A GUIDE TO THE AFL GRAND FINAL BETWEEN MELBOURNE AND THE WESTERN BULLDOGS
WHEN: Saturday, 7.15pm AEST
WHERE: Optus Stadium, Perth
THE FORM
* Melbourne (Minor premiers, 17 wins, four losses, one draw). Beat Brisbane by 33 points in a qualifying final, thrashed Geelong by 83 points in a preliminary final
* Western Bulldogs (Fifth in home and away season, 15 wins, seven losses). Beat Essendon by 49 points in an elimination final, beat Brisbane by one point in a semi-final, shocked Port Adelaide by 71 points in a preliminary final
HEAD-TO-HEAD
* Overall: Melbourne 89 wins, Western Bulldogs 79 wins, one draw
* In finals: Melbourne two wins, Western Bulldogs two wins
* One grand final, 1954 - Footscray 15.12 (102) bt Melbourne (7.9 (51) at the MCG
* This season:
R11 - Melbourne 13.9 (87) bt Western Bulldogs 8.11 (59) at Marvel Stadium
R19 - Western Bulldogs 13.7 (85) bt Melbourne 9.11 (65) at the MCG
THE COACHES
* Simon Goodwin is the coach of the year after starting the season under massive pressure. It is a stunning turnaround and he leads the Demons into their first grand final since 2000.
* Luke Beveridge is one win away from masterminding his second flag in six years at the Bulldogs and has a remarkable history of premierships throughout his coaching career.
THE KEY PLAYERS
* Max Gawn (Melbourne). The Demons captain lit up their preliminary-final win with a career-best five goals. The AFL's top ruckman. Which brings us to ...
* Stefan Martin (Western Bulldogs). For the Bulldogs to win, Martin must somehow nullify Gawn's massive influence.
* Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs). Unlucky not to win his first Brownlow after another stellar season. With all due respect to Melbourne's Clayton Oliver, the best midfielder in the grand final.
* Bailey Smith (Western Bulldogs). A freakish young talent whose booming 50m-plus goal was a highlight of their shocking preliminary-final win. Also boasts an exceptional mullet.
* Christian Petracca (Melbourne). An extroverted, richly-talented player who was born to star in a grand final. No surprise whatsover that he leads the Norm Smith Medal betting.
THE STATS
* Defence wins premierships and Melbourne boasts the stingiest backline in the league this season.
* The Bulldogs comfortably edge the Demons in terms of premiership and grand-final experience. Nine 2016 premiership players - not including the injured Toby McLean - will feature on Saturday while Taylor Duryea has featured in two flags for former club Hawthorn. Former Crow Jake Lever is the only Demon to experience the big day - apart from the injured Adam Tomlinson (GWS 2019).
TIP
Melbourne by 10 points
Australian Associated Press
