THE WESTERN Bulldogs are out to give their season a pulse when they take on Sydney at Marvel Stadium from 7.20pm AEDT.

Meanwhile, the Swans will need to quickly re-ground themselves following the euphoric scenes of last Friday when Lance Franklin slotted his 1000th goal during an impressive win over Geelong.

Sydney has started 2022 in sparkling form, whereas the Bulldogs have plenty on the line and need to break their season duck after a 0-2 start. Quite simply, slumping to 0-3 would be disastrous for last year's Grand finalists.

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Both sides head into the match with minimal changes to their line-ups, although the Bulldogs have brought back emerging superstar Bailey Smith who sat out the round two loss to Carlton as a precautionary measure due to a hip injury. Hayden Crozier, who fainted at half-time during last week, will play limited minutes in a reserves game.

There are no late changes for either side, with Mitch Wallis named as the medical sub for the Dogs, while Ben Ronke will be the sub for the Swans.

02:17

Match Previews R3: Western Bulldogs v Sydney

Sportsbet's Nathan Brown and Matthew Richardson preview the game between the Bulldogs and Swans at Marvel Stadium.

Published on Mar 31, 2022

High-flying forward Aaron Naughton has also been named despite some concerns over a "deep" corkie in his calf. Marcus Bontempelli, who hurt his ankle in round one, will also play.

Coach Luke Beveridge backed his skipper during the week, saying that Bontempelli "carries niggles and discomfort with a great deal of resilience." 

Forward-ruck Joel Amartey is the only change for the Swans. He replaces former No.4 draft pick Logan McDonald who has been dropped after two quiet games.