Game Day - Bulldogs vs Lions (NAB round 2)

[GVGjr]

Lets keep the discussions of tonights blockbuster to the one thread.

Prediction: Bulldogs by 28 points

[Dry Rot]

8 goals if we're switched on, damned close if we're not.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

18 points.

I think we'll play in bursts because we don't have Johnson, Griffen, Akermanis etc.

I'm really looking forward to seeing McDougall, Pask & The Aboriginal boys along with Higgins.

[GVGjr]

Well firstly the night got off to a good start because I caught up with part of the AAD clan.

Before the game commenced I listened to an interview with Peter Street (DR was jealous when I called him) and Tim Walsh. Both players talked well and answered the questions honestly and with a bit of fun.
Walsh talked about all the work he was doing coming back from his injury and gave a good insight to the 6 days training week. He indicated that there was currently 2 training sessions with running, a number weights sessions, pilates/yoga which they do not do during the season, and a couple of swimming sessions.
Walsh thought McDougall was a good addition and that he seemed to be enjoying himself here in Melbourne. Apparently he quite enjoys the Brunswick st lifestyle.

Street talked about his injury which is calf related. I think the fact that he is a ruckman and jumps off one foot means that he had to be careful. He is only another week or two away.
Street mentioned that one of the great things about Rocket is that if he gives them a spray it's forgotten about 5 mins later. Gave me the impression that he thinks the coach does not hold grudges. He made mention that the coaches box can get a bit spirited with with a few things flying around.

Now to the game. Very poor effort with very few good signs.

Hargrave's return from injury was very encouraging and Higgins was full of class and promise. McDougall contested well, held a couple of decent marks and laid a number of very good tackles up forward. Boydy tried hard but wasn't quite on his game.
Gilbee was very good early but made some mistakes in the latter part of the game. Gia was in and out of the game. Cross racked up a good possession rate but he wasn't nearly as effective as we come to expect. Eagle ran riot in the last quarter.

As AAD commented on Wight over committed himself to a couple of contests which resulted in the ball rebounding into the forward line. Ray's vision and decision making was very poor tonight and too often ran into trouble.
The team as a whole had problems with the 20mtr rule and time and time again kicked the ball too short to a team mate who was told to play on by the umps.

The Lions made the most of their chances and appear to be as fit as any team in the competition.

[bulldogtragic]

In short, probably as bad a performance as i've seen us dish up since Eade got the job.

[bornadog]

Lucky the start of the season is still a month away, lot a work to do, but also some good players to come back in.
Heard Rocket on the radio before the game:

Cooney: Played half a game for Werribee and pulled up ok
Darcy: Will play next week if ok in training during the week.
Grant: To play next week
Hahn: No power in legs at this Stage so still a few weeks off
Street: I think he said should be ok for next week.
Murphy: Very close to playing

Based on the team that took the field, I am not too worried and I have never taken these games seriously in the past. Good learning curve for the young guys.

Not sure where and who play in the regional game next week.

[GVGjr]

In short, probably as bad a performance as i've seen us dish up since Eade got the job.

Very short Was he out coached or just couldn't answer the challenge when it happened in the 2nd quarter?

Harbrow and Lynch worked well the previous week but in the pristine conditions just weren't strong enough. We can't and shouldn't be happy with that performance but with the players we have coming back I don't think we should be shattered either.

[bulldogtragic]

Very short Was he out coached or just couldn't answer the challenge when it happened in the 2nd quarter?

Harbrow and Lynch worked well the previous week but in the pristine conditions just weren't strong enough. We can't and shouldn't be happy with that performance but with the players we have coming back I don't think we should be shattered either.

I haven't made a batch of David Koresh cool-aid. It's disappointing but it's a NAB game and we have mnay, many good/great players coming back and players better for the run after time off. Membership wise it would've been better to win, but my bugbear is how we lost it was just so insipid.

[Dry Rot]

I predicted that if we weren't on our game we'd be in trouble, and we were.

