Where and When: Saturday June 18, 7.25pm, GIANTS Stadium

Last time they met:

It’s been a while. The GIANTS and Bulldogs last met way back in round six of the 2021 season, with the Dogs winning by 39 points on a Friday night at Manuka Oval. The GIANTS were in the game for most of the night after an ordinary start to the season, and trailed by just three points at the last break before conceding nine final-quarter goals to lose the match and leave the team with some major work to do to crawl back into the season. Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae, Adam Treloar and Josh Dunkley were all busy around the ball for the Bulldogs, while Toby Greene kicked four goals for the home side. Lachie Ash registered 35 disposals off the half-backline, with Isaac Cumming’s breakout season also starting to take off.

TV and Online:

Saturday’s AFL match between the GIANTS and Bulldogs will be shown live on Fox Footy and Kayo nationally and on 7mate in NSW and the ACT from 7pm.

The match will also be shown via the AFL Live app with a subscription purchase.  
 
The match can also be heard on the following radio stations in Sydney this week: SEN’s AFL Nation and ABC Radio. For the latest television and radio broadcast guide, click here.

What it means for the GIANTS:

Since Mark McVeigh took over in the coaches box the GIANTS have won two of their three games, albeit against the bottom two sides on the ladder. In that time the team has kicked 21, 15 and 15 goals, an average of 17 goals compared to an average of 10 across the first 10 rounds. It’s been fun to watch, and last week’s win over North pushed the team back above Adelaide and Hawthorn on the ladder, but there are some new things to keep pushing into place and some tough teams to come in the run home, none tougher than the GIANTS’ favourite rival.

Where’s the opposition at?

The Bulldogs sit in 10th spot on the ladder, two wins off the top eight coming out of their bye weekend and a loss to the Cats before that.

Player watch:

Tanner Bruhn has been quietly chipping away at his game throughout his second season, and the rewards are starting to come his way. The 20-year-old has forced his way into more midfield time over the last few weeks, and helped set the team on the right path against the Roos on the weekend with some important early touches. After a 16-possession first half Bruhn finished with 24 touches, two goals, two tackles and three votes in the AFL Coaches Award.

In the mix:

Ryan Angwin and Cam Fleeton are among the players plugging away in the VFL, playing good footy, improving their games and getting themselves ready for whenever their chance comes. Nick Haynes and Braydon Preuss played alongside them on the weekend, and are both a chance to come in. Replacements must be found for Matt de Boer, out with a concussion, and Harry Perryman, nursing four broken ribs. Tim Taranto will test out his injured back at training this week, while Phil Davis (hamstring) is ready to go again. Xavier O’Halloran has been on the edge of the team for the last little while, and might get his next opportunity.

The Western Bulldogs have kept in touch with the top eight with a 20-point win over the GIANTS in a cracking contest at GIANTS Stadium on Saturday night.

In a high-scoring frenzy, the Dogs took control in the third quarter with a quick five-goal burst proving the difference in the 19.11 (125) to 16.9 (105) victory.

Cody Weightman booted five goals – all in the first half – and Aaron Naughton matched it with five of his own in a devastating double act.

Jack Macrae was a force in the midfield with a massive 37 touches and nine tackles, while Tim English benefited from Braydon Preuss' early injury to dominate the ruck.

The win keeps the Dogs in 10th place, but just one win behind sixth-placed Richmond.

The only downside to the victory was the potentially serious knee injury to Taylor Duryea in the first term, while Weightman bravely fought on after dislocating his elbow in the third quarter.

Toby Greene kept his side in it with a career-high seven goals, while Jesse Hogan was a constant threat with three majors.

Stephen Coniglio and Tom Green held their own in the midfield, but the loss of Preuss combined with the pre-match withdrawal of Matt Flynn made life very difficult for the GIANTS midfielders.

There were few signs early of the rivalry that has become one of the most heated in the AFL as a fast and furious opening term produced 11 goals and a three-point lead for the Bulldogs.

The shackles remained off in the second quarter as the teams combined for the highest half-time total score this season (127) with the Bulldogs leading by five points.

The goals continued in the third term, but the Bulldogs were able to surge to a 29-point lead off the back of winning clearances 14-4.

The match continued in similar fashion in the final quarter to end with the highest combined score of 230 so far this season.

Injury carnage hits both teams

It was almost a case of survival of the fittest as both sides dealt with numerous injuries. It all started before the opening bounce with Matt Flynn was withdrawn with a quad injury. Taylor Duryea lasted less than 10 minutes before suffering what looked like a serious knee injury. The GIANTS' ruck problems got worse when Braydon Preuss limped off with an ankle injury before he too was subbed in the second term. James Peatling was struggling with a hamstring injury, but battled on before he was ruled out at three-quarter time. Cody Weightman dislocated his elbow in a sickening incident, but incredibly managed to return and play out the game. Jesse Hogan was also limping at one point and debutant Ryan Angwin appeared to be ailing as well. 

Toby's career night

Inspirational GIANT Toby Greene produced a performance for the ages with an incredible seven-goal haul. The co-captain was on fire from the outset with three majors in the first term as he kept his side in touch after an early Dogs blitz. He added another one in the second and one more in the third to match his career-best of five goals. But he wasn't done there with two more in the final term to become just the second GIANT in history - after Jeremy Cameron - to boot seven goals in a game. 

GIANTS                              5.4     9.7      11.8     16.9 (105)
WESTERN BULLDOGS       6.1     10.6    16.9     19.11 (125)

GOALS

GIANTS: Greene 7, Hogan 3, Coniglio 2, Riccardi 2, Ash, Brander
Western Bulldogs: Weightman 5, Naughton 5, West 2, Williams, Bontempelli, McNeil, Scott, Ugle-Hagan, Macrae, Dunkley

BEST

GIANTS: Greene, Green, Coniglio, Hogan, Himmelberg
Western Bulldogs: Macrae, Weightman, Naughton, English, Dunkley, Bontempelli 

INJURIES

GIANTS: Preuss (ankle), Peatling (hamstring)
Western Bulldogs: Duryea (knee), Weightman (elbow)

LATE CHANGES

GIANTS: Matt Flynn (quad) replaced in selected side by Zach Sproule
Western Bulldogs: Nil  

SUBSTITUTES

GIANTS: Jarrod Brander (replaced Preuss in the second quarter) 
Western Bulldogs: Lachlan McNeil (replaced Duryea in the first quarter)