WHEN: Saturday, 7.15pm AEST

WHERE: Optus Stadium, Perth

THE FORM

* Melbourne (Minor premiers, 17 wins, four losses, one draw). Beat Brisbane by 33 points in a qualifying final, thrashed Geelong by 83 points in a preliminary final

* Western Bulldogs (Fifth in home and away season, 15 wins, seven losses). Beat Essendon by 49 points in an elimination final, beat Brisbane by one point in a semi-final, shocked Port Adelaide by 71 points in a preliminary final

HEAD-TO-HEAD

* Overall: Melbourne 89 wins, Western Bulldogs 79 wins, one draw

* In finals: Melbourne two wins, Western Bulldogs two wins

* One grand final, 1954 - Footscray 15.12 (102) bt Melbourne (7.9 (51) at the MCG

* This season:

R11 - Melbourne 13.9 (87) bt Western Bulldogs 8.11 (59) at Marvel Stadium

R19 - Western Bulldogs 13.7 (85) bt Melbourne 9.11 (65) at the MCG

THE COACHES

* Simon Goodwin is the coach of the year after starting the season under massive pressure. It is a stunning turnaround and he leads the Demons into their first grand final since 2000.

* Luke Beveridge is one win away from masterminding his second flag in six years at the Bulldogs and has a remarkable history of premierships throughout his coaching career.

THE KEY PLAYERS

* Max Gawn (Melbourne). The Demons captain lit up their preliminary-final win with a career-best five goals. The AFL's top ruckman. Which brings us to ...

* Stefan Martin (Western Bulldogs). For the Bulldogs to win, Martin must somehow nullify Gawn's massive influence.

* Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs). Unlucky not to win his first Brownlow after another stellar season. With all due respect to Melbourne's Clayton Oliver, the best midfielder in the grand final.

* Bailey Smith (Western Bulldogs). A freakish young talent whose booming 50m-plus goal was a highlight of their shocking preliminary-final win. Also boasts an exceptional mullet.

* Christian Petracca (Melbourne). An extroverted, richly-talented player who was born to star in a grand final. No surprise whatsover that he leads the Norm Smith Medal betting.

THE STATS

* Defence wins premierships and Melbourne boasts the stingiest backline in the league this season.

* The Bulldogs comfortably edge the Demons in terms of premiership and grand-final experience. Nine 2016 premiership players - not including the injured Toby McLean - will feature on Saturday while Taylor Duryea has featured in two flags for former club Hawthorn. Former Crow Jake Lever is the only Demon to experience the big day - apart from the injured Adam Tomlinson (GWS 2019).

TIP

Melbourne by 10 points

Australian Associated Press