Ten minutes have been wiped off the clock here without a goal kicked. The Bulldogs are defending well, but aren't offering a whole lot outside of that.

And yet they'll be pleased the Dockers haven't hurt them yet. Plenty of time for that though.

No real score being put on the board, but the early signs are very promising for the Dockers. They're on top around the contest but also have all the time and space in the world on the outside.

Can confirm there is no real attention being paid to Murphy Reid, so I'm not sure what Bevo was talking about there. He's cruising around all alone, ready and waiting to cut the Bulldogs up.

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The Dockers fans are well and truly along for the ride this year and we're expecting another cracking crowd in tonight.

When you look at the teams for this one it's hard to escape the feeling that the big boys at either end will be the difference for the Dockers. Not sure how the Bulldogs stop Treacy, Amiss and Voss (and Jackson, and Cox...) and I'm also not sure how they kick a winning score with Naughton out.

Everything sets up well for Freo's 18th win of the season. Can the Dogs spring an upset?

We're back to normal after last night's pre-game festivities. The Bulldogs have run onto the field to the sound of their club song and are going through their final warm ups on the ground.

Seemed most of the players and coaches liked the change in the Pies-Cats game, and most of the fans hated it. Which means the AFL will definitely push ahead with it in the near future.

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Gorgeous stadium, gorgeous evening. All set up for a good game of footy.

Bounce (ball-up, whatever) in about 20 minutes.

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Murphy Reid turned 20 this week. He also won the Glendinning-Allan Medal in the derby. He also signed a massive new contract to stay at Freo until 2032. Not bad, hey.

Luke Beveridge had some interesting comments on the Fox pre-game earlier, when he suggested that he would use the "collective" to take care of "the phone box" while spending more attention trying to shut down the damaging Dockers on the outside. Could that mean the first real tag for Reid has copped in his career?

That would be an intriguing new test for a player that AFL.com now rates as the 13th best footballer in the league.

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We have three blokes playing their 100th AFL game this evening in Josh Treacy, Hayden Young and Rhylee West.

Three very different stories there too. Treacy, who has taken the hard road to become perhaps the league's best key forward. Young, an incredibly talented high draft pick who has had to fight injuries through his career. And West, the son of a club legend now carving his own path.

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No late changes for either side.

Incredibly, the Dockers are stronger this week than last thanks to the inclusion of Hayden Young for Corey Wagner.

The Bulldogs, on the other hand, are without Aaron Naughton and Cody Weightman (both said to be managed). In for them are Laitham Vandermeer and Louis Emmett.

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Good evening and welcome back to ABC Sport's live blog coverage of the 2026 AFL season. Tonight we head west, where the all-conquering Fremantle Dockers test themselves again against the dangerous Western Bulldogs.

Freo are enjoying the greatest season in club history at the moment, surely romping their way to the minor premiership as they set themselves for a run at a maiden flag. The Bulldogs are on the outside looking in at the moment, currently in the wildcard spots but hoping to jump the line into the top six. A win tonight would achieve that.

Plenty of guns out there tonight and lots to play for. Should be a good one, so stick around and keep me company.