https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/m...IwMTA1ODU0MAS2
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https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/m...IwMTA1ODU0MAS2
There was a share button on the video so I guess it can go to non members too.
Fairly reserved from Bevo. Doesn't seem particularly convinced by the 2 ruck setup and even suggested Hawks cut us open because of it.
Also seems like it'll be a while until we see Marra at the top level, with Bevo saying the kid's fitness levels are far from where they need to be.
He did mention Anthony Scott as a player who may put pressure on spots in the midfield, so there's that to get excited about!
Did I watch the same game?
Martin in the ruck, and English as a dominant forward, was the best part, in the first half it blew the Hawks away.
Then the rest of the game plan blew up as it often did in recent years. The running slowed them down in the second half. Then the handball emphasis was disastrous - I’m sure I saw a chain of 7 lead to a turnover and goal.
Why did Dale spend so much time in defence when he had a couple of goals earlier? The goal supply dried up.
And why was an undermanned Hawks forward line able to take so many marks and have set shots? Sorry, I forgot that we don’t believe in tall key position defenders. But we got another midfielder?
He actually said the ruck situation had been disconcerting from a coaching point of view. Essentially had to plan for being beaten.
English/ Martin - Ruck/ Forward
- Steph hopefully gives us peace of mind in there
- Hopefully takes pressure off Tim, frees his game/ mind up a little bit
- Whether we can sustain Martin, English, Bruce, Naughton and even Schache, there's more than one phase, we got opened up through some of those positions
- Time will tell what we can sustain, but he's a threat forward
I think from that he's not convinced by the overall talls set up, not just the ruck set up.
Bevo on SEN this morning. Listen here
Begs the question why Beveridge didn't push for a pressure, small and lively forward given this isn't anything new.
Bedendo looks talented, McNeil impressed .... but we have no small forwards of quality.
Teams need forwards who provide good defensive pressure. In our premiership finals run, we had Clay, Picko and I think Tory was probably the underrated in how good his defensive pressure was at his best. Zaine also was a big part of this at the time.
What do we have now? Naughton provides the best defensive pressure, Wally too (although without speed), maybe Laith. Jamarra looks like he will be elite at that in time too.
Does Vandermeer fit into the small forward category? I think the club has high hopes for Garcia who fits the mould so hopefully he has an injury free run..
Agree we are outliers in this area as pretty much all other good teams have multiple players who fit the atypical small forward position.
For me the greatest disappointment from that game was the foot skills, particularly going into the forward line. On many occasions it took a special effort from the forwards to get the ball.
This was also evident in general play, with 20m passes missing the target. As the game went on players started kicking backwards, almost into the opposition goal square, and handballing when a kick was a better option.
In the finals run in 2016 the emphasis was on kicking allowing fast movement and forwards to take marks. I was hoping to see a return to that.
Reading between the lines we are trying to turn Laith into that out of necessity, because we simply have no other quality options. I love what he brings, but surely his best asset is working up the ground and using his pace to break the lines and cut through defensive set-ups. He doesn't strike me as a natural crumbing, pressure forward who kicks goals...
Garcia seems a long shot based on his injury history, but hopefully he can have a smoother run at it.
It's odd why we've neglected certain positions (small forward / ruck / KPD) for a period of time. Not surprisingly, they are large reasons why it's hard to see us challenge the best teams - though Martin should help the ruck situation.