boydogs
14-05-2013, 11:38 PM
When and Where
Saturday 18th May
Metricon Stadium 4.40pm
Last 5 Times
Round 8, 19 May 2012 TIO Western Bulldogs defeated Gold Coast 72-34
Round 14, 25 Jun 2011 Metricon Western Bulldogs defeated Gold Coast 110-88
Round 3, 9 Apr 2011 ES Western Bulldogs defeated Gold Coast 122-51
Key Stats
Gold Coast Stat Western Bulldogs
52.7 Inside 50s 46.4
152.7 Contested Possessions 148.6
198.9 Uncontested Possessions 184.4
246.1 Effective Disposals 228.4
70% Effective Disposal % 68.6%
51.3 Clangers 47.7
10.1 Contested Marks 12.1
11.6 Marks Inside 50 7.6
39.7 Clearances 40.9
Form leading in
Gold Coast $1.59 LLWLW
The Suns in their 3rd year are starting to account for some of the competition's easy beats, with wins over St Kilda, GWS and Melbourne, and a narrow 2 point loss to Brisbane. They sit 13th on the ladder, but equal on wins with 9th placed Adelaide. They are coming off their first win in Melbourne, a 10 goal thumping of the Demons, and will have their tails up heading back home trying to beat the Dogs and go 4-4.
Western Bulldogs $2.35 LLLLL
You know you're struggling when your losing streak is expressed across multiple seasons, with the Dogs having lost 17 of their last 18 games since Round 12, 2012. Much of the public pressure however has been on the Demons, who have been less competitive - their percentage of 55% is much lower than the Dogs' 71.1%. However, the Dogs will surely come under the spotlight if they are accounted for by the Suns this week as easily as they accounted for Melbourne last week.
Line Ups (Round 7)
Gold Coast
B: T.McKenzie T.Murphy S.Day
HB: D.Swallow R.Thompson G.Broughton
C: M.Shaw G.Ablett J.Harbrow
HF: H.Bennell TJ.Lynch J.Lonergan
F: B.Matera S.May A.Hall
R: Z.Smith J.O'Meara D.Prestia
I/C from: C.Brown, J.Brennan, D.Stanley
Emg: J.Hutchins, C.Cameron, L.Russell, T Sumner
Western Bulldogs
F: D.Morris J.Roughead L.Markovic
HB: L.Picken T.Young J.Johannisen
C: T.Liberatore M.Boyd N.Lower
HF: C.Smith L.Jones D.Giansiracusa
F: L.Dahlhaus R.Murphy D.Addison
R: W.Minson, A.Cooney R.Griffen
I/C: M.Wallis D.Cross J.Tutt M.Austin
EMG: K.Stevens, C.Howard, T.Campbell
Key Matchups
Picken v Ablett
Surely Picken has to go to the little master, Lower does his best work on the inside mids and will be burnt by Gary for pace. I haven't rated Picken's work down back this year, I think we get more out of him in this role.
Addison v Harbrow
Our half forward line has been a springboard for a while, but much more so this season and since the loss of Higgins and Dickson. Murphy and Gia back last week helped, but Jones is being forced to lead a long way up the ground and a lack of marking targets inside 50 will mean Addison's forward pressure will be key in locking the ball in.
Prestia v Griffen
Prestia did a number on Nathan Jones last week, keeping him to 20 possessions whilst he collected 30 himself. We need Griff to get off the leash again and work both ways to disrupt their attack
Thompson v Jones
Rory Thompson is having a terrific year for the Suns, Liam Jones will once again take their best defender and be forced to work hard to win the ball. We need him to keep presenting and crashing packs to bring our smalls into the game
Where the game will be won and lost
Half-Forward Line- The Dogs have made an artform of winning the hitouts, winning the clearances, and winning the contested ball, yet getting killed on the scoreboard. How may you ask? By failing to hit a target going forward. We must be clean with our disposal and our forwards must find space and present.
Spread - If the ball is turned over at our half-forward line, we must pressure the ball carrier and his options to win it back. We need to start trusting our players to win the ball instead of swarming the contest unnecessarily and having no options to kick to and no-one defending.
Gary Ablett - There is no doubt Gary can win a game off his own boot, we must limit his impact if we are to take home the 4 points. Simple as that.
Verdict
The Dogs will be desperate for a win and I expect them to come out hard. The patches of good footy we saw against Brisbane, for the last 3 quarters against Freo, in the last quarter against Geelong and for the first 2.5 quarters last week against North Melbourne might be enough to get us the win against lesser opposition.
