Welcome to the Western Bulldogs Josh Dunkley

[KT31]

Seems that he has a lot of attributes that will add to our team. As for his kicking, it's not appalling but clearly needs some work. We managed to dramatically improve the kicking of Clay Smith and Michael Talia in their time at the club abd they were starting further back than Dunkley. I'm optimistic....although it would be nice if he had an extra yard of pace.

Would be great but realistically if that was the case Sydney would not have baulked or he wouldn't have lasted until our pick.

[stefoid]

Serious question, but does playing zone defence expose guys your own guys who cant kick when you win the ball back?

[Happy Days]

Serious question, but does playing zone defence expose guys your own guys who cant kick when you win the ball back?

Not really. Generally the guys who can't kick will make safe, short decisions to get the ball to guys who can. Talia from the Crows is a good example of this.

[Mofra]

Not really. Generally the guys who can't kick will make safe, short decisions to get the ball to guys who can. Talia from the Crows is a good example of this.

Dale Morris kicks very safe when he has it, knows his limitations

[LostDoggy]

Matty Boyd has been a much safer kick since being re-juvenated off half back.

[bornadog]

Matty Boyd has been a much safer kick since being re-juvenated off half back.

Seems to have more time to deliver the ball.

[LostDoggy]

Seems to have more time to deliver the ball.

Agreed BAD.
It's amazing how being taken out of the chaotic midfield crush,what a very precious few extra seconds to make and take the smart option has made to his game.
Reckon if he had have stayed in the midfield last year he might have called time.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Dunkley with Libba and Kobe back will mean Bontempelli will not need to do as much grunt work. Less chance of Bont tiring himself out in packs. Dunkley seems like a bigger bodied Mitch Wallis.

[bornadog]

Number 20

Josh Dunkley was on the couch at home in Yarram, a small town in the southeast of Gippsland surrounded by family when the news filtered through that he was officially a Bulldog.


“It was pretty special”, the 18 year old said of the moment his name was called out.


Dunkley is the son of former Sydney full-back Andrew, and when the Swans elected not to match the Bulldogs bid, the powerful midfielder was on his way to Whitten Oval, and needless to say, Mum and Dad are pretty happy their boy was staying close to home.


“If it had of worked out that I was going to Sydney then so be it, but I’m on an AFL list and I’m in Victoria and close to home.


“They couldn’t be happier.”


Dunkley will wear number 20 for season 2016, his locker nestled in between 2014 number 2 pick, Lukas Webb, and Sutton Medallist Tom Liberatore.


The scouting reports on the Gippsland Power product talk about competiveness, his leadership, his ability to win his own ball, and at 189cm and 85kg, Dunkley has horsepower to burn.


In consideration for the 11th pick overall before it was traded out in return for Carlton’s pick 20 and 21, the Bulldogs were thrilled to see him still available at the Bulldogs first selection.


It’s been a surreal week for Josh and his fellow draftees, walking into an AFL club for the first time and meeting the likes of Murphy, Boyd, Morris and Picken, but he said getting his Guernsey number has made it all feel a bit more real.


“Yeah it does (feel real), you always look up to these guys that you’re training with now and you’re finally here, and being friends with them and talking to them, so it’s a massive eye opener.


“It’s pretty amazing to be here.”

[hujsh]

It sure is surprising to see us mention that both our picks were in contention at pick 11

[GVGjr]

I've been very impressed with the way Dunkley handles himself in front of the media and he has obviously fitted in well with the team and is training well.

I'm interested in hearing peoples views on where he will likely play in the seniors and what skills and qualities he has for us to have rated him so highly before the draft?

We also put in a bid for Ben Keays before the Dunkley selection. If we had been successful with our bid for Keays do you think we would have taken Collins or Dunkley with the next pick?

[bulldogtragic]

I've been very impressed with the way Dunkley handles himself in front of the media and he has obviously fitted in well with the team and is training well.

I'm interested in hearing peoples views on where he will likely play in the seniors and what skills and qualities he has for us to have rated him so highly before the draft?

We also put in a bid for Ben Keays before the Dunkley selection. If we had been successful with our bid for Keays do you think we would have taken Collins or Dunkley with the next pick?

Bevo said at a function last year we were taking Collins no matter what. The entire table at the draft was stoked he made it us. On that I'd say Collins.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Bevo said at a function last year we were taking Collins no matter what. The entire table at the draft was stoked he made it us. On that I'd say Collins.

It's a bit strange that we bidded on Keays and took Dunkley before selecting Collins if this is the case.

In response to GVG, I think we clearly need another inside mid (how quickly times change) given Clay is unlikely to ever feature prominently, Libba did a knee/no guarantee to return given re-occurrences of ACLs and Koby's foot. Jong is still very much unproven despite a good improvement curve. We were pretty slim in this area last year at times and whilst at 'full strength' we look fine, reality is you're never at full strength. A lot of inside mids do get injured throughout the year too, so more depth is probably needed. At a pick close to 30, we probably saw Dunkley as a - fitting a need and b - best available.

You would think he will shift between a half forward flank and midfield. How much exposure he gets to AFL is hard to gauge. Our list looks pretty strong and he's obviously starting from behind, but typically each year a first year player surprises and he could be that player.

[boydogs]

It's a bit strange that we bidded on Keays and took Dunkley before selecting Collins if this is the case.

You want Brisbane & Sydney to pay as high a price as possible if they match you

[bulldogtragic]

It's a bit strange that we bidded on Keays and took Dunkley before selecting Collins if this is the case.

In response to GVG, I think we clearly need another inside mid (how quickly times change) given Clay is unlikely to ever feature prominently, Libba did a knee/no guarantee to return given re-occurrences of ACLs and Koby's foot. Jong is still very much unproven despite a good improvement curve. We were pretty slim in this area last year at times and whilst at 'full strength' we look fine, reality is you're never at full strength. A lot of inside mids do get injured throughout the year too, so more depth is probably needed. At a pick close to 30, we probably saw Dunkley as a - fitting a need and b - best available.

You would think he will shift between a half forward flank and midfield. How much exposure he gets to AFL is hard to gauge. Our list looks pretty strong and he's obviously starting from behind, but typically each year a first year player surprises and he could be that player.

I've heard it elsewhere that the table was thinking Collins was gone when Hawthorn slowly called Kieran... And couldn't believe he was I play at Hawthorns pick let alone ours. It's not that strange really when you consider that we had the next pick and knew we were going to use that on Collins irrespective of the bids or non-bids on the first pick. It was just strategy that he was taken second. Both boys names were thrown around when we had pick 11. It was a ballsy move to trade down to a consecutive pick, but we won the lottery with the move. I'd love to see Dunkley work towards the engine room, but now I'd look at development and where he would benefit most playing. With Stew out and Stringer allegedly playing more midfield, perhaps forward with some mid time would be the go.