The Bulldogs Bite
20-06-2012, 05:52 PM
Round 13: Western Bulldogs v Brisbane
Saturday June 23rd 2012 1:40PM
http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/04/03/1226032/882735-western-bulldogs.jpg
Recent History
2011 R2 Western Bulldogs 19.9 (123) dftd Brisbane 6.9 (45) Etihad Stadium
2010 R12 Western Bulldogs 17.19 (121) dftd Brisbane 8.8 (56) Etihad Stadium
2010 R4 Brisbane 13.23 (101) dftd Western Bulldogs 12.7 (79) Gabba
2009 Semi Final Western Bulldogs 16.11 (107) dftd Brisbane 8.8 (56) MCG
2009 R20 Brisbane 12.12 (84) dftd by Western Bulldogs 15.12 (102) Gabba
Recent Form
Western Bulldogs WWLLW (ladder position 13th)
Brisbane LWLWL (ladder position 15th)
Key Statistics
Western Bulldogs:
Ranked 10th in Tackles per game
Ranked 15th in Goals per game
Ranked 7th in Hitouts per game
Ranked 2nd in Clearances per game
Ranked 2nd in Contested Possessions per game
Ranked 2nd in Uncontested Possessions per game
Averages:
211.3 Kicks
169.6 Handballs
380.9 Disposals
82.1 Marks
10.7 Goals
65.4 Tackles
43.0 Hitouts
Brisbane:
Ranked 3rd in Rebound 50s per game
Ranked 1st in 1%ers per game
Ranked 13th in Hitouts per game
Ranked 12th in Goals per game
Ranked 18th in Contested Marks per game
Ranked 13th in Inside 50s per game
Averages:
202.3 Kicks
146.3 Handballs
348.5 Disposals
85.5 Marks
11.8 Goals
70.6 Tackles
37.0 Hitouts
Team Selections
Western Bulldogs:
Will Minson is an unfortunate omission due to a club imposed suspension on the back of his on-field abuse of Danyle Pearce. Minson has been in career best form in 2012 and will be very difficult to cover.
Hargrave would be an instant inclusion if he is OK to play.
Panos booted 4 goals for Williamstown last week and could perhaps put his name up for selection, although it would be somewhat of a surprise to see his name called out.
Djerrkurra was named second best for Williamstown and may be a chance to return to the side, given our severe lack of pace.
Tom Campbell has been elevated off the rookie list and is almost a certainty to replace Minson, after impressing on a regular basis in the VFL.
Brisbane:
Black, McGrath, Karnezis and Docherty are all putting their hand up to return to the side. In Docherty’s case, it’s an opportunity for a debut after impressing in recent weeks.
Lisle could be another option they will look at, but overall, the Lions have some solid options available.
Match Up's
Lake v Brown
In two sides fielding a number of young kids, these two are certainly the two old kings. I can’t see us playing Austin on Brown, and with no Markovic, Morris or Williams that means there’s only Lake left. It might depend on how deep Brown plays, as Lake doesn’t follow his opponents who search for kicks outside of the 50. Either way, this is always a great battle to watch.
Addison v Zorko
This is a key match-up and it might be one that Wood gets first crack at, but I think we will opt to shut Zorko down. Wood can play a little loose on occasion, so I think Addison may be a good candidate to go with Zorko initially. The young kid has been pretty explosive up forward for them, creating plenty of energy, defensive pressure and getting on the scoreboard. He’s one to watch out for.
Murphy v Polkinghorne
Every week, Murph cops a tag – or something pretty damn close to it. It seems that Polkinghorne is the player Brisbane will adopt in this role, given Murph can really carve sides up with his run and creativity. Moreover, we really need the likes of Wood and Howard to provide run out of the back half, ensuring they can’t stifle us completely if Murphy is finding it difficult to get into space.
Griffen v Raines
There is little doubt that Ryan Griffen is our most dangerous player, and an explosive one at that. Raines has had a good season to date, turning himself into a dour tagger and doing an admirable job on some of the game’s best. This could be an important match-up, particularly if the game is close.
Picken v Redden
There’s a chance that Picken might go to Rockliff instead, but I would send him to Redden who is a very good young midfielder. He links up with the play well and can be quite damaging, so he’s a player we will need to keep in check. Picken has been having a very good season, so I would expect him to make life very difficult for one of Brisbane’s best players.
