Lyon outlines how beveridge can turn the bulldogs around

[bornadog]

Boyd's played the past two VFL practice matches and was the emergency for the two JLT matches for no particular reason. Schache played two JLT games and the first VFL practice match. Each time they both played substantial ruck minutes including interchanging off the bench to play ruck.

If you don't count JLT then how could we possibly have played Bont, Macrae, and Libba in round one given none of them had played a game this year, because I'm not counting JLT?

You said we are playing them substantial minutes in the ruck - but that is at VFL/JLT not in the AFL.

Anyway, no point in discussing. We just need to get these blokes on the park and pick our best players.

[Ghost Dog]

Impossible to miss it really ... "We're gonna look at the Dogs too Roosy, don't worry about that, we're not lettin' them off the hook" he belches while mentally rubbing his hands together.

The loathsome knob dines out on soft targets with his harder-than-thou schtick that relies solely and purely on potting anyone deemed soft or struggling, as if calling out the bleeding obvious is some kind of fearless truth bomb, and does it all with the snarl of someone who postures like a coach but never had the plums for it.

And don't get me started on spelling Garry with two Rs either. Twat.

Can not COP the prick.

If the club's struggling to motivate the players they should make them watch a tape of his bile just prior to every game.

I think most Bulldogs fans are secure enough in themselves to weather this storm. Barrett, Lyon, more to be pitied than despised, in the words of Paul Keating. Watch their careers peter out ( anyone remember Hutchy? ) with hardly a whimper. But back to us, I don't want these years to pass with Bont, JJ, Luke D, and other excellent players toiling along while we fester at the bottom. We have to get back to a basic brand of footy.

[MrMahatma]

And look, I don't think Tom Boyd is much of a player - but one thing he does do when playing as a forward, is that he at least draws a crowd and rarely does that result in the opposition defender marking the ball. Its a old adage - but he will 'straighten us up' and gives us the long target, and Redpath and others should give us the leading target. Hopefully down the track a bit, Schache pushes himself ahead of Red, but I won't be holding my breath just yet.

Boyd has a tonne of talent. We're ruining him. How many years have Patton, Lynch, Hawkins, Daniher been camped in their F50 and allowed to develop before they have become any good? Boyd is a bonifide victim of the versatility mantra.

[Rocket Science]

Boyd has a tonne of talent. We're ruining him. How many years have Patton, Lynch, Hawkins, Daniher been camped in their F50 and allowed to develop before they have become any good? Boyd is a bonifide victim of the versatility mantra.

This conversation makes me think, pretty enviously, of a bloke like Ben Brown and how useful someone playing that role might be to us, if only we'd give the kooky experiment a reasonable chance of succeeding.

Even if Boyd turns out to be shit at it then at least we'd know. But sure, keep smashing him in the ruck or playing him with plumbers in the twos, I'm sure we'll figure something else out *looks at league's worst scoring record* ...

[Ghost Dog]

This conversation makes me think, pretty enviously, of a bloke like Ben Brown and how useful someone playing that role might be to us, if only we'd give the kooky experiment a reasonable chance of succeeding.

Even if Boyd turns out to be shit at it then at least we'd know. But sure, keep smashing him in the ruck or playing him with plumbers in the twos, I'm sure we'll figure something else out *looks at league's worst scoring record* ...

Bit wary of creating scape goats at this current point. That's what people like Gary Lyon do.
Obviously Tom will cop it a bit, but that's tall poppy stuff and I think Mr Lyon should be careful about throwing stones in glass houses. He might wish to consider his own recent mental fragility.

[Sedat]

Who cares about tackles, I am worried about the contested possessions. We are getting smashed in this area.

In 2016, we were way down in tackles because we always had the ball. We must address the cont.poss quickly.

You should care about our low tackle count, because when you're getting flogged on the scoreboard it speaks wholly and solely to an unacceptable all-ground defensive workrate to try and win the ball back.

[Mantis]

You should care about our low tackle count, because when you're getting flogged on the scoreboard it speaks wholly and solely to an unacceptable all-ground defensive workrate to try and win the ball back.

But in a game like the WC one where we gifted the ball back to them with quite horrible turn-overs we were quite often caught out of position due to players taking up an attacking position and when the turnover occured they walked in a goal.

No doubt our intent to defend isn't where it needs to be, but if we can't look after the ball we are pushing shit up hill.

[Mofra]

Boyd has a tonne of talent. We're ruining him. How many years have Patton, Lynch, Hawkins, Daniher been camped in their F50 and allowed to develop before they have become any good? Boyd is a bonifide victim of the versatility mantra.

Watch Hipwood at Brisbane - getting his chance week in, week out. He will be a future star and is getting the gametime in now to develop.

[Sedat]

But in a game like the WC one where we gifted the ball back to them with quite horrible turn-overs we were quite often caught out of position due to players taking up an attacking position and when the turnover occured they walked in a goal.

