Go_Dogs
31-03-2008, 01:55 PM
I've basically copied your format Mantis, although quietly mine is a much improved version ;) Hope we can continue some of the same good discussion that Mantis' thread gave rise to last week. Feel free to tear any of my ideas apart...
Match: Western Bulldogs v St Kilda – Telstra Dome – Friday Night
Recent Form: The Saints have looked pretty good to this point, winning a hard fought, low scoring game against Sydney showing their strength for the contested ball and disposing of a fairly weak Carlton side fairly comfortably on the weekend. The Dogs are playing well but must be weary as this match will be a much better indication of where we're at, as St Kilda are playing well and rated by many as a Top 4 side this year.
Recent matches between these 2 teams:
Rd 18 2007 - TD - Friday night - Western Bulldogs 12.13.85 drew St Kilda 12.13.85
Brownlow votes: 3. N Riewoldt (StK), 2. R Murphy (WB), 1. M Boyd (WB)
After winning the first qtr the Dogs got behind but continued to try without much luck. Eventually drawing after looking completely out of it, to getting back in front in a real back and fourth game, our effort couldn't be questioned.
And the corresponding Round 3 fixture last year (let's hope it's not a repeat)
Rd 3 2007 – TD – St Kilda 17.14.116 defeated Western Bulldogs 9.12.66
Brownlow votes: 3. R Harvey (StK), 2. J Gram (StK), 1. N Riewoldt (StK)
Pretty much totally outclassed by a strong showing by the Saints. A pretty forgettable day.
Players missing/ At the selection table:
Western Bulldogs – Higgins has gone out with an ankle, but we may welcome back Eagleton from his week off with an ankle he did in Rd 1. Harbrow may also come back into thinking if he is over his injury. Others players still out from the best 22 include Ray, Williams and Everitt who'll all still be missing for at least a few more weeks.
St Kilda: - The Saints are running pretty well at the moment injury wise and could welcome back any or all of Goddard, Maguire and Dempster this week, Goddard being the most likely to resume at this stage.
Style of play/ team structure’s:
Western Bulldogs – Again this week we played our best football when we were winning the ball in tight and then playing on quickly to an open forward line with lots of deadly small marking players. Our contested work has looked better so far this year and must continue this week against the Saints. Once we have the ball outside we know we can run fast, hard and have great skills - we need to create the time and space to use them.
St Kilda - Play a hard, contested ball winning game inside and around the ground, using runners of half back delivering to a pretty handy tall forward line who they can kick long too, and also use further up the field to control the ball on the way forward. They also have a new ruck division of King and Gardiner whom we need to watch out for, as both can be useful around the ground and go forward and snag a couple of goals. It has also allowed them the luxury of using Kosi as another tall forward target, and he really attacks the packs hard so he's one we have to watch out for.
The Saints aim will be to win more of the contested ball than us through guys like Dal Santo, Ball, Hayes and guys like Montana, Gram, X.Clarke and S.Fisher run all over us. They create some good run and carry through the back half on the rebound and we'll need to make sure we focus on our defensive efforts in our forward 50. Once they have the ball moving through the middle of the ground with speed they have 3 very good and hard working tall forwards who'll enjoy our backline devoid of a few more first choice options in Williams and Everitt.
Our best chance to win will be guys like West, Cross and Boyd playing great games, guys like Cooney and Griffen winning plenty of ball and really running it hard, Gilbee getting a lot of the ball. If these players who create and win the hard ball through the middle of the ground can get more of it than their direct opponents and use it as well as we know they can, we'll have a good chance of winning the game. Hudson and Minson are really going to be tested this week in the ruck and they need to continue giving us first use of the ball and throwing their bodies around in the middle, scraping and helping win the ball and get it moving forwards. They also need to be mindful of their direct opponents and be prepared to run hard into the backline to prevent their opponents from getting easy goals, and also stretch their opponents by running hard forwards when the time is right.
Our forwards will need to again be very productive, and with Murphy hitting his straps, Welsh fitting in beyond expectation, Johnson as reliable as ever and Aker and Hahn back playing the football we needed from them in 2007, as well as Giansiracusa who has been very handy thus far and let's not forget Hill... You get the point, it's a pretty good mix that a lot of teams will struggle to contain for 4 Qtrs.
