Panos ready says top Dog

By Jennifer Witham

NEW WESTERN Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney will attempt to revamp the club's forward structure this off-season and captain Matthew Boyd believes elevated rookie Matthew Panos is ready to fill a role up front.

Panos, 20, was promoted to the senior list this week- along with Luke Dahlhaus - after two years as a rookie where he impressed his teammates with his prowess in front of goal.

McCartney said he would trial players in attack across the pre-season and predicted some potentially surprising changes to the forward set-up in the post-Barry Hall era.

"We'll have six players there every week and those players will learn to work together and they'll learn to function as a group and some will rely on their marking and some will get the ball on the ground and some will learn to do it both ways," McCartney said on Monday, after the Dogs' first session of the pre-season.

"You'll see some midfielders down there at times, you may even see one or two people who haven't spent a lot of time forward.

"The beauty of the pre-season is it will give us an opportunity to skill people up and say they fit the set-up rather than the set-up fitting them."

In Panos' first year with the Bulldogs, he kicked 21 goals in 10 games for Williamstown's seniors and 40 in 11 games in the reserves.

This season, he booted 29 goals across his 14 senior games for the Seagulls, and 10 in the seven he played for the reserves.

Boyd said there was no reason the former Norwood forward couldn't play a part in the new forward line in 2012 with another pre-season under his belt.

"I think with another pre-season he's going to be a lot fitter and stronger and all those things, and that will be good for him," Boyd told afl.com.au on Monday.

"I think he'll play next year, in my opinion, I think he's good enough to play so hopefully he plays early and can hold his form and stay in the team and have an impact for us.

"He can play forward or back, he sort of swung between the two in the VFL this year, he's got really good hands as a forward and comes out really strong at the footy."

Boyd said Panos had impressed the players with his accuracy in front of goal; so much in fact, he was rated as one of the best kicks at the club.

"He's an elite kick and rarely misses. We just love it when he's got the ball in his hands, you can notch it down for a goal," he said.

"He's a fantastic kick, a great guy, got a really good physique and he's reasonably quick; quick enough for the position he plays.

"He looks like he could be a good player for us."

When the Dogs hit the track on Monday, they did so with footballs for part of the session, which Boyd said was a break away from the tradition of the early phase of pre-season being focussed on the physical stuff.

He said the idea of bringing the entire group back on the same day had merit, even if it meant the 12 players who participated in the VFL Grand Final on September 25 had to come back earlier than planned.

"It's good everyone's back at the same time because in previous years the young guys have come back first and then the older blokes," he said.

"A lot of the older guys finished earlier than the guys who played in the VFL finals, and the VFL boys have made a big sacrifice to come back a few weeks early.

"Macca just wanted everyone to come back and have as much time as we possibly could before Christmas to learn the new game style and how we're going to play and train.

"Everyone was happy to do it, everyone's back and we've got a clean slate and we're excited."

McCartney said earlier he was pleased with the shape the players had presented themselves in, particularly the senior members of the list who led the first session from the front.

Boyd added his own endorsement of how his teammates fronted up and said the pre-season ahead already looked promising.

"We've got a few in the rehab group but they had their surgeries early and they'll probably be a couple of weeks and then start filtering back into the main group," he said.

"In terms of the fitness and how everyone's looking, I think it's going well."

Adam Cooney, Brian Lake, Ryan Hargrave, Shaun Higgins, Tom Williams, Dale Morris and Lindsay Gilbee were among those on limited duties on Monday but McCartney said all of them were progressing as expected.

Hopefully they don't talk up Panos too much, let him earn his stripes first.

After the heartbreak of watching Boumann have his Bulldogs career cut cruelly short by him being a dickhead, I've hung back from proclaiming my new favourite fringe player.

The day has come. Panos is my man.

Time to get down to Whitten Oval and get a signed training jersey nice and cheap before everyone jumps aboard.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by comrade

After the heartbreak of watching Boumann have his Bulldogs career cut cruelly short by him being a dickhead, I've hung back from proclaiming my new favourite fringe player.

The day has come. Panos is my man.

Time to get down to Whitten Oval and get a signed training jersey nice and cheap before everyone jumps aboard.

---

Good to hear Comrade. Welcome aboard, I've been a one man band wagon up until now, long live the Nos!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by comrade

After the heartbreak of watching Boumann have his Bulldogs career cut cruelly short by him being a dickhead, I've hung back from proclaiming my new favourite fringe player.

The day has come. Panos is my man.

Time to get down to Whitten Oval and get a signed training jersey nice and cheap before everyone jumps aboard.

---

I see Héctor von Puffington:D has changed the name of the Brennen Stack A Go-Go FB page to Matthew Panos A Go-Go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Greystache

Good to hear Comrade. Welcome aboard, I've been a one man band wagon up until now, long live the Nos!

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Not quite Greystache but I have been circumspect (bitten on the arse too many times) I really like his workrate and hoped he would come on. He really has earned the promotion by working his backside off now lets hope he continues on.;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by comrade

After the heartbreak of watching Boumann have his Bulldogs career cut cruelly short by him being a dickhead, I've hung back from proclaiming my new favourite fringe player.

The day has come. Panos is my man.

Time to get down to Whitten Oval and get a signed training jersey nice and cheap before everyone jumps aboard.

---

Now that is comedy gold.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EasternWest

Now that is comedy gold.

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It's funny cos it's true.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by comrade

After the heartbreak of watching Boumann have his Bulldogs career cut cruelly short by him being a dickhead, I've hung back from proclaiming my new favourite fringe player.

.

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Hey, hey didn't Boumann get picked up by the Dawks?? It's not all doom and gloom, now you can watch him be a complete dick for them;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SlimPickens

Hey, hey didn't Boumann get picked up by the Dawks?? It's not all doom and gloom, now you can watch him be a complete dick for them;)

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Especially when the next big rock concert is on :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cyberdoggie

Hopefully they don't talk up Panos too much, let him earn his stripes first.

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Or in our case "hoop's".:D