Bulldogs vs Eagles Challenge Match

[kennel master]

I went to the game and it was great to see the Doggies live. Here are some of my impressions of the game.
1st Qtr. We dominated but poor delivery early cost us. When we started hitting targets we looked great. We are a quick team and we switched the ball well. Tackling was brilliant and we had them under pressure. Backline was solid and we rebounded with flair.
2nd Qtr. Started well into the wind and continued to attack. Eagles fisrt couple of goals came from turnovers caused by fiddling around with the ball and poor decisions. By the end od the quarter we were hanging on as the Eagles were dominating.
3rd Qtr. A good contest this quarter with 3 goals a piece. We had trouble with Lynch who kicked some great goals it is fair to say, One from the boundary outside 50. Darcy started having an impact and we rebounded well from halfback.
Last Qtr. The Eagles got close and looked threatening but we steadied and some inspiration from Jonno meant we were going away from them at the end.

Rhoughts on players:

Johnson: what a gun. Played a lot in the midfield and went forward when required. In 2nd Qtr he had a fantastic run from halfback, four bounces, all the time hotly chased by an Eagle player, and then his kick fom 50 was touched on the line. Great game from Jonno.
Cooney: Was lively throughout and ran freely, no sign of OP. Looks set for a great season.
West: Typical Wsety game. In and under, linking with handball, tireless running.
Hargrave: Thought he was great. Did the job on Hunter, used the ball well and ran forward to offer another option (kicked a nice goal)
Gilbee: Solid game. Marked the ball well and kicked beautifully.
McMahon: One of my favourites and really created with his dash and long kicking.
Higgins: First time I've seen a lot of him and he is impressive. Hard at it and efficient user. Kicked two good goals.
Darcy: Seemed out of touch early. Started in ruck second quarter and did OK. In the third quarter he really had an impact, kicked a good goal and seemed to have adjusted to the speed of the game. May take a while but good signs.
Doogs: He is a big lad and despite not dominating did enough to show he will be a handy pickup. One chase and tackle was excellent and hepresented well. Had some time down back too.
Eagleton: Those who wrote him off are a little premature. A terrific running game, a couple of goals and his delivery into forward 50 was good.
Boyd: A solid game.
Minson: Looks a bit trimmer and did OK against the Big Cox, and also around the ground. His snap goal was a ripper.
Robbins: A couple of poor decisions early but presented well.
Murphy: Didn't see much of him. He played down back when he was on.
Giansiracusa: Kicked a goal but didn't have a big impact.
Ray: Ran well through the midfield and was serviceable.
Addison: Played well but spoilt his game with patches of poor ball handling and kicking. His poor handball lead to the Eagles first goal.
Monty: Didn't see much but what I saw was good.
Power: Did some good things but wasn't prominent.
Grant: Didn't see him after the start of the game.
Wight: Thought he played well despite Lynch kicking 4. He competed. spoilt well, backed himself and it was an encouraging performance. He will play full back round 1.
Morris: Solid game.

I'm sure I've missed some but that's about it. It was great to see the boys play so well and I reckon we will be ready for a big game against Geelong.

Cheers.

[southerncross]

Thanks for the update kennel master. Very much appreciated.

[southerncross]

Just found this on The West

Eagles' shocker week continues
18th March 2007, 6:00 WST

West Coast’s week of woe slumped even further last night when a terrible start resulted in a 20 point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Subiaco Oval. After a tumultuous week that saw questions raised about why Chad Fletcher was hospitalised during the club’s end of season trip to Las Vegas and Eagles chairman Dalton Gooding admit that West Coast had drug and alcohol problems, the home team took forever to kick into gear and were goalless until 10 minutes into the second term as the Dogs piled on six goals.
Under siege all week, the Eagles imposed a media ban on their players after the match, banning the press from even entering their changerooms. It was the first time under coach John Worsfold that a blanket ban had been put on the players, and the media were informed of the decision at half-time, when the margin was only nine points.
Players continually refused to answer questions as they arrived at training during the week and Judd demanded to know whether a television journalist had a university degree when approached before Friday’s training session.
Both teams have concerns stemming from the game after Bulldog veteran Chris Grant and West Coast forward Ashley Hansen left the field with groin injuries and young Dog Wayde Skipper hurt his leg. Grant limped from the field with a groin injury just four minutes into the match and didn’t return while Hansen pulled up short after taking a mark midway through the second quarter.
Skipper had to be helped from the field in the third quarter after stubbing his foot as he tried to kick. He struggled to put any pressure on his right leg after the incident. Eagle Adam Hunter left the field in the final term with blood pouring down his face and jumper after being crunched by teammate Quinten Lynch.
The Eagles launched a series of stirring fightbacks throughout the game, led by their stars. Judd and Ben Cousins sprung to life midway through the second term, Quinten Lynch kicked three goals in the third term, and then they reduced the deficit to only eight points nearing time on in the final quarter, before Brad Johnson sealed the win with three goals for the term.
A family illness prevented Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade from working at the game so assistant coach Chris Bond took over the reigns.
Nathan Eagleton had plenty of the ball in the midfield, Johnson, Scott West and Adam Cooney were their usual prominent selves, Luke Darcy showed signs that he could return to the player that he was before his knee injuries, Shaun Higgins was lively in attack
The loss meant the Eagles managed only one win throughout the pre-season. They were comprehensively beaten by Fremantle in the NAB Cup, got thrashed by Essendon and then beat Adelaide in Alice Springs before losing to the Dogs last night.
The club also has key midfielders Daniel Kerr and Andrew Embley under injury clouds after both men struggled to train during the week. They have each played just one game since the NAB Cup began.