Key Match-Ups:
Brad Johnson vs Max Hudghton? – I think this could be the logical match up although I'm not sure. If Brad plays further up the ground perhaps someone like Sam Fisher or Gram could go to him. Whoever it is will need to play well as Brad has had some big games against the Saints previously including kicking 6 goals back in Rd 21 2006.
Adam Cooney vs Leigh Fisher? – Tagged Judd on the weekend for patches of the game and although Judd was clearly quite reduced Leigh was servicable, though I don't think Adam will give him as long to catch his breath between efforts.
Dale Morris vs Nick Riewoldt – Big ask I know for Dale, but I just don't think anyone else can do the job. We'll need Lake on Gehrig, which is a big enough match up itself, and Wight I think will have to go with Koschitzke. Hargrave is the other option, but I think Morris is the safer option. Nick will work hard up the field and Morris has the fitness and closing speed to go with him.
Scott West v Lenny Hayes – I think West is doing very well at the moment, winning a lot of clean ball in close, using it well by both hand and foot, running hard to create an option and working well defensively against his opponent when he needs. Hayes is one of the most important midfielders and if West can limit Hayes' influence whilst controlling the ball in close he'll really go a long way to helping us win the game.
Ryan Griffen vs Adam Schneider – Schneider looks to be starting to fit in well, and can run both forwards and through the middle and someone like Griffen can match him for strength and explosive speed, and also hurt him going the other way. He could be the player due for a good game who takes us apart if the Saints dictate the play and are able to run hard. Griffen is also showing signs that he's ready for a breakout dominating display and will be one the Saints have to be weary of, as if he gets anywhere near 30 touches almost all of them will be effective and very important.
Player’s under the pump:
Western Bulldogs
Not really any players under the pump this week, as most players did at least a reasonable job, even Wight who was beaten early came back well and finished the game strongly. Once again though the younger players will be keen to impress against quality opposition as a few like Harbrow and Ray will start to come back into selection frame over the next few weeks.
St Kilda
Sadly, its the #1 and #2 draft picks that we're going to have to look out for, as both Koschitzke and Riewoldt were reasonably quiet against Carlton and no doubt quite looking forward to playing against us. There not under the pump per se, but they'll want big games and playing at TD against our back line they have no excuses whatsoever. Expect them to bounce back in a big way.
Who will win and why:
Geez, it's a tough one this week. St Kilda have seemingly had the wood over us for the best part of the last few years. They have massive strengths in areas that are our massive weaknesses - the tall forward department. Their midfield is strong and will be a great challenge for our side who to this stage in all fairness have probably had a fairly comfortable ride against a younger Adelaide midfield and a pretty unimpressive Melbourne one. This week will be the test.
Our form coming in suggests that West, Cross, Boyd, Cooney, Gilbee, Murphy, Akermanis, Griffen, Giansiracusa, Addison, Hudson and Minson are all in reasonable form and will be good players on Friday night. If these guys can do the job in the midfield, around the ground and running out of defensive with their attack on the ball, body and contest, skills and hard running efforts we'll be a pretty good chance of winning the game.
Our forwards have been good thus far too, and I think the St Kilda back line will struggle as much as ours will. If our guys continue to play well, I think we have too many good players for them to shut down.
Their forward line will be much the same story, as all of Wight, Lake, Morris and Hargrave will likely all have big roles to play throughout the night. If they can even break even with the forwards, and hopefully get some good assistance from some good defensive efforts through the midfield and our F50, they'll have done the job and it should be enough for us to get over the line. We need to make sure we can free up Gilbee again and allow him to gather possessions seemingly at will further up the field.
So do I think will win? Well, I think we're a damn good chance to get over the line. We need to prove that we're a serious contender and I think we can do that this Friday. I'll be tipping the Dogs to get up in a very close one, by 7 points.
As an aside point - What happens at selection table this week? Does Callan stay in to shut down Milne allowing Morris to take on Reiwoldt? Or do we bring in say, McDougall to help out down back with the tall opposition? Or does Harbrow come in to help with the defensive aspects in the forward half of the ground and add some more zip?
