Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
https://s4.postimg.org/5ptqnndq5/image.jpg
FOR ALL their injuries in 2016, there’s one other issue that could hinder the Western Bulldogs’ upcoming finals campaign.
It lies within the forward 50.
The Bulldogs have kicked 100 points in a game on just six occasions and have kicked less than 10 goals four times in 2016.
While the Dogs are one of the stingiest teams in the league — with only Sydney and Geelong conceding less points — they struggle to hit the scoreboard, with 10 teams kicking more points than them in 2016.
The Dogs have no issues sending the ball forward — they’re equal-sixth in the competition for inside-50s — but they average just 11.6 marks inside the arc, ranked 13th in the competition.
It’s clear the issues stem from their forward set-up and the fluency between their midfield and young forward line.
The absence of both key midfield personnel and mature, experienced forwards has played a role in their failure to translate possession to scoring.
Of the Bulldogs’ 248 goals, Jake Stringer has booted 37, Tory Dickson has kicked 24 and midfielder Marcus Bontempelli 22.
Next in line are now-injured forward Jack Redpath (20), Tom Liberatore (13), Toby McLean (11) and key forward Tom Boyd (nine).
There’s no doubt the Dogs miss the presence and experience of Stewart Crameri.
The medium-sized forward booted 37 goals in 2014 and 32 in 2015.
But the forwards they have left aren’t hitting the mark either.
After booting 50 goals in 2015, small forward Tory Dickson has dropped off, with just 24 goals from 16 matches.
The form of Stringer has also come under scrutiny.
Stringer was electrifying in 2015, booting 56 goals in 22 matches and booting four or more goals on eight occasions.
But over the past three weeks — notably after missing a game with a shoulder injury — he’s averaged just a goal a game and is lacking his trademark explosiveness.
Former Essendon forward Matthew Lloyd said Stringer looked to be down on confidence and avoiding contests.
“He’s running away from the ball at the moment ... very tentative and he might just be losing confidence with what he’s doing,” Lloyd said on Footy Classified.
“He’s lost his x-factor, really, he’s running past the ball hoping it will bobble out to him.
“He’s got to either play midfield or he’s got to start attacking the ball again.”
With Stringer and Dickson down on form, Redpath out injured and youngster Boyd rarely kicking goals, the Bulldogs have increased their reliance on their midfield to help kick a winning score.
Sometimes, as in the game against Collingwood, the likes of Bontempelli, Lin Jong and Nathan Hrovat can chip in with two or more goals apiece to help get the Dogs over the line.
But ultimately, with the likes of Boyd, Clay Smith and Zaine Cordy all required to step up in roles beyond their experience, the forward line is not yet experienced enough to provide the baseline goals.
Injured Bulldogs skipper Bob Murphy said he expected the young front six to start producing bigger returns with more games together.
“The defenders have played a lot of footy together and the boys in the forward line have only played a little bit of footy together,” Murphy said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“So the chemistry of that is something that’s very real and it just takes time.”
“They’re chipping away, they’re working as hard on it as anything ... it will be right by the end of the year.”
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Oh hum............... at least we keep winning. Our worst game was the Geelong thrashing, otherwise we have been right in it. We have missed alot of easy shots which could have made the difference in those other 5 losses.
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bornadog
Oh hum............... at least we keep winning. Our worst game was the Geelong thrashing, otherwise we have been right in it. We have missed alot of easy shots which could have made the difference in those other 5 losses.
We do lack the firepower in attack of a Hawthorn Swans and Crows. A fit Dahlhaus is our most consistent but the fact that we were forced to move Cordy forward highlights a current weakness. Unlike Hawthorn we have a number of players including Stringer Suckling Cordy and Dunkley that have flaws in their disposal which needs a lot of practice in the off season in an endeavour to correct. All things considered it has been a terrific year in our ability to be such a competitive unit with our disposal still needing a lot of work towards becoming a premiership threat.
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
When Sydney won the 2005 flag, they kicked a lower score than all but two teams out of 16...
Point is, so what?... Some teams play a lock down team defence - which stands up well in finals.
Journos have to write. This is white noise. I look forward to our boys sticking it to the world. I love that we've been dismissed. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Webby
When Sydney won the 2005 flag, they kicked a lower score than all but two teams out of 16...
Point is, so what?... Some teams play a lock down team defence - which stands up well in finals.
Journos have to write. This is white noise. I look forward to our boys sticking it to the world. I love that we've been dismissed. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.
I think Sydney is the exception, not the rule.
Our delivery inside 50 is ad-hoc and the forward structure is non-existent. Highly unlikely to win a flag like that
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Sydney's made, what, ten of the last 11 finals series, making three grand finals and winning two by being the exception. When they won in 2011, the were only the fifth best scoring team in the comp. Point is, they are always well structured defensively.
So teams do win flags without being in the top 2-3 scorers in the competition. However they RARELY win flags without being in the top 2-3 for points conceded. The more significant KPI out of the For and Against column is the Against column. That's a fact. If you can't defend, you can't win a flag. Sure, media geniuses point out the mind-blowing fact that you need to attack AND defend (wow), however, of the two, defensive capability is by far the more important.
