The Western Bulldogs are set to tackle the toughest road trip in the competition ahead of their match with the West Coast Eagles at Domain Stadium tonight. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:50pm (AEST).
The Eagles are flying high in fourth on the ladder and will be looking to pocket their third win on the trot to further entrench themselves in the top four.
They claimed a prized scalp last Saturday afternoon in edging out the in-form Port Adelaide 97-87 in the furnace of Adelaide Oval, a bizarre affair on the statistical front.
West Coast were dominated in a litany of key areas, from disposals to clearances and more, but were much more accurate in front of the sticks than the hosts in booting 15.7.97 despite superstar forward Josh J Kennedy having a quiet outing.
A comprehensive disposal of cross-town rivals Fremantle preceded West Coast’s meeting with Port, a game in which a wealth of midfield service to the side’s forwards proved too much of a handful for the Dockers as Kennedy bagged six goals.
On the other side of the ledger, a buoyant Dogs outfit is eyeing its second-successive win ahead of tonight’s clash, having pipped Richmond 80-75 in Melbourne last Saturday night.
The reigning premiers recovered from an ordinary opening half against the Tigers which saw them trail by 18 points at the main break.
Perched in fifth on the ladder, the Dogs will be out to claw their way into the top four.
In line-up news, West Coast have named forward Fraser McInnes and 20-year-old midfielder Liam Duggan to replace Jonathan Giles and Mark Hutchings who were both omitted.
Meanwhile, Bulldogs skipper Robert Murphy (rested), Jake Stringer (knee) and Josh Dunkley (shoulder) will sit out, bringing forward Jack Redpath, rising swingman Lukas Webb and 20-year-old small-forward Bailey Dale into the side.
Prediction
The Dogs may have steamrolled West Coast in the second elimination final last September, but were outdone by 16 points against the Dockers in the furnace of Domain Stadium in Round 3 of this season.
The Eagles’ fan base is of a more parochial kind than Fremantle’s, meaning the Dogs are facing one almighty challenge.
West Coast by 14.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:50pm (AEST).
I ate pies
Guest
Blaming the umps for 4 finals wins across the country is lazy group think.
bongo bill
Guest
oh absolutely..my point was really flying back against the timezones/sun..i've flown much west-east, not just redeye, and always seem to be lethargic regardless of time slot. maybe thats just me..
Elliott Wrigglesworth-Smith
Guest
Incredibly lucky in some close games. Winning with no real conviction for the most part. That's fine. They're a solid top 8 team, just not a realistic premiership contender unless they get the umps on their side again come finals. 6th in attack, 10th for defence. Struggle to score more than 80 points unless they are playing easy beats.
Don Freo
Guest
Bulldogs did not fly the red eye before the game. They might have done it going home.
Cat
Roar Guru
Don't fly a red eye ... Miss your normal sleep time you are going to be tired the next day, whether thats from flying or just staying home and watching TV too late.
Slane
Guest
Good game. Doggies need a forward line.
bongo bill
Guest
flying west to east is harder, going back in time against the sun! it probably scientifically makes no sense, but spent many times flying the redeye special to sydney and would have to write off the next day, being too zonked!
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
That's not the flight, it's about adjusting your body clock and sleeping patterns. Not that much of an issue for a 2 hour time difference, although it may impact on these night games a little bit, maybe more so the recovery. Although flying out to play a 12noon game EST may be more difficult to adjust to for teams headed the other way, being more out of the usual playing body clock patterns.
berrlins
Roar Pro
It was a good fight by the Dogs but if they don't sort their forward line out they're not going to do anything come September, It was good to see Redpath have a good return game, He'll be better for the run. Boyd needs to start clunking marks instead of just flying for them, he has been underwhelming this year after a good finals series last year. it'll be good when Stringer, Dickson and Crammers all return they add an extra edge to the forward line and make it harder to match up against. Eagles played really well and were unlucky not to win by more (I guess they won't care, after all a win's a win).
Howie
Roar Pro
Apparently the East to West flight takes more out of you.
Zachary Gates
Roar Guru
Hook in to my match report below, Roarers. Once again, thanks for joining me for tonight's thrilling game in the west. I will be back to live blog Manly Sea Eagles vs Brisbane Broncos tomorrow night. Until then ...