If we make only the one forced change of Higgins Out, Eagleton In I'd be fairly content, but it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds as the week progresses.
Match: Western Bulldogs v St Kilda – Telstra Dome – Friday Night
Recent Form: The Saints have looked pretty good to this point, winning a hard fought, low scoring game against Sydney showing their strength for the contested ball and disposing of a fairly weak Carlton side fairly comfortably on the weekend. The Dogs are playing well but must be weary as this match will be a much better indication of where we're at, as St Kilda are playing well and rated by many as a Top 4 side this year.
Recent matches between these 2 teams:
Rd 18 2007 - TD - Friday night - Western Bulldogs 12.13.85 drew St Kilda 12.13.85
Brownlow votes: 3. N Riewoldt (StK), 2. R Murphy (WB), 1. M Boyd (WB)
After winning the first qtr the Dogs got behind but continued to try without much luck. Eventually drawing after looking completely out of it, to getting back in front in a real back and fourth game, our effort couldn't be questioned.
And the corresponding Round 3 fixture last year (let's hope it's not a repeat)
Rd 3 2007 – TD – St Kilda 17.14.116 defeated Western Bulldogs 9.12.66
Brownlow votes: 3. R Harvey (StK), 2. J Gram (StK), 1. N Riewoldt (StK)
Pretty much totally outclassed by a strong showing by the Saints. A pretty forgettable day.
Players missing/ At the selection table:
Western Bulldogs – Higgins has gone out with an ankle, but we may welcome back Eagleton from his week off with an ankle he did in Rd 1. Harbrow may also come back into thinking if he is over his injury. Others players still out from the best 22 include Ray, Williams and Everitt who'll all still be missing for at least a few more weeks.
St Kilda: - The Saints are running pretty well at the moment injury wise and could welcome back any or all of Goddard, Maguire and Dempster this week, Goddard being the most likely to resume at this stage.
Style of play/ team structure’s:
Western Bulldogs – Again this week we played our best football when we were winning the ball in tight and then playing on quickly to an open forward line with lots of deadly small marking players. Our contested work has looked better so far this year and must continue this week against the Saints. Once we have the ball outside we know we can run fast, hard and have great skills - we need to create the time and space to use them.
St Kilda - Play a hard, contested ball winning game inside and around the ground, using runners of half back delivering to a pretty handy tall forward line who they can kick long too, and also use further up the field to control the ball on the way forward. They also have a new ruck division of King and Gardiner whom we need to watch out for, as both can be useful around the ground and go forward and snag a couple of goals. It has also allowed them the luxury of using Kosi as another tall forward target, and he really attacks the packs hard so he's one we have to watch out for.
The Saints aim will be to win more of the contested ball than us through guys like Dal Santo, Ball, Hayes and guys like Montana, Gram, X.Clarke and S.Fisher run all over us. They create some good run and carry through the back half on the rebound and we'll need to make sure we focus on our defensive efforts in our forward 50. Once they have the ball moving through the middle of the ground with speed they have 3 very good and hard working tall forwards who'll enjoy our backline devoid of a few more first choice options in Williams and Everitt.
Our best chance to win will be guys like West, Cross and Boyd playing great games, guys like Cooney and Griffen winning plenty of ball and really running it hard, Gilbee getting a lot of the ball. If these players who create and win the hard ball through the middle of the ground can get more of it than their direct opponents and use it as well as we know they can, we'll have a good chance of winning the game. Hudson and Minson are really going to be tested this week in the ruck and they need to continue giving us first use of the ball and throwing their bodies around in the middle, scraping and helping win the ball and get it moving forwards. They also need to be mindful of their direct opponents and be prepared to run hard into the backline to prevent their opponents from getting easy goals, and also stretch their opponents by running hard forwards when the time is right.
Our forwards will need to again be very productive, and with Murphy hitting his straps, Welsh fitting in beyond expectation, Johnson as reliable as ever and Aker and Hahn back playing the football we needed from them in 2007, as well as Giansiracusa who has been very handy thus far and let's not forget Hill... You get the point, it's a pretty good mix that a lot of teams will struggle to contain for 4 Qtrs.
