Well, I don't know what to say...

[bulldogtragic]

To be clear, when I mention Will, I am saying we can't have a third season of him rucking 99.9%.

Jon Ralph says Higgins to Carlton 'almost certain'. Make of it what you will.

[Eastdog]

Season over

Thanks for coming

[ratsmac]

All I can say is that I am glad that the season is over. I have had an absolute gut full. If it wasn't for Bonts, MaCrae, Stringer, Hrovat and the like, I don't know how I would feel.

Are GWS better than I thought? Maybe
Are we worse than I thought? Maybe
Is it the cattle we have? Maybe
Are we about where we should be given our average age? Maybe
Is it the coach/coaching staff? Maybe

The optimism I had at the end of last year has all but gone. I can't see us making the 8 for a few more years at this point in time. I am at least happy we have pick 5 in the draft but I don't know if that is even a good way to think.

Feeling empty right now

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I'm actually quite ambivalent about today's loss. We were dreadful defensively and we played bruise free footy. There will be no end of season slapping on the back, which I think is much healthier than our tardy start to this season after finishing last year full of running. We have a ton of work to do and the footy world knows it.

This is how I see it too.

No wallpapering over the cracks - we're miles off the pace as a coaching and playing group, and there's no shying away from that. Some tough decisions need to be made and astute drafting/trading is critical.

[G-Mo77]

Are GWS better than I thought? Maybe

No they're not. They gave up long ago and were fielding a glorified seconds side.

Feeling similar to you ratsmac. I really think it's got to get worse before it gets better. I can't see how or where the improvment comes from or how teams below don't improve. GWS will finish above us next year, so will Melbourne and we'll be fighting the Saints for dead last.

[F'scary]

Today was like so many other games this year.

From a skills perspective, we often look awful. The other side looks so much more skillful, moves the ball quicker and more efficiently. And yet we are often well in the game.

If we had taken our chances in front of goal with GWS, we should have won - even with our ugly, over possessing, mistake ridden style.

[The Doctor]

Don't know what to say or where to start on this result...

Gob smacked.

Don't worry, we haven't gone backwards coz Macca says so. Read this and you will feel much better. I like the investing part!

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-3...gress-for-dogs

[Remi Moses]

I'm actually quite ambivalent about today's loss. We were dreadful defensively and we played bruise free footy. There will be no end of season slapping on the back, which I think is much healthier than our tardy start to this season after finishing last year full of running. We have a ton of work to do and the footy world knows it.

I was thinking the same thing( now after about 3 hours)
Nothing changed from what we've known
There will be no fluffy feel good bulldog stories

[Remi Moses]

No they're not. They gave up long ago and were fielding a glorified seconds side.

Feeling similar to you ratsmac. I really think it's got to get worse before it gets better. I can't see how or where the improvment comes from or how teams below don't improve. GWS will finish above us next year, so will Melbourne and we'll be fighting the Saints for dead last.

Not sure about Melbourne

[bulldogtragic]

Don't worry, we haven't gone backwards coz Macca says so. Read this and you will feel much better. I like the investing part!

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-3...gress-for-dogs

Perspective maybe. Is the test on backwards from the end of 2012, 2013, start of 2014 or after our GCS win up North??

The end of season review will be uncomfortable for the coaches as well as some players. I recall everybody at the end of last year saying words like 'See, Macca said we'd need to wait to see improvement and that would be the latter end of the year (2013)'. And we did see that improvement. But in all honesty we have regressed to an extent since those plaudits. So it's a tough gig being a senior coach, some years it's plaudits and other years criticisms. I'm not sure when Macca got the gig he pitched 7 wins in 2014 and that this would be based on our veterans still performing. Whether we like it or not, polite questions around BMac will get very loud by the media next year when they decide who the first coach to be sacked should be.

The bigger risk is shithouse trading to release the pressure ala Rhode and every other coach in the history of the game who felt pressure to win and took their eye off the plan. I don't think the team will allow it, or I hope not, but pressure makes people do funny things.

[lemmon]

Just feels like a 'meh' year when I thought we had an opportunity to make genuine strides. We weren't bad enough to be talked about but we didn't improve our standing on last year, key players got injured at key stages, the kids came on and some of the older guys dropped off, we had good wins just when the blow torch was being turned on and poor losses at times we could have got some momentum going. Feels like we were chasing our tails ever since the big first round loss to the Eagles and never quite got our heads back above water.

It's time to stop talking about that mini run in 2013 and realise that we are still a long way off the pace, that was more anomaly than norm.

[Dry Rot]

Why are people saying GWS have pulled up stumps?

Had a cracking go last week, and looked really up for it today (unlike us).

[F'scary]

Why are people saying GWS have pulled up stumps?

Had a cracking go last week, and looked really up for it today (unlike us).

Barring a miracle at the recruiting table, today will be as close as we get to them. They will be thrashing us next year and for years to come.

[Cyberdoggie]

I really wanted this win for 3 main reasons

1) For Gia
2) to not lose to GWS
3) to give us some momentum into next year.

I haven't been as gutted after a loss for a while

Gia had a couple of chances and Stringer should of held that mark, and because they didn't the game went the other way.

But in reality our defence is the worst in the league at the moment.
Again we get smashed on the fast break play goals. Too often get caught out not being goal side and we are too slow to chance them down.

Hoskin-Elliott 5 goals, how can we let that happen and still expect to win games.

A lot of work to do in the off-season and some personel changes down back i think.

[F'scary]

Stringer's dropped mark wasn't a sitter, it was a long kick and he had led out at full pace and taken a big leap to get separation from the players behind him. He didn't quite time his fly for the ball - it would have looked spectacular if he had held it. A bad miss but not a duffer effort a la Minson.