The Bulldogs Bite
17-01-2008, 12:18 AM
I began to think of West Coast and the list they have this year after the loss of Judd & Cousins, wondering how they'd cope with such losses - not just this year, but for the next three or four years. In 2005, The Eagles forward line was often criticised for not having any quality KPF's. They attempted to throw Gardiner down there in the Grand Final but he failed miserably. If you said back then that by the end of 2007 The Eagles also would be without Judd & Cousins, you'd predict them to have a huge downslide.
Three years on, they've done pretty well. In fact - they've done very, very well. Their midfield may not be as explosive as it once was, but their drafting was second to none last year. They've found a gem in Priddis whilst picking up a few potential guns in the draft. Judd/Cousins are big losses - make no mistake about it - but through their recruiting and player development, I would argue they have turned it around quickly. In another three years time, their midfield is every chance to dominate again.
Back to their old 'problem' - KPF's. They copped a fair bit of flack over not having options, but again - three years on and they've got plenty. Lynch & Hansen are proven quality players - they're not exactly A graders but they're dangerous players who certainly compliment one another's styles. Hansen is the traditional leading CHF, whilst Lynch is the body-on-body FF. Staker is a decent third tall option too, whilst they've also developed another - Mitch Brown. He looks a talent. If I'm not mistaken they've got another option they picked up from the WAFL & they drafted a young forward in the most recent draft. Three years on and they have a fantastic list to develop & pick from, whilst also (it seems) maintaining a strong midfield.
Why haven't we replicated this?
If we lost West & Cooney, we'd be buggered to oblivion. Over the last ten years we've drafted plenty of midfielders but yet it would arguably be fair to say we're still behind in this area when comparing to West Coast, anyway. Have we recruited too many of the same ilk, or have we picked the wrong players in some instances? West, Cross & Boyd are good players but one of them almost has to sit on the pine, it's a disadvantage at times to play all three as they're similiar in style. They're in & under players with the ability to bring others into the game. Additionally, they've got similiar pace and similiar average foot skills. Whilst Cooney has improved his defensive efforts, we still lack players willing to run both ways. Eagleton & Higgins are prime examples; quality players when they have the ball, they can be deadly, but their defensive game is lacking. Again; have we recruited wrongly in that we've drafted too many players of the same ilk? Cooney & Griffen are probably only our two players that work both ways, and as I said, at times Cooney can be lazy. Our midfield has potential but I feel we still lack something in there.
KPF's have been our major problem over the past decade. Why wasn't/hasn't this been addressed much earlier? West Coast found a problem and sought to fix it. They've got plenty of options, two of which helped win them a GF whilst they've got a couple youngsters who look v. talented. Have we elected to go with quick fixes too much? (Cook, Minton-Connell, Bartlett, Hunter, James, Rawlings etc.) and we've drafted poorly (Bowden, Wells, Wiggins, Walsh etc.)
Who's to blame?
For mine, I think Clayton has taken a few 'safer' bets by siding with midfielders over KPF's. A lot of this rests on Wallet's shoulders of course, as his plan was to build a team of speedy midfielders. Naturally Clayton's picked up a few good ones, but considering how many we've had over the years, our midfield still isn't where it should be. He's been reluctant to take talls with the first pick (apart from the last two years when our needs have become bleedingly obvious) and when he has, it's been a failure (Walsh). It appears as though he's been happier to take later punts on talls. So my question is, why haven't we been able to replicate West Coast? Their list management is superb. They identify problems and fix them immediately. If they can do it, why can't we? We've had the same problems for years and yet The Eagles fixed there's in half the time - or less.
It has been pleasing to see that we've fixed up the backline though. That's been a problem for quite a while and I think we've done well. Harris, Morris, Williams & Everitt have all been great picks/finds, and we'll further reap the rewards for this. I just can't understand how we've ignored a problem that has haunted us for a long time. Meanwhile, clubs like Hawthorn, WCE, St. Kilda & even Geelong have found themselves plenty of options and yet have still been able to find quality midfielders to - on most ocassions - defy ours.
