Daniel In, Harmes Out - The Western Bulldogs Team Luke Beveridge Should Pick v Gold Coast Suns

Given the events of last week – a significant build up leading to a disappointing performance – much rides on what the Western Bulldogs are able to produce on Sunday.

A win will restore some form of pride, and help to straighten up the Bulldogs’ shaky start to the season. Defeat, and it leaves the Bulldogs 0-2 for the third straight season, and it will leave the club and senior coach Luke Beveridge under severe pressure yet again.

Consequently, the changes that the club makes at the selection table are critical, as they look to front up against an unbeaten Gold Coast Suns side that have historically challenged the Bulldogs in recent seasons. Of the last seven encounters against the Suns, the final margin has been 19 points of fewer, including a seven-point defeat in Darwin last year.

So, with that in mind, let’s have a deeper look into the changes that The Salty Bulldog’s Matthew Donald and Nick Galea would both make ahead of Sunday’s clash:

Matthew Donald

It’s difficult to be able to gauge whether this week’s side will come with a raft of changes, or whether Beveridge will opt to give his underperforming 23 from last week a second chance.

As disappointing as last week was, it’s rare that any player goes through an entire season without a bad game or two sprinkled throughout, and in his post-match press conference last week, Beveridge revealed that most of the 23 picked last week had been in really good form prior to the game, which might leave him inclined to trust that last week was a one-off for those that hoped to do better.

Having said that, the Bulldogs will be forced to make at least one change, after they opted not to challenge James Harmes’ one-match ban for headbutting.

Even though he has put on notice heading into Round 1, it’s hard to see Caleb Daniel not finding himself in the starting 22 on Sunday. Named as the sub last week, he came on halfway during the third term, and demonstrated his class almost straight away, finding more of the ball in the 29 minutes he spent on the ground than eight of his teammates. The issue for Daniel is finding a spot on the ground for him to ply his trade, given Beveridge’s tendency to spread his playing time all over the ground in 2023.

Speaking of class, you’d also anticipate seeing the return of Jackson Macrae into the starting 22, assuming that he is fully fit. AFL.com.au’s Josh Gabelich revealed to us on The Salty Bulldog podcast last week that the Bulldogs’ decision to leave Macrae out of the Round 1 side was by choice, but Beveridge explained post-match that due to a recent injury, Macrae’s capacity to cover the ground wasn’t at the level at the club needing it to be for senior action. Beveridge also said that Macrae wasn’t too far away from a return.

Finally, we saw how undersized the Bulldogs’ defence was last week against the likes of Ben Brown and Jacob van Rooyen, and the Suns forward line is even taller, with Ben King, Jack Lukosius, and Levi Casboult forming a three-pronged attack that could wreak havoc. Having Liam Jones do it all on his own just isn’t going to be enough, and with James O’Donnell going into concussion protocols after an incident in a practice match Footscray’s last week, he’s unavailable, too. It leaves the club with few options left, but I think they can turn to Alex Keath. One of the more impressive performers for Footscray last week, he has the skill and experience to lock down at least one of those forwards, and will help to ensure the rest of his teammates aren’t forced to punch well above their weight.

As for the outs, there were a lot of disappointing performers at the weekend, but given the players that we’re anticipating return, it’s likely that some of those midfield options will be forced out, with Lachie McNeil and Laitham Vandermeer both in that bracket. It’s very likely that one of them will still be given another opportunity as the sub however, as Caleb Daniel will be starting on field in these predictions.

CHANGES (to the starting 22)

IN: Caleb Daniel, Jackson Macrae, Alex Keath

OUT: Lachie McNeil, Laitham Vandermeer, James Harmes

Sub: Lachie McNeil

Nick Galea

After a disappointing day at the MCG last Sunday, the Dogs need to hit back and hit back hard and quick to breathe life into a season that is just one game old.

It is a bit of a cop out to have certain players be made the scapegoats in McNeil and Vandermeer who although are handy players at times, appear to struggle with the requirements and intense level that is the AFL.

Injuries aside, Vandermeer is 25 and is still more down then up while McNeil has somehow clocked up almost 50 games of floating in and out of the side.

At this stage, he is a sub candidate.

It is harsh to include Buku Khamis in this mix but although he was playing on a larger opponent, for the day, he was still playing on Ben Brown who has become a football corpse in recent seasons.

There were some other names who were on the chopping block but due to match ups they have survived the axe this week.

Coming into the side will be Caleb Daniel who will return to the starting 18 instead of being the designated substitute. His class was sorely missed for most of the game against Melbourne last Sunday.

Additionally, after a couple of games in the VFL under his belt after some concerns over the preseason, Jackson Macrae will hopefully make a return to the team.

Alex Keath will return for necessity to combat Gold Coast's tall timber until James O'Donnell recovers from concussion. We all know just how talented Sam Darcy but he will bide his time one more week.

Aaron Naughton won't be dropped clearly but he would sure like to put up a far better display against the Sun's; a team he has struggled with as he has kicked just eight goals in six games. After a poor outing, the Dogs spearhead will aim to make amends.

Do these inclusions make a improve the side? You would think so.

Will they play a key part in us squaring the 2024 ledger? It is likely.

Will we win? I sure hope so.

They are pretty stock standard changes but necessary in terms of playing as much quality footballers to give us the best chance.

That said, I don't think the issue is personnel related. We have seen some very talented teams over the years who come underdone either by poor tactics or a conservative game plan which sucks the life out of them.

The issue has been with we have not only been setting up across the ground but with mainly how we move the ball across the ground, not just going forward.

Sure it help to bring back some quality players, but until we can find a way to break through opposition defensive setups across the ground, then it won't make a difference who we have and we will continue to be suffocated by other teams. 

CHANGES (to the starting 22)

IN: Alex Keath, Jackson Macrae, Caleb Daniel

OUT: Buku Khamis, James Harmes, Laitham Vandermeer