Bulldogs have fighting spirit

The stars have aligned, my crystal ball is in front of me, I'm looking at a brutal grand final and I'm seeing Michael Ennis holding the premiership trophy aloft on Sunday night.

That's right folks, I'm tipping a Bulldogs win.

While both sides play a similar structure, they're also both very different in their approach and their reputation.

Similarly, they engage on an edge and then shift straight away and in that sense, they both play quite structured.

But where Melbourne are efficient and to an extent predictable, the Bulldogs are vicious. And I like vicious in a grand final.

The Dogs hit harder than any other team in the competition.

Whereas the Storm can wrap you up, the Bulldogs can hurt you.

Guys like Sam Kasiano and Greg Eastwood and Frank Pritchard, they're big blokes.

If there's a chink in the Bulldogs' armour, they can be guilty of struggling to reload, especially if one of those big forwards is forced to make two or three tackles in a set.

Cameron Smith will punish them out of dummy half if that happens, but I'm sure Dessy Hasler will be onto it from the outset.

The refereeing will play a role in that as well.

If it's a big 10m, Melbourne will win because the Dogs forwards will struggle to get back and back-up set after set.

But if the refs play a small 10m, it will be a huge advantage to the Bulldogs because not only will it help their forwards, it will, to an extent, nullify Smith's influence out of dummy half.

Being a grand final, it will come down to the simple things, the weight of possession, the completion rate.

Melbourne don't make mistakes. They are in the game for the full 80 minutes.

My fear, though, is they have had a lighter preparation than the Bulldogs leading into Sunday's game.

They've had relatively simple wins over the Bunnies and Manly, while the Bulldogs have had to fight for both of their wins over Manly and the Rabbitohs.

That's one of the main reasons I'm tipping the Dogs. They are battle-hardened, they've proven to be the best team all year and they have learned how to win big games.

This is the next natural step for them.

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