Three Things I've Learned - Round 10 Edition

[Eastdog]

Once the Round 10 match against Port Adelaide is completed, let us know the three things you learned after watching the match.

Be constructive but be honest.

[bulldogtragic]

Bump.

[bulldogtragic]

1. Undermanned we did ok for a 40 point loss. If that makes sense...
2. Grant with confidence and repeat efforts are a good thing.
3. We should win our next three games.

[always right]

I'm liking the new version of Jarrad Grant.
Crameri is incredibly frustrating....our dumbest footballer.
My brain hurts from listening to Brereton and Shaw.

[Rance Fan]

Just need Healy and Dwayne in the comm box!

[hujsh]

I'm liking the new version of Jarrad Grant.
Crameri is incredibly frustrating....our dumbest footballer.
My brain hurts from listening to Brereton and Shaw.

At least we got to see Jesse Stringer back in the team

[Remi Moses]

3. We need 2 more pre- seasons into this side
2. Joel Hamling looks an inspired pick
1. Our outside game still needs some work

[Eastdog]

At least we got to see Jesse Stringer back in the team

He certainly didn't do his homework on the player names.

[G-Mo77]

At least we got to see Jesse Stringer back in the team

Steve Wallis as well

[Twodogs]

1. For a side light on for experience and size that was a pretty good dip
2. A lack of poise and polish at important times really cost us
3. The bye has come along at the right time. A chance to regroup and focus on handing out some beltings straight after the break.

[Go_Dogs]

1. Our kicking, upfield and on-goal still needs a lot of work.
2. We didn't adjust at all to Port having a bloke on their wing/half forward area in a paddock. As soon as they got out, they'd hit him up and be away. Unsure if this is a planning or in-game adjustment issue.
3. Port fans are loud, and arrogant, and I didn't enjoy the match day experience very much at all.

[SlimPickens]

1. You can get away with rotatings forward through the midfield occasionally, but you can't rely on it to get the job done entirely. Team balance was out of whack tonight.
2. Inexperience around the footy cost us dearly.
3. There is a lot to like about the Hamilng/Roberts defensive duo.

[azabob]

Slim, can we play Fletcher, Hamling and Talia in the same team?

[SonofScray]

1. Adelaide Oval is a good ground to watch footy at. A shame it is full of scum bags. I was on my best behaviour but still had to deal with some very ordinary theatre goers who saw us a pantomime villains. The threat of a punch in the face did wonders to keeping them quiet.

2. The score can really blow out if you pull up early. We were right in that contest, yet that last quarter effort undid it all. Particularly the last 10 minutes. It made the game a very poor experience as a travelling fan. I was not pleased at all.

3. Fletch/Hamling/Talia could be a really strong backline with swing an options.

[azabob]

SOn of scray, interestingly in Beveridges press conference he mentioned the blow out and said the reason was we made a few changes to try and win the game but clearly that didn't work.

[Ghost Dog]

1. Tom Boyd was not effective but there is no way to get him to standard unless we play him. Long term strategy.
2. We were unlucky with a few stoppages and it cost us goals. From there they had score board pressure, but luck played a factor early on.I hope supporters realize the end score was not reflective of the effort.
3. It was depressing to see will win the tap, then it goes straight down the throat of an opposition player. What can be done? Happened repeatedly.

[Webby]

1. Tom Boyd was not effective but there is no way to get him to standard unless we play him.

I agree that Boyd was poor. It was undeniable. However i found it interesting to note how ineffective we were after his substituton. We scored, what, one goal in the quarter and a half that he was off the ground?

I hope people realise just how important it is to have tgat dangerous tall forward target in our forward line. Even if he doesn't get it, their key backs have to worry about him. Also, our strength is our forward crumbing and pressure.

It was dewy and the ball came in kow early on. That didn't suit Boyd. However, as fatigue sets in, the ball tends to come in longer and higher and the big targets come into play. Their tall backs really picked us off after Boyd's substitution. He was ordinary last night and he needs the bye for a rest. However he's still very, very important to our structure.

dropping him would be an error. I also thinknthat with the benefit of hindsight, Bevo wouldn't have subbed him last night. I think he'll chime in late in games with important contributions more often than not.