Roughead v Hudson
It’s a huge test for Roughy, who is going to have to assume the number one ruck role this week. Hudson’s a tough competitor as we know, capable of winning his own ball around stoppages like another midfielder. Roughead will have to prepare for a bruising encounter, but he should alsos eek to expose Hudson’s lack of mobility moving forward.
Higgins/Dickson/Gia v McGrath/Drummond/Adcock
This shapes as a very important battle in the context of the final result. Higgins, Dickson and Gia are pretty dangerous offensively, but are poor defensively. Brisbane’s trio of McGrath, Drummond and Adcock can be loose defensively at times, but extremely dangerous on the rebound. If our medium forwards are lazy, then Brisbane’s trio will carve us up given they are quick, skilful and players who like to run the lines. If our medium forwards can portray a high work rate defensively, there’s no doubt that they will get opportunities on the turnover because as stated before, the 3 defenders can be caught loose at times.
The Verdict
Statistically, the Dogs look like a very good football side. We are pretty high up in a number of key areas including contested and uncontested possessions, hitouts and clearances. Our problems have been from an offensive standpoint as we know, and this is where the danger will lay again, given Brisbane’s dangerous half backs.
We should have a big advantage in the midfield, regardless of whether Black returns to the fold or not. Boyd, Griffen, Wallis and Libba are very difficult to stop and have been working together extremely well for most of the season. Minson out will hurt us, but Brisbane’s rucks stocks aren’t exactly daunting.
We’ve been OK down back but it would be nice to see Hargrave return, as Brisbane have quite a few tallish flankers that may get the better of some of our smaller defenders in Wood and Howard. All in all though, we should be confident we can hold them.
Brisbane have a really poor record at Etihad Stadium and rely heavily on young players such as Redden, Rockliff and Rich to lead the way. They have some talented youngsters up forward who we will need to do our homework on, but I feel that we have them covered for experience in some key areas.
The biggest issue will be our ability to restrict their rebounds (they are ranked third in the competition), but our midfield should be dominant enough to supply our forwards with enough ball to kicking a winning score. With a lot of ball in hand, some of our mid forwards should be smart enough to get into the right positions and hopefully the likes of Cordy and Jones can continue to build on their recent form.
Dogs by 27 points.
Saturday June 23rd 2012 1:40PM
http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/04/03/1226032/882735-western-bulldogs.jpg
Recent History
2011 R2 Western Bulldogs 19.9 (123) dftd Brisbane 6.9 (45) Etihad Stadium
2010 R12 Western Bulldogs 17.19 (121) dftd Brisbane 8.8 (56) Etihad Stadium
2010 R4 Brisbane 13.23 (101) dftd Western Bulldogs 12.7 (79) Gabba
2009 Semi Final Western Bulldogs 16.11 (107) dftd Brisbane 8.8 (56) MCG
2009 R20 Brisbane 12.12 (84) dftd by Western Bulldogs 15.12 (102) Gabba
Recent Form
Western Bulldogs WWLLW (ladder position 13th)
Brisbane LWLWL (ladder position 15th)
Key Statistics
Western Bulldogs:
Ranked 10th in Tackles per game
Ranked 15th in Goals per game
Ranked 7th in Hitouts per game
Ranked 2nd in Clearances per game
Ranked 2nd in Contested Possessions per game
Ranked 2nd in Uncontested Possessions per game
Averages:
211.3 Kicks
169.6 Handballs
380.9 Disposals
82.1 Marks
10.7 Goals
65.4 Tackles
43.0 Hitouts
Brisbane:
Ranked 3rd in Rebound 50s per game
Ranked 1st in 1%ers per game
Ranked 13th in Hitouts per game
Ranked 12th in Goals per game
Ranked 18th in Contested Marks per game
Ranked 13th in Inside 50s per game
Averages:
202.3 Kicks
146.3 Handballs
348.5 Disposals
85.5 Marks
11.8 Goals
70.6 Tackles
37.0 Hitouts
Team Selections
Western Bulldogs:
Will Minson is an unfortunate omission due to a club imposed suspension on the back of his on-field abuse of Danyle Pearce. Minson has been in career best form in 2012 and will be very difficult to cover.
Hargrave would be an instant inclusion if he is OK to play.
Panos booted 4 goals for Williamstown last week and could perhaps put his name up for selection, although it would be somewhat of a surprise to see his name called out.
