We beat the Giants - Has anything "REALLY" changed?

[Mofra]

Whatever happened to the Positive Thread?

It's now called the Conor McKenna thread

[bornadog]

Good to see Tim is second in AFL intercept marks and 4th in Contested marks

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

It's now called the Conor McKenna thread

Gold

[hujsh]

Good to see Tim is second in AFL intercept marks and 4th in Contested marks

Are either of those worth as much as hitouts though?

Nah that's great to hear. Very encouraging.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Good to see Tim is second in AFL intercept marks and 4th in Contested marks

It probably highlights what we already know - he's great around the ground.

Could he become a CHF? Could he be the best second ruck/key forward in the game?

Like Sedat and a few others, I'm concerned about his ruck work but I like everything else about his game.

[comrade]

It probably highlights what we already know - he's great around the ground.

Could he become a CHF? Could he be the best second ruck/key forward in the game?

Like Sedat and a few others, I'm concerned about his ruck work but I like everything else about his game.

I think Bevo has conceded how poor our defense is one on one, so he's now using English as extra coverage and also as an intercepting weapon to launch from D50.

It's an interesting approach - lose the ruck 9 times out of 10, then get on your bike to take a mark in defence to start the attacking chain.

[GVGjr]

I think Bevo has conceded how poor our defense is one on one, so he's now using English as extra coverage and also as an intercepting weapon to launch from D50.

It's an interesting approach - lose the ruck 9 times out of 10, then get on your bike to take a mark in defence to start the attacking chain.

2 or 3 games into the season and Bevo's aware of the 1 v 1 issue in the back line?, so much for a bit of forward planning during the trading period.
English had a good game last week but I've never really rated his ability to be an influence in the back half with his marking and defensive work. Hopefully this is something that has clicked for him because at 205cm he needs be a force with his marking

[Danjul]

Are either of those worth as much as hitouts though?

Precisely, why have 3 positives when you can have 2?

With the Dogs lately (measured in years) it’s either walk or chew gum.

Can forwards be physical and kick goals? Constantly missing goals from 35m suggests not.

Don’t we have options to rectify this? Who cares!

Only one forward has more goals than the back pocket, who has struggled for selection (3 games in the last 10).

[comrade]

2 or 3 games into the season and Bevo's aware of the 1 v 1 issue in the back line?, so much for a bit of forward planning during the trading period.

Well, if he wasn't so stubborn, the answer to our defensive prayers is right under his nose. He's the shaggy haired kid who routinely misses from 35m out (yeah, I know he's not on his own there).

On your other point, English's marking is definitely on the improve.

[Cyberdoggie]

Strong performance Friday night featuring some great focus/commitment to the ball. I was one of many who really appreciated the efforts (I'm sure) put forth by the players.

Glass half full:
- Liber is the difference maker.
- Great show of resilience by Bont.
- Naught's terrific in consistently attacking the ball.
- JJ showed a willingness to compete we haven't seen much of in the past couple of seasons.
- Alex Keath looked like he was both willing AND able to play as a one-vs-one defender.
- MC played players in more familiar positions and all is OK with the world.

Glass half empty:
- We barely troubled the scorers vs a Giants team missing Whitfield, Greene and Kelly.
- English was better but really played as a 7th defender not a ruckman - you might be able to do that against Jacobs but other teams have actual footballers playing in the ruck.
- Suckling continues to look terrible.
- Bruce continues to look terrible. As for the Brereton opinion that the presence of Bruce helps Naughton walk taller - please. The kid grew up in Rockingham and was raised to fight the fight.
- Dale and Lloyd completely ineffective - I guess you could argue Dale was better than Lloyd (at least) but...wow.
- Can ANYONE play as an outside mid and get the ball except for Hunter in our entire squad? Vandermeer is (admittedly) a baby (a baby with a nice sidestep to be fair) but he is miles off being a 25 possession per game player.
- What is going on with Toby? Is he the player he flashed in the first quarter or whoever than bloke was who played out the game with barely a touch?
- We needed the Giants and the history and the EJ milestone etc to get 'UP' for a contest...what happens vs the Swans and Roos over the next two weeks when there is no emotion in the build up.

So - where are you. Half full or half empty. Are we moving ahead or was it just an unconvincing flash in the pan from a consistent team.

I feel like you jumped into my head and stole all my thoughts and opinions on the game MJP.

Totally agree with you on most points, although I thought English was much better in the ruck, still not great but he showed a few things which he has never done previously. He didn't get shoved out easily due to being too light, and he actually managed to win some taps by using his reach and direct them our way. Granted I thought Jacobs was poor and didn't use his frame at all, but it was something I hadn't seen Tim do before, which is a positive, if only he could kick straight.

Been very disappointed with Bruce, Dale and Lloyd this year. I didn't think Bruce attacked any contests, and he hasn't even jumped off the ground. So far he has just been a decoy.

Suckling looked injured to me against GWS and I think he will be replaced by Butler, who we already know is going to play.
When he had that kick on the boundary line forward 50 outer side, he was limping like his back was a problem.

I thought JJ was better but he looks a little unfit to me. Maybe a little soft round the middle and I was surprised that he looked slow and was chased down quite easily when he went for that run.

Hopefully we see a similar level of pressure and attack on Thursday, and maybe some of those that haven't been at their best will improve.

[hujsh]

It probably highlights what we already know - he's great around the ground.

Could he become a CHF? Could he be the best second ruck/key forward in the game?

Like Sedat and a few others, I'm concerned about his ruck work but I like everything else about his game.

Personally I think the best future for Tim is one where he plays as many minutes in the ruck as is possible with a pinch hitter taking relief when needed. His strength is being an extra tall mid and a mobile aerial presence.

For the times he manages to get the ball inside 50 he seems more likely to miss the shot than make it so I'm not especially keen on him as a forward. That's one problem I'd rather take away from than add to.

[Bulldog Joe]

Personally I think the best future for Tim is one where he plays as many minutes in the ruck as is possible with a pinch hitter taking relief when needed. His strength is being an extra tall mid and a mobile aerial presence.

For the times he manages to get the ball inside 50 he seems more likely to miss the shot than make it so I'm not especially keen on him as a forward. That's one problem I'd rather take away from than add to.

Unfortunately Tim has progressed very little with his ruck craft.

I do get he is very good as the mobile tall and I really liked how he covered the ground and contributed as a marking player, but if we persist with Tim as the ruckman we need to be prepared to start the game from half back if we can't shark opposition hit outs.

The best team we can put out probably concedes the ruck, but we need strategies to overcome the deficiency and that requires Tim to be very good in other parts of the ground.

[mjp]

Could he become a CHF?

I just dont see it. He is OK reading the play a kick behind the game, but we are talking about a position that no-one in the entire league plays well right now...

[bornadog]

I just dont see it. He is OK reading the play a kick behind the game, but we are talking about a position that no-one in the entire league plays well right now...

Maybe CHF is becoming redundant

[Danjul]

Personally I think the best future for Tim is one where he plays as many minutes in the ruck as is possible with a pinch hitter taking relief when needed. His strength is being an extra tall mid and a mobile aerial presence.

For the times he manages to get the ball inside 50 he seems more likely to miss the shot than make it so I'm not especially keen on him as a forward. That's one problem I'd rather take away from than add to.

last year he kicked 8 goals 10. Pretty accurate for a beginner.