Anyhow, just wanted to get some general feedback and thoughts on this subject as I believe it's interesting to compare club recruitment & management. We've been poor in this area whilst a number of other clubs have done really well - I'm curious as to exactly why, and how we let it get to such a state.
Three years on, they've done pretty well. In fact - they've done very, very well. Their midfield may not be as explosive as it once was, but their drafting was second to none last year. They've found a gem in Priddis whilst picking up a few potential guns in the draft. Judd/Cousins are big losses - make no mistake about it - but through their recruiting and player development, I would argue they have turned it around quickly. In another three years time, their midfield is every chance to dominate again.
Back to their old 'problem' - KPF's. They copped a fair bit of flack over not having options, but again - three years on and they've got plenty. Lynch & Hansen are proven quality players - they're not exactly A graders but they're dangerous players who certainly compliment one another's styles. Hansen is the traditional leading CHF, whilst Lynch is the body-on-body FF. Staker is a decent third tall option too, whilst they've also developed another - Mitch Brown. He looks a talent. If I'm not mistaken they've got another option they picked up from the WAFL & they drafted a young forward in the most recent draft. Three years on and they have a fantastic list to develop & pick from, whilst also (it seems) maintaining a strong midfield.
Why haven't we replicated this?
If we lost West & Cooney, we'd be buggered to oblivion. Over the last ten years we've drafted plenty of midfielders but yet it would arguably be fair to say we're still behind in this area when comparing to West Coast, anyway. Have we recruited too many of the same ilk, or have we picked the wrong players in some instances? West, Cross & Boyd are good players but one of them almost has to sit on the pine, it's a disadvantage at times to play all three as they're similiar in style. They're in & under players with the ability to bring others into the game. Additionally, they've got similiar pace and similiar average foot skills. Whilst Cooney has improved his defensive efforts, we still lack players willing to run both ways. Eagleton & Higgins are prime examples; quality players when they have the ball, they can be deadly, but their defensive game is lacking. Again; have we recruited wrongly in that we've drafted too many players of the same ilk? Cooney & Griffen are probably only our two players that work both ways, and as I said, at times Cooney can be lazy. Our midfield has potential but I feel we still lack something in there.
KPF's have been our major problem over the past decade. Why wasn't/hasn't this been addressed much earlier? West Coast found a problem and sought to fix it. They've got plenty of options, two of which helped win them a GF whilst they've got a couple youngsters who look v. talented. Have we elected to go with quick fixes too much? (Cook, Minton-Connell, Bartlett, Hunter, James, Rawlings etc.) and we've drafted poorly (Bowden, Wells, Wiggins, Walsh etc.)
Who's to blame?
For mine, I think Clayton has taken a few 'safer' bets by siding with midfielders over KPF's. A lot of this rests on Wallet's shoulders of course, as his plan was to build a team of speedy midfielders. Naturally Clayton's picked up a few good ones, but considering how many we've had over the years, our midfield still isn't where it should be. He's been reluctant to take talls with the first pick (apart from the last two years when our needs have become bleedingly obvious) and when he has, it's been a failure (Walsh). It appears as though he's been happier to take later punts on talls. So my question is, why haven't we been able to replicate West Coast? Their list management is superb. They identify problems and fix them immediately. If they can do it, why can't we? We've had the same problems for years and yet The Eagles fixed there's in half the time - or less.
It has been pleasing to see that we've fixed up the backline though. That's been a problem for quite a while and I think we've done well. Harris, Morris, Williams & Everitt have all been great picks/finds, and we'll further reap the rewards for this. I just can't understand how we've ignored a problem that has haunted us for a long time. Meanwhile, clubs like Hawthorn, WCE, St. Kilda & even Geelong have found themselves plenty of options and yet have still been able to find quality midfielders to - on most ocassions - defy ours.
Anyhow, just wanted to get some general feedback and thoughts on this subject as I believe it's interesting to compare club recruitment & management. We've been poor in this area whilst a number of other clubs have done really well - I'm curious as to exactly why, and how we let it get to such a state.