Match day guide and preview for the 2022 AFL round three game between the Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs.
Who, when and where?
Western Bulldogs vs Sydney Swans
Thursday 31 March 2022 at 7.20pm (AEDST) @Marvel Stadium, Vic.
Head-to-head record since 1980: Played 64. Swans 33 wins. Dogs 31 wins. 1 draw.
Teams
Swans
IN: Joel Amartey
OUT: Logan McDonald (omitted), Angus Sheldrick (medi-sub)
The Swans have dropped young key forward McDonald after a couple of quiet weeks and brought in ruckman/forward Amartey.
Bulldogs
IN: Bailey Smith
OUT: Bailey Williams (medi-sub), Hayden Crozier (managed)
Smith is a big inclusion to the Bulldogs midfield, while Crozier goes out after fainting during half time last week.
Season so far
Sydney Swans 3rd – 129.6% | 219 points for | 169 points against | 2 wins 0 losses | WW
It’s been a terrific opening two weeks for the Swans with quality wins over GWS and Geelong setting themselves up for another run at finals.
Sydney have been super-efficient in attack this year, scoring over 100 points in the first two matches and kicking 34 goals from 95 inside 50s.
Isaac Heeney is starting to announce himself as one of the superstars of the AFL, averaging 23 disposals and 4 goals over the first fortnight, while Luke Parker and Callum Mills continue to play at a high level.
To cap the two weeks off, Swans star Buddy Franklin made history by kicking his 1000th AFL goal against Geelong at the SCG last week.
Franklin was immediately swamped by thousands of adoring fans in one of the greatest AFL moments in recent memories.
Western Bulldogs 13th – 80.9% | 161 points for | 199 points against | 0 wins 2 losses | LL
While last year’s runners up haven’t had the best start to 2022, they’ve come up against some quality opposition and haven’t been too far off the pace.
They lost the grand final rematch to the Demons in round one by 26 points before narrowly going down to the much-improved Blues side last week.
Their defence has struggled to handle key forwards with Ben Brown kicking 3.3 in round one before Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow combined for nine goals last week.
It’s certainly not panic stations for the Dogs just yet, but it’s hard to play catch up in this league so they need to start banking wins soon.
Key matchup
Callum Mills vs Marcus Bontempelli
Mills has become the Swans best midfielder over the past 12 months and was given the assignment to play alongside Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield last week.
It certainly wasn’t a hard tag by any stretch of the imagination, with Mills still able to have an offensive impact for the Swans while limiting his opponent’s output. Dangerfield had just 13 disposals all game, while Mills finished with a game-high 29 disposals and a goal.
The Bulldogs have a few quality midfielders in their side that can be damaging, but there’s no doubt Bontempelli is their most destructive.
The Dogs skipper is arguably the best player in the AFL and despite having a slow start to the season by his lofty standards, expect Bontempelli to lift given the importance of the match.
He’ll likely mix his time between the midfield and up forward like usual, but it wouldn’t surprise to see Mills head straight to him around stoppages.
Last 5 meetings and Marvel Stadium history
- 2021 round 17 – Bulldogs 8.12 (60) defeated by Swans 11.13 (79) at Marvel Stadium
- 2020 round 4 – Swans 5.9 (39) defeated by Bulldogs 10.7 (67) at SCG
- 2019 round 1 – Bulldogs 11.16 (82) defeat Swans 9.11 (65) at Marvel Stadium
- 2018 round 4 – Bulldogs11.13 (79) defeated by Swans 13.8 (86) at Marvel Stadium
- 2017 round 12 – Swans 12.16 (88) defeat Bulldogs 6.6 (42) at SCG
The Swans hold a 3-2 edge over the past five encounters, including an upset 19-point win in Melbourne last year. Three of those clashes have been at Marvel Stadium with Sydney winning two.
Since 2010, they have met seven times at Marvel with the Swans holding a comprehensive 5-2 record over the Dogs.
Pre match predictions
Gulden boot: Errol Gulden to continue his fantastic start to the season with two goals and two goal assists.
Naughton three: Aaron Naughton to kick three goals in a losing side as the Dogs fall to 0-3.
Swans by 12 points
Other match details
Saturday’s match will be shown live on the Seven Network, Fox Footy and Kayo from 7pm.
The Marvel Stadium gates open at 5.30pm with patrons to present a valid form of proof of double vaccination or approved medical exemption prior to entry.
The Swans will honour their South Melbourne roots by wearing the club’s iconic red-V guernsey in this game and all Victorian games moving forward.
