wimberga
18-07-2013, 11:20 PM
Match Preview – Round 17 Hawthorn vs Western Bulldogs
When and Where
Aurora Stadium (Tasmania)
Saturday July 20
1.45pm
Ladder Position
Hawthorn- 1st
13 Wins 2 Losses - 142%
Western Bulldogs- 15th
4 wins 11 losses- 76.7%
Last 5 games head-to-head
Round 16 2012 – Hawthorn defeated Western Bulldogs by 72 points
Round 23 2011 - Hawthorn defeated Western Bulldogs by 46 points
Round 10 2011- Hawthorn defeated Western Bulldogs by 29 points
Round 14 2010- Hawthorn defeated Western Bulldogs by 3 points
Round 3 2010- Western Bulldogs defeated Hawthorn by 16 points
Selected Teams
Hawthorn
B: Stratton Lake Guerra
HB: Hodge Gibson Cheney
C: Smith Mitchell Hill
HF: Gunston Roughead Breust
F: Savage Hale Rioli
FOLL: Bailey Lewis Puopolo
I/C FROM: Duryea Langford Simpkin Whitecross
IN: Langford
OUT: Burgoyne (suspension)
WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Addison Roughead Morris
HB: Cooney Talia Goodes
C: Hunter Liberatore Murphy
HF: Giansiracusa Jones Hrovat
F: Addison Grant Dahlhaus
FOLL: Minson Wallis Griffen
I/C FROM: Macrae Tutt Picken Dickson
IN: Macrae
OUT: Smith (knee)
Recent Form
Hawthorn
Hawthorn really kicked into gear last week against a spirited Port Adelaide. Where the dogs were able to really challenge another top four side in Essendon, Hawthorn were able to put the pedal down and really pull0 away from Port. Port are further into their development than the young dogs, but were still no match for the experienced and well drilled Hawks.
The big question currently with Hawthorn is where will Buddy Franklin be in 2014, but if the past 4-6 weeks is anything to go by, they should barely even care. Roughead is in career best form whilst Jack Gunston is a great third tall who seems to lift a gear and play even better when Franklin isn’t about.
Western Bulldogs
The Dogs have only won 1 of their last 5 games and have shown the inconsistency often witnessed in young teams. Poor losses to Melbourne, Richmond and a poor win against GWS all stand against a really positive effort against Essendon on the weekend. Jarrad Grant came in last week and impressed more than a few whilst Nathan Hrovat was extremely busy and unlucky to not get a rising star nomination.
Clay Smith was an unfortunate casualty from the Don’s game and his hardness will be missed, however Macrae will come in after a week off to refresh and his ability to navigate in traffic should assist a team often lacking clean disposal in the middle.
Key Match Ups
Roughead vs Talia
Roughead is in career best form and the mobile big man has been damaging on the scoreboard this season, booting 5 goals last week and kicking an accurate 47.17 behinds this year. Roughead’s ability to also go into the Ruck is an added string to his bow, as he can be that Dean Cox’ like ruckman who becomes another skilful midfielder once the ball hits the deck.
Talia has been playing fantastic football in his second AFL season and shown a rare ability to get to the right spots and rack up possessions whilst closing down his opponent. I can also see Jordan getting spending a bit of time on his cousin, particularly if he pushes deep.
I’m not sure that Talia will play the entire game on Roughead but this will be a huge learning experience for the young man and he will really need to be focused, as Roughead has many strengths and an experienced football brain with plenty of tricks.
Morris vs Gunston
Gunston also booted 5 goals last week and as has been previously mentioned, his games this year, particularly without Buddy, have shown whilst Adelaide supporters are still unhappy they let him go. As the second most potent weapon inside the Hawthorn forwardline, Gunston’s ability to poach goals as well as be an aerial target will prove a challenge for any defender.
Morris has been a welcome addition to the bulldogs backline this year after recovering from a broken leg. Whilst his form so far has wavered, his endeavour never changes and the dogs backline benefits enormously from having his experience in the back half. The Gloves confidence should be high after coming off an excellent performance against Michael Hurley.
The Glove should be able to get on top of Gunston and smother him provided the dogs midfield can apply enough pressure on the hawthorn ball carriers to help him out.
