The Western Bulldogs head to the SCG to take on the Sydney Swans on Sunday afternoon in what looms as one of the more enticing matchups of Round 20.
The Dogs have roared back into finals contention after an impressive month of footy, including last weekend’s 47-point demolition of the Cats in Geelong.
The Western Bulldogs have now beaten Carlton and Geelong in consecutive weeks, pushing up to 9th on the AFL ladder, just two premiership points behind Essendon.
Against the Cats, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan booted four goals while Aaron Naughton added two of his own. Adam Treloar continued his impressive season with 31 touches and three goals while Ed Richards collected 28 disposals and kicked two goals of his own.
The Bulldogs hosted Sydney at Marvel Stadium back in Round 11 this season and on that occasion the Swans proved too good by 14-points.
Chad Warner was outstanding for the victors booting four goals to go with his 25 disposals, while Adam Treloar (30 disposals) and Marcus Bontempelli (26 disposals) were the best for the home side.
This Sunday, the Swans will look vastly different, with Dane Rampe and Tom Papley to miss due to injury, making the job tougher for the home side. The Swans will regain skipper Callum Mills for the Dogs clash while Robbie Fox is set to play game 100.
The Western Bulldogs could have Liam Jones return to steady their defence while Caleb Daniel is pushing for a recall having collected 32 disposals in the VFL against Geelong.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said he’s excited about the challenge of taking on the ladder leaders at the SCG.
“They’ve got their challenges as far as availability goes with their playing stocks, and decisions around where various players play. That presents us with the challenge of the uncertainty of what they’ll look like – with an injury or two to what they’ve put out on the park in recent times,” Beveridge said.
“It’ll be a bit different to what we came up against last time.
“Hopefully we have a bit of luck – everyone’s looking for that. It is important in your journey to have luck with your injury toll, but it should be a fierce battle.”
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