WB Game Day V St. Kilda R2 2023 - Saturday 25 March 7:25PM, Marvel Stadium

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Originally Posted by Mantis

I left early (1/2 way through the last qtr) as I had a tired little boy to get home and it was shocking to see how many supporters/ members were leaving too… and all were in dismay to what they had witnessed.

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As an aside I can't help but laugh at the poor luck of a few bulldog supporters I spoke to on the way home.

They left at three quarter time to catch the early train home; which of course was cancelled and then they had to wait until the next one which was jam packed.

Kind of sums the night up.

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Originally Posted by bulldogsthru&thru

Could it be that our effort issues are hidden in training? I mean if the effort we see on game day is what is given in training, then our ball movement won't look bad either at training given a state side could take advantage of our woeful effort and pressure. Then suddenly we come up against a much harder opposition and we're out of our depth. That is honestly then different league stuff. Dunkley has already alluded to different standards at brisbane. Could we seriously be that off the mark?

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At elite sports, it does not take much to be off the mark, even 1% and your opponent is all over you. If there are multiple factors that are off standard , then its a gulf.

There are many things which are off at training with this team.

When Lyon joined the saints in his first stint he could not believe how poor their fitness level was compared to Sydney. They did not do leg strengthening exercise. He also did goal kicking under fatigue.

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Originally Posted by azabob

I have lost count how many times Bevo said the playing group are really close. Does not matter how many times you say it, it does not make it true.

I would love to see us galvanise on field for more than 15 minutes.

Club could not be further apart on field, off field, member base, supporter base and the social media trolls.

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Sadly true. Count the number of players who have initiated leaving, over the past few years. The better and better ones are going, all revealing hints of their reasons. Hope we can hang on to Bont. He wouldn't be the first captain to depart. I hear he is frustrated with the coaching.

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Originally Posted by SonofScray

I saw one little fella run the length of the field and kick a goal. Dominated! Good lad.

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My little bloke played in the game on the city side FP at the Bourke St end (in front of the low 40 rows). He was in the red team and made several attempts to run the length of the field.

He had a ball and saved me and his grandparents from having what was for the rest of the Bulldogs faithful, a truly shit night.

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Originally Posted by Mantis

My little bloke played in the game on the city side FP at the Bourke St end (in front of the low 40 rows). He was in the red team and made several attempts to run the length of the field.

He had a ball and saved me and his grandparents from having what was for the rest of the Bulldogs faithful, a truly shit night.

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Did you make him shave his head and specifically request he wear the no 10?

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Originally Posted by EasternWest

Did you make him shave his head and specifically request he wear the no 10?

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He won more contested possessions in 10min on that field than the Bald Eagle did in 10 years so he’s already in front with that. :cool:

I feel so sad, and shellshocked at how truly terrible we were, and absolutely out of ideas, as it appears the club is too, about how this cam be turned around.

I’d like to get some views on our on field leadership. Nobody could love Bont and Jackson more than me, but I’m increasingly concerned at how they go about it. I see anger, frustration, even petulance. In 2016 finals, even when there were bad errors, you would see M Boyd and Dale Morris going up to the guy concerned, patting him on the bum, reassuring them and getting them refocused. We see our leaders annoyed and niggled, walking away with hands on hips and visibly aggrieved, adding to the bad vibes.

I’m also increasingly of the view that if we can’t manufacture a game plan which plays to Naughton’s strengths, he may as well play back. Maybe the rebuild which seems to be approaching like a roaring freight train needs to start in defence, and he could be the guy central to it.

Naughton is always a marked man but we seem to put no thought into putting in a little innocuous block to give him a better chance of taking the mark. That's team football and it's down to the coaching staff to practise and refine those skills.

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Originally Posted by The bulldog tragician

I’m also increasingly of the view that if we can’t manufacture a game plan which plays to Naughton’s strengths, he may as well play back. Maybe the rebuild which seems to be approaching like a roaring freight train needs to start in defence, and he could be the guy central to it.

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I think once JUH and Darcy mature, and start holding marks and kicking goals, then Naughton may go back. That could be a few years away, but at the moment, we need blokes to kick goals. I think I counted about 5 marks that JUH just didn't hold, or bounced off his chest.

