Demons V Bulldogs - Round 1 17/3/24 MCG 1.00pm

[jeemak]

TBB we didn't man the mark again if felt like 2022 when we were sagging off all the time.

Something I picked up on as well.

Bevo mentioned in his presser that they were able to pick off short diagonals, but in order to do that you need to be super quick with your decision making or you need to be given space as a kicker.

The MCG is huge, sagging off doesn't suit that ground. While you can get away with it a little on smaller/ narrower grounds, you can't at the G. You need the opposition user to either be rushed to make a decision, or go back and take longer to kick the footy - hopefully allowing the defenders to cover it. Neither happened for us because we sagged off in two thirds of the ground and we didn't work hard enough to close up space.

I really do prefer it when our frontal pressure is noticeable for the last two thirds of the ground.

[chef]

I think we got screwed by the draw, playing a team with already a game under their belts, on the rebound, at their home and in pretty tiring conditions. Plus they are a top 4 side.

I think we'll bounce back next week.

[Bullies]

TBB we didn't man the mark again if felt like 2022 when we were sagging off all the time.

It also looks like we struggle to play the ground. For whatever reason when we play the teams that are quick on the G we get cut up on the rebound and sides pick us apart. Go to Marvel and we don't seem to have the same gaps.

[Grantysghost]

I think we got screwed by the draw, playing a team with already a game under their belts, on the rebound, at their home and in pretty tiring conditions. Plus they are a top 4 side.

I think we'll bounce back next week.

Have you seen the Suns chef?

Theyre a formidable outfit these days.

[angelopetraglia]

Robbo. Dislikes.

Same old Dogs need a new trick

That was disappointing. Aaron Naughton would be disappointed. He had six touches and took one mark and was targeted by teammates just twice inside the forward 50. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was the target 10 times, Cody Weightman was five times and Rory Lobb was four times. If his teammates don’t kick it to Naughton, the $900,000 forward, what’s the point of him being there? The discussion must be about whether he is best suited for the team to play in defence. As Ugle-Hagan was developing, Naughton was needed forward. Now that Ugle-Hagan is a bona fide star, and Sam Darcy kicked six goals in a VFL game at the weekend and is craving selection, Naughton can easily be redeployed.

Certainly, they need to stiffen the defence. The Bulldogs made too many mistakes between the arcs which put way too much pressure on the defensive group. Buku Khamis was okay but the Dogs needed another interceptor to help Liam Jones. Dare we say it, they once again gave up a five-goal stretch, coming late in the first quarter and until the sixth minute of the second quarter. And they gave up 16 scores from turnover. It’s a familiar tale for the Dogs which needs to be challenged. Naughton to the defensive 50 is a trigger that can only help.

[angelopetraglia]

Tackles

Harmes 5
Gallagher 5
English 4
Bont 4
West 3
Sanders 2
Caleb 2
Coffield 2

Zero tackles

Weightman
Naughton
Lobb
Jones
Dale

Libba and Treloar also only laid one tackle each which is genuinly a suprise when you consdier how many minutes they spent in the midfield. Libba averaged 7 tackles per game in 2023. Treloar averaged 5 tackles per game in 2023.

It was a bruise free game with the way they cut us up with all that short kicking, but we did not have intensity around the contest or at the man.

When we are dying for some forward pressure from our forwards, zero tackles from Weightman, Naughton and Lobb is a real issue. Especially with someone with the athletic attributes of Naughton at ground level.

[jeemak]

I think we got screwed by the draw, playing a team with already a game under their belts, on the rebound, at their home and in pretty tiring conditions. Plus they are a top 4 side.

I think we'll bounce back next week.

And after a ten day break to thoroughly review what went awry, how to counter it, recover well, train well, and prepare well. Outside of winning round zero (whatever the **** that means) they had a ripping lead up to today's game.

Agree we'll be better for the run, and I hope we're quietly lobbying the AFEL to never let such a shit show occur again.

[Grantysghost]

Every cloud has a silver lining guys....

We are off the bottom the alphabet put us in! Woot.

[EasternWest]

I think we got screwed by the draw, playing a team with already a game under their belts, on the rebound, at their home and in pretty tiring conditions. Plus they are a top 4 side.

I think we'll bounce back next week.

I know one round does not a season make but I am so totally uninspired and unsurprised by what I've seen today that I can t even find the optimism in me right now to think we'll bounce back.

There's been no change to our game, our weaknesses are the same and after game one in another new season we're already discussing the future of guys like McNeil and Vandermeer. Again. Also like the year before. Harmes is Hannan. Buku is Cordy. The deja vu is strong.

I'm very concerned.

[Happy Days]

Robbo. Dislikes.

Same old Dogs need a new trick

That was disappointing. Aaron Naughton would be disappointed.

Senior football writer at the foremost football news outlet btw.

[EasternWest]

Senior football writer at the foremost football news outlet btw.

Even drunks have their moments of clarity.

[angelopetraglia]

Even drunks have their moments of clarity.

To be fair. It didn't require any real thought or analysis. Robbo has been on the decline for years. I struggle to keep up with most of his gibberish these days.

[jeemak]

I'm sick of the drunk bashing on this site.

[Virgin-Dog]

Every cloud has a silver lining guys....

We are off the bottom the alphabet put us in! Woot.

I prefer to focus on the positives. In a massive turnaround from last season, we now sit only two spots behind the reigning premiers

[Go_Dogs]

So will Bevo throw out the preseason plan? Or do we wait another week?

This was my exact thought. Thankfully didn?t get to watch a huge amount today, saw the opening - looked great for the first 10 mins, and then only saw snippets post.

Always an enjoyable read going through this thread after the game.

On your question? that?s the big one. Do we back ourselves in and say we get the selections largely right and have the plan and persist, or do we throw in the towel and go back to something else?

I mean - I?m sure Macrae gives a better outcome than Gags, and Daniel should maybe go back to defence where he hasn?t played for ages because we just don?t have any dare aside from JJ, and maybe Darcy can come back in so at least when we kick and hope we?ve got someone who can mark it.

Shame Jordan Sweet is gone because bringing him in for English vs Witts could?ve actually been a viable option?

If Harmes stays, does he tag Anderson?