Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Bulldogs star Matt Kennedy has pushed forward and marked a quality pass from Aaron Naughton.
The midfielder went back and booted his 11th goal of the season.
Dogs 7, Pies 6 with 13 mins to go in Q1.
Dan McStay has finished off an excellent counterattack from the Magpies who had Billy Frampton intercept at centre-half back before Sam Swadling and Lachie Schultz combined to find McStay on the lead.
He marked and then went back and booted the goal.
Pies 6, Dogs 0 with 17 mins to go in Q1.
The crowd has built up in the past half hour. I reckon there’d be 80,000 plus in the stadium now.
Players could not have asked for a better August night for football – clear skies and no wind.
The Pies are in the white shorts as the lower-ranked team, even though they enjoy all the fruits of being the higher-ranked club in that they have the longer break and are playing at their home ground.
The Dogs are primed for finals footy after a strong end to the season. The Pies have been hit by injury at the wrong time. I’m tipping the Dogs in a close one.
The teams have run out to a huge roar and the Welcome to Country and national anthems have been done and sung.
The game is just minutes away now.
Magpies coach Craig McRae has backed his finals rookies to stand up in a must-win MCG clash tonight.
“We have six or seven debutants tonight in terms of finals experience – it’s a good chance for them to show their wares,” McRae told Kayo Sports.
“I’m probably a bit more relaxed than they are.”
McRae also backed Jordan De Goey to lift as he has in previous finals matches.
“It’s almost likes he sits all year dormant, waiting for a [finals] opportunity,” McRae said.
“He’s had a good year, but he always finds a way to lift when the finals come around.”
The Western Bulldogs were bemused over the league’s decision to grant the Magpies use of Marvel Stadium for training ahead of their wildcard final at the MCG on tonight.
Though a Marvel Stadium tenant, the Dogs have not been granted access to use the venue for a main training session this season, so the turf can be managed. With the home-and-away season over, that is now less of a factor.
The Pies have been forced to train away from their Olympic Park base at stages this season due to the impact of wet weather on the playing surface.
“If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry,” Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said.
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge expects to shift his talls around tonight now that he has Tim English back in the ruck.
English taking the ruck role will mean the Bulldogs can use Rory Lobb and Ryan Gardner in defensive posts or even in pinch roles in the forward line.
“Tim has come in so it will mean Lobby and Gardie can play in different roles around the ground,” Beveridge told Kayo Sports.
“There are games within games and those big boys will certainly play a part.”
He added that the young Bulldogs had to find ways to manage a physical onslaught from the Magpies who will lift the tempo in their pressure work.
“If we can match them in the pressure stakes tonight, it will do huge things for our chances,” Beveridge said.
