The Western Bulldogs and Essendon will look to separate themselves from a middle pack of AFL sides when they face off in a defining showdown under the Friday night lights.
The Dogs’ (2-2, 124.9%) comeback against Geelong last weekend narrowly came up short in an overall promising performance from Luke Beveridge’s side, while Caleb Daniel has been dumped from the 23 altogether in a surprise selection call.
They meet a Bombers outfit (2-2, 81.9%) that were convincingly beaten by Port Adelaide in Gather Round and will be without Archie Perkins and Will Setterfield due to injury.
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There were no late changes, with Bailey Dale (Western Bulldogs) and Nick Hind (Essendon) named the starting subs.
The call to give Dale, who was All-Australian in 2021, the vest is another bold call from Beveridge to one of his stars after dropping Daniel and making Jack Macrae sub last week.
The Bombers got off to the ideal start after Todd Goldstein drew a free kick in front of goal to put his team on the board, but Aaron Naighton, who was held goalless last week, instantly responded at the other end.
“A real confidence booster for that man,” Channel 7’s Brian Taylor said of Naughton.
Playing in his 50th game, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan took a highlight one-handed grab and put through the Dogs’ second goal of the night.
Both teams had exciting moments in the opening term in a hot, see-sawing start at Marvel Stadium.
Having kicked his first goal minutes earlier, Rhylee West missed another golden chance at full forward after drawing a free kick for high contact.
Nic Martin made it four goals straight for the Bombers after sneaking forward and converting a set shot from distance.
Ugle-Hagan kicked his second goal for the night in a promising start for the emerging star forward, with Channel 7 caller James Brayshaw noting the former No. 1 pick is “just getting better and better.”
After Alwyn Davey Jr. marked deep in the forward line, the Dogs conceded a 50m penalty further up the ground to make it a certain Bombers goal.
Essendon led 5.0 (30) to 4.2 (26) at quarter-time.
Laitham Vandermeer kicked the oping goal of the second term as part of a strong run from Luke Beveridge’s side, missing several more chances.
A costly Bombers turnover led to West putting through his second major to extend the Dogs’ lead to a game-high nine points.
The Dogs forced the game into more of a contest in the second quarter to make it hard for Essendon to get out in space and utilise its running game.
Just when the Dogs looked like getting on a row, Essendon bounced back.
Xavier Duursma nailed a tough set shot from the boundary line – before pulling out the bow and arrow celebration – followed instantly by a Jake Stringer goal against his old side.
Jye Menzie meanwhile appeared to be bothered by a shoulder issue, but played through the setback.
The match gets underway at 7:40pm AEST from Marvel Stadium.
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 504), streaming on Kayo or using Hubbl from 6:30pm AEST.
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