The red-hot Western Bulldogs travel north to Cairns for a home away from home game against the in-form Gold Coast Suns. Join The Roar for all the action from 7:25pm (AEST).
Both teams are riding a two-game winning streak, but it is the difference in opponents that shows where these teams are: the Bulldogs toppling the Tigers late in their last game, while the Suns beat the struggling Lions.
The Dogs are the surprise packets of this season, with some great wins against more-fancied opposition and marginal losses against other top teams.
The Suns, in what seems to be a common theme in recent years, have had their season stunted by injuries.
The last time these two teams met was Round 15 last year, with the Bulldogs getting over the line by 22 points. The victors started that game poorly, kicking only four goals in the first three quarters, before booting ten majors in the final term to run over the Suns.
The Bulldogs look set to welcome back Tom Boyd from a club-imposed suspension, while the big out for the Suns is star midfielder Gary Ablett, who is out with a shoulder injury, joined on the sidelines by Michael Rischitelli and Dion Prestia.
The Dogs have not lost either of their clashes against the Suns in Cairns, and they should take advantage of how depleted the Suns are to maintain their record and get a percentage-boosting win. They may be able to climb as high as second by the end of this week, but they need a big win and for the Swans and Crows to lose.
Gold Coast need to deliver the ball to from Tom Lynch if they are to stand any chance of winning.
Prediction
The Bulldogs have one of the stingiest defences in the competition, and they will need it to stop Lynch, but with so many outs for the Suns, the Dogs should be more than up to this task.
Bulldogs to win by 33 points.
Join The Roar from 7:25pm (AEST) for live scores and updates.
You can follow Sam on Twitter @postgamesport
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Match Wrap up. Western Bulldogs dominate the Suns in Cairns. The Western Bulldogs walked away from their annual trip to North Queensland big winners of the injury depleted Suns. with a final scoreline of 15.17.107 to 8.11.59 the Bulldogs led from start to finish. The Suns showed some fight in parts of the game but they were outclassed in larger portions of the game and it really showed. a 6 goal first quarter to the Bulldogs set the stage for the latter parts of the game. The win was somewhat soured with an injury to forward Jake Stringer who went off with an arm injury late in the 3rd quarter, He tried to come back at one stage in the 4th but with the Bulldogs well in front he quickly went back to the change rooms. The Bulldogs were led with 3 goals each to Clay Smith and Mitch Wallis and Koby Stevens and Liam Picken chipped in with 2 goals themselves to give the Dogs the scoring punch required. Tom Lynch kicked 3 goals for the Suns but without getting the help in the midfield the Suns were never able to get enough clean ball usage into their forward 50. The Bulldogs continued with their stingy defense with only 4 Suns players kicking goals for the game along with Lynch Brandon Matera and Callum Ah Chee chipped in with 2 goals, while Ryan Davis was the other goal kicker with 1. Koby Stevens led the way for both teams with 34 disposals while Aaron Hall led the Suns with 29. The win will put the Bulldogs in the top 3 while the loss keeps the Suns in 15th spot. The Bulldogs will face St Kilda at Etihad on Saturday night while the Suns play Freo at Metricon during the day on Saturday. Game stats Leading Disposals Bulldogs. Kobe Stevens 34 Marcus Bontempelli 29 Matthew Boyd 29 Suns Aaron Hall 29 Matt Shaw 25 Touk Miller 24 Leading Goal Scorers. Bulldogs Mitch Wallis 3 Clay Smith 3 2 different players with 2 Suns Tom Lynch 3 Brandon Matera 2 Callum Ah Chee 2 Injuries Jake Stringer for the Bulldogs was the only injury for the game Roar MVP 3,2,1 3 Koby Stevens 2 Clay Smith 1 Matthew Boyd
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Game over. Bulldogs very impressive and run away with a 48 point win. Western Bulldogs 15.17.107 Gold Coast Suns 8.11.59
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Goal Bulldogs 24′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 15.17.101 Gold Coast Suns 8.11.59 Mitch Wallis kicks his 3rd goal of the night despite some strong wind.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Behind Suns 23′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 14.17.101 Gold Coast Suns 8.11.59 Jarrad Grant hits the post.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Behind Bulldogs 21′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 14.17.101 Gold Coast Suns 8.10.58 Redpath unable to score a goal from the set shot.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Behind Bulldogs 20′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 14.16.100 Gold Coast Suns 8.10.58 Tory Dickson with the behind.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Goal Suns 17′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 14.15.99 Gold Coast Suns 8.10.58 Ryan Davis gets his first goal of the game and the Suns are trying to make the scoreline look a bit better for them.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Goal Bulldogs 13′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 14.15.99 Gold Coast Suns 7.10.52 Wallis with his 2nd goal of the game.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Behind Suns 12′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 13.15.93 Gold Coast Suns 7.10.52
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
The Suns ball movement has left a lot to be desired in this game.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Injury Update Jake Stringer will not take any further part in the game with his arm injury.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Goal Suns 3′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 13.15.93 Gold Coast Suns 7.9.51 Matera runs in and snaps it through for his 2nd of the game.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Behind Suns 3′ 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 13.15.92 Gold Coast Suns 6.9.45 Alex Sexton opens the scoring for the suns in the 4th with a minor.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Goal Bulldogs 2' 4th quarter Western Bulldogs 13.15.92 Gold Coast Suns 6.8.44 Clay Smith kicks his 3rd of the game and pushes the lead out to 49 points.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Free kick to the Bulldogs almost inside the goal square.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
4th quarter has started.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Injury Jake Stringer left late in the 3rd term holding his arm after a big bump. Hopefully not a serious for him as he will play a big part for the Doggies on the run to the finals.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
End of the 3rd quarter and the Bulldogs well on top. An inaccurate quarter from both teams with only 2 goals kicked in it despite 13 scoring shots between the teams. Koby Stevens is leading the game with 25 disposals. Tom Lynch is leading the game with 3 goals for the Suns.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Behind Bulldogs 26' 3rd quarter Western Bulldogs 12.15.87 Gold Coast Suns 6.8.44 Clay Smith gets the final score of the 3rd quarter with a behind.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Behind Suns 25′ 3rd quarter Western Bulldogs 12.14.86 Gold Coast Suns 6.8.44