Live: Hawthorn and Geelong meet on Easter Monday as Dogs count injury toll

The Western Bulldogs have been left worse for wear after what was an unexpectedly tricky win over Essendon.

After beating the Dons by 34 points on Sunday night, the Dogs are bracing themselves to be without All-Australian pair Tim English and Ed Richards for an extended period.

Richards was withdrawn from the clash against Essendon and scans have revealed an issue to do with the tendon behind his knee.

Further scans will be required to determine a timeline on his return.

English is also dealing with a knee injury, specifically to do with his medial collateral ligament (MCL), and will be assessed further over the next 48 hours.

Both Hawthorn and Geelong will line up as originally selected this afternoon at the MCG.

Here’s a look at the line-ups:

These two teams are no strangers to playing in big games at the MCG against each other, and the Cats have had the wood over the Hawks of late.

Here’s how the last five meetings have gone:

PF, 2025: Geelong 17.13 (115) def. Hawthorn 13.7 (85) @ MCG

R6, 2025: Geelong 12.14 (86) def. Hawthorn 11.13 (79) @ MCG

R17, 2024: Geelong 16.14 (110) def. Hawthorn 9.5 (59) @ Kardinia Park

R3, 2024: Geelong 17.4 (106) def. Hawthorn 10.10 (70) @ MCG

R4, 2023: Geelong 19.13 (127) def. Hawthorn 6.9 (45) @ MCG

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

Hope everyone has enjoyed a great Easter weekend. What a way to wrap it all up this afternoon as Hawthorn faces Geelong at the MCG.

This annual Easter Monday clash is almost always box office, and this afternoon’s clash promises to be no different.

I will be joined by Marnie Vinall this afternoon as we bring you all the latest from the pre-match before live action gets underway from 3:15pm AEST.