| Carlton v Western Bulldogs Round 13 - Saturday June 30, 2:10pm |
| This weeks game against Carlton is very important for the Bulldogs. A win would consolidate their position in the top eight while a loss would see them drop out of the eight once again. The Bulldogs are in pretty good form at the moment having won 4 of their last 5 games. After a terrible start against Geelong in Round 12, the Dogs came back hard, playing some great fooball. The weeks break should be an advantage, given that Carlton played in Adelaide last week. However their should be no major changes to either team unless Scott West is unable to recover quick enough from a bout of the flu. This game will be a battle of the midfield. Bulldogs such as West, Johnson, Libba, Brown and Smith will be up against the Carlton midfield including Ratten, Camporeale, Bradley and Hulme. Given that both teams major strength is their midfield, whoever wins this battle will probably go on to win the game. I feel that the Bulldogs will have an edge here. Ruckman Luke Darcy is probably the in- form ruckman of the competition. He will be up against Porter from Carlton and should beat him, giving first use of the ball to the Doggies midfielders. Furthermore, the Bulldogs have far more scoring options which will prove too much for the Carlton defence. The danger player is Kouta who really returned to form last week against the Power. However, according to Bulldogs coach, Terry Wallace, they have a plan for him. Lets hope it works! Prediction: Bulldogs by 20 points! |
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