Long game - keep playing him.

[LostDoggy]

1 - The midfield class was the difference in the end.

2 - Our midfield depth isn't quite there yet.

3 - Dahl getting the knock on his knee was a game changer. He had 10 touches in the first 20 minutes. Only ended up getting 10 more for the match after the knee knock.

[hujsh]

I agree that Boyd was poor. It was undeniable. However i found it interesting to note how ineffective we were after his substituton. We scored, what, one goal in the quarter and a half that he was off the ground?

I hope people realise just how important it is to have tgat dangerous tall forward target in our forward line. Even if he doesn't get it, their key backs have to worry about him. Also, our strength is our forward crumbing and pressure.

It was dewy and the ball came in kow early on. That didn't suit Boyd. However, as fatigue sets in, the ball tends to come in longer and higher and the big targets come into play. Their tall backs really picked us off after Boyd's substitution. He was ordinary last night and he needs the bye for a rest. However he's still very, very important to our structure.

dropping him would be an error. I also thinknthat with the benefit of hindsight, Bevo wouldn't have subbed him last night. I think he'll chime in late in games with important contributions more often than not.

Long game - keep playing him.

There's a clear correlation between Boyd having a dirty day and us struggling. Port and Melbourne he was subbed off and against St.Kilda he missed some easy ones early and I don't believe he had much influence after that. The only exception being the Hawthorne game. I wonder if it's more a case of we struggle as a team without Boyd giving us that structure and contest forward or whether it's Boyd struggling to impact the game because we're losing around the ground.

Either way he's already starting to feel like a real catalyst, even when he's not having a big impact on the scoreboard. Which may indicate we need to make sure there's another tall (ie, but not necessarily, Redpath) so we don't become too reliant on Boyd for our structure.

On Redpath does anyone else find it strange in hindsight that he was dropped after onc AFL game given that every other player we've brought in has had a run or 2-3 games at least

[Mantis]

1 - The midfield class was the difference in the end.

2 - Our midfield depth isn't quite there yet.



Not having the Bont and Picken were huge losses against a team who have a very strong midfield.

[The Underdog]

1. One thing I thought Koby needed to do this year to improve was to up his tackling efforts. He's done that.
2. We can't afford to pick 3 first year players along with a generally inexperienced side and expect to run out a game against a hard bodied, hard running team like Port.
3. Week 1 of the Will Minson revival may have been an anomaly rather than indicative of the future.

[Remi Moses]

I'm glad they're picking so many young players.
Luke B did say we were in exploration mode, and we are .

[always right]

1. One thing I thought Koby needed to do this year to improve was to up his tackling efforts. He's done that.
2. We can't afford to pick 3 first year players along with a generally inexperienced side and expect to run out a game against a hard bodied, hard running team like Port.
3. Week 1 of the Will Minson revival may have been an anomaly rather than indicative of the future.
Will was fine....not great but far from our worst.

[comrade]

I'm glad they're picking so many young players.
Luke B did say we were in exploration mode, and we are .

And it's not like we're picking kids ahead of grizzled veterans for the sake of it. You've got Hunter and Talia in the VFL as the most experienced players not currently getting a game and they're relative babies at AFL level.

The list is just so damn young.

[Ghost Dog]

1. One thing I thought Koby needed to do this year to improve was to up his tackling efforts. He's done that.
2. We can't afford to pick 3 first year players along with a generally inexperienced side and expect to run out a game against a hard bodied, hard running team like Port.
3. Week 1 of the Will Minson revival may have been an anomaly rather than indicative of the future.

I watched the game with two people who had not seen a game of AFL before. I did point out the difference in bicep size across the two teams.

[Jeanette54]

Looking at the game yesterday, and watching some of the replay again today, I thought we lost this game in one place only. Port Adelaide were able to clear the stoppages more easily than we could. Thus their delivery to the next point was better than ours.

Time and time again the Port Adelaide midfielders were able to get clear first use of the ball.

Other than that it was a reasonable effort for about ninety minutes, just a shame the game goes for one hundred.

[The Underdog]

Will was fine....not great but far from our worst.

