Year of the Dogs Flashbacks.

[mjp]

Every time I read about the West Coast win, somehow the fact that West Coast had a few players out is in the first line. That's in the media and reading posts on here. It is giving me serious flashbacks to the 'Scrappy win by Dogs' headline referred to in the "YOTD" docco.

Just a reminder - when WC (sorry, the commentators keep calling them "THE West Coast" which is weird!) won the flag in 2018, Natanui wasn't playing. Nor was Kelly as an aside. Nor was Gaff for one more. But I don't hear about it being a courageous Grand Final victory by a side missing a few players...

Everyone has injuries. EVERYONE. Some are playing with them. Some get rested. When they get rested, the roles of others within the side change and - in the absence of Shuey and Yeo, former high draft selections Sheed and Kelly got more inside time. If they were that concerned, they could have chucked Gaff in there as well as they often did during 2019.

McGovern, Barrass and Shepherd were all playing. We absolutely dominated them and but for a couple of silly mistakes up forward, would have romped away with it...

All that said - we still have to beat Hawthorn and Freo to get in - and Freo have true grit right now...it isn't going to be easy. But in the meantime, can we be positive??

[comrade]

But in the meantime, can we be positive??

Can't we be positive, but also realistic?

Once upon a time, we'd be rapt with a scrappy underdog win but is it a bad thing to expect more?

[bornadog]

I thought it was a great win. We smashed them in the midfield, in stoppages, clearances, Cont Poss. We kept the ball in our half of the ground for 65% of game time. Yes we should have kicked at least 5 more goals, but I was so wrapt we won.

So they had a few missing, but so did we. Wood, Duryea, Suckling, Jong and we were less experienced than they were.

I must admit, this forum has turned very negative this year, but I am staying positive.

[Daughter of the West]

I must admit, this forum has turned very negative this year, but I am staying positive.

To be fair, I would argue that this is a product of the broader circumstances of living in Victoria with COVID-19. I know personally, it feels pretty hard to be positive about anything at the moment and the Dogs would need to be absolutely flying for me to think we're in with a serious crack.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Can't we be positive, but also realistic?

Once upon a time, we'd be rapt with a scrappy underdog win but is it a bad thing to expect more?

The only scrappy bit about it was our woeful finishing. It should never have been so close.
We played brilliant football after Qtr time.
I am grateful that we didn't fold. In times gone by when we've failed to convert and squandered chances to put games to bed, we responded a couple of times to stick to the task and get the win.

[Axe Man]

Well if we lose to Hawthorn or Freo I'll spew up.

I do agree though, it was a good win with many more positives than negatives. It was another almost game, not unlike the Port or Geelong games where we also did a lot right. Fortunately this time we came out on the right side of the ledger.

[mjp]

Can't we be positive, but also realistic?

Once upon a time, we'd be rapt with a scrappy underdog win but is it a bad thing to expect more?

As long as we all remember that perfection is not realistic, then sure.
Sometimes it seems like players can't make mistakes any more...the other team is trying to win as well. I just got the "Well, just as well" vibe from the post match comments and it is like we can't celebrate anything anymore...it was a great win. We've actually played pretty well for 4-5 weeks now (since the Adelaide game) without necessarily getting the chocolates each week but...

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Well if we lose to Hawthorn or Freo I'll spew up.

I do agree though, it was a good win with many more positives than negatives. It was another almost game, not unlike the Port or Geelong games where we also did a lot right. Fortunately this time we came out on the right side of the ledger.

Yep. Next two weeks will show whether we've really got the requisite fortitude and maturity to grab a spot in the finals.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

As long as we all remember that perfection is not realistic, then sure.
Sometimes it seems like players can't make mistakes any more...the other team is trying to win as well. I just got the "Well, just as well" vibe from the post match comments and it is like we can't celebrate anything anymore...it was a great win. We've actually played pretty well for 4-5 weeks now (since the Adelaide game) without necessarily getting the chocolates each week but...

Yep. And the output of posts seems to drop considerably when we actually win? As soon as we lose, lots of people pop up to get stuck in and give 'i told you so' narratives.

[Bulldog Revolution]

and Freo have true grit right now...it isn't going to be easy. But in the meantime, can we be positive??

Freo have never been an easy team for us - Walters, Fyfe and co have historically played very well against us - they good emerging talls - so they absolutely have the firepower to challenge us

But we've mostly been playing good footy without quite putting fully together forward of the ball

Im optimistic that we can build with two strong performances and then hope the cards fall our way

[bulldogsthru&thru]

I must admit, this forum has turned very negative this year, but I am staying positive.

I think that's just a reflection from the fact that we've fallen well short of preseason expectations. Which is only natural. I've been one who has had to readjust my thinking of where this team realistically sits in the competition. It's not easy to accept. And to have to do that again after 3 prior poor seasons isn't an easy pill to swallow so I certainly understand where it comes from.

That being said, I was certainly happy with the outcome of the game on the weekend. Who wouldn't be?

[Bulldog4life]

Yep. And the output of posts seems to drop considerably when we actually win? As soon as we lose, lots of people pop up to get stuck in and give 'i told you so' narratives.

One in particular.....no names

[Bulldog Joe]

As long as we all remember that perfection is not realistic, then sure.
Sometimes it seems like players can't make mistakes any more...the other team is trying to win as well. I just got the "Well, just as well" vibe from the post match comments and it is like we can't celebrate anything anymore...it was a great win. We've actually played pretty well for 4-5 weeks now (since the Adelaide game) without necessarily getting the chocolates each week but...

I actually think we have played pretty well for a longer streak than that.

Since the disaster against Richmond we have had periods where we have been on top in every game and should absolutely have won over both Port and Geelong. The other loss against Brisbane was just half a quarter where we basically allowed them to take the game away.

[soupman]

I must admit, this forum has turned very negative this year, but I am staying positive.

To be fair we came into the season optimistic, then had the most demoralising and pathetic first two games actually possible, then came good but have still consistently been displaying the Beveridgisms that have plagued us for years, all wrapped up in a pandemic that has sucked the joy out of Melbourne.

I really enjoyed the other night fwiw, it was genuinely fun, but at the same time I think it's fair to acknowledge that we came very close to another frustrating loss with all the usual limitations on display.

[comrade]

To be fair we came into the season optimistic, then had the most demoralising and pathetic first two games actually possible, then came good but have still consistently been displaying the Beveridgisms that have plagued us for years, all wrapped up in a pandemic that has sucked the joy out of Melbourne.

I really enjoyed last night fwiw, it was genuinely fun, but at the same time I think it's fair to acknowledge that we came very close to another frustrating loss with all the usual limitations on display.

There's been a few 'shouldas' and what ifs in this thread around our goal kicking, i.e. we should have won by 5+ goals.

Well, Jack Darling should have kicked the goal late and we would have lost. Would this thread still exist if so?