No time for slip ups: Bulldogs wary of battling Tigers

Melissa Woods |

Marcus Bontempelli and his Western Bulldogs will be out to maintain winning form against Richmond.
Marcus Bontempelli and his Western Bulldogs will be out to maintain winning form against Richmond.

Western Bulldogs can’t afford a slip up against lowly Richmond with coach Luke Beveridge describing winning the AFL premiership via the wildcard as a “monumental challenge”.

The Bulldogs sit eighth heading into their round 20 clash at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night against the Tigers, with teams ranked seven to 10 playing off in the inaugural wildcard round to progress through the finals.

They are only four points off fourth-placed Brisbane on a congested ladder so avoiding the first-week play-off is still well in the mix.

The Bulldogs famously won the 2016 flag after finishing seventh and winning four consecutive finals.

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Luke Beveridge says climbing away from the wildcard round is crucial. (Rob Prezioso/AAP PHOTOS)

“If you finish seven to 10, you’ve got to win five in a row, and we know how hard it is to win four in a row,” Beveridge said on Friday.

“Everyone’s doing their best to try and climb into that six as winning five in a row is going to be a monumental challenge.

“Ultimately, as we know, top four, definitely top two, is the absolute objective for anyone, but, it’s going to be hard for the wildcard teams.”

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Tom Liberatore is set to return against the Tigers. (Rob Prezioso/AAP PHOTOS)

The Bulldogs have won their last two matches and welcome veteran Tom Liberatore back after general soreness.

They will start raging favourites against the last-placed Tigers but Beveridge didn’t want his team to think the match would be a walk in the park.

He wanted them to maintain form ahead of their clash next round with front-running Fremantle and to improve their ladder percentage – the worst of teams in the hunt for the finals.

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It’s been a tough season for the Tigers who have a 2-16 revord. (Dylan Burns/AAP PHOTOS)

“I know they’re (Richmond) obviously quite low on the ladder, but in terms of the threats they can offer to you, well you only have to look at recent history with the Giants beating the top side in Fremantle, went on to beat Geelong and then were beaten by at the time the bottom side in the Bombers,” Beveridge said.

“It’s obviously a reminder to the competition that it doesn’t matter who you play, if you’re not right on your mettle you can be compromised and they can get you on the day.”

“So we’ll approach the Richmond game accordingly and we won’t take them lightly.”

AAP