Add to that the fact that Dickson, Stringer and TBoyd only have upside and we don't need to be Danny from Droop Street just yet! Some clubs will have players step up in the finals and others will have players go into their shells. I'll back us to step up. If we don't, there's something clear to work on over the summer.
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Webby
Sydney's made, what, ten of the last 11 finals series, making three grand finals and winning two by being the exception. When they won in 2011, the were only the fifth best scoring team in the comp. Point is, they are always well structured defensively.
So teams do win flags without being in the top 2-3 scorers in the competition. However they RARELY win flags without being in the top 2-3 for points conceded. The more significant KPI out of the For and Against column is the Against column. That's a fact. If you can't defend, you can't win a flag. Sure, media geniuses point out the mind-blowing fact that you need to attack AND defend (wow), however, of the two, defensive capability is by far the more important.
Add to that the fact that Dickson, Stringer and TBoyd only have upside and we don't need to be Danny from Droop Street just yet! Some clubs will have players step up in the finals and others will have players go into their shells. I'll back us to step up. If we don't, there's something clear to work on over the summer.
100% agree with this. Fremantle won the minor premiership last year and were up to their armpits against the Hawks in the prelim yet had the lowest PF of all the top 8 teams by a fair margin.
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Im loving reading through this old thread after having won the flag as the 12th best scoring side in the comp.
Loving the belief!
Now all the journos are jumping on post GF...
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/af...198229e93fab07
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Re: Inexperience, injury and lack of chemistry affecting Bulldogs’ ability to kick big scores in 2016
Quote:
Originally Posted by
redders70
Paywall :(
Copy name of article and search it in google, click on first result.
Quote:
IF THE AFL was a western movie the Western Bulldogs would be a motley crew dubbed “The Outriders”.
Their leader would be a quick-drawing coach nicknamed “The Bison”, a moniker bestowed on Luke Beveridge by Alastair Clarkson.
And they would wear as their badge of honour an ability to buck longstanding trends and turn AFL convention on its head.
The Dogs’ premiership on Saturday was achieved with buckets of emotion and spirit.
But this club are also outriders in so many trends and themes that have stood the test of time as measures for success in the modern era.
It doesn’t mean those trends and patterns aren’t just as valid for an aspirational club attempting to build a premiership model.
But it goes to show if you believe in your model and play to your strengths you can still win a premiership any way you want.
Beveridge might be the biggest outrider himself, a public service employee plucked from the ‘Ammos’ who builds incredibly emotional bonds with his players.
The ways the Dogs went their own way includes:
SIXTEEN of the past 17 premiers had averaged 100 points a game before the Dogs averaged only 86.2 points, 12th best in the league.
THEY circumvented Champion Data’s gold standard of 100 points in attack, 86 points in defence despite so many of the recent premiers having high-octane offences. Hawthorn was first in scoring in each of the past three years, the Cats (2011) and Collingwood (2010) were second, the Cats (2009) were second and Hawthorn (2008) was third.
THE Bulldogs’ average age on Grand Final day was 24.41 years, the third youngest premiership side since 1979. Even last year the Hawks’ average age was 27.85, with Geelong in 2011 averaging 27.29 years.
CLUBS just don’t play 39 players and win a flag because if you play your whole list you have had too many injuries to compete. Yet the Dogs played 39 players, the equal-most by a premier since World War II and the most since the Tigers won after playing 39 players in 1969.
TEAMS win premierships with highly efficient forward lines populated by superstar key forwards. In the past 10 years every premier has ranked top six for goals per inside-50 yet the Dogs ranked 15th. They won instead by total dominance in the second half, having the ball inside 50 for 32min 17 sec compared to the Swans’ 17 min 46 sec.
THE Dogs’ key defensive duo in Fletcher Roberts and Joel Hamling had played together just six times this year.
That just doesn’t happen, with defensive duos Mal Michael and Justin Leppitsch, and Matthew Scarlett and Tom Harley enjoying longstanding relationships.
In fact delisted free agent Hamling has just 23 games under his belt and Roberts 37, and yet both were exceptional on the big stage.
CLUBS who have spent up big on a million dollar man were yet to win a premiership — until Tom Boyd came up big. The Dogs didn’t ruin their salary cap because they had banked so much room in their cap that they didn’t have to sacrifice other players in recruiting him.
IN 2014 the Bulldogs had the lowest football department spend of all Victorian clubs, normally seen as a death knell for premiership hopes. They lifted that by $1.8 million that year and $2.5 million last year, but instead of spending big they are smart.
They have used their relationship with Victoria University to foster sports science relationships rather than spend up big on a massive wage bill.
The Dogs have consistently played to their own strengths rather than follow the flock.
Not only do they have a premiership as a result, they have given hope to rivals that there is another way other than parroting Hawthorn’s style and methods.