The trouble last night was Lyon clogged the game up (as he does), and we didn't work out a way to get around his defence and get the ball past half forward flank. As I said in another thread, the inside 50 count was pretty bad, and I would say the game last night was the worse game since BMacc days when we couldn't kick goals in a half.

I only watched the 1st half as I had other commitments, but a it was enough to tell me too things:

1) we are a lazy team. If you have 2 or 3 Saints swarming the ball carrier, that means that there should be 1 or 2 free players. Where are they?

2) when we lift our workrate we are a good team. For the last 5 mins of the 2nd quarter we played the game on our terms and got back within a kick. Sadlky it was the only 5 mins of the match we played.

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Originally Posted by FrediKanoute

I only watched the 1st half as I had other commitments, but a it was enough to tell me too things:

1) we are a lazy team. If you have 2 or 3 Saints swarming the ball carrier, that means that there should be 1 or 2 free players. Where are they?

2) when we lift our workrate we are a good team. For the last 5 mins of the 2nd quarter we played the game on our terms and got back within a kick. Sadlky it was the only 5 mins of the match we played.

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It's not complicated, is it?

Issues with game plan, personnel, Bevo's alarming new teeth and many others things seem to go away when we work hard!

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Originally Posted by The bulldog tragician

I feel so sad, and shellshocked at how truly terrible we were, and absolutely out of ideas, as it appears the club is too, about how this cam be turned around.

I’d like to get some views on our on field leadership. Nobody could love Bont and Jackson more than me, but I’m increasingly concerned at how they go about it. I see anger, frustration, even petulance. In 2016 finals, even when there were bad errors, you would see M Boyd and Dale Morris going up to the guy concerned, patting him on the bum, reassuring them and getting them refocused. We see our leaders annoyed and niggled, walking away with hands on hips and visibly aggrieved, adding to the bad vibes.

I’m also increasingly of the view that if we can’t manufacture a game plan which plays to Naughton’s strengths, he may as well play back. Maybe the rebuild which seems to be approaching like a roaring freight train needs to start in defence, and he could be the guy central to it.

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I'm equally perplexed, how did it happen ? The best I can come up with is that we are still playing 2016 style when the mode has moved on from possession to explosion.

Bolded bit. You don't miss much. I'll watch for that on Thursday evening.T

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Originally Posted by D Mitchell

I'm equally perplexed, how did it happen ? The best I can come up with is that we are still playing 2016 style when the mode has moved on from possession to explosion.

Bolded bit. You don't miss much. I'll watch for that on Thursday evening.T

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Players must get really dejected when they work their butt off and get the ball into the forward line, and the forwards miss easy goals.

AFLCA votes :

Western Bulldogs v St Kilda
6 - Rowan Marshall (STK)
6 - Jack Steele (STK)
5 - Mason Wood (STK)
4 - Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
4 - Jack Sinclair (STK)
2 - Mitch Owens (STK)
2 - Mattaes Phillipou (STK)
1 - Bradley Hill (STK)

Leaderboard
20 - Luke Davies-Uniacke (NMFC)
15 - Nick Daicos (COLL)
13 - Darcy Parish (ESS)
12 - Toby Greene (GWS)
12 - Luke Ryan (FRE)
11 - Nick Larkey (NMFC)
11 - Jake Lever (MELB)
11 - Callum Mills (SYD)
11 - Mason Redman (ESS)
10 - Jordan De Goey (COLL)
10 - Tim Kelly (WCE)
10 - Daniel Rioli (RICH)
10 - Chad Warner (SYD)
10 - Dayne Zorko (BL)
9 - Jeremy Cameron (GEEL)
9 - Charlie Curnow (CARL)
9 - Jason Horne-Francis (PORT)
9 - Kysaiah Pickett (MELB)
9 - Harry Sheezel (NMFC)
9 - Jack Sinclair (STK)

Might be some fuel there for the English effectiveness questioners with Marshall getting 6.

The breakdown of the votes is interesting.

Marshall maybe got 5 and 1?

Did Bevo give him 5!? Somebody smarter than me work it out.