3 things learned from Rd 6 vs StKilda 2024

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

So I've been in Adelaide for two days with my work, and only got home just upon half time. Have now caught up and watched in full.

1. It was an impressive performance and if that's the benchmark for the remainder of the season, that we bring each week, then we will play finals.

2. Bont can be selfish and hypocritical. Twice last night he absolutely burned his teammates and had long range pings when there were way better options. And yet I also saw him twice give players bakes (Lobb was one) for doing the same.

3. We can stop another team's momentum. In the second the Saints were pushing us hard for a patch of about 10 minutes, and were one more goal away from getting right back into the contest. Twice however just when they looked about to get some wind in their sails, off the back of a goal, we hit right back. And it broke them. Would've loved to have seen some of that during that horror 90 second patch in the 21 GF.

[bulldogtragic]

1. Dropping big name players seems to have had the response we wanted. Lobb was good, Dale 39 touches, Macrae was effective. With Richards a bonafide mid, maybe Daniel comes back at HB ancc DXC does the same.

2. It’s nice watching a game and not thinking they’re going to miss this easy set shot. Footy is pretty easy when you kick for goal well.

3. I think we need to see Charlie Clarke soon. I think with Cody & West they could be a great unit.

[Mantis]

1/ The AFL fixturing is a ****ing mess.

2/ Taking you chances and building scoreboard pressure allows for lapses... which are going to happen.

3/ Sam Darcy is going to be a problem in 2-3 years.

[Can Bar]

1/ Confirmed Footy Pundits/Media have no clue.
2/ Wandering how long until footy Pundits/Media declare Dogs a serious Top 4 chance. And Support gets negative when performance trend changes.
3/ Back & Support the people running the club in all departments to do their job, without interference & noise. Review at seasons end. Its actually a strong possibility we will end the year like 17 other clubs, and unlucky not to be the lucky club.

[azabob]

1. Dale has pride in his performance, can he back it up for the remainder of the season?

2. Khamis is doing everything right to be our intercept defender. He made some mistakes, but gee whiz he is getting better and better each game. 6 intercept possessions, 3 score involvements from only 11 touches is extremely good going. Khamis form also allows Beveridge to play Richards in the midfield.

3. Naughton can kick straight. No reason why he can't covert more set shots than not moving forward.

[JanLorMill]

1. We are so Jekyll & Hyde atm can’t be convinced we make top 8 yet.
2. Need to put Richards more in the midfield rotations every week.
3. Dureya at 33 looks far from cooked at this point.

[Sedat]

1. We are sneakily developing a sustainable turnover and rebound marking game. The wider media will eventually pick up on this around August.
2. Pressure is everything - to see Macrae hunting the oppo ball-carriers and sticking tackles shows that he is invested.
3. Having different looks in the centre square is never a bad thing - we need to be less predictable and we need to preserve the legs of our best players.

[The Underdog]

1. Dropping big name players seems to have had the response we wanted. Lobb was good, Dale 39 touches, Macrae was effective. With Richards a bonafide mid, maybe Daniel comes back at HB ancc DXC does the same.

2. It’s nice watching a game and not thinking they’re going to miss this easy set shot. Footy is pretty easy when you kick for goal well.

3. I think we need to see Charlie Clarke soon. I think with Cody & West they could be a great unit.

I’m interested in some peoples constant calls for Clarke. From what I’ve seen of him this year, he seems to have improved his fitness and game involvement, but still seems a bit off AFL level especially if we want him to play a high half forward role which I don’t think he’s suited for at this point. I’m just not sure who he comes in for.

[AshMac]

1. Really positive signs from some of our players of the future - Buku, Gallagher and Garcia. In particular I thought Garcia looked very slick at times

2. As a team we are capable of kicking straight for goal

3. Nothing changes for me in my views of the coach and gameplan until we start doing that against top 8 teams

[BornInDroopSt'54]

*what we are capable of and should be consistently;
* we can move the ball off half back like a laser to a leading fwd who kicks straight;
*Treloar is so professional.

