AFL 2025 round three LIVE updates: Carlton Blues, Western Bulldogs battle it out in Friday night footy

It’s been a warm day today in Melbourne with temperatures reaching 30 degrees and Fox Footy have mentioned several times that it is very muggy inside Marvel Stadium.

It should be a pretty sweaty night for the players with the evening temperatures meant to stay between 22-26 degrees.

Will this have an impact on how well the sides can keep hold of the footy? Time will tell.

First bounce is just a few minutes away at 7.40pm AEDT.

Blues coach Michael Voss hopes he can keep key defender Jacob Weitering in his usual deep defensive role.

But Voss admits the veteran defender may need to run up the ground should he be matched up with Bulldogs star big man Sam Darcy.

“Possibly,” Voss said on Fox Footy.

“When you watch what he’s done the last couple of weeks, clearly Darcy’s ability to stay flexible and move up the ground is a real strength of his.

“We’ve got some contingencies to go to if we have to but, we’ll start with plan A and hope we get the matchups we want and then adjust from there.”

Earlier on, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge praised Darcy’s running power and drive to also kick goals while playing in the ruck, along with his time in the forward line.

So tracking Darcy will be a vital factor in tonight’s game.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hopes returning defender Liam Jones can step into his role without much change tonight.

But the Bulldogs will be ready if they need to adjust to the Blues trying to take key defender Rory Lobb or rebound defender Bailey Dale out of the game.

“They may do some negative forward stuff on Lobby or maybe even Bailey Dale as they’ve done in the past,” Beveridge told Fox Footy.

“We might need to make an adjustment here and there but we are hoping that Liam Jones will come in and begin from where he left off.”

Jordan Boyd (Carlton) and Josh Dolan (Bulldogs) are the subs for tonight.

Carlton captain Patrick Cripps is standing by his good friend Harry McKay and believes the key forward is on the improve.

McKay is out of the side to deal with a personal matter which he has asked to remain private.

“He’s going OK, he’s obviously got a few challenges at the moment but, like anyone in that space, as a club and as a mate, more importantly, you just want to make sure he is OK,” Cripps told Fox Footy.

“He came in Wednesday and trained with us. It was great to see him and he trained really well so he is on the upward trajectory which is the main thing. He’s one of my good mates and I know he will be back pretty soon.

“I’m there to support him as always.”

Cripps said he believed the side was on the up after a 0-2 start.

“The effort stuff and defensive contest stuff has been pretty sound,” Cripps told Fox Footy.

“If we can fix up the offensive stuff and punish them the other way a bit more – that is what we are looking forward to tonight.

“Two games don’t define a year.”

Luke Beveridge is determined to focus on the Western Bulldogs’ encouraging start to the season rather than talking about troubled young gun Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

The former No.1 draft pick’s future at the Whitten Oval remains unclear as he sporadically trains with the rest of the group.

Ugle-Hagan will be sidelined until the 22-year-old can prove he has fully committed to life as an AFL player.

After speaking extensively about Ugle-Hagan during an interview with the Nine Network on Tuesday night, Beveridge wanted to switch focus.

“I had a fair bit to say on a rival network the other night about Marra, I probably don’t want to go into too much detail again in regards to him,” Beveridge said at the Whitten Oval on Thursday.

In the interview in question, Beveridge said the expectation around Ugle-Hagan’s movements at the club was “rubbery”.

He even admitted to receiving contact from people who have spotted the Bulldogs forward out in public.

Ugle-Hagan didn’t attend the club’s 100th anniversary game against Collingwood at the MCG last Friday night, and was instead at a pub.

His absence comes as a time when the Bulldogs have dealt with serious injuries to key players, including captain Marcus Bontempelli and reigning All-Australian Adam Treloar.

Bontempelli is making steady progress from a “complex” calf injury and is listed as three-to-five weeks away.

But Treloar suffered a “frustrating” setback with his own calf issues and might not play until the middle of the season, or later.

“He’s (Treloar) understandably flat and understandably emotional about it. I think we all are,” Beveridge said.

“We just want what’s best for Adam.

“When you consider the effect he had on the competition last year, All-Australian, and to not be able to play footy at all so far this year weighs pretty heavily on him.

“Some messaging (from a meeting on Thursday), he’s bounced out of it pretty well, and now we just set our sights for another month and a half away.”

The Bulldogs (1-1) will face under-fire Carlton (0-2) in an intriguing clash at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

AAP