Sadly, Channel 7 are a pack of ****s and only started their coverage a few minutes ago in Sydney, so I can't really comment.

[LostDoggy]

Lucky the start of the season is still a month away, lot a work to do, but also some good players to come back in.
Heard Rocket on the radio before the game:

Cooney: Played half a game for Werribee and pulled up ok
Darcy: Will play next week if ok in training during the week.
Grant: To play next week
Hahn: No power in legs at this Stage so still a few weeks off
Street: I think he said should be ok for next week.
Murphy: Very close to playing

Based on the team that took the field, I am not too worried and I have never taken these games seriously in the past. Good learning curve for the young guys.

Not sure where and who play in the regional game next week.

I was talking to someone from the club last night who confirmed that Cooney pulled up well after his hit out with Werribee.This is a good sign for us because he and Griffen add a lot of spark to us.
It was a shocking result given that we started the game so well.As 42-C-3 pointed out we were insipid and it will most likely impact out membership drive.I got the impression that Rockets heart wasn't in this NAB campaign from the start.

Does anyone know why didn't Cam Faulkner play last night? I hope this is not the power of hindsight talking but young players like Lynch and Harbrow were very unlikely to come up two weeks in a row and Faulkner could have been a far better option.
Also does anyone else think that Boyd might not have been 100% last night?

[LostDoggy]

As I sat down at the Telstra Dome last night, my first thought was how bloody hot it still was and I couldn't think of anything worse than running around playing footy in that humidity. A forgettable game. Lions players seemed a lot more eager out there and justifiably won. Everytime our guys had the ball they were swamped by opposition players.

Agree with TG that Eade doesn't seem too bothered about the NAB Cup - except as a chance to give certain players a run and fiddle around with positions. I feel the same as a spectator - I wasn't really bothered last night where the result was heading so long as noone got injured.

I did think Hargrave looked good, considering it was his first game since surgery over the summer. As for Higgins - so glad we have him in our team.

[Go_Dogs]

A few short comments from me.

I wouldn't take too much from this match, as we had probably 5 of our first 10 players not playing - Johnson, Akermanis, Cooney, Murphy and Griffen. We also had quite a few guys in the team who have had interrupted pre-seasons, and who would have been feeling the burn. A few more matches under their belt will ensure they are ready by Round 1.

A few positives to take out of the game - I thought Hargrave was excellent last night. He created well, ran the lines well, and contested well. Whilst he was on Patfull, he did a very good job. Impressive stuff for his first match back. My "Best 22" may indeed need some revising.

Higgins was sensational. I'm on the bandwagon for sure. There were a few times when he went in very hard, his goal kicking was excellent, and although he made a few errors with his decision making, overall he was the highlight.

Eagleton also was good. For his first game back, his second qtr long kick to Higgins who judged the ball well and ended up with the goal. Eagle's 2 super goals in the last qtr also showed why he is so damaging. Good to see.

I thought Baird presented really well. He made quite a few poor errors, but he tried really hard, and presented so well - once he gets some more size and improves his decision making, he's going to be a great player.

Addison was good with his run and attack. His disposal let him down quite a few times, but I thought his game was good.

Roe destroyed Lynch - Roe looks like he's going to be a great player for the Lions - they have quite a few exciting youngsters. Lynch was just way too small, and although he is very agile, Roe matched him in the facet, and then destroyed him with his size and nous.

I would have preferred to see either Faulkner or McCormack out on the park instead of Lynch I feel.

[Go_Dogs]

Also, what was Wight's injury? He looked to be struggling most of the night.

[Twodogs]

Also, what was Wight's injury? He looked to be struggling most of the night.

Just couldnt get any power in that first step could he? He'd go to take off and kind of stumble and his opponent would get a good break.



Might have been something to do with the injury he got the week before.

[GVGjr]

Just couldnt get any power in that first step could he? He'd go to take off and kind of stumble and his opponent would get a good break.

It was like he was wearing the wrong shoes or something. For someone so athletic it was a very uncoordinated display.