Ozza
19-05-2010, 01:46 PM
Round 9: North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs – Etihad Stadium – 2:10pm Saturday 22nd May
Last time they Met:
Round: 13 Venue: M.C.G. Date: 28-Jun-2009 2:10 PM Attendance: 31,470
North Melbourne
4.4 8.8 11.13 12.14.86
Western Bulldogs
6.1 9.4 13.6 17.6.108
Brownlow Medal
3:Matthew Boyd (WB) 2 : Daniel Giansiracusa (WB) 1:Robert Murphy (WB)
Last time around, North Melbourne hung in there for most of the day and it wasn’t until a burst by the Bulldogs early in the final term that we truly broke away. Giansiracusa, although injuring his knee that day – kicked 3 crucial goals and the Dogs ran away with a 22 point victory. It was the second time we beat North last year – after having a very ordinary record against North Melbourne is recent times where they had beaten us on 5 successive occasions.
Formguide:
After a shaky start to the season, where they lost to Port Adelaide and were trounced by the Saints, North Melbourne have won 4 of their last 6 and sit just outside the 8 level on points with Brisbane. Last weekend North got the jump on Adelaide by as much as 53 points – before completely stopping in the last term and letting the Crows get back within 3 goals to finish.
The Bulldogs, as we know, have not played quite to the level we would have expected after the previous two seasons, and the pre-season – but are now sitting 4th on Percentage with 5 wins and 3 losses. Last week versus Sydney – the Bulldogs, despite missing Griffen as a late withdrawal, and losing Bob Murphy during the game – were, on the most part impressive, and won comfortably.
Current betting shows the Dogs as $1.25 favourites, with the bookies offering $4.00 for a North Melbourne win.
The Selection Table:
A very interesting week in terms of selection. Both sides will be forced to turn over players due to injury and also potentially have some players returning from mid to long-term injuries – adding a degree of difficulty to this Match Preview!
For North Melbourne, David Hale would be expected miss this week with a back injury sustained against the Crows but has an obvious replacement in Hamish McIntosh who was a late withdrawal in that game. Additionally, although Drew Petrie is listed as still being unavailable for 1-2 weeks with the broken foot he sustained in pre-season training – there has been some talk that he may return this week – so Petrie may well be in the mix as a ‘maybe’. In the VFL on the weekend, Corey Jones amassed 27 possessions and booted 3 goals 7 behinds for North Ballarat. Jones is a crafty, experienced forward who may well return on the back of that form.
For the Bulldogs, Ryan Griffen is expected to return from the back soreness that kept him out of last week’s game. Liam Picken is now off the injury list and is likely to return by coming straight back into the senior side. In terms of ‘Outs’ – Robert Murphy will miss three weeks after a knee operation, and if Picken does return I would be inclined to think Josh Hill will be omitted. With Brennan Stack playing well last weekend in a not too dissimilar role Josh may be the other one. Another school of thought is that with two midfielders returning – a midfielder such as Nathan Eagleton or Dylan Addison could miss – although we don’t tend to drop experienced players often, and Addison should get a run with role this week – so I’ll stick with Hill being ‘Out’.
Target Players:
Rather than putting in key match ups – I thought I’d change it up slightly and talk about Target players for each team and talk about what they bring to their side, how they go about their business, and how teams will tackle the task of limiting their influence
North Melbourne
Brent Harvey- ‘Boomer’ Harvey is the ‘no-brainer’ target player amongst the Roos. Harvey will spend most of his time in the midfield, will run and carry, and will look to push forward at times. He has a nasty habit of playing very well against the bulldogs – although Liam Picken did an excellent job against him in Round 2 last year. In their return bout – Picken was targeted physically in order to get Harvey some space and Picken was as a result less effective the second time around.
If selected straight back into the team, Picken will go with Harvey in the midfield. However, if Harvey spends extended periods down forward, I’d like to see how Harbrow goes against him – as this might give us an indication as to Harbrow’s truly defensive capabilities and whether he can be called on for big stopping roles on quick midfield-type players if needed in future. Eg.. G.Ablett Jnr.
Daniel Wells – The much maligned Daniel Wells has found some excellent form in the past few weeks and when high on confidence can be a dangerous player. Wells is predominantly an outside player who uses the ball very well and is also a kicking player’. This season – of his 168 possessions, the break down has been 116 kicks, 52 handballs – and he has kicked 10 goals in his past 5 games – so Wells is obviously someone we want to restrict the North midfielders getting the ball to outside. Dylan Addison seems a good fit for this match up. Wells is not overly pacy – so I think Dylan can go with him, and Dylan’s style is to tackle and harass which Wells isn’t noted as dealing too well with.
Brady Rawlings: Rawlings is in career best form at present. Mark Robinson of the Herald-Sun labelled him as being in All-Australian contention – which I think is a bit of a stretch – but four 30+ possession games out of 8 reflects he is playing the ‘quarterback’ type role very well. I think Rawlings will start on Aker this week and try and run off him and set up the North Melbourne attacking moves. Hopefully Aker can make him accountable by getting to dangerous spots early and finding a goal or two.
