Round five preview: Western Bulldogs v Adelaide

LAST TIME: Western Bulldogs 17.16 (118) def Adelaide 12.14 (86), Round 7 2009 at AAMI Stadium

RECENT HISTORY: The honours have been shared in the past four matches between these two sides.

FORM: The Bulldogs led Brisbane by 28 points early in the third term at the Gabba last Saturday night before the Lions took over, slamming on nine of the last 11 goals of the contest to hand the Dogs their second loss of the season. Adelaide’s winless start to the year continued when they were thumped to the tune of 48 points by Carlton at AAMI Stadium.

MEDICAL ROOM: The Dogs will be without key midfielder Matthew Boyd who underwent hand surgery during the week but welcome back skipper Brad Johnson from Achilles soreness and a virus as well as Jason Akermanis who missed the clash against his old side due to a hamstring strain. Tagger Liam Picken will be sidelined for five to six weeks with an ankle injury, Callan Ward (groin) is five weeks away from being considered for selection while Tim Callan (knee) is sidelined indefinitely. For the Crows, David Mackay (hamstring) will miss but Nathan van Berlo returns from a back-related hamstring injury. Key forward Trent Hentschel (knee) faces a long stint on the sidelines while star defender Nathan Bock (hamstring) is one to two weeks away from resuming. Brad Symes, Brodie Martin and Brad Moran are all sidelined indefinitely with knee injuries, youngster Rory Sloane (ankle) is unavailable for two to three weeks, James Sellar (hamstring) is a fortnight away while Andy Otten (knee) is out for the year.

KEY MATCH-UPS: Brent Reilly vs. Adam Cooney

The last time these two sides met in round seven last year Cooney was among the Bulldogs’ best with 29 possessions.

Cooney is damaging with his ability to break the lines and deliver the football cleanly inside 50.

Shutting down the drive the 2008 Brownlow medallist provides will be a key for the Crows if they are going to contain a Dogs’ side that is capable of scoring heavily.

Reilly - who is trying to reinvent himself as a tagger this season - will line-up on Cooney in what will be a pivotal duel.

It is vital for Adelaide that Reilly is proactive and tries to hurt Cooney going the other way as it will force the Bulldogs star to worry about his opponent which in turn will help limit his impact on the contest as a creative midfielder.

Dylan Addison vs. Bernie Vince

Vince has been the Crows’ most prolific ball-winner in 2010, averaging 26 disposals per game.

The reigning best-and-fairest winner also leads Adelaide for total disposals, first possessions, uncontested possessions and kicks.

Limiting his influence in the middle will go a long way towards starving Adelaide’s forwards of quality supply.

Addison - who kept Brisbane young gun Justin Sherman to 18 touches last weekend - will be given the task of running with Vince.

The Dogs will need Addison to apply plenty of body pressure on Vince otherwise he will be influential with his clean skills.

Ben Rutten vs. Barry Hall

The last time Hall played against the Crows was in round 13 last year - that match was his last for Sydney with the 32-year-old calling it quits after being given a two-match suspension for striking Rutten.

The former Swans premiership skipper will be keen to make his re-match against Rutten memorable for all the right reasons.

Adelaide is ranked last in the AFL for tackles per game with an average of 52.

Neil Craig’s men will need to lift their intensity considerably otherwise the Bulldogs’ classy on-ball division will provide Hall with silver service all night.

Dale Morris vs. Jason Porplyzia

Like a lot of his teammates, Porplyzia has struggled so far this year having failed to kick a goal in three games.

If the Crows are going to have any hope of kicking a winning score they will need the 25-year-old to have a meaningful impact on the scoreboard.

However, Porplzyia’s task won’t be an easy one as he will be matched up by Morris who is one of the most reliable defenders in the AFL.

In last weekend’s loss to the Blues 198 of the Crows’ 359 possessions were handballs.

Adelaide will need to be a lot more direct with their use of the football otherwise Porplyzia will struggle to get enough quality ball to have any chance of winning his duel with Morris.

VERDICT: The Western Bulldogs may not be at their best but they should record a relatively comfortable win on Friday night as Adelaide’s defence has been decidedly shaky so far in 2010 while their attack is the least productive in the competition.Bulldogs by 37 points.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v ADELAIDE
WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Jarrod Harbrow, Brian Lake, Dale Morris
HB: Ryan Hargrave, Tom Williams, Lindsay Gilbee
C: Nathan Eagleton, Daniel Cross, Daniel Giansiracusa
HF: Robert Murphy, Mitch Hahn, Brad Johnson
F: Jarrad Grant, Barry Hall, Shaun Higgins
Foll: Ben Hudson, Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen
I/C: Dylan Addison, Jason Akermanis, Andrejs Everitt, Jordan Roughead
Emg: Brodie Moles, Josh Hill, Easton Wood

In: Akermanis, Johnson, Grant, Roughead
Out: Matthew Boyd (hand), Josh Hill, Will Minson, Brodie Moles

New: Jordan Roughead (North Ballarat Rebels)

ADELAIDE
B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Chris Schmidt
HB: Simon Goodwin, Phil Davis, Michael Doughty
C: Myke Cook, Patrick Dangerfield, Andrew McLeod
HF: Chris Knights, Brett Burton, Bernie Vince
F: Jared Petrenko, Kurt Tippett, Jason Porplyzia
Foll: Ivan Maric, Scott Thompson, Brent Reilly
I/C: Nathan van Berlo, Tyson Edwards, Richard Douglas, Ricky Henderson
Emg: Jonathon Griffin, Scott Stevens, Matthew Jaensch

In: van Berlo, Henderson
Out: David Mackay (hamstring), Taylor Walker

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