Unbeaten Swans face winless Western Bulldogs at Docklands — but they don't have much room for error

It's a good time to be at the Sydney Swans right now, with the city on a high after last Friday's crowd celebration at the SCG where Lance Franklin kicked his 1,000th career goal.

The Swans are third on the ladder on percentages after starting 2-0, with wins over GWS and Geelong — and they have a good chance to remain unbeaten when they face the winless Western Bulldogs at Docklands tomorrow night.

Despite the positions on the ladder, the Bulldogs go into round three as narrow favourites in betting markets.

While this may seem counter-intuitive, a closer look at the first couple of weeks show why it's not just a case of home-ground advantage — and why the Swans are in danger if they have a «Buddy hangover».

Melbourne won the 2021 grand final with an avalanche of attack. They beat the Bulldogs in the season opener with suffocating, unflinching team defence. That should have the rest of the league very worried.

The Bulldogs have had a tough entree to 2022. They faced the defending premiers in the spotlight of the MCG on a Wednesday night and — depending on which view you take — the game showed that the Demons were confirmed as the best team in football, or the Dogs showed there was a decent gap between the two sides, or both.

And the following week they came a cropper against a Carlton side rejuvenated under new coach Michael Voss.

Plenty of questions were being asked, particularly of the much-vaunted midfield of the sons of the west.

For as much improvement as the Bulldogs showed they needed in their first two rounds, the Swans made as big a positive impression in beating GWS and Geelong to kick off their 2022.

Winning the derby was almost as big an agenda item for the Swans as the grand final rematch was for the Bulldogs, since