MATCH INFO

Round 9 v Carlton
Saturday 13 May
Marvel Stadium, 7.32pm AEST
Broadcast: Fox Footy, Kayo Sports
Admission: All Public GA and reserved seat tickets for Saturday’s clash at Marvel Stadium are now exhausted.

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2022 SUMMARY

Western Bulldogs 8th 12-10 108.9%
Carlton 9th 12-10 108.3%

FUN FACTS

  • The Bulldogs have won 57 of 151 encounters against Carlton, including seven of the last 10
  • Saturday night will mark ex-Blue Liam Jones and ex-Dog Lewis Young’s first games against their former clubs
  • Marcus Bontempelli registered his career-high disposals (37) against Carlton in 2018
  • Footscray/Western Bulldogs and Carlton have never met in a final 
  • 41 VFL/AFL players have played for both Footscray/Western Bulldogs and Carlton 

LAST TIME THEY MET

Round 2, 2022
Western Bulldogs 13.12 (90) def. by Carlton 16.6 (102)

The Western Bulldogs fell two goals short against the Blues in round two last season, despite closing the deficit from 31 points at half-time to just 13 points with six minutes to play. Unfortunately though the Dogs couldn’t convert when they needed to most, adding only 2.7 to their final-quarter score. Tim English impressed with 24 disposals, 21 hit-outs, six marks and a goal, while Adam Treloar’s 31 touches and six clearances were impactful. Tom Liberatore, Anthony Scott and Mitch Hannan all finished with two goals each. 

06:57

Match Highlights | Round 2

The Bulldogs and Blues clash in Round 2

TALKING POINTS

1. Curtailing Charlie

A key focus for the Bulldogs come Saturday night will be curtailing the influence of reigning Coleman Medallist, Charlie Curnow.

Ex-Blue Liam Jones is the likely match-up for Curnow, and having spent five seasons on the same list might have some tricks to try and limit his impact.

Curnow has kicked 31 goals so far this season, and 17 from six games against the Dogs across his career - his best output against any team.

If the Dogs’ defence can bring the ball to ground in their back-50, it should go a long way in keeping the ball out of Curnow’s hands.


2. Battle of the key forwards

At the other end of the ground, Bulldogs key forward Aaron Naughton will be looking to impact in his own way under the Marvel roof.

Fresh off a three-goal haul against the Giants last weekend, Naughton is building into some nice form and hitting the scoreboard effectively.

Supported by Rory Lobb and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan in recent weeks, along with electric small forwards Cody Weightman and Arthur Jones, the Bulldogs have found plenty of avenues to goal this season.

And while this hasn’t affected their results so far, the Dogs’ challenge will be converting more accurately – having slotted 88 goals and 88 behinds in the first third of the season.

00:47

Magnificent Naughton seals the game with deuce

The Bulldogs hold off the Giants' comeback with these clutch Aaron Naughton beauties

3. Playing away at home

While Saturday’s clash is technically a Carlton home game, the Bulldogs are obviously ultra-familiar with Marvel Stadium.

The Dogs’ record under the roof at Docklands trumps the Blues – having won 139 of their 273 total games (51%) there compared to Carlton’s 60 wins from 163 outings (37%) – and should be buoyed by their recent history at the ground.

With all public GA and reserved seats now exhausted, playing in front of a capacity crowd will add even more excitement and energy to the fixture.

Let’s just hope there’s plenty of red to go with the white and blue in the stands.

11:54

Skipper mic'd up ahead of his 200th

Join Bont as he gets ready for his 200th game