AFL LIVE: ‘I feel a bit sick’: Bulldogs star after their great, post-siren escape against Magpies

The first quarter finishes in controversy.

Did Daniel McStay take the mark inside the field of play.

There’s no doubt when he first touched the ball that it had not crossed the line, but it did not look like he had it in control until well after the line.

Watch how the ball moves in his hands.

There’s not much between these two sides.

The Pies look most dangerous when the can turn the ball over at half-back and move the ball with speed while the Dogs’ defence is not set.

The Bulldogs look to me to be the better side in general play, as reflected in their higher possession tally, but have burnt some gilt-edged opportunities.

Joel Freijah’s miss from snap shot from 25 metres out when he had time to straighten up is a case in point.

The Pies have the top-three ball-winners in Sam Swadling (12 disposals), Nick Daicos (11) and Pat Lipinski (10), while Ed Richards leads the way for the Dogs with 10.

Both teams are making mistakes, but that’s to be expected in such a high-pressure game.

They’ve laid 25 tackles each.

That’s high.

For those who don’t think wildcard finals are true finals, this is a great indicator of the step up in intensity from the home and away rounds.