Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs will square off this Saturday as the 2016 Australian Football League season comes to a climactic close, with the Grand Final to be decided at Melbourne Cricket Ground.This will be Sydney's third Grand Final appearance in the last five years, while the Bulldogs are making their first decider in more than half a century and are looking to make up for lost time.It was in 1954 that Western won their only AFL title to date, back when they played under the mantle of "Footscray," whereas Sydney last tasted league silverware just four years ago.Coach John Longmire will therefore be able to call upon some players in his squad who remember the championship year of 2012, not to mention the runner-up disappointment of 2014, losing to Hawthorn in this fixture.We provide all the essential information you'll need to ensure you don't miss a minute of the action in Melbourne, complete with a preview of Saturday's Grand Final. Date:Saturday, October 1Time:5:30 a.m. BST/2:30 p.m. AEST/12:30 a.m. ETVenue:Melbourne Cricket Ground, MelbourneLive Stream:AFL Global Pass(Global) PreviewIf there's one advantage Western Bulldogs might call upon this Saturday, it's the knowledge they bring a superior record of current form to Melbourne, having gone unbeaten through the finals series.Whereas Sydney suffered defeat to their rivals, Greater Western Sydney (GWS), in the qualifiers, the Bulldogs have defeated West Coast, Hawthorn and GWS to earn their place in the decisive showdown.Granted, Sydney have since responded well to that qualifying loss and showed major improvement in their demolitions of Adelaide and Geelong.Sydney icon Barry Hall won a Grand Final with the Swans in 2005 before ending his career at Western, and he told theSydney Morning Herald's James Buckley Longmire's side can thank GWS for the wake-up call if they win this Saturday:It almost woke the Swans up,because I know for a fact they had a lot of meetings that week about what they're about and how that game went.I don't know for certain but I'd imagine they'd have wanted the Western Bulldogs rather than the Giants because you see what happened in the first final.They were filthy with their performance. Then we see in the following weeks,they were unbelievable the Swans,particularly the first half of both of those games, they were unstoppable.If Hall's premonition comes to bear fruit, we'll be seeing an altogether more rounded Sydney side come into the Grand Final, at least far improved upon the product we saw drop to defeat in their first final this year.This will be a hugely emotional occasion for Western's players, however, after Maximiliano Bretos of ESPN Radio highlighted just how long it's been since they last made it to this stage of the contest:Western captain Robert Murphy, 34, will be one of those underdogs in the team who may see this as his last opportunity to win a Premiership title before his career comes to an end.Longmire recently spoke highly of the Bulldogs and their run to the Grand Final with caution:The Swans will also be wary of the fact the Bulldogs recently edged Greater Western Sydney in the preliminary to book their Grand Final spot, a sign they may have enough about them to pull off a major upset.Sydney are hoping to avenge their regular-season defeat at home to the Bulldogs back in Round 15 of the 2016 campaign.
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