Collingwood ended the home-and-away season on top of the ladder but haven’t been at their best in the past couple of weeks having beaten Adelaide by just three points before losing to Hawthorn by the same margin last weekend. It was the Magpies’ first loss since round 10. The Western Bulldogs may have finished inside the top four after 22 rounds but their form of late has been nothing to write home about having suffered heavy losses to Geelong (101 points) and Sydney (44) before recording an unspectacular 29-point victory over Essendon last Saturday night.
Skipper Brad Johnson and classy youngster Shaun Higgins are among four inclusions for the Bulldogs while key midfielder Ryan Griffen has been named despite injuring his knee against the Bombers. The return of Higgins somewhat offsets the loss of 2008 Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney (hamstring – season) but the absence of small defender Dale Morris (back – season) is likely to hurt. In the round one clash between these two sides – a match which Morris missed due to illness – small forwards Alan Didak and Leon Davis – who will both play on Saturday night – booted seven goals between them as Collingwood ran out 36-point winners.
Put money on a Magpies’ win by 1-39, which is offering $2.25.