Most Important Player in 2008

[Go_Dogs]

The main thing that holds Cooney back is fumbling below his knees. He rarely picks up the ground ball first time. His kicking needs a bit of work aswell, but so does Chris Judd, who i think is the most over rated field kick in the comp

I'm going to have to disagree here. Cooney is pretty clean for mine below the knees, and can swoop at pace through a pack and collect it. His best asset at the moment in the middle besides his speed is his ability in close and low, imo.

[Bulldog Revolution]

BR, I'm with jerry here. To me, we have really struggled in the ruck since Darce went down.

Lose the ruck & it's like fighting with one hand tied behind your back. You are at a decided disadvantage from the word go, perhaps even beforehand when all the planning is done.

What I like most about Hudson is the way he scraps & fights for possession after the initial contest. If he can counter the dominance of some of the giants going around & give our mids a decent crack at take aways, it will improve us significantly.

I thought our ruckwork was ok in 2006 but our clearance work was rubbish, I thought our clearance work improved a little in 2007, although not enough, and our ruckword was largely rubbish.

This is quite a change in thinking to the approach our coaching staff have seemingly viewed the position with over the past 3 years, given that we haven't drafted any developing ruckman to bolster the position.

The main thing that holds Cooney back is fumbling below his knees. He rarely picks up the ground ball first time. His kicking needs a bit of work aswell, but so does Chris Judd, who i think is the most over rated field kick in the comp

Judd isn't a classic kick, but he disguises it so well by kicking so many incredible goals, that are almost complete solo efforts, bursting out of a packs etc

[LostDoggy]

I'm going to have to disagree here. Cooney is pretty clean for mine below the knees, and can swoop at pace through a pack and collect it. His best asset at the moment in the middle besides his speed is his ability in close and low, imo.

Fair enough Griffen#16 thats your opinion, but he normally paddles the ball along before he picks it up. A habit he has developed because he fumbles. Keep an eye on him next time you watch him play

[Mantis]

I'm going to have to disagree here. Cooney is pretty clean for mine below the knees, and can swoop at pace through a pack and collect it. His best asset at the moment in the middle besides his speed is his ability in close and low, imo.

Yeah I agree I think Cooney is pretty clean with his hands. When he does fumble he keeps the ball in front of him allowing him to still be in the play.

[LostDoggy]

Someone on the verge, who got a game in 2007 but did not really have a huge impact.

I'm talking the likes of Tiller, Doogs, Harbrow or Addison.

If one of them could be in our best week in week out, it will make a huge difference.

[wb_age]

Even though our backline has taken giant strides with the solid contributions from Morris, Shaggy and the emergence of Williams, Everitt and co. But without Harris back there, we dont have anyone else who can really take oppositions number one/gorilla forwards.
IMO Harris is seriously underrated by many!

[Scorlibo]

If this were an award I think the nominees would be Johnno, Cooney, Harris, Hudson, Cross and Griffen.

If it was awarded to the player who's loss would be most debilitating to the team then I'd have to say Harris with Johnno a close second.

However, if it went to the player who's success most directly coincides with the success of the team then I'd give it to Cooney with Griffen a close second.

Brian this year not only held opposition full backs to low numbers, he repelled many opposition attacks with his great reading of the play and rebound run. Without him not only our defensive fifty's defensive qualities would be badly hurt, but also our signature attacking rebound.

Johnno is the captain and the loss of the captain is never a good thing. He also provided most of our goals this year, and even though Welsh is aiding Johnno in 2008, Johnno's loss is still a massive one.

Cooney is a matchwinner, but terribly inconsistent. When he has a good game it affects the team in a bigger way than any other player's performance can. If he starts producing great reults on a more regular basis, then the team will benefit greatly.

Griffen is also a matchwinner, and when he gets the ball his confidence with it seems to spread through the entire team. He takes the opposition on in a risky fashion which, if it pays off, can turn the momentum of a game to favour the doggies.

[LostDoggy]

I think our most important player next year will be Bob Murphy. He is, IMO our best, most valuable player creating on the forward flank and normally when he is firing so are we.

[Palace03]

I can't split the importance of Hudson and Johnson to our team. Johnno is good for 60 goals next year perhaps with the recruiting of Welsh it takes some pressure of him. Hudson will give us grunt and 1st crack at the footy alot of the time, Hudson's ruckwork will make Cooney a very dangerous player around the stoppages next season.

[Dancin' Douggy]

Cooney, an explosive player out of the centre when he is on song. Remember the last quarter against Brisbane in 2005, when we kicked nine goals, Cooney was sensational. Same as his game against Eseendon this year. He needs to be more consistent, shake off the tag, and improve his disposal accuracy.

I've watched that quarter many times. Cooney was brilliant. Clearance after clearance.
And who was palming the ball to him over and over again? Minson.

[bulldogsman]

I think a lot of people are forgetting Mitch Hahn here. He and Griffen can break games open and bring others into the game, they give the team extra confidence. We lost both of them for most of this year and I think this was a big reason why we sucked.

[Batman]

Brad Johnson continues to be vital but with Welsh in he becomes less essential than previous years (people take Johnno for granted because he is so consistent and never misses. He missed a game last year and it killed us.

And Brian Harris, who is replacing him if he goes down....??

Hudson will also be critical, particularly if Street and Minson have similar years to 07, but at least he has back up.

Harris has no one to replace him....irreplaceable, unlike one of Cross, Cooney, Griffen, West etc...

[hujsh]

I think Harris' ability to outmark key forwards is important to our team. He was the leading spoiler in the comp in 06 but now he is giving the small forwards less chance. It also means we can attack again quickly instead of working to clear the ball under pressure. Also defenders who get contested marks in the defensive 50 get more points in the Dream Team at Herald Sun which is the most important thing of all (thank you Brian Harris)

[LostDoggy]

Brad Johnson continues to be vital but with Welsh in he becomes less essential than previous years (people take Johnno for granted because he is so consistent and never misses. He missed a game last year and it killed us.

And Brian Harris, who is replacing him if he goes down....??

Hudson will also be critical, particularly if Street and Minson have similar years to 07, but at least he has back up.

Harris has no one to replace him....irreplaceable, unlike one of Cross, Cooney, Griffen, West etc...

I think if Harris were out for 4 or so weeks we could cope. He missed the first 2 games of last season when we played Geelong who have a very potent forwardline that included Chapman, Ablett x 2, Mooney, Ottens.

If he were to be out for the whole season though i would be very concerned but although he is a great asset to have we could..well not replace him but cover for him for the time being for that short period of time.

[wimberga]

Borgy, who could you see replacing Harris on the big full forwards? Morris?