Port Adelaide’s recent form: LWLLW

Recent results against Western Bulldogs:
Round 14, 2008, Western Bulldogs 20.15 (135) d Port Adelaide 11.15 (81), TIO Stadium
Round 14, 2007, Western Bulldogs 20.13 (133) d Port Adelaide 17.11 (113), TD
Round 19, 2006, Port Adelaide 14.21 (105) d Western Bulldogs 13.13 (91), Marrara
Round seven, 2006, Western Bulldogs 25.16 (166) d Port Adelaide 13.12 (90), AAMI
Round 12, 2005, Port Adelaide 17.16 (118) d Western Bulldogs 15.13 (103), AAMI

Medical room          
Port Adelaide
Travis Boak (knee) - 4-6 weeks
Shaun Burgoyne (knee) - 3-4 weeks
Chad Cornes (knee) - 4-6 weeks
Robbie Gray (thigh) - test
Hamish Hartlett (hamstring) - 1 week
Daniel Motlop (ankle) - test
Matt Thomas (knee) - 3 weeks

Western Bulldogs
Robert Murphy (hamstring) - test
Paul O’Shea (hip) - indefinite
Tom Williams (foot) - test
Easton Wood (shoulder) - 1 week

Summary
Justin Westhoff made the most of his late call-up, finishing with 10 marks and two goals and Troy Chaplin, David Rodan and Josh Carr all earned back the respect of the coaching staff with gutsy performances.

The Western Bulldogs survived a first-half scare from an inspired Richmond to run out easy 68-point victors and record their fourth win from five starts.

Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney (33 disposals and a goal) was at his best and the Dogs, despite the absence of Robert Murphy, had no shortage of scoring options with an impressive eight players registering multiple goals.

Port Adelaide, under the guidance of former Bulldogs’ fitness coach Cam Falloon, has been visiting humidity chambers for the past month in preparation for this game.

The undermanned Power succumbed to a nine-goal loss last time these two sides met at TIO Stadium, but will be confident of a more competitive effort on Saturday night.

Key match-up
Tom Logan v Jason Akermanis
The junkyard dog, as Logan is known, has been entrusted with some of the biggest jobs in the AFL this season and could find himself one-on-one with Akermanis this week. Akermanis has picked up 20-plus possessions to go with multiple goals on four occasions this year and was unlucky not to finish with a bag of four against the Tigers. The triple premiership player is just one weapon in coach Rodney Eade’s forward line arsenal, which also includes Brad Johnson, Shaun Higgins, Josh Hill and Scott Welsh.

Kick it to me
Justin Westhoff shrugged off an eight-week injury lay-off to be a valuable contributor against Fremantle. Westhoff, who hadn’t played since breaking his foot against West Coast in round two, hauled in 10 marks, kicked two goals and applied his trademark defensive pressure in the hard-fought win. It remains to be seen how Westhoff’s return will affect Warren Tredrea’s rich vein of form, but the Power forward line certainly looks better with the big Hoff up there.

Somebody stop me
The Dogs boast a number of fast, dangerous runners in their midfield, but Cooney is the obvious one. It’s no coincidence that the Bulldogs’ winning streak has coincided with his return to form. Cooney has averaged 27 touches and a goal in his past five games and Kane Cornes is likely to shadow him for four quarters on Saturday night.

At the selection table
The loss of in-form youngster Travis Boak (knee) is another blow to the already depleted Port Adelaide midfield. Robbie Gray (thigh) should return to add some class around the stoppages and Daniel Motlop will also make the trip. Danny Meyer has been in good form in the SANFL and, under the new AFL rules, is eligible to play without a senior player being placed on the long-term injury list. Expect him to be strongly considered.

It’s not generally known that...
There will be at least seven different faces in the Port Adelaide side to take on the Bulldogs this week, compared to the one that ventured to Darwin in round 14 last year. Missing are Shaun Burgoyne, Paul Stewart, Adam Thomson, Nathan Lonie, Greg Bentley, Damon White and Fabian Deluca.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.