayne and Lynden Dunn were only named as emergencies.
The Dogs for their part have one new face of their own, and of course it’s former Collingwood superstar Travis Cloke. He has impressed during the Community Series and will be keen to play well against the club who cast him aside.
The Dogs start the season without Mitch Wallis and Jordan Roughead, but almost all of their premiership heroes are available, and they welcome back Bob Murphy after he missed almost all of 2016.
Prediction
The Dogs showed last year that they are a talented, organised, disciplined outfit, and while this Collingwood team has potential they don’t appear as capable nor as resilient.
Western Bulldogs by 20 points.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:50pm AEDT.
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