No doubt our intent to defend isn't where it needs to be, but if we can't look after the ball we are pushing shit up hill.

Yep, turnovers are killing us. But our mids especially aren't working anywhere near hard enough defensively compared to their opposition counterparts - the workrate differential was stark in R1 against GWS and I only saw the 1st half on Sunday which was a similar level. Perhaps we worked harder in the 2nd half against West Coke but butchered the ball?

The missed tackle count would be very interesting, because it seems like the opposition have brushed us aside far too easily with ball in hand. That simply didn't happen in 2015/16.

[Axe Man]

Some of the stats are pretty damning.

Stats files: Dogs' sustainability well runs dry

"SUSTAINABILITY would be great."

That now fateful Luke Beveridge wish in the wake of the Western Bulldogs' flag fairytale two years ago has dissolved as fast as a Berocca.

Those Dogs were the first to storm from seventh place to the premiership, but that glorious September run – and the statistical spikes that came with it – hasn't proven sustainable at all.

Beveridge's squad morphed into an offensive juggernaut in that post-season, owing in part to sudden success from intercepts, and cranked its pressure to maximum.

They were middle of the road in both categories until then and have subsequently plummeted with a team even the coach says is unrecognisable to his flag heroes.

The strengths at the Kennel even before those finals – namely in contested possession, an ability to retain the ball in their forward half, and a stingy defence – have eroded at the same time.



The sustainability, or lack thereof, theme extends to personnel.

Only half of the 2016 premiership-winning team turned out for Sunday's 51-point loss at Etihad Stadium to a West Coast side widely expected to go into freefall.

Jake Stringer (Essendon) and Joel Hamling (Fremantle) are elsewhere, Matthew Boyd is in the ABC commentary box, and four others, including 2013 No.1 draft pick Tom Boyd, are stuck in the VFL.

Almost every player had a turn in Beveridge's doghouse last season, a strategy that had served him well in the premiership year.

The rest of the crew are injured: Liam Picken (concussion) and knee victims Dale Morris, Tom Liberatore and Clay Smith. Only Smith will be back soon.

Bob Murphy, who famously missed out on playing in the Grand Final because of a serious knee injury, is also in retirement.

Beveridge oversaw the youngest team in the competition in both of the opening two rounds this season, and they copped successive hidings that planted them firmly in the AFL cellar.

The difference between the missing 11 and their replacements is a whopping 829 matches.

Among the newcomers are Tim English (four career games), Aaron Naughton and Billy Gowers (two each), and Ed Richards (one).

After blowing out 62 years' worth of cobwebs in their extraordinary title run, the Dogs could become the first club in VFL/AFL history to go from champs to chumps in two years.

That is a realistic proposition if some of the stars of yesteryear continue to fail to replicate their 2016 feats.

Champion Data's player ratings reveal that only six of the Bulldogs' top 15 contributors from that season played on Sunday, and just one more (Liberatore) was in the round one team.

Mitch Wallis is languishing in state league ranks, unable to force his way in as of yet.

Just as problematic is the dramatic individual decline, from even superstar Marcus Bontempelli down to Liberatore and Picken.



Beveridge has time to arrest the slide and may be able to draw inspiration from his old club Hawthorn, the last side before the Dogs to miss finals the season after winning the flag.

The Hawks tumbled in 2009 then started the following season 1-6 before rallying to make the eight.

The issue for Beveridge is the numbers that matter are going in the wrong direction.

[bornadog]

Yep, turnovers are killing us. But our mids especially aren't working anywhere near hard enough defensively compared to their opposition counterparts - the workrate differential was stark in R1 against GWS and I only saw the 1st half on Sunday which was a similar level. Perhaps we worked harder in the 2nd half against West Coke but butchered the ball?

The missed tackle count would be very interesting, because it seems like the opposition have brushed us aside far too easily with ball in hand. That simply didn't happen in 2015/16.

In the second half, we lost by 12 points with 16 scoring shots to 13. Lot's of missed goals. We did work harder, and that was down to Macrae, Mclean and Hunter working their butts off. The turnovers in that 2nd quarter killed the game.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

In the second half, we lost by 12 points with 16 scoring shots to 13. Lot's of missed goals. We did work harder, and that was down to Macrae, Mclean and Hunter working their butts off. The turnovers in that 2nd quarter killed the game.

It certainly appeared that we were working harder. But perhaps the sting was out of the game and west coast eased off a bit.

[Mantis]

It certainly appeared that we were working harder. But perhaps the sting was out of the game and west coast eased off a bit.

Do they have that luxury? In all seriousness they are just a middle of the road team, even less so on the road and with no Kennedy.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Do they have that luxury? In all seriousness they are just a middle of the road team, even less so on the road and with no Kennedy.

I've no idea if they did or didn't but when you're 50+pts up i think naturally the team as a whole won't play as intense. It's not as though we made inroads on the deficit anyway