FORM GUIDE
Past five: Lions 2 – Bulldogs 3
All matches since 1997: Lions 15 – Bulldogs 14
The Brisbane Lions and the Western Bulldogs are in their best form of the year, and despite both teams having little to gain in 2013 from Sunday’s game, both will be aiming to win this game as a confidence boost moving into 2014.
The Lions have won five of their last seven while the Bulldogs have taken care of the likes of Adelaide, West Coast and Carlton in recent weeks.
Despite sitting 15th on the ladder, the Doggies’ performances in recent weeks have seen them labeled by some media commentators as an up and coming team in the competition.
And it’s the lightning quick Ryan Griffen who has helped the boys in the West earn that tag.
Griffen averages an outstanding 30 disposals in his 18 appearances this season as well as an impressive five tackles per game.
One of the reasons for the midfielder’s dominance is the incredible work of big man, Will Minson.
Minson leads the competition in hitouts (averaging 38.8 per game) and is in the top tier of ruckmen for average disposals at 14.2 per game. He has singlehandedly shouldered the rucking duties for the Dogs in 2013 and will be in serious contention for All-Australian honours.
For the Lions, winning against GWS last week, amid controversy, was a sign of the increasing maturity of a young list that have the potential to rise up the ranks of the AFL.
Sam Mayes was the standout player in an otherwise evenly spread performance by the Lions.
The 19-year old kicked four goals to go with his 21 disposals and no doubt leaves Lions’ supporters giddy with excitement at his ability.
SELECTION TABLE
The Lions and Dogs have both named extended squads as a result of the Sunday twilight timeslot.
Simon Black will miss another week after accepting a one match ban for striking GWS mid Callan Ward.
Jordan Lisle, Jesse O’Brien, Jack Crisp and Marco Paparone have been named on the extended list.
If named in the final side, Paparone, the Lions second pick in the 2012 draft, will line up for his fifth game of the season, while Jordan Lisle has earned back his spot after a three-goal performance in a win against the GWS Reserves last weekend.
The Dogs have yet to omit anyone from the extended list and bring in dangerous small forward Jason Tutt, the versatile Liam Jones and the number six pick in the 2012 draft, Jackson McCrae.
KEY MATCH-UPS
It will be the contest of the big men that will need to be watched.
Will Minson and Matthew Leuenberger are very different builds and play different brands of footy, but something they do have in common is that they both sit in the top tier of rucks in the competition.
Minson leads Leuenberger in disposals and hitouts and is one of only a couple that can say that this year.
One stat that Minson will be keen to turn around is his free kick count.
The 199cm, 106kg mountain has 43 frees against this season, the highest in the competition and the Lions will relish the chance to gain a few frees after being on the wrong side of the free kick count for the majority of this year.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
One of the challenges for the Bulldogs in recent years has been trying to fill the void left by Barry Hall, and it seems they’ve found the answer in an unconventional way.
Tory Dickson has been named at full forward this week and rightly so after he kicked six goals in last weeks’ victory over Adelaide.
But what makes Dickson’s role at full forward so unusual is that he is only 180cm.
With 18 goals from 11 games this season, Dickson is not yet the answer to the Dog’s forward line woes, but if he continues to perform like he did in last week’s game, he may just be that knight in shining armour the Doggies are after.
With the knowledge that he will be a Lion until the end of 2018, expect Pearce Hanley to fire up his engines and give Brisbane the drive needed to break the lines of the pacey Bulldogs.
MISSING IN ACTION
Simon Black seems to be in a bad dream with game day continuing to elude the Brownlow Medallist. The 3-time Premiership player may have played his last game at the Gabba as speculation surrounds his playing future.
Jake Stringer, the Dogs number one pick in last year’s draft, is suffering from a foot injury and it is unknown when the big-bodied forward will return.
RECENT HISTORY
It’s been a see-sawing affair between these two sides in recent times with both sides recording comprehensive wins in their last two encounters.
In round 23 last year, the Lions took care of a weak Bulldogs side by 67-points with Daniel Rich kicking four goals while Jack Redden and Claye Beams had 26 disposals apiece.
In round one this year, the Bulldogs surprised everyone by smashing the NAB Cup winning Lions by 68-points.
With the Lions highly fancied to continue on with their great NAB Cup form, the Dogs led by Ryan Griffen and Tom Liberatore tore expectations to pieces in a great win for the Bulldogs.
With the Lions one win away from reaching the same wins as last year, this week’s encounter at home will be their best chance of achieving that feat with a tough game against the Cats expected next week.
The Doggies, on the other hand, will be keen to continue on with the form that sees them as marked improvers for 2014.
Expect a fast-paced, electric game that will prove to be more exciting than a bottom eight clash would normally offer.
The Bounce: Sunday, August 26 at 4:40pm (local time) at The Gabba.
