southerncross
04-05-2007, 05:30 AM
Eade 'em alive (http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21667255%255E19742,00.html)
"THE Dogs are back" said last week's headlines, but their coach isn't fooled.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5470664,00.jpg Losing ground: Gerard Healy believes the Western Bulldogs aren't as potent as this time last year.
The Western Bulldogs are, in fact, struggling, big time, and Rodney Eade's furrowed brow says it all. Last year, he was ahead of the game. Injuries demanded courage and creativity in a crisis and he was at his best, orchestrating a brilliant result given the calibre of the players he lost. To judge coaches purely on premierships is to ignore performances such as Eade's in 2006.
How quickly it can change. After showing his cards last season, Eade has lost his strategic advantage for his game plan, and his intuitive feel for how the kick-in rule would change the game has been mimicked by others after a year's scrutiny.
And so has the way to dismantle it, as West Coast did in the preliminary final last year. Most clubs are now holding back through the midfield, taking away the space created by the Bulldogs' quick movement last season.
As early as Round 6, Eade is facing growing evidence that what was successful last year is not as potent in 2007, even with the addition of returning knee victims Luke Darcy and Robert Murphy and star recruit Jason Akermanis, which was thought to guarantee a serious shot at the flag.
On current evidence, the Dogs will be hard pressed to equal last year's result.
It is still too early to answer with conviction, but "Rocket" would be asking himself: Are the Dogs' problems simply related to form, attitude and intensity, or has the game marched on and exposed significant structural weaknesses that will require material change?
My suspicion is there is a significant element of the former that the players need to address immediately, but the latter is more important in competing with the top few teams, and Eade's brow suggests he agrees.
The Bulldogs are vulnerable in defence. They have lost Chris Grant as the swing man and Brian Harris has yet to finish his apprenticeship. How the Dogs would like to be able to sign Andrew Kellaway on a six-month contract through a mid-season draft. But that's an issue for another day.
Sydney has shown you don't have to have an abundance of tall defenders, but West Coast proves the flexibility they give is an asset you'd rather possess.
Harris has started the year well. Last week Hawthorn didn't make him accountable and he had 27 possessions and was best on ground. However, it will be at the pointy end of the season that his improvement will be assessed against Barry Hall, Matthew Pavlich, Warren Tredrea, Jonathan Brown, Quinten Lynch, Nathan Bock and Nick Riewoldt.
Three years ago, Harris was emerging as one of the young challengers to the top-order full-backs in the game. He is still in the same position and needs to make a big move this year to catch Ben Rutten and Darren Glass, who are in his age bracket but have charged past him.
Cam Wight and Tom Williams are both developing players who will play a role, but they will need major support from those around them.
The midfield is a significant issue and change essentially revolves around Adam Cooney. Cooney is a talent recognised by all clubs. In Round 1 he was allowed to free-wheel, picked up 29 possessions and kicked two goals.
Since then, the clamp's gone on because, although he doesn't get the same numbers as Scott West and Daniel Cross, Cooney can be more damaging with his work inside the forward 50.
Last week he hit the wall, otherwise known as Brad Sewell, and was limited to 10 possessions. If 40 touches is the new 30, 10 is an ultra-quiet day and that will only encourage other clubs to implement the hard tag on Cooney.
To become an elite midfielder Cooney will inevitably have to conquer the hard tag, but there's another step Eade could consider given his fragile defence.
Changing Cooney's role from an attacking midfielder to a defensive one is something that would have a significant impact on the Dogs' capacity to challenge at the top end.
With such great rebound from half-back (despite Ryan Griffen's slow start), they can afford to go more defensive in the middle; in fact, it may be significant in adjusting the balance towards defence, a hallmark of the sides that finished in front of them last year.
Where other sides have implemented some of the Dogs' attack from last year, the Bulldogs could do the reverse and ramp up their defence.
Cooney will either be tagged for the rest of his career, if he copes, or tag in the interim if he stays in the midfield.
Chris Judd would be a great scalp to begin a new phase of his career that would benefit the club and the player.
Cooney should get out the tape of last week's West Coast-Richmond game and watch Judd's opponent, Kane Johnson. Watch him block Judd's line; watch his attention to detail; the hurt on his face every time Judd got a possession. Take it personally or don't take the job. It's not a shootout, it's a hard, nasty tag.
Cooney has the power in his legs to go with Judd, the body strength to go with Judd and the innate attacking gifts to hurt him if he gets the ball himself.
Cooney can single-handedly ease Rocket's tension, but Eade has to pull the trigger to change the attack-defence balance. Then it's up to Cooney to take up the challenge.
In the forward line, Brad Johnson is the only issue. Since the return of Darcy there isn't the same space behind Johnson that he used to be able to run into, because Darcy is already there.
So Johnson is playing a different role, more of a support act, creating space for others rather than being the focal point.
With Murphy and Akermanis inside 50, there is not the same need for Johnson to produce the heroics of last season. In fact, it may well be overkill and Johnson's talents could be better used elsewhere.
The Dogs look much better with so many more options up forward but they need to get the chemistry right for it to work in top gear.
Finding avenues to goal is the least of Rocket's worries and provides an option for him to move Johnson back to the midfield rotation, interchanging with West out of the forward pocket. Or even a return to the past as a defensive wingman, again adjusting the defensive-attacking balance and giving a harder edge to the midfield.
The Dogs have to add more players to the contested footy workload in the midfield that Cross and West have carried, and bolster the defence.
