Live: Swans, Bulldogs clash in Sydney, Thilthorpe out of Crows-Eagles meeting

The Bulldogs cough up possession Sydney springs forward quickly and with purpose, moving from the centre to left in a lovely hand-ball change.

The kick is made and it finds Charlie Curnow wide in the 50.

He curls his set shot between the big sticks.

Swans by 12 early on at the SCG.

We’re off.

And Sydney has made a fast start, with Hayden McLean soccering in the first goal of the game.

It’s a lovely volley, one that Nestory Irankunda would have been proud of.

Swans by six at the SCG.

It’s Isaac Heeney vs Marcus Bontempelli in a real finals shaper at the SCG.

What a way to kick-off the weekend.

The players jog out onto the Sydney turf, with the famous ground looking extra colourful tonight.

The sign atop the scoreboard has been turned rainbow, there’s a splash of colour on the grass and Sydney’s guernseys have some tasteful rainbow trim for the Swans’ annual pride game.

We’re only a couple minutes away.

Here’s how the last five meetings between the Eagles and Crows have gone ahead of tonight’s clash in Perth.

R22, 2025: Adelaide 13.9 (87) def. West Coast 12.6 (78) @ Perth Stadium

R11, 2025: Adelaide 19.14 (128) def. West Coast 8.14 (62) @ Adelaide Oval

R11, 2024: Adelaide 21.11 (137) def. West Coast 5.8 (38) @ Adelaide Oval

R24, 2023: Adelaide 17.21 (123) def. West Coast 12.6 (78) @ Perth Stadium

R13, 2023: Adelaide 27.12 (174) def. West Coast 8.4 (52) @ Adelaide Oval

No late team news from the SCG.

Six changes for Sydney to the team that lost to Brisbane last week, with four forced.

Joel Amartey, Logan McDonald, Sam Wicks and Pete Ladhams are all out injured, while Riley Bice and Malcolm Rosas are dropped.

Hayden McLean comes in for Amartey, while veteran Dane Rampe, Matt Roberts, Tom Hanily, Harry Kyle and Corey Warner are the other inclusions.

One change for the Bulldogs, Cody Weightman coming in for Rhylee West.

Some big team news coming out of the West ahead of the first bounce with Adelaide star Riley Thilthorpe set to miss tonight’s clash due to illness.

Thilthorpe will be replaced in the Adelaide side by Billy Dowling.

Adelaide’s other change from last week’s side that lost to Port is Isaac Cumming being axed for Toby Murray.

West Coast has three changes from last week with Tim Kelly, Jack Williams and Oliver Francou coming in for Ryan Maric, Elijah Hewett and Cooper Duff-Tytler.

Here’s a look at how the two teams line up against each other.

It was an outing to forget for the Bulldogs, who went down by 66 points in Round 7.

But the Dogs come into tonight’s match in a good spot, having won five of their last seven before last week’s bye.

Coach Luke Beveridge says the slate is clean ahead of the rematch.

“The team we picked this week would be nine or 10 players different to the last time we played Sydney,” Beveridge said.

“They’ll have probably five or six different as well, some handy players back who we didn’t play against.

“So both teams are a bit different … it’ll be a great way to start some momentum in the back third of the year.”

With AAP

Obviously, there would have never been a good time for Joel Amartey to go down injured, but Swans fans can take some heart from the fact that replacement Hayden McLean is in pretty good nick at the minute.

McLean kicked six as the Swans mauled Sandringham in the VFL last week.

A disappointing loss to Brisbane last weekend was soured even further midweek, with Sydney confirming that key forward Joel Amartey would be facing a prolonged spell on the sidelines.

Scans revealed Amartey, who has kicked 28 goals in 2026, sustained a partial tear of the Achilles tendon in the final quarter against the Lions, and that he will miss 10 weeks of football.

It will be Hayden McLean, set for just his fifth game of year, with a golden opportunity to push his case for more regular gametime.

It’s a tradition that has been running since 2016 and celebrates inclusivity and the LBTGQIA+ community.

Check out this piece by the ABC’s Marnie VInall, in which she tells the story of Sydney’s first and little-known pride game.

Great read.

Good evening and welcome to ABC Sport’s live AFL coverage!

We’ve got another Friday night double-header tonight and I’ll have Henry Hanson alongside me to cover all the action.

The first match is a proper belter as Sydney hosts the Western Bulldogs from 7:40pm at the SCG with both sides looking to shore up top eight spots.

The second match might be one that is a little trickier than it looks on paper as West Coast hosts Adelaide at Perth Stadium from 8:10pm.

Henry will bring you all the coverage from the Swans-Dogs clash, while I’ll cover the proceedings from WA.

All times AEST.