2018 Dogs bolters and sliders

[jeemak]

Bolter - Toby Mac. No surprises, I think after a really good preseason and more time in the middle he'll be known as an a-grade player in the competition.

Slider - I don't have one, aside from Morris due to age if anything. There's a whole bunch of guys like Wood, Dahl, Picken, Roughead, Wallis, Smith, Liberatore and Jong who may not get any better, and maybe may drop off a little bit, from last year given our low base I don't see a slide. Of course, this is all based on a decent preseason being involved for each player.

[Bulldog Joe]

I would say the pre-season is critical and we really want players turning up ready to go.

If we get players like Libba, Wallis, Clay Smith, Easton Wood etc starting in top shape we will be a very good side.

Many of these players were not in shape for 2017 due to post premiership issues or 2016 injury.

For me the bolter is Libba. Back to his best he is high class in the stoppages.

The slider is likely to come from the older brigade, with Picken and Morris the main candidates.

[Twodogs]

I would say the pre-season is critical and we really want players turning up ready to go.

If we get players like Libba, Wallis, Clay Smith, Easton Wood etc starting in top shape we will be a very good side.

Many of these players were not in shape for 2017 due to post premiership issues or 2016 injury.

For me the bolter is Libba. Back to his best he is high class in the stoppages.

The slider is likely to come from the older brigade, with Picken and Morris the main candidates.

Yep Libba is the key to our season. He is an elite player and he rallies the troops. He adds more than his share of esprit de cour of the group, it's no coincidence that when he struggles we struggle.

[Mofra]

Bolter - Tom Boyd. 2017 was virtually a write off but with ruck and forwardline tall support he can really make an impact. His best football has been as a forward / ruck with a tall forward (Zaine in the finals series) separating the tall defenders.

Slider - Mitch Wallis. Meets the quality person off-field in spades but with Dunkley back to health and Bailey Dale a huge improver and Clay not getting into the pies in the off season I don't know where he fits, especially if Tory Dickson has any sort of pre-season.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Bolter - Tom Boyd. 2018 will be his fifth year in the system which is when he should really start to make his mark. Been through some down periods (ie. 2017) but has shown some unbelievable ability too (ie. PF, GF 2016). He looks fitter and stronger already. Stringer is gone and Schache will be a better forward partner for him. All signs point to Tom having a strong year.

Honourable mentions: Dunkley and McLean I expect to rise quickly.

Slider - Liam Picken. I love the guy and his 2016 finals series will forever be immortalised. I also wouldn't be surprised if Liam makes an ass out of this suggestion, but I thought he really struggled in 2017. He's played a very combative game for a number of years and looked slower this year. Perhaps he (like all) needed a refresh.

Other mentions: Mitch Wallis, Clay Smith, Dale Morris, Jordan Roughead.

[soupman]

Bolter:
Honeychurch
He lacks polish but can find the ball, applies great pressure and can fill the crumbing forward role we lack personnel in. His last couple of games this year were promising, if he can finish his work he could easily be a 1-2 goal a game player. The fact we pushed players around and out (Smith, Cloke and Crameri) to conjure up a list spot to keep him says a lot I think, as does Beveridges keenness to keep playing him while everyone here wanted him dropped.

Lipinski/Greene are the next two I can see emerging quickly, again because we need someone in that small forward role.

Slider:
Lewis Young
Loved his first couple of games, but he really struggled after that. Showed that unopposed he can intercept mark beautifully, and I am very excited about his prospects. However, his later games showed that if you put body on him in a contest he struggles (I saw Shai Bolton, a small crumbing forward, outbody him easily in a marking contest in the VFL which kind of sums up the weakness) and teams keyed in very quickly that if he is playing you isolate him deep and reap the rewards. Not a slider in the true spirit of the term, but I think he will have much more VFL time than one might expect considering how exciting he was in his first couple of games.

I would've put Smith or Dickson in here, but I think they both slid this year so based on current formlines expectations aren't high.

[Cyberdoggie]

Good Thread this one:

Bolter: I can think of two or three but i'll go with Lin Jong, as people are writing him off already.
I still think he has got improvement in him and will have had a decent enough time to get a pre-season under him and fit for the year.

Slider: Mitch Wallis. Should be over his leg issues now and back to normal but I worry the lack of pace and variety in his game will be his downfall. Didn't like him as a forward either so it's midfield or bust and we just have more and better option in that area.

[Bulldog Joe]

Good Thread this one:

Bolter: I can think of two or three but i'll go with Lin Jong, as people are writing him off already.
I still think he has got improvement in him and will have had a decent enough time to get a pre-season under him and fit for the year.

Slider: Mitch Wallis. Should be over his leg issues now and back to normal but I worry the lack of pace and variety in his game will be his downfall. Didn't like him as a forward either so it's midfield or bust and we just have more and better option in that area.

I see a few who seem to believe that Wallis is past it.

For me, I can't see how he won't be a better player in 2018, based solely on getting a proper pre-season, combined with a determination to get the best from himself.

If Wallis doesn't make best 22 we will have an exceptional team.

[boydogs]

Wallis is a very smart player. He's a Matthew Boyd type that has limitations but always gets the most out of himself and finds a way to impact games

[bornadog]

Wallis is a very smart player. He's a Matthew Boyd type that has limitations but always gets the most out of himself and finds a way to impact games

Can he move to the backline like Boyd did?

[Jeanette54]

Something tells me our Bolter will be "The Bont". As good as he has been, I think we "ain't seen nothing yet".

The slider, Jake Stringer. Thereby sidestepping criticising one of our own.

[Mantis]

Can he move to the backline like Boyd did?

Very different players, with different skill sets.. I can't see it happening, but I've been surprised before.

[Twodogs]

Very different players, with different skill sets.. I can't see it happening, but I've been surprised before.

Yep. You would have gotten pretty good odds on Matty Boyd being a premiership winning AA half back within two years at the end of 2014.

[LostDoggy]

Bolter - Libba to show what a good preseason and refocussed goals can do for stamina and head space.

Slider - Adams. Recurring foot problems. I am unsure whether his muscular build adds to, or detracts from, what can be quite dicy foot injuries.

[boydogs]

Can he move to the backline like Boyd did?

Wallis' strengths are smarts and positioning. He knows how to setup a stoppage, and get on the end of a pass in the forward line. His weaknesses are pace and long kicking. That sounds like a mid/fwd to me, not a defender