southerncross
02-07-2007, 05:41 AM
Eade to call up fifth pup to boost defence (http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=95)
WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade indicated last night that development might be a greater priority than contention for the remainder of the season by declaring that another teenager, Andrejs Everitt, will make his debut for the club next Saturday.
After the Dogs lost to the Kangaroos by 26 points at the MCG yesterday afternoon, a defeat that means that one of the fancied sides of the season is yet to win more than two games in succession and is now snagged mid-table with a 7-6 win-loss record, Eade said Everitt would definitely play against Port Adelaide, quite possibly in the company of the four teenagers and the 20-year-old first-year player who wore the red, white and blue jumper yesterday.
Eade's early call on Everitt and that of Robert Murphy, who will return after recovering from a hamstring strain, was, he said, not a "statement" but that the Dogs' first-round pick in last year's national draft deserved his chance after playing consistently well in defence for the club's VFL affiliate, Werribee.
"Murphy's back next week and I'm telling you right now that Andrejs Everitt will play next week. I'll put it on the table right now," Eade said.
"He was very close this week, but we thought someone else could have a particular role to play, which didn't work out as well as we'd hoped. So Andrejs will play next week.
"It's not that I've had enough. There's some blokes whose form's not right. It's not to make a statement or anything, it's just that Andrejs has been very close for five or six weeks now. He was very close this week. It was a toss of the coin."
But the coach's determination to give the 18-year-old tall defender, a former state junior high jump champion, the chance to play ahead of the likes of former West Coast player Andrew McDougall is an indication of two things: that the side's defence needs to be improved considerably and, with a shot at the flag looking increasingly remote, it is the right thing to look beyond this season.
The defence was made to look suburban yesterday in the first quarter, when Drew Petrie kicked six of his seven goals against three different opponents to effectively shape the game. Petrie kicked his first against Brian Harris, the next two on Chris Grant and the last three against Tom Williams, although Eade took issue with Harris' beginning more than most.
Significantly, the Dogs have won only two of their five matches at the MCG this year and conceded more than 100 points in four of them.
For whatever reason a couple of defenders left their heads in the changerooms. We brought them out for them at quarter-time and screwed them back on for them," was Eade's take on the first-quarter blitz, which ended with his team trailing by 22 points.
If Everitt and Murphy do not take the place of any of the five first- or second-year players who were in the Bulldog 22 yesterday, it will mean that almost a third of the side to play Port at Telstra Dome on Saturday will be 20 or under. Jarrod Harbrow is 18, Malcolm Lynch 19, Dylan Addison 19, Shaun Higgins 19 and Williams, who was playing his fourth game yesterday, is 20.
If Eade was irate about the first-quarter lapse, he was mystified by the uncharacteristic sloppiness and inaccuracy that repeatedly foiled his team's endeavour. After half-time, the Dogs kicked 5.12 to 5.4. They crept within 21 points in the last term before two Brent Harvey goals settled the affair.
"We weren't playing that well, but we were in it. In the end we had more scoring shots. We didn't play well and they deserved to win, but I reckon there were eight shots within 30 metres that should've been kicked," Eade said.
"We weren't playing well and still could have won. I mean 30 scoring shots to 27, but our skills all day were terrible…
"I have to give our guys some credit. They hung in there and kept on working hard. They gave themselves a chance to win, but (it was) our skill level and missing shots."
WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade indicated last night that development might be a greater priority than contention for the remainder of the season by declaring that another teenager, Andrejs Everitt, will make his debut for the club next Saturday.
After the Dogs lost to the Kangaroos by 26 points at the MCG yesterday afternoon, a defeat that means that one of the fancied sides of the season is yet to win more than two games in succession and is now snagged mid-table with a 7-6 win-loss record, Eade said Everitt would definitely play against Port Adelaide, quite possibly in the company of the four teenagers and the 20-year-old first-year player who wore the red, white and blue jumper yesterday.
Eade's early call on Everitt and that of Robert Murphy, who will return after recovering from a hamstring strain, was, he said, not a "statement" but that the Dogs' first-round pick in last year's national draft deserved his chance after playing consistently well in defence for the club's VFL affiliate, Werribee.
"Murphy's back next week and I'm telling you right now that Andrejs Everitt will play next week. I'll put it on the table right now," Eade said.
"He was very close this week, but we thought someone else could have a particular role to play, which didn't work out as well as we'd hoped. So Andrejs will play next week.
"It's not that I've had enough. There's some blokes whose form's not right. It's not to make a statement or anything, it's just that Andrejs has been very close for five or six weeks now. He was very close this week. It was a toss of the coin."
But the coach's determination to give the 18-year-old tall defender, a former state junior high jump champion, the chance to play ahead of the likes of former West Coast player Andrew McDougall is an indication of two things: that the side's defence needs to be improved considerably and, with a shot at the flag looking increasingly remote, it is the right thing to look beyond this season.
The defence was made to look suburban yesterday in the first quarter, when Drew Petrie kicked six of his seven goals against three different opponents to effectively shape the game. Petrie kicked his first against Brian Harris, the next two on Chris Grant and the last three against Tom Williams, although Eade took issue with Harris' beginning more than most.
Significantly, the Dogs have won only two of their five matches at the MCG this year and conceded more than 100 points in four of them.
For whatever reason a couple of defenders left their heads in the changerooms. We brought them out for them at quarter-time and screwed them back on for them," was Eade's take on the first-quarter blitz, which ended with his team trailing by 22 points.
If Everitt and Murphy do not take the place of any of the five first- or second-year players who were in the Bulldog 22 yesterday, it will mean that almost a third of the side to play Port at Telstra Dome on Saturday will be 20 or under. Jarrod Harbrow is 18, Malcolm Lynch 19, Dylan Addison 19, Shaun Higgins 19 and Williams, who was playing his fourth game yesterday, is 20.
If Eade was irate about the first-quarter lapse, he was mystified by the uncharacteristic sloppiness and inaccuracy that repeatedly foiled his team's endeavour. After half-time, the Dogs kicked 5.12 to 5.4. They crept within 21 points in the last term before two Brent Harvey goals settled the affair.
"We weren't playing that well, but we were in it. In the end we had more scoring shots. We didn't play well and they deserved to win, but I reckon there were eight shots within 30 metres that should've been kicked," Eade said.
"We weren't playing well and still could have won. I mean 30 scoring shots to 27, but our skills all day were terrible…
"I have to give our guys some credit. They hung in there and kept on working hard. They gave themselves a chance to win, but (it was) our skill level and missing shots."