What's behind the decline of the Western Bulldogs running game?

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Originally Posted by Grantysghost

Personally I think Bevo has a "type".

If you don't fit that there's possibly some unconscious bias at play. Or maybe it's concious!

I don't really know, McComb played a fair bit last year and he's nowhere near the player Lipinski is.

My views are known re Lippa you don't let young guys will his skill and upside go however it's beating a dead horse!

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Thats most likely a very accurate observation. I wonder if its easier for him to deal with players who give their all but arent real difference makers than it is to try and get close to the maximum out of more talented but less intense types.
I look at this list and wonder what he sees in some of them.

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Originally Posted by Grantysghost

Personally I think Bevo has a "type".

If you don't fit that there's possibly some unconscious bias at play. Or maybe it's concious!

I don't really know, McComb played a fair bit last year and he's nowhere near the player Lipinski is.

My views are known re Lippa you don't let young guys will his skill and upside go however it's beating a dead horse!

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Lippa was ok, he is a slow player in midfield and doesn't get enough of the ball, averaging 22 disposals last year.

I prefer him over McComb who has played 16 games, but six of those are as sub - therefore only 10 games. So the 20 game rule applies here before assessing him.

Yes beating a dead horse

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Originally Posted by bornadog

Lippa was ok, he is a slow player in midfield and doesn't get enough of the ball, averaging 22 disposals last year.

I prefer him over McComb who has played 16 games, but six of those are as sub - therefore only 10 games. So the 20 game rule applies here before assessing him.

Yes beating a dead horse

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I dont think anyone would argue that McComb is better than Lipinski. But with Lipinski the problem is that he wants to be a possession winning inside mid and we already have Bont, Macrae, Liber, Treloar, Dunks (well, we HAD him at the time) etc so there just wasn't room whereas I suspect McComb is kind of up for whatever...

In all areas of life, foot soldiers need to know they are foot soldiers otherwise the discontent within the team rises...

Was Lippa right to 'want' more? Of course. Was he better than those other guys? Nope. So...what's the club supposed to do? I'm pretty sure they made a contract offer....

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Originally Posted by mjp

I dont think anyone would argue that McComb is better than Lipinski. But with Lipinski the problem is that he wants to be a possession winning inside mid and we already have Bont, Macrae, Liber, Treloar, Dunks (well, we HAD him at the time) etc so there just wasn't room whereas I suspect McComb is kind of up for whatever...

In all areas of life, foot soldiers need to know they are foot soldiers otherwise the discontent within the team rises...

Was Lippa right to 'want' more? Of course. Was he better than those other guys? Nope. So...what's the club supposed to do? I'm pretty sure they made a contract offer....

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So why draft him?

I mean if we aren't going to develop him and engage him in a way that makes him want to stay then what's the point.

Of course he wasn't better than any of those players, he's also much younger so the management there is to keep him on board with the roadmap so he's still here when we need him.

The same old arguments being pushed out just don't stack up to me and obfuscate the reality.

He's a good player that's now playing good footy for a premiership contender (was before injury).

I think it's poor management and so far I haven't seen an argument that explains the net loss.

I mean Macrae is 28, Dunks was wanting out for ages.... Bah !

I get he's no superstar, when I look at our list profile for midfielders I feel like we haven't really planned this too well.

Bont is 27
Macrae 28
Libba 30
Treloar 30
McComb 27 (I don't really count as a mid)
McLean 27 (again see McComb)

West and Garcia are 22 - outside of that the cupboard is bare.

Chuck in Lippa at 24 and it looks a bit more sensible.

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Originally Posted by Grantysghost

So why draft him?

I mean if we aren't going to develop him and engage him in a way that makes him want to stay then what's the point.

Of course he wasn't better than any of those players, he's also much younger so the management there is to keep him on board with the roadmap so he's still here when we need him.

The same old arguments being pushed out just don't stack up to me and obfuscate the reality.

He's a good player that's now playing good footy for a premiership contender (was before injury).

I think it's poor management and so far I haven't seen an argument that explains the net loss.

I mean Macrae is 28, Dunks was wanting out for ages.... Bah !

I get he's no superstar, when I look at our list profile for midfielders I feel like we haven't really planned this too well.

Bont is 27
Macrae 28
Libba 30
Treloar 30
McComb 27 (I don't really count as a mid)
McLean 27 (again see McComb)

West and Garcia are 22 - outside of that the cupboard is bare.

Chuck in Lippa at 24 and it looks a bit more sensible.

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You just supported MJPs argument. Lippa was primed to take over in the future, but he had different ideas. Can hardly say it is bad management. (was offered a contract ).

No one can blame him for wanting to be in the middle, but they can't all be mids.

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Originally Posted by bornadog

You just supported MJPs argument. Lippa was primed to take over in the future, but he had different ideas. Can hardly say it is bad management. (was offered a contract ).

No one can blame him for wanting to be in the middle, but they can't all be mids.

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#bringbacklippa

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Originally Posted by bornadog

You just supported MJPs argument. Lippa was primed to take over in the future, but he had different ideas. Can hardly say it is bad management. (was offered a contract ).

No one can blame him for wanting to be in the middle, but they can't all be mids.

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Would Lipinski have left at the end of 2021 if Dunkley was traded to Essendon in 2020 though?

This is all just sliding doors, but I think there's a case to be made that if we traded Dunkley in 2020, Lipinski plays a lot more midfield time in 2021, signs a new contract and is probably in our starting centre square at the moment.

Dunkley is playing for a rubbish Essendon instead of a flag contender, we bank a top 10 pick in a strong 2020 draft and we keep Lipinski.

It's all hypothetical but I think the planning could have been improved. Dunkley wants out - that's fine - we have a ready-made replacement in Lipinski that can be plugged straight in.

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Originally Posted by lemmon

Would Lipinski have left at the end of 2021 if Dunkley was traded to Essendon in 2020 though?

This is all just sliding doors, but I think there's a case to be made that if we traded Dunkley in 2020, Lipinski plays a lot more midfield time in 2021, signs a new contract and is probably in our starting centre square at the moment.

Dunkley is playing for a rubbish Essendon instead of a flag contender, we bank a top 10 pick in a strong 2020 draft and we keep Lipinski.

It's all hypothetical but I think the planning could have been improved. Dunkley wants out - that's fine - we have a ready-made replacement in Lipinski that can be plugged straight in.

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In hindsight, yes that would have worked, but we 1), put a high price on Dunkley's departure and 2), We sent a message to players that if you have a contract you stick to it.

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Originally Posted by Grantysghost

Bont is 27
Macrae 28
Libba 30
Treloar 30
McComb 27 (I don't really count as a mid)
McLean 27 (again see McComb)

West and Garcia are 22 - outside of that the cupboard is bare.

Chuck in Lippa at 24 and it looks a bit more sensible.

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Bailey Smith says hi.

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Originally Posted by SquirrelGrip

Bailey Smith says hi.

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Crikey.

I had him in there as I looked up his age.

Yes him too.