Back where it all began for homegrown Bulldogs as thousands expected to pack Pingelly Oval for WAFL showdown

Pingelly’s Tom Blechynden says it will be a boyhood dream to run out on his home ground in a WAFL premiership season match with South Fremantle this Saturday. The Bulldogs will travel to the Upper Great Southern region to tackle Peel Thunder in round three of the WAFL competition. Pingelly’s $9.1 million recreation and cultural centre will play host to the country fixture as the Bulldogs look to bounce back from their round-two defeat. A rising midfielder with the Bulldogs, Blechynden said he was excited to be playing in the league match in his home town. “It means a lot to me to be able to play in front of my family and friends from my home town — I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “I never really considered that playing WAFL league on my home ground would ever happen, but when I heard about it I was instinctively excited about the thought of playing there. “I grew up playing all my juniors there, so hopefully I’ll be used to the oval and have the feel for it. “I’ve always enjoyed playing footy in Pingelly and have had some great memories there.” The proud Pingelly kid will have a big contingent of family and friends in the crowd. “My direct family (mum, dad, brother and sister) and most of my uncles and aunties will be there to watch plus all of my mates from my hometown,” Blechynden said. “I’m looking forward to playing in front of all my family and friends and also getting all my footy mates from Perth down to Pingelly for a look. “Hopefully we can get back to playing our best and beat Peel on my home deck.” Fellow Upper Great Southern product and Katanning star Haiden Schloithe will also be in action while Boddington junior George Wessels will be hoping for a league recall after being dropped to the reserves last week. The Bulldogs lost to Claremont last week and will tackle a Thunder side brimming with confidence after they thrashed East Perth by 105 points in round two. The Thunder team are expected to feature a number of AFL-listed Fremantle Dockers in the clash. Bulldogs league coach Todd Curley said his team must respond but flagged minimal changes to his senior side. “Absolutely I think we can bounce back, we were well below our best last week and still were right in the game until the end,” he said. “Our group have always bounced back hard from a disappointing performance and expect more of the same this week. “Peel always bring great effort and pressure and have a well-balanced team on the park at the moment. It’s a great chance for us to get back into our regional zone that has produced some fantastic players for our footy club. “It’s a great opportunity for our boys from the Upper Great Southern to get back and play at home and hopefully celebrate with family and friends afterwards.” The game will start at 2.10pm on Saturday. A WAFLW fixture between the Bulldogs and Thunder will be held before the men’s fixture. Peel are the WAFLW premiers and the game starts at 12.10pm.