[firstdogonthemoon]

I went to the game and it was great to see the Doggies live. Here are some of my impressions of the game.

Thanks muchly KM - still cant believe there was no broadcast of any kind.

[Go_Dogs]

Thanks a lot for all your reports, as always, very much appreciated.

[GVGjr]

Thanks muchly KM - still cant believe there was no broadcast of any kind.

The match was on 6PR. I surfed the net and listened to the game even got in a couple of games of online poker.

[LostDoggy]

Good report everyone especially KM. I saw a bit of it one the news, does anyone know if it was actually televised over in WA?

[kennel master]

Good report everyone especially KM. I saw a bit of it one the news, does anyone know if it was actually televised over in WA?

No it wasn't televised. There have been a couple of seconds of film during the news and that's about all.

[bornadog]

The match was on 6PR. I surfed the net and listened to the game even got in a couple of games of online poker.

Did you win the poker

[LostDoggy]

G'day All

Went to the game on Saturday but can't add much to the reports from The West, Herald Sun and Footy Goss. Can't go past Kennel Master's excellent and accurate analysis either. Just a few impressions related to some of the queries raised on this thread.

1. Darcy in the ruck? Played well, especially 3rd quarter. Held his own against Cox, but Cox on points. Can do the job but you wouldn't want him to carry the entire burden. Scored a great goal by side-stepping an opponent and slotting from 45 degrees, 35 metres out. Good test of a double knee re-con, and a good confidence builder. Has lost some speed but adds real grunt.

2. Billy Blogger asked, "Can we shut their midfield down?" Yes we can, quite comprehensively. The key to beating the Eagles is to pressure the ball carrier and the Dogs are the only other team with the leg speed to do that. Players under pressure make poor decisions, hence turnovers or contested ball. Neither the Eagles nor Subiaco Oval should hold any fears for the Dogs. Not only that, but Akermanis, Griffen and Hahn are waiting in the wings. Reasons to be cheerful.

3. Skipper. I think he stubbed his toe, kicking the ground instead of the ball. He was running too fast for himself. Came off on his own steam, able to put weight on it.

4. Grant. Didn't notice him come off. It was a hot night in Perth and the busiest person on the ground was the interchange steward. I counted up to 10 changes in one quarter. Bond managed the changes well I thought.

5. McDougall. The home crowd didn't really give him a hard time that I noticed. Not near me anyway. I was supporting Doogs and calling him "my man" when a stern looking fellow turned around and said "He's my man". OK, I thought, I'll just shut up now. Turned out to be his cousin, and we had a good chat about how Doogs is much happier at the Dogs than at a place where he was bulied and harassed by Gardiner and Cousins and the drugf&*%ed gangland zombies. Doogs' cousin was taking his kids to their first ever game. One of them swapped between an Eagles jumper and a Dogs jumper signed by Doogs that he got for Christmas. I hope by encouraging Doogs I put him on the right track- the Dog track. Doogs doesn't always know where to lead. He may need to work on some patterns. Otherwise his defensive pressure is much improved.

6. Minson's crash and bash is great to watch and can get the ball moving. Great snap goal.

7. Eagleton. The Bald Eagle. Man of the match. Great run, precise distribution. Really set up some great work between the half back and half forward lines. Ably supported by McMahon and Gilbee.

8. Johnson. Superstar. I think he took more bounces in one run along the wing than the Eagles took for the whole game. That effort fell short, but he is already in the same goalscoring form as last year.

9. West's use of the ball was exemplary, as usual, always finding a man or space. Dan Cross has completed his apprenticeship under the Master West and will take over from where Scott leaves off. Cross is a class act. Higgins played superbly, he's very willing and enthusiastic.

10. A couple of set shots went astray. Maybe the layout of the ground was unfamiliar.

11. The defence is a genuine worry. Not enough height, and a lot of indecision. Too much mucking around with handball when a clearance is required. Sometimes the contest takes place before the soldiers get there. Hopefully Harris can add a robust presence.

12. A satisfying result overall, particularly considering that it didn't take an especially superhuman effort. I was a little surprised at the relative lack of difficulty in achieving the win, although of course the regular season will be a different proposition. Also, the Eagles had their off field problems during the week. Boo hoo hoo. As if anyone cares.

cheers

WA Dogs- Sons of the Far West

[southerncross]

Great report trevnosh, between you, KM, 6PR and the paper reports it's almost as good as being there.

[firstdogonthemoon]

Cousins and the drugf&*%ed gangland zombies.

I liked their first album the best.

[Twodogs]

I liked their first album the best.

They were better before the album came out. They just sold out after that.

[Go_Dogs]

Interesting to hear those comments re: Doogs and his treatment at WC.

[alwaysadog]

It was mentioned on the radio that Rodney Eade's father was sick, so Bond took the lead tonight.

Rocket is close to his father, had him with him when he did a coterie group meeting late last year.