By Matt Janson
April 10 2003

With both sides coming off a loss, Sunday's match at the Telstra dome could mark an early turning point in the season for the winning side. With both the Bulldogs and Melbourne coming off a loss last weekend, a win here is vital to keep pace with the head of the field after 3 rounds. At this stage, both sides are keeping faith with the 22 players that were named last weekend, with the obligatory 3 extra selections for Sunday lineups added.

The additions for the Bulldogs see some tall timber return to the fold. After a solid hitout with Werribee last weekend at Coburg, Matthew Croft is in line to appear in the red, white and blue for the first time this season this weekend. Joining him amongst the inclusions are Wayde Skipper, who has been denied a place in the 22 for the last 2 weeks, and young defender Daniel Cross.

TEAMS:
BULLDOGS
B: Bassett, Kretiuk, Robbins
HB: Smith, Croft, Power
C: Alvey, West, R.Murphy
HF: Bowden, Bandy, Giansiracusa
F: Wiggins, NG Brown, Eagleton
R: Darcy, Hahn. Johnson
INT FROM: McMahon, Harris, Skipper, Cross, Hargrave, Dimattina, Garlick

MELBOURNE
B: ND Brown, Bizzell, Williams
HB: Bruce, Ferguson, Ward
C: Heffernan, Johnstone, P.Walsh
HF: Yze, Robertson, Armstrong
F: Green, Neitz, McDonald
R: White, Whelan, Godfrey
INT FROM: Rigoni, Jolly, Lamb, Moorcroft, Leoncelli, Wheatley, Smith