I didn't say he was bad, he was ok, but we need more than that and so does he. Last week set a standard he needs to maintain.

[bornadog]

I didn't say he was bad, he was ok, but we need more than that and so does he. Last week set a standard he needs to maintain.
My opinion of Will has always been , he must play angry. However, he mustn't give away frees playing angry. Last week he was pumped.

[SlimPickens]

Slim, can we play Fletcher, Hamling and Talia in the same team?

In short yes but I think we're unlikely to see it this year. When Morris is back he will play along with 2 of Talia,Hamling and Roberts. I'd like us to try and swing Fletcher forward on occasions, so with that in mind I could see all three playing.

[jeemak]

1. Luke Dahlhaus is a machine for his size and weight, and he won't die trying. He has more heart in his little finger than many do in, I don't know, their chests.....

2. We missed Picken's toughness, ball getting ability and to get involved across the board inside and outside. I've gone 180 degrees in my view on him as a player, he's not just dour anymore, he's a valuable contributor across the board and we need him in our side

3. In terms of setting up and holding a game to a pattern we have a lot to learn as a playing group and also a coaching group. The moments when they were able to get some clean air during the game saw us lose ground and ultimately get scored against. All of the players and coaches needed to react to that better last night and finally the dam burst in the last quarter and it blew out

[1eyedog]

1. Luke Dahlhaus is a machine for his size and weight, and he won't die trying. He has more heart in his little finger than many do in, I don't know, their chests.....

2. We missed Picken's toughness, ball getting ability and to get involved across the board inside and outside. I've gone 180 degrees in my view on him as a player, he's not just dour anymore, he's a valuable contributor across the board and we need him in our side

3. In terms of setting up and holding a game to a pattern we have a lot to learn as a playing group and also a coaching group. The moments when they were able to get some clean air during the game saw us lose ground and ultimately get scored against. All of the players and coaches needed to react to that better last night and finally the dam burst in the last quarter and it blew out

Are you still open to trading him Jeemak?

[jeemak]

Are you still open to trading him Jeemak?

I knew this question was going to be asked when I originally said I am, and with his continued excellent form I didn't like my chances of avoiding it.

The answer is still yes. Though his selling price has gotten a little higher these past two months.

I look at Dahl and think that all of his positive traits are tracking the way they should in line with his years in the system. I have always expected him to do that because of his work ethic, his toughness and his obvious dedication to the team. His weaknesses however haven't kept up with his strengths in terms of development and they never will.

His development as a midfielder has pleased me no end, he is great above his head and he is extremely strong around the ball. Every week that I see him play all I want is for him to become a better kick and a better shot at goal, but I know he never will. In that way he is what he is - which is very good but limited - and he'll never be otherwise.

[LostDoggy]

1. Bev is slowly introducing more mobile, quicker thinking (or better decision makers) into the team.
2. Bev's game plan appears to be based on promoting those who adhere to the systems and the team rules, especially in relation to defensive aspects, 2 way running and spread from the contest. Those who cannot are given the chance to relearn how to play at Footscray.
3. Bev is big on introducing new players for blocks of time to see if they can cope with 1 and 2 above.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

I agree that Boyd was poor. It was undeniable. However i found it interesting to note how ineffective we were after his substituton. We scored, what, one goal in the quarter and a half that he was off the ground?

I hope people realise just how important it is to have tgat dangerous tall forward target in our forward line. Even if he doesn't get it, their key backs have to worry about him. Also, our strength is our forward crumbing and pressure.

It was dewy and the ball came in kow early on. That didn't suit Boyd. However, as fatigue sets in, the ball tends to come in longer and higher and the big targets come into play. Their tall backs really picked us off after Boyd's substitution. He was ordinary last night and he needs the bye for a rest. However he's still very, very important to our structure.

dropping him would be an error. I also thinknthat with the benefit of hindsight, Bevo wouldn't have subbed him last night. I think he'll chime in late in games with important contributions more often than not.

Long game - keep playing him.