Djerrkurra was named second best for Williamstown and may be a chance to return to the side, given our severe lack of pace.
Tom Campbell has been elevated off the rookie list and is almost a certainty to replace Minson, after impressing on a regular basis in the VFL.
Brisbane:
Black, McGrath, Karnezis and Docherty are all putting their hand up to return to the side. In Docherty’s case, it’s an opportunity for a debut after impressing in recent weeks.
Lisle could be another option they will look at, but overall, the Lions have some solid options available.
Match Up's
Lake v Brown
In two sides fielding a number of young kids, these two are certainly the two old kings. I can’t see us playing Austin on Brown, and with no Markovic, Morris or Williams that means there’s only Lake left. It might depend on how deep Brown plays, as Lake doesn’t follow his opponents who search for kicks outside of the 50. Either way, this is always a great battle to watch.
Addison v Zorko
This is a key match-up and it might be one that Wood gets first crack at, but I think we will opt to shut Zorko down. Wood can play a little loose on occasion, so I think Addison may be a good candidate to go with Zorko initially. The young kid has been pretty explosive up forward for them, creating plenty of energy, defensive pressure and getting on the scoreboard. He’s one to watch out for.
Murphy v Polkinghorne
Every week, Murph cops a tag – or something pretty damn close to it. It seems that Polkinghorne is the player Brisbane will adopt in this role, given Murph can really carve sides up with his run and creativity. Moreover, we really need the likes of Wood and Howard to provide run out of the back half, ensuring they can’t stifle us completely if Murphy is finding it difficult to get into space.
Griffen v Raines
There is little doubt that Ryan Griffen is our most dangerous player, and an explosive one at that. Raines has had a good season to date, turning himself into a dour tagger and doing an admirable job on some of the game’s best. This could be an important match-up, particularly if the game is close.
Picken v Redden
There’s a chance that Picken might go to Rockliff instead, but I would send him to Redden who is a very good young midfielder. He links up with the play well and can be quite damaging, so he’s a player we will need to keep in check. Picken has been having a very good season, so I would expect him to make life very difficult for one of Brisbane’s best players.
Roughead v Hudson
It’s a huge test for Roughy, who is going to have to assume the number one ruck role this week. Hudson’s a tough competitor as we know, capable of winning his own ball around stoppages like another midfielder. Roughead will have to prepare for a bruising encounter, but he should alsos eek to expose Hudson’s lack of mobility moving forward.
Higgins/Dickson/Gia v McGrath/Drummond/Adcock
This shapes as a very important battle in the context of the final result. Higgins, Dickson and Gia are pretty dangerous offensively, but are poor defensively. Brisbane’s trio of McGrath, Drummond and Adcock can be loose defensively at times, but extremely dangerous on the rebound. If our medium forwards are lazy, then Brisbane’s trio will carve us up given they are quick, skilful and players who like to run the lines. If our medium forwards can portray a high work rate defensively, there’s no doubt that they will get opportunities on the turnover because as stated before, the 3 defenders can be caught loose at times.
The Verdict
Statistically, the Dogs look like a very good football side. We are pretty high up in a number of key areas including contested and uncontested possessions, hitouts and clearances. Our problems have been from an offensive standpoint as we know, and this is where the danger will lay again, given Brisbane’s dangerous half backs.
We should have a big advantage in the midfield, regardless of whether Black returns to the fold or not. Boyd, Griffen, Wallis and Libba are very difficult to stop and have been working together extremely well for most of the season. Minson out will hurt us, but Brisbane’s rucks stocks aren’t exactly daunting.
We’ve been OK down back but it would be nice to see Hargrave return, as Brisbane have quite a few tallish flankers that may get the better of some of our smaller defenders in Wood and Howard. All in all though, we should be confident we can hold them.
Brisbane have a really poor record at Etihad Stadium and rely heavily on young players such as Redden, Rockliff and Rich to lead the way. They have some talented youngsters up forward who we will need to do our homework on, but I feel that we have them covered for experience in some key areas.
The biggest issue will be our ability to restrict their rebounds (they are ranked third in the competition), but our midfield should be dominant enough to supply our forwards with enough ball to kicking a winning score. With a lot of ball in hand, some of our mid forwards should be smart enough to get into the right positions and hopefully the likes of Cordy and Jones can continue to build on their recent form.
Dogs by 27 points.