Adding Johnson to the middle and changing Cooney's role may provide a solution. It may even ease Rocket's furrowed brow.
"THE Dogs are back" said last week's headlines, but their coach isn't fooled.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5470664,00.jpg Losing ground: Gerard Healy believes the Western Bulldogs aren't as potent as this time last year.
The Western Bulldogs are, in fact, struggling, big time, and Rodney Eade's furrowed brow says it all. Last year, he was ahead of the game. Injuries demanded courage and creativity in a crisis and he was at his best, orchestrating a brilliant result given the calibre of the players he lost. To judge coaches purely on premierships is to ignore performances such as Eade's in 2006.
How quickly it can change. After showing his cards last season, Eade has lost his strategic advantage for his game plan, and his intuitive feel for how the kick-in rule would change the game has been mimicked by others after a year's scrutiny.
And so has the way to dismantle it, as West Coast did in the preliminary final last year. Most clubs are now holding back through the midfield, taking away the space created by the Bulldogs' quick movement last season.
As early as Round 6, Eade is facing growing evidence that what was successful last year is not as potent in 2007, even with the addition of returning knee victims Luke Darcy and Robert Murphy and star recruit Jason Akermanis, which was thought to guarantee a serious shot at the flag.
On current evidence, the Dogs will be hard pressed to equal last year's result.
It is still too early to answer with conviction, but "Rocket" would be asking himself: Are the Dogs' problems simply related to form, attitude and intensity, or has the game marched on and exposed significant structural weaknesses that will require material change?
My suspicion is there is a significant element of the former that the players need to address immediately, but the latter is more important in competing with the top few teams, and Eade's brow suggests he agrees.
The Bulldogs are vulnerable in defence. They have lost Chris Grant as the swing man and Brian Harris has yet to finish his apprenticeship. How the Dogs would like to be able to sign Andrew Kellaway on a six-month contract through a mid-season draft. But that's an issue for another day.
Sydney has shown you don't have to have an abundance of tall defenders, but West Coast proves the flexibility they give is an asset you'd rather possess.
Harris has started the year well. Last week Hawthorn didn't make him accountable and he had 27 possessions and was best on ground. However, it will be at the pointy end of the season that his improvement will be assessed against Barry Hall, Matthew Pavlich, Warren Tredrea, Jonathan Brown, Quinten Lynch, Nathan Bock and Nick Riewoldt.
Three years ago, Harris was emerging as one of the young challengers to the top-order full-backs in the game. He is still in the same position and needs to make a big move this year to catch Ben Rutten and Darren Glass, who are in his age bracket but have charged past him.
Cam Wight and Tom Williams are both developing players who will play a role, but they will need major support from those around them.
The midfield is a significant issue and change essentially revolves around Adam Cooney. Cooney is a talent recognised by all clubs. In Round 1 he was allowed to free-wheel, picked up 29 possessions and kicked two goals.
Since then, the clamp's gone on because, although he doesn't get the same numbers as Scott West and Daniel Cross, Cooney can be more damaging with his work inside the forward 50.
Last week he hit the wall, otherwise known as Brad Sewell, and was limited to 10 possessions. If 40 touches is the new 30, 10 is an ultra-quiet day and that will only encourage other clubs to implement the hard tag on Cooney.
To become an elite midfielder Cooney will inevitably have to conquer the hard tag, but there's another step Eade could consider given his fragile defence.
Changing Cooney's role from an attacking midfielder to a defensive one is something that would have a significant impact on the Dogs' capacity to challenge at the top end.
With such great rebound from half-back (despite Ryan Griffen's slow start), they can afford to go more defensive in the middle; in fact, it may be significant in adjusting the balance towards defence, a hallmark of the sides that finished in front of them last year.
Where other sides have implemented some of the Dogs' attack from last year, the Bulldogs could do the reverse and ramp up their defence.
Cooney will either be tagged for the rest of his career, if he copes, or tag in the interim if he stays in the midfield.
Chris Judd would be a great scalp to begin a new phase of his career that would benefit the club and the player.
Cooney should get out the tape of last week's West Coast-Richmond game and watch Judd's opponent, Kane Johnson. Watch him block Judd's line; watch his attention to detail; the hurt on his face every time Judd got a possession. Take it personally or don't take the job. It's not a shootout, it's a hard, nasty tag.
Cooney has the power in his legs to go with Judd, the body strength to go with Judd and the innate attacking gifts to hurt him if he gets the ball himself.
Cooney can single-handedly ease Rocket's tension, but Eade has to pull the trigger to change the attack-defence balance. Then it's up to Cooney to take up the challenge.
In the forward line, Brad Johnson is the only issue. Since the return of Darcy there isn't the same space behind Johnson that he used to be able to run into, because Darcy is already there.
So Johnson is playing a different role, more of a support act, creating space for others rather than being the focal point.
With Murphy and Akermanis inside 50, there is not the same need for Johnson to produce the heroics of last season. In fact, it may well be overkill and Johnson's talents could be better used elsewhere.
The Dogs look much better with so many more options up forward but they need to get the chemistry right for it to work in top gear.
Finding avenues to goal is the least of Rocket's worries and provides an option for him to move Johnson back to the midfield rotation, interchanging with West out of the forward pocket. Or even a return to the past as a defensive wingman, again adjusting the defensive-attacking balance and giving a harder edge to the midfield.
The Dogs have to add more players to the contested footy workload in the midfield that Cross and West have carried, and bolster the defence.
Adding Johnson to the middle and changing Cooney's role may provide a solution. It may even ease Rocket's furrowed brow.