Bulldogs can go all the way: Cross

[The Coon Dog]

Bulldogs can go all the way: Cross


Daniel Cross in action against the Kangaroos last weekend


DANIEL Cross believes the Bulldogs have entered this season with renewed confidence as a result of their preliminary final appearance last year.

Cross, 26, said the Dogs' semi-final win over the Sydney Swans and narrow loss to Geelong the week after suggested his side was capable of going one step further this year.

"It shows we've certainly got the cattle to get there. You have to play exceptionally well during the year to make the finals and then to make the top four. The finals are just another story," he said on Wednesday.

"We know we can win finals now. The Swans have been a great finals side for the past four or five years and they've won a flag.

"To beat them last year was great."

The Dogs are currently light on for injuries and have several players performing in the lower leagues.

Cross said the depth of the list – including the increasing number of Bulldogs capable of playing through the midfield – had made the side stronger this year.

"It's really hard for the coaches at the moment to pick the 22, which is a great thing for us," he said.

"They've had trouble in the past finding the best 22 but now there are guys who are playing exceptionally well down at Williamstown and can't fit into our side.

"A lot of our forwards can go through the midfield, which is good for Rocket and [midfield coach] Leon Cameron.

"It allows all of us to play different roles throughout the day. You're not locked into one role for the day and you can be flexible with what you can do.

"Having more guys through the midfield is great."

Cross said the recent inclusion of 22-year-old Liam Picken, who provided a terrific tag on Kangaroos' captain Brent Harvey last weekend, had helped "free up" players like Matthew Boyd and himself.

"He's a really good story. He's like Boydy and Dale [Morris], coming off the rookie list and slotting straight in," he said.

"If he keeps playing the way he did against an exceptional player like Harvey, I wouldn't see why he couldn't play for the rest of the year.

"It's great for us. It frees up guys like Boydy to run off a bit more while he does the lock-down job.

"He's got all the attributes for a good tagger; he's hard at it and loves a contest, so it's good to have a guy like that in the side."

Cross said he was "feeling really good" within his body after his pre-season hit a slight hurdle late last year when he suffered the onset of bulging discs in his spine.

"I've got on top of the back and I'm doing extra work outside the club to make sure my back stays strong and I don't have a reoccurrence of what happened."

[Sockeye Salmon]

Cross said he was "feeling really good" within his body after his pre-season hit a slight hurdle late last year when he suffered the onset of bulging discs in his spine.

"I've got on top of the back and I'm doing extra work outside the club to make sure my back stays strong and I don't have a reoccurrence of what happened."

Cross is doing extra work, who would have thunk it?

[bulldogtragic]

Belief is a wonderful thing.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Cross is doing extra work, who would have thunk it?

If ever there was a guy who leaves no stone unturned it's Crossy - he's an inspirational guy

[Desipura]

If ever there was a guy who leaves no stone unturned it's Crossy - he's an inspirational guy

His kicking is one stone unturned

[mighty_west]

It's players like Crossy who deserve to succeed, the you get the Tom Davidson types who don't seem to give two hoots!

Inspirational.

[mighty_west]

Belief is a wonderful thing.

Indeed, and you won't get there unless you do believe!

[Sockeye Salmon]

His kicking is one stone unturned

No player in the competition works harder on his kicking than Crossy.

[Desipura]

No player in the competition works harder on his kicking than Crossy.

How come there has not been an improvement? Is he not being coached correctly?
I do not expect a siginificant improvement given bad habits develop at a young age. When he is kicking for goal for example, you can tell that he is not confident and wants to give it off.
Don't get me wrong, I love the way he commits himself on the field and he is one of the better overhead marks for an onballer. There would not be a more courageous player than Crossy!

[Sockeye Salmon]

How come there has not been an improvement? Is he not being coached correctly?
I do not expect a siginificant improvement given bad habits develop at a young age. When he is kicking for goal for example, you can tell that he is not confident and wants to give it off.
Don't get me wrong, I love the way he commits himself on the field and he is one of the better overhead marks for an onballer. There would not be a more courageous player than Crossy!

Exhibit 1, your honour.

Set shot v Freo.

Don't get caught in 2006, Desi. Crossy will never be up there with Gilbs for kicking, but he has improved markedly over the last few years.

He will never have great penetration and will probably always look to give it off, but like Scott West his kicking is adequate up to 40-45 metres.

[Bulldog Revolution]

West whilst never being a long kick ended up being a terrific kick over that distance because he was such a clever decision maker

[Desipura]

Exhibit 1, your honour.

Set shot v Freo.

Don't get caught in 2006, Desi. Crossy will never be up there with Gilbs for kicking, but he has improved markedly over the last few years.

He will never have great penetration and will probably always look to give it off, but like Scott West his kicking is adequate up to 40-45 metres.

SS I suggest you watch yesterdays game, I do not need to use 2006 as an example. Crossy was one of our best IMHO doing what he does best, getting the ball out as an in and under player and taking some very strong overhead marks.
However he missed an easy goal from 35 out almost directly in front. Turned one over on the wing opposite AFL members with no pressure at all. I cannot see how he has improved his kicking. I never expected him to be up there with Gilbs however I thought we would see some improvement.
I disagree that he has improved his kicking, and please don't throw me the line "the whole teams skill were down" as that is not an excuse.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I agree - Cross' kicking hasn't improved at all. He still turns it over far too often and he was even worse than usual yesterday. Just about every kick missed the target either falling too short or to the wayside.

I wish players would stop giving him the ball in situations where a kick is required though. Too many times he ends up having to kick the ball IE. the missed shot at goal. Cross should have cleared the path for Higgins to keep running, not the other way around.

Crossy is a great player but his kicking is terrible, and always has been.

[LostDoggy]

I will have him in the team every week regardless of his kicking. Hopefully he can improve that too, if not our boys just need to keep running alongside of him.

[Desipura]

Would hate to have him kick a goal to win a game from 20 - 40 metres out. Same applies with Hahn.