The Western Bulldogs have confirmed their team of 21 for Saturday’s opening round clash against Essendon.

Captain Riley Christgoergl will lead from the middle, alongside newly-named co-vice captain Mary Sandral, who will start in the forward-line.

Returning players Louise Bibby, Brooke Hards and Marguerite Purcell have also been included, alongside Nikita Wright and Eliza Vale.

The first bounce will be at 12.30pm at The Hangar, Tullamarine.

Admission is free, with the match to also be live streamed via the VFL/W YouTube channel.

VFLW Team – Round 1

Essendon v Western Bulldogs

B: M. Freeman, N. Wright
HB: E. Vale, E. Huggard, M. McSweeney
C: L. Bibby, L. Schneider, M. Purcell
HF: A. Xanthos, M. Sandral, M. Lister
F: L. Clymo, B. Hards
R: R. Christgoergl, J. Morrow, M. Barnes
Int: C. Pittard, K. Smyth, S. Trim, K. Bays, B. Gretch
Emer: S. Perret, E. Pollard

The VFLW Bulldogs have suffered an opening round loss to Essendon on Saturday afternoon.

In new coach Kirby Bentley’s first match at the helm, the Bulldogs struggled to get on the board against a slick Essendon outfit, going down by 98 points at The Hangar.

Despite some patches which displayed the Dogs’ potential, it was ultimately a one-sided affair – the home side just too strong on their deck.

The Bulldogs’ defence did what it could to stop the onslaught, but the damage had already been done.

Eliza Vale found plenty of the footy with 18 touches and seven marks, while Lucy Schneider followed suit with 18 disposals of her own, plus six marks and four tackles.

Jaimee-Lee Morrow won the hitouts with 24 and 12 possessions, while Mikayla Barnes (14 disposals, six tackles) tried her best.

The Bulldogs will look to reset when they meet Williamstown in round two.

Essendon 4.1 8.2 12.4 15.8 (98)

Western Bulldogs 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 (0)