Western Bulldogs
Adam Cooney – As always, Coons will get attention in the midfield. With Rawlings playing off half back these days, it may well be Levi Greenwood who gets the tagging job – which is a big task for an inexperienced player. Coons can get the ball inside and out and is dealing with the tags better and better – getting hold of Jones of St.Kilda recently and Kirk on the weekend – two of the best in the business.
Barry Hall – Baz certainly got off the chain last week and made a mess of Sydney. The way North plays is a fairly open game at times, which suits us moving the ball in quickly to Hall. If Baz gets some good supply – then it’s hard to imagine him not having another good day. Scott Thompson is a very good full back and his strength is in the one on one contest. He is a real scrapper, very competitive and fierce – but will need some help from McMahon (who reads the play well and can work off his man to be third man up) and possibly Grima too – who is versatile for a big man and plays fairly deep.
Matthew Boyd – Boyd was awarded 3 votes in last seasons round 13 clash and is a key player at our stoppages. Back 2 weeks now from his broken hand – he should be 100% in terms of fitness and I expect him to go head to head with Andrew ‘spitter’ Swallow. Swallow is North’s best at the stoppages and a very genuine inside midfielder. The winner of this dual will have had a pretty significant say in the outcome of the game.
CRYSTAL BALL:
As I said earlier, North play a fairly open type of game under Brad Scott. They are a young side, particularly in the midfield with Ziebell, Cunnington, Bastinac and Greenwood – and whilst it is an impressive young group – the Bulldogs midfield is seasoned and strong. Cooney, Griffen, Boyd, Gia, Cross and Higgins should overwhelm the younger Roos as the game goes on and our superior ball use and body strength should prove too much for North.
In the Ruck – McIntosh and Goldstein are a good combination – both are mobile and athletic. Whereas Minson and Hudson are strong bullocking ruckman – and an underrated combination. I expect this to be a fairly even contest in the ruck – with Hudson’s recent good form maybe giving us a slight edge.
In terms of forwards and backs – North struggle to kick goals – and Lake, Morris and the ever-improving Williams are unlikely to get outpointed in the air. To score heavily North Melbourne will have to move the ball very very quickly and try to have multiple goal kickers with their smaller players Thomas, Gartlett and Harvey chiming in. Up forward for the Bulldogs, we still have yet to get an even contribution this season apart from the Richmond game. With Picken and Griffen returning – Akermanis, Higgins and Giansiracusa should be spending more time forward and will provide a serious challenge for North’s relatively tall backline that contains Thompson, Grima, Hansen and Pratt.
Verdict
The Bulldogs are a more balanced outfit, with far more talent, strength and experience across the board. This is not a game to drop. Bulldogs by 41 points.
Last time they Met:
Round: 13 Venue: M.C.G. Date: 28-Jun-2009 2:10 PM Attendance: 31,470
North Melbourne
4.4 8.8 11.13 12.14.86
Western Bulldogs
6.1 9.4 13.6 17.6.108
Brownlow Medal
3:Matthew Boyd (WB) 2 : Daniel Giansiracusa (WB) 1:Robert Murphy (WB)
Last time around, North Melbourne hung in there for most of the day and it wasn’t until a burst by the Bulldogs early in the final term that we truly broke away. Giansiracusa, although injuring his knee that day – kicked 3 crucial goals and the Dogs ran away with a 22 point victory. It was the second time we beat North last year – after having a very ordinary record against North Melbourne is recent times where they had beaten us on 5 successive occasions.
Formguide:
After a shaky start to the season, where they lost to Port Adelaide and were trounced by the Saints, North Melbourne have won 4 of their last 6 and sit just outside the 8 level on points with Brisbane. Last weekend North got the jump on Adelaide by as much as 53 points – before completely stopping in the last term and letting the Crows get back within 3 goals to finish.
The Bulldogs, as we know, have not played quite to the level we would have expected after the previous two seasons, and the pre-season – but are now sitting 4th on Percentage with 5 wins and 3 losses. Last week versus Sydney – the Bulldogs, despite missing Griffen as a late withdrawal, and losing Bob Murphy during the game – were, on the most part impressive, and won comfortably.
Current betting shows the Dogs as $1.25 favourites, with the bookies offering $4.00 for a North Melbourne win.
The Selection Table:
A very interesting week in terms of selection. Both sides will be forced to turn over players due to injury and also potentially have some players returning from mid to long-term injuries – adding a degree of difficulty to this Match Preview!
For North Melbourne, David Hale would be expected miss this week with a back injury sustained against the Crows but has an obvious replacement in Hamish McIntosh who was a late withdrawal in that game. Additionally, although Drew Petrie is listed as still being unavailable for 1-2 weeks with the broken foot he sustained in pre-season training – there has been some talk that he may return this week – so Petrie may well be in the mix as a ‘maybe’. In the VFL on the weekend, Corey Jones amassed 27 possessions and booted 3 goals 7 behinds for North Ballarat. Jones is a crafty, experienced forward who may well return on the back of that form.
