Match Details

Melbourne v Western Bulldogs
MCG
Saturday July 14, 4.35pm AEST

Summary

After an emphatic – albeit inaccurate – victory against Fremantle, Melbourne is back on the winners’ list and will be hoping to officially put its mid-season lull to rest against the Western Bulldogs.

Melbourne didn’t make the dent on the scoreboard it would’ve desired last week against Fremantle, however it showed positive signs on the stat sheet. After the spotlight was placed on Melbourne’s defence, it responded against the Dockers to concede a season low 48 points from 28 inside 50 entries.

This is Melbourne’s second game in six weeks against the Western Bulldogs, who have shown patches of form in 2018. Their highlight of the season so far was a thrilling win two weeks ago against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium.

Team news

Melbourne
Jay Kennedy Harris has been named for his first game of 2018, while Bernie Vince has earned a recall. Kennedy Harris was one of Casey’s best in atrocious conditions in the VFL last weekend, recording 25 disposals and three goals. The pair will come in at the expense of Billy Stretch (toe) and Joel Smith (omitted).

Western Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have made three changes for the clash, with Marcus Bontempelli (appendicitis), Hayden Crozier (hamstring) and Tom Boyd (back) all out. Jason Johannissen, also playing his 100th match, will captain the side with Jack Macrae, Mitch Honeychurch and Jordan Roughead coming in.

Players to watch

Angus Brayshaw
Brayshaw had one of the games of his career in round 11 against the Western Bulldogs, recording 39 disposals, nine inside 50s and a goal. After missing the first three rounds of 2018, Brayshaw has been in fine form since his return. He has recorded 30-plus possessions in four games this year.

Jack Macrae
After three weeks out of the side, the gun midfielder is set to return for Bulldogs. Macrae has emerged as one of the league’s elite midfielders in 2018 averaging 31.7 disposals a game – the third highest in the competition this season. Expect Melbourne to heavily mark the 23-year-old.    

In the media

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin on the Bulldogs
“We played the Bulldogs in round 11 and it was quite a contested game. We got beaten in a few areas we really value, so we’re going to have to be at our best to play the way we want to play. We’re back in front of our home crowd at the MCG, and we’re looking forward to putting on a really strong performance.”

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge on Melbourne
“They [Melbourne] are a big challenge, they've gotten us the last few times. Respect what they do…when we've played them, in all the lines and in attack and defence they've been pretty impressive. But they've had some change too and they’re going through a patch where they're trying to get their belief systems back up again.  We'll give ourselves a chance, like we do every week but they're a pretty good side.” (via westernbulldogs.com.au)

2018 so far

Ladder position (as of publication date)
Melbourne: 6th (W9, L6)
Western Bulldogs: 14th (W5, L10)

Last five matches
Melbourne: WLLLW
Western Bulldogs: LLLWL

Scoring record
Melbourne points for: 229.187 (1561) – ranked first in the league
Melbourne points against: 178.153 (1221) – ranked ninth in the league

Western Bulldogs points for: 151.164 (1070) – ranked 15th in the league
Western Bulldogs points against: 214.156 (1440) – ranked third in the league

Did you know…

  • Melbourne only conceded 28 inside 50s against the Dockers last week. The stat is the lowest ever conceded by Melbourne since inside 50s were first recorded by Champion Data in 1999.
  • The Demons and Bulldogs are first and 18th respectively in terms of hit outs. Melbourne’s 771 for 2018 is almost double the Bulldogs’ season tally of 401.
  • Melbourne has won its past two matches against the Bulldogs. The Demons haven’t won three in a row against the Dogs since 2005.

Melbourne Milestones

Alex Neal-Bullen: 50 games
Christian Petracca: 1,000 disposals (needs two more)
Jesse Hogan: 1,000 disposals (needs five more)

Head-to-head history

Total
Played: 164 games
Melbourne: 87 wins
Western Bulldogs: 76 wins
Drawn: 1

At the MCG
Played: 73 games
Melbourne: 45 wins
Western Bulldogs: 28 wins
Drawn: 1

Past decade
Played: 14 games
Melbourne: 4 wins
Western Bulldogs: 10 wins

Highest home and away season attendance
55,012: round 3, 1962 at the MCG

Biggest wins
Melbourne: 80 points (round 12, 1943 at Punt Rd Oval)
Western Bulldogs: 120 points (round 15, 1985 at Whitten Oval)

Last time we met
Round 11, 2017: Melbourne 15.10 (100) def. Western Bulldogs 7.9 (51) at Etihad Stadium

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