Footy cliché #1

Take your opportunities.

The Bulldogs had 33 shots at goal last week, kicking 14 for a strike rate of 42%.  And that was off of 64 inside 50s, a whopping 27 more than the Lions. That’s not a typo – the Dogs lead the league in i50s and time in forward half differential over the past month.

So the good news is the Dogs are beginning to score more heavily and at precisely the right time, but they’ll need to take every opportunity against the Giants on Friday night. Every opportunity.

Consider this, the last time the two sides met was in Round 6, which the Giants won by two points, the Dogs won the inside 50 count 63-50 but kicked just nine goals from 28 shots.  The Giants kicked 11 from 20.

It’s not everything but it could be.

 

Orange Tsunamis

We’ve heard a bit about these this week.  But don’t worry, it’s not some kind of kind of meteorological disturbance and no one is cancelling holidays, it’s just how Fox Footy’s Gerard Healy describes the Giants’ recent form uptick.  

“We haven’t seen the ‘Orange Tsunami’ for about six weeks. It’s building,” he said on Fox Footy during last week’s win over the Demons.

“What a turnaround. What an onslaught. This is fantastic from the Giants.” Phew.   

They were good on the weekend, GWS, perhaps very good.  The Dees even got the first three of the game before the Giants slammed on the next eight, and they did it without Jeremy Cameron, Jon Patton and Toby Greene.

So the Dogs will need to be at their very best to win their fifth game on the trot, but just know it’s still safe to go to the beach.

 

On standby for another epic

In all seriousness, is this our biggest rivalry now? 

Some rivalries are manufactured, and some are born out of something a bit more organic like close games on big stages, player movements, and two young and hungry sides on a similar trajectory; hell, even with cheeky banners.

There’s a reason that this game is so anticipated and it’s right where it belongs under lights on a Friday night.

We know both sides probably circled this one on the calendar when the fixture was released, and we know that when these two face off, they deliver.  Click here if you need reminding.

Expect speed, expect physicality, expect fireworks.  Expect a another classic.

 

Dear Bulldogs fans…

Does home ground advantage mean anything in modern football?

Especially when multiple teams share the same venue and the difference between a home game and an away game can mean swapping over some signage.  

But… the Giants are 0-2 at Etihad Stadium this year after St.Kilda beat them by 23 points in Round 7 and Carlton knocked them off the top of the ladder in Round 12 in one of the upsets of the season.

The biggest variable? It’s YOU.  If you think the Giants weren’t rattled by the chorus of boos on their home deck in the prelim last year, you’re kidding yourself.  

So grab your tickets, grab your scarves, clear your throats and get to Etihad on Friday, you could be the difference!