The Western Bulldogs’ depth could soon be the envy of the AFL

[bornadog]

Was Dog robbed of super
LUKE Beveridge sent a distinct message to Bulldogs supporters at the beginning of the season.

“We don’t want to be everyone’s second side,” he said in April. “We want to be a threat to their first side.”
Twenty-one games later and approaching their first finals campaign in five years, the young Dogs have the bite to match Beveridge’s bark.
With a game plan that stacks up with the best and a young list chock full of talent, this finals appearance is unlikely to be their last over the next decade.
It appears inevitable that the Western Bulldogs’ cute factor will soon be replaced with fear.
This breakthrough campaign might just be pinpointed as the birth of a golden generation.
While the Bulldogs’ rise up the ladder has been dramatic, in reality it’s been a slow build on the back of astute recruiting.


Of the sides in contention to play finals, the Western Bulldogs are the only club to field 40 players in 2015. Only Gold Coast and Essendon (41) have used more in the competition.
Furthermore, their tally of eight debutants is the most this season.

Jason Johannisen was one of many Dogs players taken in the rookie draft. Picture: Michael Klein.Source: News Corp

Averaging just 46.7 games between them, the Dogs are the second least experienced side in the competition. Only GWS (43.8) average less. With an average age of 23.2 years, they are also the third youngest side in the AFL.
And it’s not as though these young pups aren’t being made to earn their stripes.

Beveridge has made a number of bold statements at the selection table, with form sitting above all else when making decisions. Tom Boyd, Jackson Macrae and Stewart Crameri have all been dropped throughout the year.

The quality in depth available to Beveridge has clearly made these decisions easier to execute.
Footscray finished fourth on the VFL ladder this year in pursuit of back-to-back premierships, where the likes of Caleb Daniel, Lukas Webb and Bailey Dale have thrived before winning senior selection.
The Dogs were blessed by early picks used on Jake Stringer and Marcus Bontempelli, as well as father-son selections in Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis. But they also recruited brilliantly, in particular through the rookie draft.

Zaine Cordy was the 40th Bulldog to be blooded in 2015.Source: Getty Images

Liam Picken, Luke Dahlhaus and Jason Johannisen have all turned into key cogs in the Dogs’ engine, while Lin Jong, Tom Campbell and Jack Redpath have forged serviceable careers.
They have traded well, picking up the likes of Crameri, Koby Stevens, Joel Hamling and Shane Biggs for virtually nothing. And they have not been afraid to go big, luring Boyd just a year after he was drafted to GWS with pick one.

Tory Dickson has kicked 44 goals in 2015 having been drafted at 24 years of age with a late pick from the VFL, while they have secured a load of players overlooked by other clubs late in the draft — Easton Wood, Lachie Hunter, Mitch Honeychurch, Webb, Dale and Daniel to name a few.
Even still, the knock on such a young side had been their inability to beat more seasoned opposition. Last week’s hammering at the hands of West Coast was their first clash against a top eight side since Round 7.

However, over the weekend, they proved they could match it with the best.
They dismantled the competition’s in-form side, snapping North Melbourne’s seven-match winning streak. They did so while making six changes and on the back of a six-day break from Perth.
Who said young sides don’t travel well?

The next day, Footscray knocked off Werribee to secure a qualifying finals spot in the VFL.
If you ever needed a reflection of the Dogs’ depth, there it was.

Marcus Bontempelli and Liam Picken celebrate the Dogs’ rise.Source: AAP

DOGS’ DRAFT STEALS
2011
Lin Jong (rookie draft)
Tom Campbell (rookie draft)
Jack Redpath (rookie draft)
Michael Talia (pick 39)
Tory Dickson (pick 57)
2012

Koby Stevens (traded for pick 43)
Jake Stringer (pick 5)
Jackson Macrae (pick 6)
Nathan Hrovat (pick 21)
Lachie Hunter (pick 49)

2013
Stewart Crameri (traded for pick 26)
Marcus Bontempelli (pick 4)
Mitch Honeychurch (pick 60)

2014
Joel Hamling (free agent)
Tom Boyd (traded for Ryan Griffen and pick 6)
Shane Biggs (traded with pick 39 for pick 37)
Toby McLean (pick 26)
Lukas Webb (pick 27)
Bailey Dale (pick 45)
Caleb Daniel (pick 46)

EARLIER YEARS

Easton Wood (pick 43 in 2007)
Jordan Roughead (pick 31 in 2008)
Liam Picken (rookie draft in 2008)
Mitch Wallis (father-son in 2010)
Tom Liberatore (father-son in 2010)
Luke Dahlhaus (rookie draft in 2010)
Jason Johannisen (rookie draft in 2010)

[jazzadogs]

My favourite part of that article is there is no mention of Shocktober, just all about our incredible recruiting over the last few years.

[Hotdog60]

Yeah, I hate it SD will be the next one that will get the big paycheck offered.

[Dancin' Douggy]

Honestly. If someone said to me. You can trade Stringer and Bontempelli for any 4 players in the entire competition...........I think I'd pass.

[Webby]

That's true. Since Templeton and Dempsey or perhaps Whitten and Schultz we have not had such a pair of superstars on our list.

They are genuine, rolled gold A++++ graders in the making. If Tom Boyd develops the way we hope, look out!!!

btw, Macrae, Wallis, Wood, JJ, Hunter, Roughie and Liberatore are not a bad support cast for the next 5-8 years...!! If we can trade in another good one for that group, we'll be sensational.

Throw in Murphy, Picko and Matty Boyd and WE CAN DO IT THIS YEAR!!

[Go_Dogs]

Good article. The thing that stands out is the value we have got and that the base of our rebuild commenced in the compromised draft era. We have really got the talent identification down along with the development side.