[Mofra]

1. If I didn't see it, I wouldn't have believed Richards could play well as a mid in his first opportunity.

2. Darcy has bigger upside than any tall on our list. His disposal by had and foot was excellent.

3. If only we could play like that when we're favourites as well.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Having heen a footballer and golfer, Ive always paralleled set shot goal kicking with putting.
Both involve a slow, methodical approach, not reactive instead like a drill, accompanied by a meditative state.
So Lucas Herbert schooled our forwards this week.. From todays The Age:
"Herbert told The Scoop that parallels can be drawn between putting and set shot goalkicking.
?It?s really about routine and processes,? Herbert said.

?I can?t imagine it?s anything that these guys haven?t heard before, and it wasn?t groundbreaking that it will suddenly make them a premiership team, but potentially it?s opening up a conversation line about how different sports focus on different things.

?Golf has a bigger focus on mentality, whereas footy is maybe more physical, that?s probably one area we focused on.
?It?s one thing for a club psych to tell them X-Y-Z, but to have someone that?s doing it actively in another high-level of sport, it maybe relates to them differently.?
His appearance at the kennel this week came about because of his friendship with club legend and Bulldogs goalkicking consultant Brad Johnson.

Johnson, whose role is similar to that of Matthew Lloyd at Essendon and Jonathan Brown at North Melbourne in recent memory, started this season.

His record of 558 goals from 364 games speaks for itself, and that?s without mentioning his six All-Australian honours and three best and fairests.

Johnson said the insight that Herbert was able to provide some of the players was fascinating.

?Lucas was able to talk a lot about, when he hits the green, what his routine is,? Johnson said.
?It?s something that you stick to. You know it, you understand it like it?s no tomorrow. Then he started to think about the way he analyses his game.

?I was intrigued. This is so cool and something a bit different that I think the players would certainly appreciate.?

Many of the league?s premier players are also avid golfers, including players at the Western Bulldogs.

Tim English, Rory Lobb, Taylor Duryea, Anthony Scott and Oscar Baker are some of the Bulldogs who have been able to play with Herbert when he?s in town.

?He is an elite-level performer, so I think the players that have had the chance to play golf with him, they would really benefit from his experience, particularly when it?s coming from a winner on the world stage.?
Herbert believes that kicking for goal, particularly from a set shot, is less about raw talent and more about routine and mindset.

?There?s no one who is unable to kick really well. It?s how you manage your emotions and everything that goes with taking each and every shot,? he said."

[Hot_Doggies]

Ritchie Smith (Min Woo Lee’s coach) has been helping with Freo’s goal kicking for a few years.

[mighty_west]

1. Was calling for Garcia to play from round 1, and wanted Ed given midfield minutes this week on the back of Gary's pre season reports, bravo Bevo, it worked and worked well! Spreading the load in the middle makes us more unpredictable but also brings those players into the game more, we've looked stale, tired, easy to play against for a long time now, but mixing it up can only help those players but also re energize the group, more of Mr Ed in the guts please.

2. The land of the giants can work, IF the team works all over the ground as a whole with intensity and purpose, but those talls need seperation, Darcy clunking them up on a wing at times, Naughton too, Lobb, English all did well. Darcy!!! whoa, those hands at his age, the ball just sticks everytime and like others have mentioned, in a few years he'll be almost unstoppable.

3. Great win, against a Ross Lyon team that is almost always stingey with their defensive game stopping teams kicking a big score BUT without trying to be too negative, the Saints played 3 games in 11 days so you could actually excuse them for being a bit off and not working hard enough defensively, that said our percentage is in a good shape.

[jeemak]

*what we are capable of and should be consistently;
* we can move the ball off half back like a laser to a leading fwd who kicks straight;
*Treloar is so professional.

I'm disappointed you didn't quote me.