For the Bulldogs, Ryan Griffen is expected to return from the back soreness that kept him out of last week’s game. Liam Picken is now off the injury list and is likely to return by coming straight back into the senior side. In terms of ‘Outs’ – Robert Murphy will miss three weeks after a knee operation, and if Picken does return I would be inclined to think Josh Hill will be omitted. With Brennan Stack playing well last weekend in a not too dissimilar role Josh may be the other one. Another school of thought is that with two midfielders returning – a midfielder such as Nathan Eagleton or Dylan Addison could miss – although we don’t tend to drop experienced players often, and Addison should get a run with role this week – so I’ll stick with Hill being ‘Out’.
Target Players:
Rather than putting in key match ups – I thought I’d change it up slightly and talk about Target players for each team and talk about what they bring to their side, how they go about their business, and how teams will tackle the task of limiting their influence
North Melbourne
Brent Harvey- ‘Boomer’ Harvey is the ‘no-brainer’ target player amongst the Roos. Harvey will spend most of his time in the midfield, will run and carry, and will look to push forward at times. He has a nasty habit of playing very well against the bulldogs – although Liam Picken did an excellent job against him in Round 2 last year. In their return bout – Picken was targeted physically in order to get Harvey some space and Picken was as a result less effective the second time around.
If selected straight back into the team, Picken will go with Harvey in the midfield. However, if Harvey spends extended periods down forward, I’d like to see how Harbrow goes against him – as this might give us an indication as to Harbrow’s truly defensive capabilities and whether he can be called on for big stopping roles on quick midfield-type players if needed in future. Eg.. G.Ablett Jnr.
Daniel Wells – The much maligned Daniel Wells has found some excellent form in the past few weeks and when high on confidence can be a dangerous player. Wells is predominantly an outside player who uses the ball very well and is also a kicking player’. This season – of his 168 possessions, the break down has been 116 kicks, 52 handballs – and he has kicked 10 goals in his past 5 games – so Wells is obviously someone we want to restrict the North midfielders getting the ball to outside. Dylan Addison seems a good fit for this match up. Wells is not overly pacy – so I think Dylan can go with him, and Dylan’s style is to tackle and harass which Wells isn’t noted as dealing too well with.
Brady Rawlings: Rawlings is in career best form at present. Mark Robinson of the Herald-Sun labelled him as being in All-Australian contention – which I think is a bit of a stretch – but four 30+ possession games out of 8 reflects he is playing the ‘quarterback’ type role very well. I think Rawlings will start on Aker this week and try and run off him and set up the North Melbourne attacking moves. Hopefully Aker can make him accountable by getting to dangerous spots early and finding a goal or two.
Western Bulldogs
Adam Cooney – As always, Coons will get attention in the midfield. With Rawlings playing off half back these days, it may well be Levi Greenwood who gets the tagging job – which is a big task for an inexperienced player. Coons can get the ball inside and out and is dealing with the tags better and better – getting hold of Jones of St.Kilda recently and Kirk on the weekend – two of the best in the business.
Barry Hall – Baz certainly got off the chain last week and made a mess of Sydney. The way North plays is a fairly open game at times, which suits us moving the ball in quickly to Hall. If Baz gets some good supply – then it’s hard to imagine him not having another good day. Scott Thompson is a very good full back and his strength is in the one on one contest. He is a real scrapper, very competitive and fierce – but will need some help from McMahon (who reads the play well and can work off his man to be third man up) and possibly Grima too – who is versatile for a big man and plays fairly deep.
Matthew Boyd – Boyd was awarded 3 votes in last seasons round 13 clash and is a key player at our stoppages. Back 2 weeks now from his broken hand – he should be 100% in terms of fitness and I expect him to go head to head with Andrew ‘spitter’ Swallow. Swallow is North’s best at the stoppages and a very genuine inside midfielder. The winner of this dual will have had a pretty significant say in the outcome of the game.
CRYSTAL BALL:
As I said earlier, North play a fairly open type of game under Brad Scott. They are a young side, particularly in the midfield with Ziebell, Cunnington, Bastinac and Greenwood – and whilst it is an impressive young group – the Bulldogs midfield is seasoned and strong. Cooney, Griffen, Boyd, Gia, Cross and Higgins should overwhelm the younger Roos as the game goes on and our superior ball use and body strength should prove too much for North.
In the Ruck – McIntosh and Goldstein are a good combination – both are mobile and athletic. Whereas Minson and Hudson are strong bullocking ruckman – and an underrated combination. I expect this to be a fairly even contest in the ruck – with Hudson’s recent good form maybe giving us a slight edge.
In terms of forwards and backs – North struggle to kick goals – and Lake, Morris and the ever-improving Williams are unlikely to get outpointed in the air. To score heavily North Melbourne will have to move the ball very very quickly and try to have multiple goal kickers with their smaller players Thomas, Gartlett and Harvey chiming in. Up forward for the Bulldogs, we still have yet to get an even contribution this season apart from the Richmond game. With Picken and Griffen returning – Akermanis, Higgins and Giansiracusa should be spending more time forward and will provide a serious challenge for North’s relatively tall backline that contains Thompson, Grima, Hansen and Pratt.
Verdict
The Bulldogs are a more balanced outfit, with far more talent, strength and experience across the board. This is not a game to drop. Bulldogs by 41 points.