In a season in which we were still agonising over the state of the game and wringing our hands about the blight of congestion, this September classic was a breath of fresh air. It started at full tilt and seldom let up, both teams finishing with more than 100 points, one of only eight games from 207 in which two sides topped the ton.

With 2016 already by consensus producing more open, high-scoring and entertaining football than we've seen for years, the Bulldogs and Crows' return clash on Saturday night should by rights be a torch-bearer for the "new brand".

But is it? While this match-up still shapes as the best game of the round, any expectations that it will be played out in a similar manner to last year's knockout final could be sorely misplaced.

Not that it won't be every bit as absorbing, but rather than a battle between two teams who play a full-on attacking game, this time it's a clash between statistically the AFL's best offensive and defensive sides. And it's the Doggies who have undergone quite the metamorphosis.

Last year, Luke Beveridge's team backed its attacking instincts with impressive results, the Bulldogs finishing the season the AFL's fourth heaviest-scoring team, not quite as impressive defensively, but still ranked sixth for fewest points conceded.

But as a host of rivals improve their scoring capacity, the Bulldogs have actually moved in the other direction, ironically after AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan dubbed them a team that played "sexy football".

More than one-quarter through the season, the Bulldogs have moved from sixth on those defensive rankings to No. 1. And the fourth-highest scoring team of 2015 now ranks just 12th.

The latter, of course, is far from deliberate. No side sets out to score less. But Beveridge has always had a mission to make his team strong defensively, and the lessons are kicking in. But given the declining returns of his forward set-up, that's probably just as well.

Injuries certainly haven't helped, Tom Boyd hurting his shoulder after starting the season in reasonable nick, Tory Dickson having played only the last two games after an adductor injury. Then there's the absence of the CAS-suspended Stewart Crameri. All of which has placed more pressure on the performance of Jake Stringer. Stringer and Dickson booted more than 100 goals between them last year, both averaging more than two per game, and Crameri another 30. Stringer is currently going at 1.83 per game, with Dickson barely a factor.

What the Bulldogs have been able to do to compensate is raise their "hard" game to higher levels. They're currently ranked No.1 on the contested possession differentials, up from seventh last year.

They're first on the clearance differentials compared to ninth last season. And they're using those clearance wins more effectively, too ranked second on the scores from clearance differentials as against ninth in 2015.

Their hard press up the ground attempts to lock the ball in the forward line, and is doing so successfully. At the moment, the Bulldogs concede a score from just 39 per cent of opposition inside 50s, once again for a ranking of No.1.

All of which will be put to the acid test against Adelaide, a team which rebounds as well any out of its defence, having significantly improved its kicking efficiency. As for potency, well, the Crows have now overtaken North Melbourne, which managed to beat the Bulldogs' defensive systems last week, as the AFL's highest-scoring team.

If the Bulldogs attempt to fight fire with offensive fire, they're more than likely to come out on the receiving end.

It's a game which will say plenty about both teams in 2016. But also a game potentially very different in nature to that which unfolded on the MCG last September. Gripping? Certainly.

But unless the AFL's head honcho has a different definition of the word to everyone else, sexy, perhaps not so much.

Defensive Dogs (rankings)

KPI                             2015  2016

Points for                      4th   12th
Points against               6th    1st
Cont. poss (diff.)            7th    1st
Clearance (diff.)             9th    1st
Centre clearence (diff.)  11th  2nd
Scores per I-50 (against)  3rd  1st