I agree that we need to keep playing Tom Boyd but at 200cms see him more as a change ruckman with Roughead who has emerged as our best ruckman. Minson's days look numbered to me. The time of the lumbering ruck man doesn't suit our game plan. I was surprised that we didn't play Matthew Boyd in the midfield given the loss of Picken and Bontempelli. The class of Wines Boak and Gray was probably the difference in the end.
Dale Webb and McLean are all players of the future and simply need more games and experience. Jong is playing without confidence and probably needs a rest or go back to the VFL.

[azabob]

I agree that we need to keep playing Tom Boyd but at 200cms see him more as a change ruckman with Roughead who has emerged as our best ruckman. Minson's days look numbered to me. The time of the lumbering ruck man doesn't suit our game plan. I was surprised that we didn't play Matthew Boyd in the midfield given the loss of Picken and Bontempelli. The class of Wines Boak and Gray was probably the difference in the end.
Dale Webb and McLean are all players of the future and simply need more games and experience. Jong is playing without confidence and probably needs a rest or go back to the VFL.

Could not agree more with your ruckman comments.

Earlier this afternoon, I clumsily tried to explain my theory behind why Minson should be dropped from the team.

[1eyedog]

I knew this question was going to be asked when I originally said I am, and with his continued excellent form I didn't like my chances of avoiding it.

The answer is still yes. Though his selling price has gotten a little higher these past two months.

I look at Dahl and think that all of his positive traits are tracking the way they should in line with his years in the system. I have always expected him to do that because of his work ethic, his toughness and his obvious dedication to the team. His weaknesses however haven't kept up with his strengths in terms of development and they never will.

His development as a midfielder has pleased me no end, he is great above his head and he is extremely strong around the ball. Every week that I see him play all I want is for him to become a better kick and a better shot at goal, but I know he never will. In that way he is what he is - which is very good but limited - and he'll never be otherwise.

Fair enough.

I'm struggling to think of the perfect player, without flaw(s) and I must say that Dahl's strengths are very strong. One of these that you didn't mention, perhaps the most important one outside of his pressure acts, is his ability to kick clutch goals from contested situations, a far more difficult proposition than a set shot. It's his ability to score from anywhere at anytime where his true value lies because nothing is more unsettling to the opposition than scoreboard pressure.

Losing Dahl to me would be like losing the Queen in chess, you're not losing the game by trading him out but your whole approach changes and becomes weakened because of it. Whoever you bring in from the trade needs to be like for like in terms of quality, even if they are completely different players.

I understand the adage you don't get good unless you give up good.

[Mofra]

I agree that Boyd was poor. It was undeniable. However i found it interesting to note how ineffective we were after his substituton. We scored, what, one goal in the quarter and a half that he was off the ground?

I hope people realise just how important it is to have tgat dangerous tall forward target in our forward line. Even if he doesn't get it, their key backs have to worry about him. Also, our strength is our forward crumbing and pressure.

It was dewy and the ball came in kow early on. That didn't suit Boyd. However, as fatigue sets in, the ball tends to come in longer and higher and the big targets come into play. Their tall backs really picked us off after Boyd's substitution. He was ordinary last night and he needs the bye for a rest. However he's still very, very important to our structure.

dropping him would be an error. I also thinknthat with the benefit of hindsight, Bevo wouldn't have subbed him last night. I think he'll chime in late in games with important contributions more often than not.

Long game - keep playing him.
I agree with this, however there is one thing separating Toyd from other gun tall forwards and Carey touched on this last week - the best tall forwards, when they're not marking the ball, find another way to get into the game. Tom is still working this out and it is that which separates him from the Hogans and Danihers at this stage.

He is bigger and heavier and will take more time and I'm confidant he'll be fantastic for us long term, short term he still seems to have a lot to learn even if he is pretty important to our structure right now.

[Templeton31]

1. We missed Picken and the Bont. As a consequence this was the first game when I was really aware of no Libba too.
2. I think we need another tall so Boyd doesn't have to do all the tall man work. Its a lot of contests to get too and Port just swamped him when he did get to the contests. Redpath I assume would be the additional tall but could Fletcher Roberts go forward with Talia returning to the backline?
3. First game I've seen where we reminded me of the McCartney-era Bulldogs. Good inside grunt, plenty of ball, courageous but then just picked off outside the contest. Or give it away in poor kicking.