Saturday afternoon football returns to Melbourne for the 2013 season with the Western Bulldogs hosting the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium. We’ll have live scores and commentary from 1.40pm AEDT.
In what looms as one of the more intriguing match ups for round one, both teams will be desperate to kick start their respective campaigns with a win.
The Bulldogs enter the 2013 season with a focus on player development after welcoming a number of exciting new faces to the club in the off-season.
First round draft picks Jake Stringer, Jackson Macrae and Nathan Hrovat will be joined by former Eagle Koby Stevens in what the club is hoping will be its next generation of star players.
While the Bulldogs have gone young Brisbane went for experience during the break, signing former Demon Brent Moloney as a free agent and also securing the services of Stefan Martin.
The two clubs’ off-season recruiting strategies may have differed and so will their expectations in 2013.
After finishing the 2012 season in good form and impressing throughout the NAB Cup, Brisbane coach Michael Voss will be looking for a finals berth for his squad.
For Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney, avoiding the bottom four will be a great result.
The Bulldogs’ off-season injection of youth will be a key to the club’s long term fortunes but in this clash they will be looking towards their slightly more experienced players to give them a lift.
The likes of Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis, Liam Jones and Luke Dahlhaus need to stand up and provide support for older heads Adam Cooney, Robert Murphy and Daniel Cross who can’t get it all done by themselves.
For the Lions, Jonathan Brown will always be the star of the show but what allowed Brisbane to finish last season so strongly was the lift from its young brigade.
If players such as Patrick Karnezis, Dayne Zorko, Claye Beams and Pearce Hanley start 2013 as they finished 2012, the Dogs may be in trouble.
One stat that is hard to ignore is the recent history between the two sides. In the two 2012 meetings, Brisbane was victorious on both occasions by a combined total of 125 points.
The second of these clashes took place at Etihad Stadium and it is fair to say that the ground holds no demons for the Lions’ playing group.
On both occasions it was a familiar story for the Dogs, who struggled to get anything going on their forward line, managing just seven and nine goals respectively.
At the other end of the scale, Brisbane kicked 18 and 19 goals.
Injury wise, the Bulldogs enter the game in rough shape with captain and gun midfielder Matthew Boyd to miss the first three weeks of the season with a calf strain.
Brisbane too will have members of its best 22 missing, with Simon Black, Matthew Leuenberger and Brent Staker unlikely to make the trip south.
On paper, the edge is certainly with Brisbane for this clash but round one has already thrown up some surprising results. Is this set to be another?
Cody
Guest
Western Bulldogs are the best but Jake Srtinger is the best player on team no doubt about it he is always willing to give his autograph and photo I love you Jake
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
Today may have been a flogging but it is great to have footy back. Enjoy the rest of your round one.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
Everything that could have gone wrong did and the Bulldogs were very good. When the game was up for grabs Brisbane didn’t take any of their chances and never recover. Very disappointing performance.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
Full Time Western Bulldogs 19.13 127 Brisbane Lions 7.17 59 Western Bulldogs Goals: Higgins, Giansiracusa 3, Murphy, Dahlhaus, Griffen, Dickson, Cordy 2, Cooney, Jones Johannisen Brisbane Lions Goals: Cornelius, Redden, Brown, Martin, Rich, Moloney
Watto
Guest
Wtf happens to Brisbane !? :|
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
What a surprise this game turned out to be. Not many gave the Dogs a chance coming into the game but they were clearly the better side from start to finish. They had a good mix of youth and experience pulling their weight. For Brisbane, where to start. Nothing went right. Hard to think of too many winners around the ground and for a side coming in to a season with such high expectations, this is a shocking start.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
Full Time Western Bulldogs 19.13 127 Brisbane Lions 7.17 59
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter 2:30 Western Bulldogs: 126 Brisbane Lions: 56 Higgins adds his third after some classy play from Griffen and Minson. After struggling to kick goals all 2012, the Dogs have now kicked 19 today. Outstanding effort and good signs for the future.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter 5:00 Western Bulldogs: 119 Brisbane Lions: 59 Things aren’t about to get any easier for Brisbane who will take on Adelaide (coming off a break) in round two. The Bulldogs will have another game at Etihad Stadium against Fremantle.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter 8:00 Western Bulldogs: 118 Brisbane Lions: 56 Party time. Higgins adds his name to the list with an outstanding goal. 19 disposals and 2 goals for Higgins. Another one who has looked brilliant today. Beyond ugly now for Voss who was under pressure going into this season. Those questions will be getting louder now.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter 10:00 Western Bulldogs: 112 Brisbane Lions: 56 The Dogs aren’t about to let their hard work be undone though as Griffen drills a goal. He has two goals and 24 disposals for the match. Been outstanding.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter 12:00 Western Bulldogs: 105 Brisbane Lions: 56 Not exactly a debut game to remember for Brent Moloney but he can hold his head reasonably high. 20 disposals and five tackles, worked hard. Beams kicks his first for Brisbane from a set shot. Needed his accuracy earlier in the game. Three in a row to Brisbane.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter 14:00 Western Bulldogs: 105 Brisbane Lions: 50 Also playing his first game for the Dogs, Tom Young. 7k 5h 12d one tackle. Solid without being a star. Could prove to be a very handy pick up.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter 16:00 Western Bulldogs: 105 Brisbane Lions: 50 Sub for the Dogs. Koby Stevens out, Clay Smith in. In his first game for the Dogs, Stevens finishes with 7k, 10h, 17d and one tackle. Solid game. New quarter but same story for the Lions as the Dogs continue to push.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter 18:00 Western Bulldogs: 105 Brisbane Lions: 50 Positive start to the last from Brisbane, with Brown taking a strong mark and kicking his first goal for 2013. Classes the gap to 55. One of the few set shot goals for the Lions today.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
4th Quarter Western Bulldogs: 105 Brisbane Lions: 44 About to start the final term and it is an important one for both team. The Lions need to get something, anything out of this game or else months of hard work could be undone. The Bulldogs need to show a four quarter performance.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
3rd Quarter Time Western Bulldogs: 105 Brisbane Lions: 44 That clearance ends up in a point to Brisbane after a long, long review. Hard to tell whose boot the ball came off but it certainly looked like it was off the Lions player. Won’t change any results but it will be a talking point during the week. Six seconds left in the quarter and Cooney gives away a free kick and 50 metre penalty. Brisbane sneak a late goal but it won’t dampening the spirits of the Dogs, who are on fire.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
3rd Quarter 2:30 Western Bulldogs: 104 Brisbane Lions: 37 The pain isn’t over yet. Dahlhaus drills another and this is getting ugly. Vossy is fuming. On a positive not, the Lions did just win a clearance.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
3rd Quarter 5:00 Western Bulldogs: 97 Brisbane Lions: 37 From the restart, the Bulldogs go coast to coast with Johannisen drilling a goal from 50. He has had four score involvements today in a solid outing. Margin out to 60 points. The lack of fight from the Lions is worrying. Big time.
Liam Twomey
Roar Rookie
3rd Quarter 7:00 Western Bulldogs: 91 Brisbane Lions: 37 Lead is 55. With Cooney bursting through the middle and sending the Dogs forward again. Can’t make anything off it this time though and the Lions rebuild and will have a shot on goal through Zorko. Another miss from a set shot. Kicking of the Lions has been shocking today.