Marvel Stadium will play host to Saturday's Round 18 AFL game between Western Bulldogs and Carlton Blues. The game kicks off at 4:35 pm with Carlton Blues heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Western Bulldogs vs. Carlton Blues game and give you our free tips and bets.
When: Saturday July 13, 2024 at 4:35 pm
Where: Marvel Stadium
Bet: Bet On This Match HERE
Western Bulldogs vs Carlton Blues Odds
Western Bulldogs vs Carlton Blues Preview
The Dogs have yet again gone back to their inconsistent, uncompetitive nature with a smashing at the hands of Port Adelaide last week.
When it feels like things are back on track, it suddenly derails, and if this week wasnt hard enough as it is, theyre coming up against a Blues side who need to make a statement themselves.
The Dogs had their poorest showing offensively last week, struggling to make any impact up forward, going at 35.7% inside 50 efficiency.
Losing Aaron Naughton this week makes things a lot more difficult, placing a lot more reliance on Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy to carry the load for the talls.
Carlton proved that a lack of pressure is a direct doorway to beating them, bringing it early and dominating, but quickly losing it with no answer.
Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay have given the Dogs quite a challenge in recent outings, and Charlies poor performance against the Giants will leave him wanting more this week.
The midfield battle promises to be exciting, and often the Blues have had the upper hand in games gone past, although the Dogs like to punish in transition.
The small forwards can make the difference for the Dogs, and as proven by the Giants, the midfielders scoreboard contribution also helps.
It feels like the Dogs have to play out of their skin similar to the Freo game to get it done, but theyre such a hard team to predict.
Questions to start being asked of the Blues if theyre to drop this one.
Content provided by Ladbrokes
Western Bulldogs vs Carlton Blues Tip
We're tipping Carlton Blues to win at $1.46 odds.
Western Bulldogs vs Carlton Blues Teams
BULLDOGS
B: T.Duryea, B.Khamis, N.Coffield
HB: L.Bramble, R.Lobb, B.Dale
C: E.Richards, A.Treloar, B.Williams
HF: L.Vandermeer, J.Ugle-Hagan, J.Macrae
F: C.Weightman, S.Darcy, R.West
FOLL: T.English, M.Bontempelli – C, T.Liberatore
I/C: J.Freijah, H.Gallagher, L.McNeil, C.Poulter, R.Sanders
EMG: A.Keath, R.Garcia, C.Daniel
IN: C.Weightman, C.Poulter
OUT: J.O’Donnell (Injured), A.Naughton (Injured)
BLUES
B: L.Cowan, J.Weitering, B.Kemp
HB: A.Saad, C.Marchbank, N.Newman
C: M.Cottrell, P.Cripps – C, B.Acres
HF: A.Cincotta, C.Curnow, Z.Williams
F: H.McKay, T.De Koning, L.Fogarty
FOLL: M.Pittonet, S.Walsh, A.Cerra
I/C: J.Boyd, E.Hollands, O.Hollands, M.Kennedy, M.Owies
EMG: S.Durdin, J.Motlop, G.Hewett
IN: C.Marchbank, M.Pittonet
OUT: M.McGovern (Injured), O.Fantasia (Omitted)