The Dogs disappointed in Round 1 and face a tricky task in Ballarat against the quickly rising Suns, who will be looking for a third straight win.
Best Bet
Gold Coast look a dramatically better prospect in 2024 and they can push a dishevelled looking Bulldogs outfit here.
The Suns have impressed in both performances to date, thoroughly defeating Richmond in opening round and surviving a late comeback from Adelaide last week following an excellent first three quarters.
Damien Hardwick would be very content with his decision to head north, with Rowell, Anderson and Miller an ominous starting midfield trio, as are King and Lukosius up forward. For good measure, they’ll debut another star key forward prospect in #2 pick Jed Walter this week.
The Bulldogs were awful last week and continue to look rudderless on-field and off, as they have since the 2021 Grand Final. With Josh Dunkley leaving last year, Bailey Smith out injured and Jack Macrae not in the best 23, their once-vaunted midfield suddenly looks very plain outside Bont and Libba.
Defence looks a big concern too after conceding 109 points to the Dees, who aren’t known for their forward line strength. The Suns’ gun key forwards would have loved seeing young Jacob Van Rooyen kick three and an aging Ben Brown 2.2.
The Dogs’ record at their second home is overrated, with seven wins and six covers from 11 games, and this will be played in perfect conditions, unlike many games in Ballarat.
There is also a misguided notion that the Suns are a young team, which is not the case anymore. Gold Coast had 104.2 games of experience last week and six players with less than 50 games of experience. The Dogs had 106.6 games and eight respectively.
The Suns are mature enough to start winning away from home and are good value to get the points on Sunday.
Same Game Multi
Ignore last week’s match in horrid conditions, Jack Lukosius kicked three in Opening Round and will get a great match-up. As below, back Walter to hit the scoreboard too.
The Dogs’ match with Melbourne was high-possession for the mids so expect the guns for both teams to fill their boots.
Value Bet
The wraps on Walter are enormous, so big that he’s earned a debut here off a pre-season collarbone injury and no practice matches. As mentioned, the Dogs key defenders are very ordinary outside Liam Jones, who will get the match-up with King. Walter will get a big chance to start his career with a bang.
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