Friday’s AFL 2017 Round 23 match is between Hawthorn Hawks and Western Bulldogs. The opening bounce is set to commence at 19:50 local time with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium. The away team Western Bulldogs are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Hawthorn Hawks and Western Bulldogs.
When: 19:50 | Friday 25/08/2017
Where: Etihad Stadium
Watch: Channel 7, Fox Footy or ? Watch Online for FREE HERE on your? or ?.
Preview:
Round 23 opens with the one-off Hodge-Murphy Cup. It will be the last match for Hawthorn legend Luke Hodge and the same probably applies to Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy, along with his teammate Matthew Boyd. The Hawks will also honour fellow retiree Josh Gibson on the night. The Bulldogs are set to be the first defending premiers since Hawthorn in 2009 to miss the finals. They need to win and have three other results go their way to scrape into the top eight. It just won’t happen.
Key: Scoring. Hawthorn played into Carlton’s hands last week and only kicked 10 goals under the Etihad Stadium roof. The Bulldogs’ scoring woes this season are well-documented – they are the most inaccurate team in the league and they are without stars such as Jake Stringer and Tom Boyd.
Tip: Bulldogs by 10 points
Odds:
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Tip: Western Bulldogs at $1.84
Value Bet: First Goal Kicker: Travis Cloke at $12.00
More Info:
Head to head: Hawks 81 Bulldogs 76 Drawn 2
Last clash: 2016 semi-final – Bulldogs 16.11 (107) bt Hawks 12.12 (84), MCG
Tab Sportsbet odds: Hawks $2.00 Bulldogs $1.80
William Hill: Hawks $2.05 Bulldogs $1.76
Teams:
HAWKS 
B: S.Burgoyne, K.Brand, B.Hardwick
HB: L.Hodge, J.Sicily, J.Gunston
C: I.Smith, T.Mitchell, B.Hartung
HF: R.Schoenmakers, T.O’Brien, P.Puopolo
F: L.Breust, J.Roughead, J.O’Meara
FOL: B.McEvoy, D.Howe, L.Shiels
I/C: T.Duryea, W.Langford, C.Glass, H.Morrison
EMG: B.Whitecross, T.Miles, M.Pittonet
IN: L.Shiels, H.Morrison
OUT: R.Henderson, R.Burton
BULLDOGS 
B: S.Biggs, Z.Cordy, D.Morris
HB: M.Boyd, L.Young, M.Suckling
C: L.Hunter, M.Bontempelli, B.Dale
HF: J.Johannisen, J.Dunkley, L.Picken
F: T.McLean, T.Campbell, R.Murphy
FOL: J.Roughead, T.Liberatore, J.Macrae
I/C: L.Dahlhaus, P.Lipinski, B.Williams, C.Daniel
EMG: M.Wallis, F.Roberts, M.Honeychurch
IN: M.Boyd, T.Campbell, P.Lipinski
OUT: T.Cloke, J.Stringer, T.Dickson
AFL News:
Former Sydney captain Jarrad McVeigh is keen to play on next year, even if it means leaving the AFL club he’s spent almost half his life at.
Talks are ongoing but McVeigh, who comes off contract at the end of this season, is yet to be offered a new deal by the Swans.
Provided Sydney contest at least two finals, McVeigh will next month play his 300th game.
There is every chance the 32-year-old, who grew up on NSW’s Central Coast, will be unsure of his future whenever the Swans’ campaign ends.
McVeigh insists that prospect doesn’t worry him, likewise if coach John Longmire later tells him he is no longer part of the club’s plans for 2018.
“I understand the game of AFL. It is a ruthless business. I have got to perform and there has got to be a spot for me,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“It is a two-way street.
“I have a really strong relationship with everyone at the club and we all know where we stand … I’ve been in constant communication with the club all year and I’m pretty comfortable with where it sits.
“I have always said all year that I want to play on if my body is right and I am playing at a high level, so definitely I want to play on next year.”
McVeigh added there was a “a lot of trust and honesty” in the ongoing discussions between him, Longmire and Swans football manager Tom Harley.
“I don’t think it matters when it is,” McVeigh said, when asked if he’d like the Swans to make a call soon.
McVeigh has only played 10 games this year because of a calf injury but remains one of Sydney’s best users of the ball and will be a crucial part of their push for a premiership.
Former Brisbane captain and three-time premiership forward Alastair Lynch penned an open letter to McVeigh earlier this month, asking him to consider joining the Lions.
McVeigh has also been linked with Greater Western Sydney, where his older brother Mark is an assistant coach.
