The best players in Geelong-Western Bulldogs blockbuster ranked

The Bulldogs travel down to Geelong for the Bailey Smith Cup in what might be the biggest game of the year. But who will really decide the outcome? Josh Barnes ranks the 22 best players.

It is possibly the most anticipated clash of the season so far, as the Western Bulldogs travel down to Geelong for the ‘Baz Battle’ against old teammate Bailey Smith.

Outside of the expected angst towards Smith, the Thursday night clash at GMHBA Stadium pits two teams who have combined to win eight of their last 10 matches and are both in top form.

And the individuals on each team are in red-hot form, with Marcus Bontempelli wearing he crown as the best player in the game and Smith’s football form talking even louder than his Instagram game.

Ahead of Thursday night, the best of the best from the two teams have been ranked, in order, as the best 22 players who will decide the mouth-watering meeting.

The rankings are based largely on current form, so the returning Tom Stewart misses out.

In an indication of how tight this game may be, although the Dogs have three of the top four players in the rankings, the clubs are split perfectly, with 11 players each.

Originally published as The best players in Geelong-Western Bulldogs blockbuster ranked