AFL 'Dogs face tough task against Swans

Sydney's tall forward line will pose plenty of problems for the Western Bulldogs in Sunday's AFL clash at Etihad Stadium.

Sydney Swans players

Sydney's tall forward line will pose plenty of problems for the Bulldogs in Sunday's AFL clash. (AAP)

Billy Picken was one of the AFL's great characters, taking countless "speccies" after calling himself in for the mark with his booming voice then booting a big barrel.

His son Liam has followed him into the ranks of the AFL. But Liam plays a vastly different role to Billy, a champion defender named in Collingwood's team of the century.

Liam is a midfield tagger for the Western Bulldogs.

The 127-game veteran was in the headlines this week after North Melbourne's Brent Harvey was suspended for three matches for throwing Picken to the ground and pinning him by the throat with his forearm.

Picken faces a fresh challenge against ladder leaders Sydney in Sunday's round-22 clash at Etihad Stadium.

Bulldogs' senior assistant coach Brett Montgomery says Picken won't be bothered by this week's media hype over his tagging tactics.

"In talking to the players and coaches of other teams, one thing that people respect about Liam Picken is it's all business," Montgomery said on Saturday.

"There's no trash talk. There's no games.

"He just plays it as hard and as tight as he possibly can and that's not always the case with people playing that position.

"Some of that scrutiny (on Picken) is quite unfair."

Montgomery said the style variations between father and son were marked.

"It is quite staggering, the differences between the two personality-wise and what their strengths and weaknesses were," Montgomery said.

"He's a very important part of our side. He's a lot more versatile than people give him credit for."

The Bulldogs (7-13 win-loss) went down to North Melbourne by 50 points last week,while the Swans are coming off a 71-point thrashing of St Kilda.

Sydney kicked six goals to St Kilda's one in the opening term at the SCG.

"What they did to St Kilda in last week's first quarter, it was quite scary," Montgomery said.

Montgomery says tall forwards Adam Goodes, Sam Reid, Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin will stretch the home side's defence, but midfield pressure will be crucial.

The Bulldogs have named inexperienced ruck duo Tom Campbell and Ayce Cordy following the axing of 2013 All-Australian Will Minson.

"We've been quite vigilant to just make sure there's no element of checking out in our group," Montgomery said.

"We haven't experienced any of it and we're really happy with where the group's at mentally even though they haven't got finals to play for."


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