Saturday twilight at Metricon Stadium has the Gold Coast Suns and Western Bulldogs doing battle in an intriguing clash. Live scores begins from the opening bounce at 4.40pm AEST.
By the end of this game, there is every chance the Gold Coast could find themselves with a 50 percent record for the first time in their history, while the Bulldogs could give their supporters a bit of a spark after some decent football in the last couple of weeks.
The Suns have shown some great endeavour throughout most of the season to date, except for their loss to the Fremantle Dockers.
We know how much of a star Gary Ablett Jnr is, that’s unquestionable.
But it’s seeing the young talents of Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia, Harley Bennell, Brandon Matera and host more that is the most tantalising.
Their contested possessions have always been relatively strong, but to marry that up with their tackle count, disposal efficiency and inside 50 increases shows they are starting to gel together as a strong AFL team.
In the early days, changes of seven or eight players was common. Now, just the one change for tonight’s game with Luke Russell coming back for Tom Murphy.
The line-up for the Suns is just about their strongest. Watch for Rory Thompson who has had a good start to the season in defence – he takes on Liam Jones tonight.
The Bulldogs had been earmarked for a poor season and to finish near the foot of the table.
While they’ve had just the one win in 2013, they have shown glimpses of staying with most of their opponents.
Last week’s performance against North Melbourne, despite the margin, showed there was some resilience in the team and their midfeld was working well, with 23 centre clearances.
But when the heat got turned up, they were left floundering in the back half of the game – they hardly got their hands on the footy, and were stuck chasing tail for the rest of the match.
If they Bulldogs can’t get a quick start, they look like they could get blown away, so a positive start to not only boost their confidence, but also to keep the crowd out of it is crucial this afternoon.
Preview provided by TheSportsFreak – Follow on Twitter @TheSportsFreak
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