After a slow start to the season, the Western Bulldogs have hit their straps with back-to-back wins ahead of their clash against the top-of-the-ladder Sydney Swans on Thursday night.
The Dogs recently defeated the GWS Giants by 27 points in what was a commanding performance against one of the competitions pacesetters.
Luke Beveridge’s side also shared the workload, with Adam Treloar amassing 35 disposals while James Harmes and Sam Darcy booted two goals apiece.
Ed Richards has taken his opportunity in the midfield in the absence of Tom Liberatore and Bailey Smith, while tall forwards Aaron Naughton and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will provide an additional headache for John Longmire’s defence.
The last time these two sides met it was the Swans prevailing by just two-points in Round 18 last season. Marcus Bontempelli was outstanding in that match at the SCG, almost single-handedly dragging his team over the line with 31 disposals and two goals.
The Western Bulldogs now sit in 11th position on the ladder with a 5-5 record and would fancy themselves against the Swans, who they have traditionally had good battles against.
Dogs coach Luke Beveridge says he’s looking forward to taking on a Swans team in form after starting the season with a 9-1 record.
“Playing against the top side this week in a Sydney team - when you consider athletically and in the contest of benchmarking the competition this year; what a great challenge for us coming off a couple of good weeks,” Beveridge said.
“We'll definitely look tactically to quell the influence of some of their movers and shakers, and their sort of match-winning types – we need to mitigate against them being dominant.
“I think one of the things Sydney have done really well against us over the journey is that they play a confronting, physical brand. They come at us in an adversarial way, historically. We admire that in any team that does it.
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