Welcome to the Western Bulldogs: Matt Suckling

[Twodogs]

Matt Suckling 5 time premiership player, wow. That puts him in with some pretty prestigious company! They'll put a statue of him at the G. I like it.

It should be him tackling Jack Darling to the ground. I know it happened ar Subi but it was pretty. funn,

[kruder]

Yep, both were him stuffing up. But, as a footy club we can't afford to hang people for missing a long mongrel forward when it goes inside accidentally, when the instruction to bail out with is long mongrel.

Also, Hill had the clear position and clean ball in and Suckling was either going to infringe or do what he did. Not everyone's Dale Morris, Josh Hill's a smart player and not an effort player which is why he gets a game.

The rest of Suckling's game was quite good. You don't hang a bloke for two questionable efforts in a 47 point win, especially when that person actually contributed in other ways.

He allowed JJ to finally get up the field and do some damage while his deep kicking from kick outs is a plus also. Thought his game was solid.

[Mofra]

Matt Suckling 5 time premiership player, wow. That puts him in with some pretty prestigious company! They'll put a statue of him at the G. I like it.

Just 5?
Can't see him retiring at the end of the year

[bulldogtragic]

I bet he feels he made the right call to jump off Hawthorn and into the Bulldog dream. He should take up stock trading when he retires!

[EasternWest]

I bet he feels he made the right call to jump off Hawthorn and into the Bulldog dream. He should take up stock trading when he retires!

Played pretty well last night I thought. Kept it simple and made good decisions with his kicking. Didn't look comfortable under the high ball but didn't shirk either.

[bulldogtragic]

Played pretty well last night I thought. Kept it simple and made good decisions with his kicking. Didn't look comfortable under the high ball but didn't shirk either.

I've been happy with his last two weeks. He has limitations and is probably still carrying a hit of that Achilles, but he's playing his role and taking his moments when called upon. Hopefully with another 8 day break he can keep getting healthier, and with a narrower and longer ground he could be really important this week.

[S Coast Simon]

I realised last night that it's not all suckling' fault as the boys haven't worked out the angles that he kicks. The amount of times everyone started running to the left as he wound up then he kicked it around the corner and they all had to switch direction back to the right. The quickest to respond got the mark. Once they all understand his kicking style he will be an even bigger weapon.

[Sedat]

I bet he feels he made the right call to jump off Hawthorn and into the Bulldog dream. He should take up stock trading when he retires!

The new Martin Pike.

Have liked his 2 finals performances - he's never been a robust one-on-one defender but he always supports his fellow defenders and reads the play well down back. Knows and understands defensive systems like the back of his hand.

[bornadog]

Very cool and calming last night, great game from Suckers.

[angelopetraglia]

Yes. Thought Suckling really handled the pressure well last night. There were some important moments where he had to really stand up and he delivered. Mostly made the right decision with ball in hand too.

[LostDoggy]

Must have been pretty enjoyable for MS last night. Would have been feeling pretty comfortable with the way things have panned out.

[jeemak]

The new Martin Pike.

Have liked his 2 finals performances - he's never been a robust one-on-one defender but he always supports his fellow defenders and reads the play well down back. Knows and understands defensive systems like the back of his hand.

What he excels at is being in the face of a team mate who is under pressure and asking for the footy to take on the pressure himself. It's not something most defenders nominate themselves for.

His run with the ball and late release to Hunter who found Clay for his first was a thing of beauty. Took on the pressure himself to ensure his team mate had clean air.

[comrade]

What he excels at is being in the face of a team mate who is under pressure and asking for the footy to take on the pressure himself. It's not something most defenders nominate themselves for.

His run with the ball and late release to Hunter who found Clay for his first was a thing of beauty. Took on the pressure himself to ensure his team mate had clean air.

I thought for sure he'd screwed himself but somehow got the handball away at the last possible second which released Hunter. Was a great moment for Suckers.

[Ozza]

Had a good game the Pig.

I thought his defensive positioning was top notch - so often he was there to mop up, or in the perfect position to mark the quick/scrambled kick.

He and Biggs always look like they are going to get caught - but rarely do. Both have some audacious moments.

[Raw Toast]

Suckling is getting a bit of heat at the moment from some supporters, so I thought I'd defend him, at least a bit. As I've said before, we have an excess of half-back flankers (along with a shortage of good ruck options). I think this has been one of the factors in Beveridge (and the coaching team more generally) tinkering with the way we play the game. He wants to find roles for our best ball users - and those with the best vision - and Suckling is clearly in both categories.

After the finals last year (and perhaps also in conversations with coaches), it wasn't clear to me at least if Suckling had a position in our best 22. His kicking could be superb, but he was a liability in the contest, either with the ball in the air or on the ground, and his hand-passing generally seemed poor at best.

To his credit (and my surprise!), I think Suckling has greatly improved his contested ball work this season. He now has pretty decent hands, generally getting the ball of quickly to our advantage when needed, even when being tackled. He's also better at tackling, has halved quite a few crucial contests and kept the ball in to create some important stoppages. And he's not a liability with the ball in the air, and even took an impressive - and critically important - mark forward last week.

I know that he was pretty poor in the first half last week, but he was clearly important in our comeback, and had 9 contested possessions (the highest he has for us) to go with his 26 disposals, 2 goals and 3 tackles. Suckling wasn't as impressive against the Lions, but still had it 22 times, with two goal assists. Yes he should have kicked at least one goal, but he still had a positive impact.

I like his versatility, and especially the vision that complements his skills. But what I like most about him this year, is that we're not at a disadvantage when he's involved in a contest. In other words, we continue to benefit from his skills while being hurt far less by his weaknesses. His spot in the side might still not be secure due to the structure of our list and pressure from the likes of Williams and Daniel, but I think his positives significantly outweigh the negatives at the moment.