Easton Wood backs Western Bulldogs backline to contain North Melbourne forwards

ACTING captain Easton Wood backs the Western Bulldogs’ defensive system to overcome the loss of three important backmen against North Melbourne.

Easton Wood leads the Western Bulldogs out as captain.

ACTING captain Easton Wood has backed the Western Bulldogs’ defensive system to overcome the loss of three important backmen in recent weeks in Friday’s much-anticipated top-of-the-table clash with North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

The Bulldogs have the stingiest defence in the AFL, and they take on the competition’s most attacking team. But Wood believes that won’t impact on the Bulldogs’ miserly best, despite the season-ending knee injury to Robert Murphy, as well as other injuries to Jason Johannisen and Matt Suckling across the past three games.

“The way Bevo (coach Luke Beveridge) has taught us as players is to be versatile,” Wood said.

“It is about the system, not the individuals. As devastating as it is to lose Bob, JJ, and Matty Suckling ... the next person coming in knows exactly what he needs to do.

“One of our strengths is that we don’t rely on one person doing the same job each week.”

Wood and North Melbourne skipper Andrew Swallow met on Thursday for an exclusive Herald Sun photo shoot on the Etihad Stadium roof, with both saying their team had earned the right to the best piece of real estate in the AFL fixture.

Kangaroos captain Andrew Swallow and Western Bulldogs captain Easton Wood. Picture: Colleen Petch

It is the first time the Kangaroos and the Bulldogs have met in a Friday night clash since 2001, and the last time these two teams were No.1 and No.2 on the ladder was way back in 1998.

Swallow said gaining a greater prominence in prime-time football was a fitting reward for good form from both sides.

What a great opportunity to show the footy world what we can do.

Easton Wood

“We really hope we can build a bit of a rivalry with the Bulldogs over the next few years,” Swallow said.

“Probably a few years ago you wouldn’t have thought either of us would play in as big a game as this. But both clubs have come a long way.

“We’ve had stable boards and we’ve been well-managed, so the on-field results have been flowing. It’s exciting ... we’ve got the north and the western suburbs teams.”

North Melbourne named an unchanged line-up, while the Bulldogs included Fletcher Roberts at the expense of the injured Suckling.

Wood said he was honoured to be leading the Bulldogs in Murphy’s absence, and was learning on the job.

He said his teammates were keen to play in the club’s first home-and-away Friday night game since 2012, saying: “It’s been a long time between drinks ... but what a better way to do it in coming up against the top team at the moment.”

“It’s the big stage. It’s great to have the entire footy community’s eyes on you and what a great opportunity to show the footy world what we can do.”

Swallow said the Kangaroos were looking forward to the clash, having only played Beveridge’s team once last year, in Round 22.

SUPERCOACH ROUND 6 PREVIEW IN THE SUPERCOACHES BOX PODCAST

“We are still trying to get a handle on how they go about things, as they are probably a bit different to other teams in how they structure up,” he said.

“That’s why we are looking forward to this test.

“We still think we have a lot of room for improvement. In previous years we probably would’ve dropped a couple of those games (in the early rounds), because we haven’t been at our best. But it is always nice to bank a few wins early, even though we have a long way to go.”

Even Etihad Stadium operators are getting into the swing of the clash between the top two teams by offering up global airline tickets to two lucky fans. There will also be a two-for-one deal on food and beverages sold between 5.21pm to 6.21pm, in keeping with the No.1 and No.2 ranked teams playing.

Andrew Swallow in action against Gold Coast in Round 5.

Originally published as Easton Wood backs Western Bulldogs backline to contain North Melbourne forwards