Key Match-Ups:
Brad Johnson vs Max Hudghton? – I think this could be the logical match up although I'm not sure. If Brad plays further up the ground perhaps someone like Sam Fisher or Gram could go to him. Whoever it is will need to play well as Brad has had some big games against the Saints previously including kicking 6 goals back in Rd 21 2006.
Adam Cooney vs Leigh Fisher? – Tagged Judd on the weekend for patches of the game and although Judd was clearly quite reduced Leigh was servicable, though I don't think Adam will give him as long to catch his breath between efforts.
Dale Morris vs Nick Riewoldt – Big ask I know for Dale, but I just don't think anyone else can do the job. We'll need Lake on Gehrig, which is a big enough match up itself, and Wight I think will have to go with Koschitzke. Hargrave is the other option, but I think Morris is the safer option. Nick will work hard up the field and Morris has the fitness and closing speed to go with him.
Scott West v Lenny Hayes – I think West is doing very well at the moment, winning a lot of clean ball in close, using it well by both hand and foot, running hard to create an option and working well defensively against his opponent when he needs. Hayes is one of the most important midfielders and if West can limit Hayes' influence whilst controlling the ball in close he'll really go a long way to helping us win the game.
Ryan Griffen vs Adam Schneider – Schneider looks to be starting to fit in well, and can run both forwards and through the middle and someone like Griffen can match him for strength and explosive speed, and also hurt him going the other way. He could be the player due for a good game who takes us apart if the Saints dictate the play and are able to run hard. Griffen is also showing signs that he's ready for a breakout dominating display and will be one the Saints have to be weary of, as if he gets anywhere near 30 touches almost all of them will be effective and very important.
Player’s under the pump:
Western Bulldogs
Not really any players under the pump this week, as most players did at least a reasonable job, even Wight who was beaten early came back well and finished the game strongly. Once again though the younger players will be keen to impress against quality opposition as a few like Harbrow and Ray will start to come back into selection frame over the next few weeks.
St Kilda
Sadly, its the #1 and #2 draft picks that we're going to have to look out for, as both Koschitzke and Riewoldt were reasonably quiet against Carlton and no doubt quite looking forward to playing against us. There not under the pump per se, but they'll want big games and playing at TD against our back line they have no excuses whatsoever. Expect them to bounce back in a big way.
Who will win and why:
Geez, it's a tough one this week. St Kilda have seemingly had the wood over us for the best part of the last few years. They have massive strengths in areas that are our massive weaknesses - the tall forward department. Their midfield is strong and will be a great challenge for our side who to this stage in all fairness have probably had a fairly comfortable ride against a younger Adelaide midfield and a pretty unimpressive Melbourne one. This week will be the test.
Our form coming in suggests that West, Cross, Boyd, Cooney, Gilbee, Murphy, Akermanis, Griffen, Giansiracusa, Addison, Hudson and Minson are all in reasonable form and will be good players on Friday night. If these guys can do the job in the midfield, around the ground and running out of defensive with their attack on the ball, body and contest, skills and hard running efforts we'll be a pretty good chance of winning the game.
Our forwards have been good thus far too, and I think the St Kilda back line will struggle as much as ours will. If our guys continue to play well, I think we have too many good players for them to shut down.
Their forward line will be much the same story, as all of Wight, Lake, Morris and Hargrave will likely all have big roles to play throughout the night. If they can even break even with the forwards, and hopefully get some good assistance from some good defensive efforts through the midfield and our F50, they'll have done the job and it should be enough for us to get over the line. We need to make sure we can free up Gilbee again and allow him to gather possessions seemingly at will further up the field.
So do I think will win? Well, I think we're a damn good chance to get over the line. We need to prove that we're a serious contender and I think we can do that this Friday. I'll be tipping the Dogs to get up in a very close one, by 7 points.
As an aside point - What happens at selection table this week? Does Callan stay in to shut down Milne allowing Morris to take on Reiwoldt? Or do we bring in say, McDougall to help out down back with the tall opposition? Or does Harbrow come in to help with the defensive aspects in the forward half of the ground and add some more zip?
If we make only the one forced change of Higgins Out, Eagleton In I'd be fairly content, but it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds as the week progresses.