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This Friday night, the Western Bulldogs will travel to Adelaide Oval looking to claw their way back into the top eight as they take on the second-placed Adelaide Crows. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:50pm (AEST).
The Sons of the West managed to come back from a 30-point deficit last Saturday against the West Coast Eagles at Etihad, but were unable to pull the final trigger as they went down to the Eagles by 7 points.
The loss leaves the Western Bulldogs one game outside the eight, and with this AFL season being the most competitive in recent memory, this could be the Dogs’ last chance to keep in touch with the top eight.
The boys from Footscray will need a big scalp in the coming weeks to get their premiership defence back on track, and will look no further than the Adelaide Crows.
The Crows themselves have struggled in recent weeks, losing in shock fashion to Hawthorn at home before surviving a massive scare from Carlton last week at the MCG.
Adelaide has fallen from a 6-0 record and now sits at a still-admirable 10-4. They will be looking to amend that record to 11 wins as they seek back-to-back victories for the first time since Round 10.
The Crows will be without Kyle Hartigan, however, as the defender was ruled out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury. Andy Otten will come in to replace Hartigan, while the Crows welcome back Charlie Cameron and Scott Thompson for Hugh Greenwood and Jonathon Beech.
The Bulldogs themselves have their own concerns, as star forward Tom Boyd will remain absent for mental health reasons, and captain Robert Murphy out with a hamstring injury.
The Dogs will make four changes themselves, bringing back Fletcher Roberts, Matthew Boyd, Clay Smith and Tom Liberatore. They return at the expense of Tory Dickson, Shane Biggs, Tom Campbell and Murphy.
Players to Watch
Adelaide: Rory Sloane
Sloane started like a house on fire at the beginning of the season, before slowing down massively, partially due to the work of taggers. A reason to why Adelaide’s record is at 4-4 after round 6, Sloane will be looking to get his own season back on track, and shake off the idea that he can’t hold a tag.
Western Bulldogs: Marcus Bontempelli
The Bont has had a similar season to Sloane, starting off strong before falling away near the middle of the season. He had a decent game last week against the Eagles, and the Dogs will be hoping that their reigning best-and-fairest will find his way back to form to lead them to a famous win.
Prediction
Adelaide by 23 points
While Adelaide have been inconsistent recently, their best football is still extremely good. The Dogs look shaky and while accurately predicting anything in the 2017 season is rare, I’m going to go the safe option. Crows at home will be too strong, and they should get up by three or four goals.
Can Adelaide continue their surge to the top of the ladder? Or will the Western Bulldogs find their bite to go with their bark, and get their season back on track? Join The Roar for live coverage and scores from 7:50pm (AEST).
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