Griffen vs Lewis
Griffen is capable of changing a game. He’s a player who provides spark and leadership by his actions, has good pace and his skills are elite. Griff had a relatively quiet game last week by his lofty standards and for the dogs to be any chance, he will have to bring his A game. Griff is an inspirational player but a skilful one too and he can really boost the confidence of those players around him with his actions.
One of the real hardnuts around the middle for Hawthorn, Lewis is often spoken about as an after thought with other names like Franklin, Hodge,Rioli, Roughead and Mitchell in the brown and yellow. Make no mistake, Lewis is a tough, competitive and skilful footballer, who leaves nothing out on the field and also has the power to inspire.
I see these two going head to head quite a bit during this weeks game and each will try to lead through their actions. Lewis will probably sacrifice a little of his usual link up game in trying to negate Griff’s ability to influence the clearance work on the day.
Libba vs Mitchell
Libba has been a revelation in his third year, leading the league in clearances despite just 48 games. Libba leads the dogs in clearances, contested possessions and tackles, whilst also placing second in rebound 50s and inside 50s, highlighting his ability to balance a strong inside game with a damaging outside game. He has also shown a knack for kicking the odd goal and a crucial moment. This kid is on his way to stardom and it will make for fantastic viewing seeing him go up against one of the great little men of the modern era.
Everyone in the league knows the class of Mitchell and his smart use of the football in and around the contest is a crucial cog in the Hawks engine room. Mitchell’s experience will be going up against Libba’s genetics in this one, and with wet weather forecast, whichever of these guys can get their team first use of the ball this Saturday will have gone an enormous way towards determining a win for their team.
Where the game will be won and lost
Hawthorns experience across every line of the field combined with their strong discipline, tactical nous and damaging forwardline are likely to be too much for the inexperienced dogs. However, with wet weather forecast, the contested ball loving dogs could turn this into a real scrap. I expect the dogs to win the clearances and midfield battles but struggling to generate scoring options once the ball leaves the confidence against a hawk’s team who are expert in denying the opposition space. If hawthorn feels they can go easy since they have effectively wrapped up a top four spot and are only playing a team with 4 wins for the year, then we may be able to get the jump on them. However, the experienced and ever demanding Clarkson will leave little to chance.
Final verdict
No Burgoyne or Franklin helps, but I just can’t see the dogs being able to generate enough scoring options to trouble the Hawks. Hawthorn by 55
When and Where
Aurora Stadium (Tasmania)
Saturday July 20
1.45pm
Ladder Position
Hawthorn- 1st
13 Wins 2 Losses - 142%
Western Bulldogs- 15th
4 wins 11 losses- 76.7%
Last 5 games head-to-head
Round 16 2012 – Hawthorn defeated Western Bulldogs by 72 points
Round 23 2011 - Hawthorn defeated Western Bulldogs by 46 points
Round 10 2011- Hawthorn defeated Western Bulldogs by 29 points
Round 14 2010- Hawthorn defeated Western Bulldogs by 3 points
Round 3 2010- Western Bulldogs defeated Hawthorn by 16 points
Selected Teams
Hawthorn
B: Stratton Lake Guerra
HB: Hodge Gibson Cheney
C: Smith Mitchell Hill
HF: Gunston Roughead Breust
F: Savage Hale Rioli
FOLL: Bailey Lewis Puopolo
I/C FROM: Duryea Langford Simpkin Whitecross
IN: Langford
OUT: Burgoyne (suspension)
WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Addison Roughead Morris
HB: Cooney Talia Goodes
C: Hunter Liberatore Murphy
HF: Giansiracusa Jones Hrovat
F: Addison Grant Dahlhaus
FOLL: Minson Wallis Griffen
I/C FROM: Macrae Tutt Picken Dickson
IN: Macrae
OUT: Smith (knee)
Recent Form
Hawthorn
Hawthorn really kicked into gear last week against a spirited Port Adelaide. Where the dogs were able to really challenge another top four side in Essendon, Hawthorn were able to put the pedal down and really pull0 away from Port. Port are further into their development than the young dogs, but were still no match for the experienced and well drilled Hawks.
The big question currently with Hawthorn is where will Buddy Franklin be in 2014, but if the past 4-6 weeks is anything to go by, they should barely even care. Roughead is in career best form whilst Jack Gunston is a great third tall who seems to lift a gear and play even better when Franklin isn’t about.
