Collingwood Magpies vs Western Bulldogs: AFL live scores, blog

Round 9 begins under the roof at Marvel Stadium, with the Western Bulldogs desperate to reverse their poor recent form against Collingwood in a rare ‘away game at home’. Join The Roar for live scores and rolling coverage from 7:50pm (AEST).

With competition for spots in the final eight already heating up, this is a must-win game for both sides.

In the last decade, the Magpiees and Dogs have spilt even with seven wins each from their past 14 encounters, with eight of the 14 matches decided within three goals.

The Bulldogs face the most pressure heading into this game, having recorded just three wins from eight matches this season.

The Dogs desperately need this win with a star-stuttered midfield and coach Luke Beveridge who has been under pressure since a press conference blunder in the opening round.

The Pies continue to impress as they keep building their young side under new coach Craig McRae.

One player to watch will be Magpies’ Patrick Lipinski who will play his first game against his former club tonight.

The Pies sit one spot above the Bulldogs in ninth position with four wins from the first eight rounds, having fallen out of the eight following their loss to Richmond last week.

For the Bulldogs, currently sitting tenth, it’s even more dire: a loss would leave them two wins and percentage outside the eight, a dismal result for a reigning grand finalist and a team tipped to be up to their necks in the premiership race.

The Dogs suffered a ‘night of carnage’, in the words of coach Luke Beveridge, when they went down to Port Adelaide in Adelaide last week. Cody Weightman broke his collarbone, Tim O’Brien pinged his calf and Laitham Vandermeer suffered a serious hamstring injury, with all to miss this Friday night clash.

However, captain Marcus Bontempelli is back after being managed out of the Power loss, while key defender Alex Keath also returns. Ruckman Jordan Sweet gets his first game of the year with both Stefan Martin and Tim English missing, while the Dogs are blooding a debutant in intercept defender Luke Cleary.

Meanwhile, Magpies goalsneak Jack Ginnivan’s absence through illness will disappoint neutral fans, with two of the game’s biggest pantomime villains in Ginnivan and Weightman both out.

Prediction

Western Bulldogs by three points.

Game information

Opening bounce: 7:50pm (AEST)
Venue: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
TV: Fox Footy, Channel 7
Live stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go
Betting: Magpies $2.30, Bulldogs $1.63 (odds via PlayUp)

Collingwood

B: B. Maynrd, D. Moore, J. Howe

HB: S. Pendlebury (c), I. Quaynor, J. Noble

C: J. Daicos, T. Adams, S. Sidebottom

HF: T. Brown, B. Mihocek, N. Daicos

F: W. Hoskin-Elliott, J. De Goey, B. McCreery

FOLL: D. Cameron, P. Lipinski, J. Crisp

I/C: O. Henry, C. Poulter, A. Begg, J. Madgen

EMG: T. Bianco, C. Brown, F. Macrae, M. Cox

IN: Poulter, Madgen (R8 medi-sub)

OUT: Ginnivan, Bianco

Western Bulldogs

B: E. Richards, R. Gardner, T. Duryea

HB: C. Daniel, A. Keath, B. Dale

C: L. McNeil, J. Macrae, A. Scott

HF: B. Smith, Z. Cordy, T. Liberatore

F: M. Bontempelli (c), A. Naughton, B. Khamis

FOLL: J. Sweet, J. Dunkley, A. Treloar

I/C: R. West, R. McComb, B. Williams, L. Cleary

EMG: H. Crozier, J. Schache, A. Jones, R. Smith

IN: Keath, Sweet, Cleary, Bontempelli, West

OUT: Weightman, Vandermeer, R Smith, Martin, O’Brien