Champion Data: Defensive Dogs profile standing up against the best

The Western Bulldogs have hit serious form at the perfect time, reaching heights that Champion Data hasn’t seen since the club's last premiership tilt.

In their final two games of the 2026 season, the Bulldogs faced two Wildcard competitors in the Blues and the Demons, entering as underdogs in both contests leading into the post-season.

However, the Dogs walked away with significant confidence, drawing with Carlton despite being significantly undermanned before downing the Demons in emphatic fashion at the MCG.

Holding both sides to just 12 goals, the Dogs’ team defence was the clear standout within their performances, controlling the contests from their back half despite their rather poor defensive stocks.

Ahead of their knockout clash with Collingwood, Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne has revealed that the club’s defence isn’t just in good nick.

“This is the first time in a nine-game period where they have been the best team in the defence since their Grand Final year in 2021,” Hoyne told SEN Sportsday.

“It goes to a full range of coaches and decision makers behind the scenes.

“The coaching group, led by Luke Beveridge, deserve a lot of credit and resect for what they’ve been able to do this year to make this team competitive, and to make them hard to play against.

“Defensively, they’ve done it in different ways. We’ve seen them quite often this year roll a lot of numbers back behind the footy and clog up their D50 to make it really hard to score when you get in there, like they did against Freo a couple of weeks ago.

“Then, we’ve seen it done differently over the last couple of weeks against Carlton and against Melbourne.

“They were able to clog up the midfield area of the ground against the Blues and cut off their ball movement game a little bit closer to goal. They had 33 forward half intercepts – a season high in that.

“On the weekend they were able to stop and really restrict Melbourne’s ball movement game and force them into a game where their only scoring method was off the back of either centre bounce or Max Gawn and Kysaiah Pickett going crazy late, or off the back of forward half stoppage work.

“It wasn’t really a normal Melbourne game off the back of how the Dogs were able to defend.

“They’ve given themselves a chance to compete against the best.

“He has given them a chance to finish top eight, and a chance in a 50/50 contest against Collingwood on Friday night to get to an elimination stage this season.

“Bevo and the coaches are the point of difference this season in terms of what they’ve been able to implement defensively, which we haven’t said about the Bulldogs for several seasons.”

The last time they faced, the Bulldogs held Collingwood to 13 goals from 47 inside 50s in a four-point win at Marvel Stadium.

The pair face off this Friday night at the MCG in the AFL’s inaugural Wildcard final.