Western Bulldogs
The Dogs have only won 1 of their last 5 games and have shown the inconsistency often witnessed in young teams. Poor losses to Melbourne, Richmond and a poor win against GWS all stand against a really positive effort against Essendon on the weekend. Jarrad Grant came in last week and impressed more than a few whilst Nathan Hrovat was extremely busy and unlucky to not get a rising star nomination.
Clay Smith was an unfortunate casualty from the Don’s game and his hardness will be missed, however Macrae will come in after a week off to refresh and his ability to navigate in traffic should assist a team often lacking clean disposal in the middle.
Key Match Ups
Roughead vs Talia
Roughead is in career best form and the mobile big man has been damaging on the scoreboard this season, booting 5 goals last week and kicking an accurate 47.17 behinds this year. Roughead’s ability to also go into the Ruck is an added string to his bow, as he can be that Dean Cox’ like ruckman who becomes another skilful midfielder once the ball hits the deck.
Talia has been playing fantastic football in his second AFL season and shown a rare ability to get to the right spots and rack up possessions whilst closing down his opponent. I can also see Jordan getting spending a bit of time on his cousin, particularly if he pushes deep.
I’m not sure that Talia will play the entire game on Roughead but this will be a huge learning experience for the young man and he will really need to be focused, as Roughead has many strengths and an experienced football brain with plenty of tricks.
Morris vs Gunston
Gunston also booted 5 goals last week and as has been previously mentioned, his games this year, particularly without Buddy, have shown whilst Adelaide supporters are still unhappy they let him go. As the second most potent weapon inside the Hawthorn forwardline, Gunston’s ability to poach goals as well as be an aerial target will prove a challenge for any defender.
Morris has been a welcome addition to the bulldogs backline this year after recovering from a broken leg. Whilst his form so far has wavered, his endeavour never changes and the dogs backline benefits enormously from having his experience in the back half. The Gloves confidence should be high after coming off an excellent performance against Michael Hurley.
The Glove should be able to get on top of Gunston and smother him provided the dogs midfield can apply enough pressure on the hawthorn ball carriers to help him out.
Griffen vs Lewis
Griffen is capable of changing a game. He’s a player who provides spark and leadership by his actions, has good pace and his skills are elite. Griff had a relatively quiet game last week by his lofty standards and for the dogs to be any chance, he will have to bring his A game. Griff is an inspirational player but a skilful one too and he can really boost the confidence of those players around him with his actions.
One of the real hardnuts around the middle for Hawthorn, Lewis is often spoken about as an after thought with other names like Franklin, Hodge,Rioli, Roughead and Mitchell in the brown and yellow. Make no mistake, Lewis is a tough, competitive and skilful footballer, who leaves nothing out on the field and also has the power to inspire.
I see these two going head to head quite a bit during this weeks game and each will try to lead through their actions. Lewis will probably sacrifice a little of his usual link up game in trying to negate Griff’s ability to influence the clearance work on the day.
Libba vs Mitchell
Libba has been a revelation in his third year, leading the league in clearances despite just 48 games. Libba leads the dogs in clearances, contested possessions and tackles, whilst also placing second in rebound 50s and inside 50s, highlighting his ability to balance a strong inside game with a damaging outside game. He has also shown a knack for kicking the odd goal and a crucial moment. This kid is on his way to stardom and it will make for fantastic viewing seeing him go up against one of the great little men of the modern era.
Everyone in the league knows the class of Mitchell and his smart use of the football in and around the contest is a crucial cog in the Hawks engine room. Mitchell’s experience will be going up against Libba’s genetics in this one, and with wet weather forecast, whichever of these guys can get their team first use of the ball this Saturday will have gone an enormous way towards determining a win for their team.
Where the game will be won and lost
Hawthorns experience across every line of the field combined with their strong discipline, tactical nous and damaging forwardline are likely to be too much for the inexperienced dogs. However, with wet weather forecast, the contested ball loving dogs could turn this into a real scrap. I expect the dogs to win the clearances and midfield battles but struggling to generate scoring options once the ball leaves the confidence against a hawk’s team who are expert in denying the opposition space. If hawthorn feels they can go easy since they have effectively wrapped up a top four spot and are only playing a team with 4 wins for the year, then we may be able to get the jump on them. However, the experienced and ever demanding Clarkson will leave little to chance.
Final verdict
No Burgoyne or Franklin helps, but I just can’t see the dogs being able to generate enough scoring options to trouble the Hawks. Hawthorn by 55