Sydney v Western Bulldogs

First of all, apologies for missing the Roos/Crows match last night; I had the preview all written up on my computer and I thought I’d posted it but I must have been distracted because I forgot to post it! Anyway moving on to Sunday’s matches.

This match today should be a good one as the Swans (3-2-1) host the Bulldogs who also have a draw and have yet to lose a match this season. The word on the street is that Scott West will be a late change for the Bulldogs and this will be significant for the Bulldog’s chances in this match.

So we have the 2 polar opposite game styles on show with the Bulldogs looking to attack through run and carry of the football using lots of handball while the Swans are meticulous in their movement forward preferring to do it by foot and placing strong emphasis on defensive pressure. Which game style will win out today? How have the open-Bulldogs gone against the strangling Swans in the past? The last 5 matches between these clubs have all resulted in Sydney wins. All at the SCG. And for me this is the important fact. The SCG is the smallest ground in the AFL and there is not a lot of room to run and carry the football and this is precisely why the Swans have adopted the style of game they play. There will be lots of contests around the ground and missing Scott West in the engine room weakens the Dogs chances of beating the Swans in the clearances. Brad Johnson will likely play but he is still not fully fit and his impact will probably not be so high. These factors as well as the fact that the Dogs have yet to lose a match means they will drop one soon as they are not in the same echelon as Geelong and Hawthorn. At least 6-8 losses for the Bulldogs this season so away from home against a team with a game style they don’t cope with on a ground they don’t cope with without West and an injury hampered Brad Johnson seems to be a major candidate.

Just a quick side not… how good were the Hawks yesterday?! Obviously this didn’t help me much and no Anthony Rocca for the Pies was a major loss before the match but the Hawks have guys like Dew, Stokes, Boyle and Travis Tuck waiting in the wings and all are so capable just showing their depth. With that midfield Hodge, Mitchell, Crawford, Lewis, Bateman, Sewell, Young, Ladson, Ellis and that forward line Franklin, Roughead, Williams, Rioli they have a team that can really challenge for the flag this season. I would love to see a Hawthorn Geelong match next round rather than the Victoria v All Stars match.

So back to this match.. the Swans have won some matches by big margins this season against the Eagles and Port both by over 39.5. Last season the Swans won only one match less than 15 points (in 12 wins) and this season they have covered this line in their 3 wins so we’ll take them to cover as they usually do when they win.



Pick : Sydney -15.5
Odds : 2.00
Stake : 8 / 10
Bookmaker : Sportstab(AUS)
Date : 2008-05-04
Match Result : 94-112
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