Western Bulldogs by 25 points
Saturday 18th May
Metricon Stadium 4.40pm
Last 5 Times
Round 8, 19 May 2012 TIO Western Bulldogs defeated Gold Coast 72-34
Round 14, 25 Jun 2011 Metricon Western Bulldogs defeated Gold Coast 110-88
Round 3, 9 Apr 2011 ES Western Bulldogs defeated Gold Coast 122-51
Key Stats
Gold Coast Stat Western Bulldogs
52.7 Inside 50s 46.4
152.7 Contested Possessions 148.6
198.9 Uncontested Possessions 184.4
246.1 Effective Disposals 228.4
70% Effective Disposal % 68.6%
51.3 Clangers 47.7
10.1 Contested Marks 12.1
11.6 Marks Inside 50 7.6
39.7 Clearances 40.9
Form leading in
Gold Coast $1.59 LLWLW
The Suns in their 3rd year are starting to account for some of the competition's easy beats, with wins over St Kilda, GWS and Melbourne, and a narrow 2 point loss to Brisbane. They sit 13th on the ladder, but equal on wins with 9th placed Adelaide. They are coming off their first win in Melbourne, a 10 goal thumping of the Demons, and will have their tails up heading back home trying to beat the Dogs and go 4-4.
Western Bulldogs $2.35 LLLLL
You know you're struggling when your losing streak is expressed across multiple seasons, with the Dogs having lost 17 of their last 18 games since Round 12, 2012. Much of the public pressure however has been on the Demons, who have been less competitive - their percentage of 55% is much lower than the Dogs' 71.1%. However, the Dogs will surely come under the spotlight if they are accounted for by the Suns this week as easily as they accounted for Melbourne last week.
Line Ups (Round 7)
Gold Coast
B: T.McKenzie T.Murphy S.Day
HB: D.Swallow R.Thompson G.Broughton
C: M.Shaw G.Ablett J.Harbrow
HF: H.Bennell TJ.Lynch J.Lonergan
F: B.Matera S.May A.Hall
R: Z.Smith J.O'Meara D.Prestia
I/C from: C.Brown, J.Brennan, D.Stanley
Emg: J.Hutchins, C.Cameron, L.Russell, T Sumner
Western Bulldogs
F: D.Morris J.Roughead L.Markovic
HB: L.Picken T.Young J.Johannisen
C: T.Liberatore M.Boyd N.Lower
HF: C.Smith L.Jones D.Giansiracusa
F: L.Dahlhaus R.Murphy D.Addison
R: W.Minson, A.Cooney R.Griffen
I/C: M.Wallis D.Cross J.Tutt M.Austin
EMG: K.Stevens, C.Howard, T.Campbell
Key Matchups
Picken v Ablett
Surely Picken has to go to the little master, Lower does his best work on the inside mids and will be burnt by Gary for pace. I haven't rated Picken's work down back this year, I think we get more out of him in this role.
Addison v Harbrow
Our half forward line has been a springboard for a while, but much more so this season and since the loss of Higgins and Dickson. Murphy and Gia back last week helped, but Jones is being forced to lead a long way up the ground and a lack of marking targets inside 50 will mean Addison's forward pressure will be key in locking the ball in.
Prestia v Griffen
Prestia did a number on Nathan Jones last week, keeping him to 20 possessions whilst he collected 30 himself. We need Griff to get off the leash again and work both ways to disrupt their attack
Thompson v Jones
Rory Thompson is having a terrific year for the Suns, Liam Jones will once again take their best defender and be forced to work hard to win the ball. We need him to keep presenting and crashing packs to bring our smalls into the game
Where the game will be won and lost
Half-Forward Line- The Dogs have made an artform of winning the hitouts, winning the clearances, and winning the contested ball, yet getting killed on the scoreboard. How may you ask? By failing to hit a target going forward. We must be clean with our disposal and our forwards must find space and present.
Spread - If the ball is turned over at our half-forward line, we must pressure the ball carrier and his options to win it back. We need to start trusting our players to win the ball instead of swarming the contest unnecessarily and having no options to kick to and no-one defending.
Gary Ablett - There is no doubt Gary can win a game off his own boot, we must limit his impact if we are to take home the 4 points. Simple as that.
Verdict
The Dogs will be desperate for a win and I expect them to come out hard. The patches of good footy we saw against Brisbane, for the last 3 quarters against Freo, in the last quarter against Geelong and for the first 2.5 quarters last week against North Melbourne might be enough to get us the win against lesser opposition.
Western Bulldogs by 25 points