WITH the grand final less than 24 hours away, Bulldogs captain Katie Brennan attempted legal disputes failed and she will miss the 2018 AFLW Grand Final. In round seven Brennan was handed a one match suspension for her sling tackle against Melbourne’s Harriet Cordner. The incident was graded as careless with low impact to the head.
Though Brennan has a huge influence on the Bulldogs lineup the Dogs have proved that they have the goods to win without her, as shown in their round four and five wins. Named in place of Brennan is Kirsten McLeod who will have big shoes to fill on Saturday. But with the likes of dynamic forward Brooke Lochland’s heroics in the last quarter and the class of youngster Monique Conti the Bulldogs will be looking to pull out all the stops to win their first AFLW grand final on Saturday.
Brisbane has not made any changes to their lineup to take on the Dogs in the Grand Final. Following their 40-point win last week to the Giants, Brisbane are confident that they have the right formula to get the job done on Saturday. The Lions will be looking to put the memories of last years grand final loss to rest with a huge performance against the Western Bulldogs.
Unfortunately, this team does not include Nicole Hildebrand who has been named as an emergency for the match. Hildebrand was unfortunately struck by injury in round five forcing her to miss rounds six and seven. After proving her potential as an integral member of the Lions’ backline last season it is disappointing that injury has held her back at the business end of 2018.
Saturday, March 24 – AFLW Grand Final
Western Bulldogs v. Brisbane
WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: L. Birch 18, L. Spark 11, N. Ferres 16
HB: H. Scott 22, T. Ernst 19, N. Callinan 10
C: E. Blackburn 2
HF: J. Bruton 35, B. Toogood 28, M. Conti 8
F: A. Utri 23, K. McLeod 6, B. Lochland 1
Followers: A. O’Connor 4, E. Kearney 5, K. Lamb 27
I/C: A. Gogos 36, K. Rennie 24, B. Hunt 21, H. Wildes 17, D. Berry 7
Emergencies: E. Mackie 25, K. Brennan
In: K. McLeod
Out: K. Brennan (suspended)
BRISBANE
B: E. Pittman 29, L. Kaslar 11, B. Koenen 3
HB: E. Zielke 8, K. Lutkins 13, K. McCarthy 9
C: N. Exon 15
HF: E. Bates 1, T. Randall 16, M. Hunt 6
F: J. Wuetschner 23, B. Gibson 25, K. Ashmore 10
Followers: S.Frederick-Traub 14, J. Stanton 17, A. Anderson 18
I/C: S. Webb 4, I. Ayre 2, S. Campbell 20, S. Conway 12, A. Clarke 21
Emergencies: J. Zanchetta 7, N. Hildebrand 22
No changes
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