Looking at the profile of each AFL team entering Round 14, no side will exhibit more desperation and the residual motivation than the Western Bulldogs.
After a 4-8 start which sees them currently sitting in 14th, the Dogs will be desperate to stay in touch with the top 8 and a loss here would make it very difficult for them to play finals footy.
As always in this column, we look for teams coming off the back of painful losses, who have experienced significant scrutiny throughout the past week or weeks.
This scrutiny can be at both club level internally however most importantly, from the vicious AFL media, who are quick to single out a struggling club with targeted derogatory commentary surrounding players and management.
The Dogs endured a horror start to the 2018 season losing four of their first five games, at which point the media savagery started with some outlets happy to declare the “flag hangover” from two seasons back still present amongst the struggling player group.
This rhetoric was enough to spark a round 6 turnaround where the Dogs came out and won their next three.
I’m banking on this profile being cyclical whereby after losing at their past four, the Western Bulldogs have now returned to the initial low point experienced at the end of round 5.
At that stage they were able to rebound strongly off a rock bottom base when driven by the negative media spotlight, which they used as additional motivation to return to the winner's circle.
This week’s opponents North Melbourne represent an excellent opportunity for the Dogs to play well. The hard loss to a quality side in Port Adelaide sets them up well for this and conversely the Kangaroos' soft week with the bye may have taken their edge off.
The Bulldogs could easily surprise here with a win, however for absolute confidence the +32.5 points start most bookies are offering will be more than enough.