Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
Sunday April 22, 4:40pm
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Team Lineup
Western Bulldogs
In: P Veszpremi, J Sherman, M Wallis
Out: B Lake (suspended), T Liberatore (soreness), C Smith (soreness)
Melbourne
In: J MacDonald, B Moloney
Out: J Grimes, S Martin
To see the full team lists please, click here.
Head-to-head
Round 15, 2011: Western Bulldogs 19.13 (127) def Melbourne 8.15 (63) at Etihad Stadium
Round 7 2010: Melbourne 9.12 (66) def by Western Bulldogs 10.10 (70) at MCG
Round 8, 2009: Melbourne 15.7 (97) def by Western Bulldogs 15.14 (104) at MCG
* Since 2007 the Western Bulldogs have won the past 5 encounters against Melbourne.
Last time they met:
• Daniel Giansiracusa polled three Brownlow votes in Round 15 last year with four goals, 25 disposals, six marks and four tackles.
• Ryan Griffen kicked two majors as well as collecting 28 possessions, five marks and six clearances.
• Playing a tagging role, Liam Picken kept the now departed Tom Scully (traded to GWS) to 17 touches in the match.
• It was Jack Trengrove that stood up for the Demons with 27 possessions and one goal while Ricky Petterd added one to the highlights reel producing a Mark of the Year contender while kicking two goals.
Click on the media player above to watch highlights from the last time the Western Bulldogs took on Melbourne in Round 15, 2011.
Recent Form
Western Bulldogs (0-3, 15th - L L L)
The Bulldogs are yet to notch a win in the season proper after a disappointing 63-point defeat at the hands of St Kilda last Saturday night. Despite the result last week the Bulldogs showed positive signs against NAB Cup Premiership sides Adelaide and West Coast Eagles. The Dogs were competitive in their clash against the Eagles in Round 1 until they dropped away midway through the third quarter. In Round 2 they almost caused an upset as they lead the Crows going into the final term but were unable to hold on. New Senior Coach Brendan McCartney will be eager to secure his first win with the Club this weekend.
Melbourne (0-3, 17th - L L L)
Equally desperate to win the 4 points are the Demons under new Senior Coach Mark Neeld. Melbourne’s run this year includes a 41-point defeat to the Brisbane Lions, a 108-point thrashing from West Coast and last week’s 59-points against Richmond last weekend. Despite the disappointing start to the season, the team will be buoyed by the home crowd advantage in what has been pronounced the Jim Stynes Tribute Match after the late Club legend.
Key Players
• With Brian Lake missing from the backline, Lukas Markovic will be given the task of nullifying Melbourne’s leading goal-kicker in Mitch Clark. While a stint in Round 1 on West Coast’s Josh Kennedy tested the young defender, Markovic rebounded the past two weeks with strong performances on Crows duo Kurt Tippett and Taylor Walker and then again against St Kilda’s premier power forward Nick Riewoldt.
• Jeremy Howe was amongst the Demons’ best in last week’s defeat against Richmond with an impressive 12 marks, two goals and a team-high 24 possessions.
• One to watch from the Bulldogs camp is stalwart Robert Murphy who has been instrumental in providing run off half-back. Named in the Bulldogs’ best in the past two weeks, Murphy’s rebound from the defensive 50m will provide the launch point for many of the Bulldogs’ attacking moves.
By the Numbers
• The Bulldogs are averaging 8.7 goals per game in comparison to Melbourne’s 10.3 although the Dogs are averaging more scoring shots than Melbourne (WB 20.3 to Melb 18.3)
• In disposals it is a different story with Melbourne collecting 293 disposals per game on average compared to the Bulldogs 381.7.
• The Demons have also conceded 62 goals in the first three rounds while the Bulldogs have conceded 47.
Injury List
Western Bulldogs
Dale Morris (knee) - indefinite
Tom Williams (shoulder) - 10 weeks
Christian Howard (knee) - 3 weeks
Lindsay Gilbee (knee) - 3 weeks
Brodie Moles (ankle) - test
James Mulligan (calf) - test
For a complete injury update, watch the latest episode of BulldogsTV’s Medical Room here.
Melbourne
Lucas Cook (groin) - 1 week
Michael Evans (back) - indefinite
Max Gawn (knee) - season
Jordan Gysberts (ankle) - 3 weeks
Neville Jetta (ankle) - indefinite
Liam Jurrah (wrist) - 2 weeks
Brent Moloney (groin) - test
James Strauss (leg) - 1 week
Col Sylvia (back) - 2 weeks
Rory Taggert (back) - 2 weeks