Zachary Gates
Roar Guru
Eagles edge out Dogs in a heart-stopper The West Coast Eagles have escaped jail despite being woeful in front of goal in a heart-stopping eight-point win over a plucky Western Bulldogs outfit at Domain Stadium on Friday night. In a bizarre encounter in which neither side ever arrested genuine momentum, the hosts were particularly inaccurate in the second half in kicking 1.9 en route to a 9.15.69 to 8.13.61 win. Coleman Medal favourite Josh J Kennedy was so wayward in front of goal that Eddie Maguire was at a loss in Fox Footy’s post-match coverage as to whether the full-forward, despite bagging three goals, was one of West Coast’s best on ground. Kennedy was presented with a raft of opportunities to put the game to bed early in the final stanza but kicked three behinds within the opening ten minutes, all three of which were off set shots from straight in front inside 50. Fill-in Bulldogs skipper Easton Wood iced a tidy series of linking corridor passes when he goaled shortly after Kennedy’s third sprayed shot, before Lukas Webb pocketed a major to cut the deficit to nine points with eight minutes left on the clock. Tensions were high when the yellow Sherrin sailed heavenward in two boundary throw-ins in West Coast’s left-forward-pocket within the final two minutes of play, but the home side would make the most of optimal field territory. Dogs half-back Jason Johannisen put a desperate ball to boot to launch the pill straight up the guts in the final 60 seconds, but a repellent wall of navy blue and gold propelled the ball back into West Coast’s forward 50 to close the door on a potential late Bulldogs win. The thrilling victory saw West Coast paper over their steamrolling defeat at the hands of the Dogs in the second elimination final at home last September. Eagles midfielders Andrew Gaff (a game-high 35 disposals) and Sam Mitchell (33) turned in enormous games, while defender Eliot Yeo was another of West Coast’s best in collecting 29 disposals and a glut of intercept marks. On the other side of the ledger, Johannisen was supreme in raking in 26 disposals and providing plenty of drive out of defence, while Scott Pendlebury-like midfielder Caleb Daniel (30 disposals) was again highly composed with the footy in hand. Meanwhile, in his first game back from rupturing his anterior crucial ligament in Round 18 of last season, Doggies forward Jack Redpath showed no signs of rust in slotting three goals. Adam Simpson’s men shot out of the blocks to take a 16-point lead into quarter-time and a 17-point lead into the main break. They then maintained a 17-point buffer heading into the final change, before the Dogs burst out of their muzzles in the final scene of the script to take the game right down to the wire. West Coast’s win has elevated the side from fourth into second on the ladder, while the Dogs have slipped from fifth to sixth with an eye on clawing back into the top four next week. They will look to do so against Geelong at Simonds Stadium next Friday night, while tonight’s victors will shoot for their fourth win on the trot when they face Essendon at Etihad Stadium.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
Pretty weird comment. They'd won twice as many games than lost before tonight, so it'd suggest they attack ok.
bongo bill
Guest
yet they won the grand final last season, sweeping all before them, go figure?
bongo bill
Guest
yes and no!? the eagles didnt pinch anything, they led for the whole game and were in control for most of it. it couldve been done+dusted at several stages except for inaccurate kicking. but hang on, the doggies were equally inaccurate, just as port were last week. so once again the better team won on the night. rather than saying this will come back to haunt them later, perhaps the glass is half full and they will improve on this and be more consistent like they have at least 50% of the time in the past. I thought there were some positive signs tonight with Eagles, before it got sloppy-ugly. perhaps the reason for inaccurate kicking on both sides is the increased running thats demanded by current gamestyle -and tired legs? To the doggies credit they held on right through the game, then switched on their energiser bunny legs in last quarter, as they always do-causing the eagles to panic and fumble..and this with some real talent missing. arguably jake stringer mightve made the difference.
Rick
Guest
Your article starts by declaring that the Bulldogs trip to Perth is "the toughest" to undertake. How is it any tougher than West Coast or Fremantle flying to any of the east coast venues, in particular flying from Perth to Tasmania, try that one for "tough"
Mattician6x6
Guest
Kennedy misses , wce kick 5 points in last quarter, doggies should be stoked we kept them in game
Don Freo
Guest
WC comfortably outplayed them. BT tried to make it sound exciting but WC had already put the game away. Bullies never got within a goal. 5 points in the last Q to WC could easily have been 5 goals. WC's sitters were easier...and more...than Bullies. Kicking aside, this was very impressive.
Zachary Gates
Roar Guru
Thanks for joining me in my live coverage, Roarers. Stay tuned - match report to come.
Joel Erickson
Roar Guru
Fair point GJ. And honestly, it's probably more of a reflection on West Coast's defence that they've forced two very good sides into inaccuracy rather than luck. I just reckon those last quarters may be a little bit of a concern going forward.