MATCH INFO

Sir Doug Nicholls Round 10 v Adelaide
Saturday 20 May
Mars Stadium, 2.10pm AEST
Broadcast: Fox Footy, Kayo Sports
Admission: GA tickets and limited reserved seating available here.

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2022 SUMMARY

Western Bulldogs 8th 12-10 108.9%
Adelaide 14th 8-14 86.7%

FUN FACTS

  • This will be the Bulldogs’ 10th match played at Mars Stadium, with six wins coming from their previous nine matches there
  • Jack Macrae is the only current player to have featured in all nine of those Ballarat matches, averaging 33.67 disposals
  • The Dogs have a 54.1% winning rate against the Crows – the highest of any opponent the Club has faced (minimum 20 matches) in the modern 18-team era
  • Saturday will mark Alex Keath’s second meeting against his former club, having played 30 games as a Crow between 2017-19 before crossing to the Kennel
  • The Bulldogs registered their biggest winning margin (49 points), and kicked their biggest score (121 points), at Mars Stadium against the Crows in 2021 and 2019 respectively

LAST TIME THEY MET

Round 6, 2022
Western Bulldogs 9.8 (62) def. by Adelaide 8.15 (63)

Despite snatching the lead midway through the final quarter, the Western Bulldogs were ultimately unable to turn-around a three-quarter time deficit against the Crows last season. A Taylor Walker goal at the 26 minute mark gave his side some breathing space, before a Marcus Bontempelli major just before the buzzer brought it back to a single point. Tom Liberatore was prolific with 33 disposals, 10 tackles and nine clearances, while Bailey Dale (32 disposals, six marks, four tackles), Bailey Smith (29 disposals, three clearances) and Jack Macrae (26 disposals, nine marks) found plenty of the footy. Aaron Naughton finished with two goals.

06:38

Match Highlights | Bulldogs v Adelaide

The Bulldogs and Crows clash in round six

TALKING POINTS

1. Back to the ‘Rat

As coach Luke Beveridge made reference to in his weekly press conference, the Bulldogs love playing in Ballarat.

The Bulldogs have played at least one home game in the Eureka town since 2017, building a strong relationship with the community during that time.

“We really enjoy it – we love going regionally through that Western corridor,” Beveridge told reporters on Tuesday morning.

“Ballarat have been really great to us - they’ve really embraced us through the community, and even our community programs that run right through there. We do that with pride.  

BULLDOGS HEROES AT HOP >> CELEBRATE THE BULLDOGS’ FIRST HOME GAME IN BALLARAT

“We feel like we’ve got a growing supporter base through there as well.

“Over the years I think we’ve definitely won more than we’ve lost, so it’s important that we look forward to going up there and giving our best performances, which we’ll absolutely need to because the Crows are going well.”

2. Winning it in the ruck

Two of the competition’s in-form rucks will go head-to-head at Mars Stadium, in Tim English and Reilly O’Brien.

English has been exceptional in the Dogs’ midfield this season, providing his teammates with first use on a number of occasions.

He’s won 263 hit-outs for the year – ranked fourth across the league – to go with 21 clearances and an average of 14 disposals.

His counterpart, O’Brien sits second in the competition for hit-outs (330), to go with 30 clearances and 14 disposals on average.

The last time the two met in 2021, O’Brien got on top (44-27 hit-outs) – but based on how well English is travelling so far this season, expect a much closer contest.

3. Celebrating our First Nations

Round 10 of the AFL season will mark the first week of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, the league’s annual round recognising and celebrating Indigenous players and culture.

To honour the round, the Bulldogs will wear Indigenous guernseys designed by Kerrup-Mara Gunditjmara and Yorta Yorta man Jason Walker, inspired by the Lake Condah Possum Skin Cloak.

The iconic Sherrin football will feature artwork designed by Tiwi Island artist Aunty ‘Lulu’ Coombes and for the first time, will replace the word Sherrin with the Tiwi phrase ‘Yiloga’ (pronounced Yi – lo - a), meaning football.

03:11

Our 2023 Indigenous Guernsey

Kerrup-Mara Gunditjmara man Jason Walker takes us on country to tell the story of our 2023 Indigenous Guernsey

Ground signage throughout Rounds 10 and 11 will feature symbols of cultural significance including the Aboriginal flag and Torres Strait Islander flag in each of the goal squares, a symbol for meeting place in the centre circle, the Aboriginal symbol for man in each of the 50m arcs, while the name of the Traditional Owners of each ground will appear below the centre circle. 

For more information about Saturday’s match-day, head to our game-day guide.