Tougher-looking Western Bulldogs show Fremantle they have what it takes

It was the modern game in all its glory: numbers at the contest, a willingness to take risks, slick handball, and lots of it, and precise foot skills.

Particularly the foot skills.

The Western Bulldogs in full flight play captivating football, and they were in full flight beating Fremantle 25.7 (157) to 13.16 (94) in Perth.

I'm not bold enough to say they are yet on the same plane as Geelong and Hawthorn, but they are just as exciting.

The Doggies were the most impressive winners of Round 1, winners by 63 points against a team desperate for a first-up win and playing at home.

They kicked 25.7, a testament to their direct approach to goal, and the depth and accuracy in their kicking.

It was a superb performance, particularly with one of their key players, Robert Murphy, sitting in the stand, a late withdrawal with his knee problem, and Adam Cooney underdone and used sparingly.

Freo kicked the first two goals, but Ryan Griffen kick-started the Doggies and inspired a six-goal first quarter and nine-point lead at quarter-time.

The Bulldogs kicked seven and eight goals with the wind and crushed the Dockers after leading by just 20 points early in the final term.

They were dominant in the midfield, polished in front of goal and brazenly adventurous in defence.

Brian Lake and his mates love to back themselves, be it in marking contests or when they win the ball at ground level.

It's one, two or three handballs out the back, then, when a player has the time and space to consider his choices, he goes long to an unattended teammate.

And away they go, surging forward in numbers.

It was an uplifting way to finish a round that was big on hype and light on delivery.

While Freo finished near the bottom last year, it is a formidable team at home and played brilliantly in patches.

The difference was the Bulldogs stuck to their task for longer and had the maturity to make smarter decisions with the ball.

They also tackled with more ferocity than we are used to seeing from the boys in red, white and blue.

This is an accomplished group.

Finally, the balance seems to be right between the blue-collar brigade and those who apply the finishing touches.

Dale Morris, Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd, Lindsay Gilbee and Daniel Giansiracusa are smart and make great decisions.

Griffen and Shaun Higgins add a dimension, while Josh Hill and Callan Ward also look a bit special . . . and Tom Williams got through the game.

Just about the perfect start.

Link

I thought the performance flattered us.

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Originally Posted by aker39

I thought the performance flattered us.

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Care to elaborate. I thought it was a jerry post there for a minute. ;)

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Originally Posted by The Coon Dog

Care to elaborate. I thought it was a jerry post there for a minute. ;)

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Have a look at who the author of the article is.

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Originally Posted by aker39

I thought the performance flattered us.

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How so?

I thought to pull together such a good team game in round 1 was very impressive and I thought our desire to win the 50-50 ball was outstanding.

I still can't beleive we weren't favourites - I hope a few of you tuned in to the $2.16 you could get on betfair just before the game. Crazy odds.

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Originally Posted by aker39

I thought the performance flattered us.

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Yes I did too. I wondered if Mike tuned in only to the last 20 minutes of the game.

We overran them in the last 2/3 of the last quarter but had they taken their chances early in the last period we might have had a different result. As it turned out they missed their chances and we took ours and they dropped away dramatically.

I thought that during the 3rd 1/4 and early in the last we were really tested and struggled to find answers to the questions raised.

Only time will tell if we really struggled or just needed time to get the show on the road. I'm delighted with the win but far from convinced that the extreme gushiness of Mike S is deserved.

We controlled the game through, Freo were never going to get closer then 3 goals.

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Originally Posted by alwaysadog

Yes I did too. I wondered if Mike tuned in only to the last 20 minutes of the game.

We overran them in the last 2/3 of the last quarter but had they taken their chances early in the last period we might have had a different result. As it turned out they missed their chances and we took ours and they dropped away dramatically.

I thought that during the 3rd 1/4 and early in the last we were really tested and struggled to find answers to the questions raised.

Only time will tell if we really struggled or just needed time to get the show on the road. I'm delighted with the win but far from convinced that the extreme gushiness of Mike S is deserved.

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The way I saw it, in the 3rd quarter Freo were kicking with the aid of a very very stiff breeze, and as for the remainder of the game, I thought that for the most part we played patient, composed football, made good decisions and punished Fremantle's bad decisions

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Originally Posted by alwaysadog

Yes I did too. I wondered if Mike tuned in only to the last 20 minutes of the game.

We overran them in the last 2/3 of the last quarter but had they taken their chances early in the last period we might have had a different result. As it turned out they missed their chances and we took ours and they dropped away dramatically.

I thought that during the 3rd 1/4 and early in the last we were really tested and struggled to find answers to the questions raised.

Only time will tell if we really struggled or just needed time to get the show on the road. I'm delighted with the win but far from convinced that the extreme gushiness of Mike S is deserved.

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I was actually taking the piss.

It was in reference to Mike's preview of our season in the Sun last week, he said that 3rd spot on the ladder last year flattered us.

No one thing impressed me our willingness at the contest was as good as I have seen fron our club.the ability to bring players into the game also impressed me but our finnishing was the absolute standout and there is still room for improvement with gametime to Williams and Cooney bring in Murph very happy boy here

Even Grant Thomas was giving us kudos last night on Footy Classified.