Game Day: Tigers vs Bulldogs

[GVGjr]

This is the discussion thread for tonights game.

Who's you tip to kick the first goal for us? I will go with Giansirascusa .

[Go_Dogs]

Cooney.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I am absolutely itching for this game tonight, I;ve had gastro all week and so this is a welcome distraction

I cannot wait for us to light the G up with our hard running game and workrate - I see us tackling the crowd roaring the ball spilling out a chain of handballs and dogs goals - lets hope I am channeling the spirits again.

[Dry Rot]

So did we play really well or were the Tigers just crap?

Can't tell myself - the replay in Sydney is stlll half an hour away.

[southerncross]

Funny game tonight. We were by far the better team but just couldn't finish things off. Some disappointing players for us tonight and some very undisciplined acts by a few of our guys.

Not sure where Minson is at as a footballer.

Very pleased with Cooney, Ray, Murphy and to a slightly lesser extent Griffen. Gilbee and Hargrave were creative and McMahon and Boyd supported West very well. Eagleton did some very nice things. Great to see darcy get us off to such a great start.
A couple of reports was bad luck. Eagleton might come under more scrutiny than Murphys. Shame Cross had to pull out.

[LostDoggy]

[LostDoggy]

Was listening to 3AW on the way home (not during the game). Minson was awarded their Jason Tough Guy Award (some bedding prize apparently) and was interviewed after the game. Spoke very well as per usual, very upbeat and praised Darcy and Murphy's efforts. Didn't sound displeased with his own performance. Hunt commented after the interview that Minson would probably never be a world beater but brought grunt and energy to the side. I still bear in mind how young Minson is at 22, played less than 40 games, but is smart and clearly loves playing footy.

What are your concerns Southerncross?

[southerncross]

Was listening to 3AW on the way home (not during the game). Minson was awarded their Jason Tough Guy Award (some bedding prize apparently) and was interviewed after the game. Spoke very well as per usual, very upbeat and praised Darcy and Murphy's efforts. Didn't sound displeased with his own performance. Hunt commented after the interview that Minson would probably never be a world beater but brought grunt and energy to the side. I still bear in mind how young Minson is at 22, played less than 40 games, but is smart and clearly loves playing footy.

What are your concerns Southerncross?

Like most Doggies supporters I really appreciate his attack on the ball however at times last night he really did some silly things in his efforts to make a tough contest. There was a free kick given against him in the forward line where he clearly vigorously pushed his forearm across Deledio's head/face while Deledio was on the ground and then was very slow to get off him. That is not smart football and in fact he runs the risk of getting himself reported which we can ill afford. He also remonstrated with the umpire which was also tempting fate.
Another time he coughed up a 50 mtr penalty from memory through a bit of stupidity.

I know he is young but I don't think he is being given the coaching that he needs and really his 3 games this year haven't been great.

He does bring plenty of grunt and energy but I'd like to see him control his aggression a fair bit more plus start to be a value to the side when he is not in the ruck. He needs coaching and in time he should improve but at this moment he isn't making the progress that I was hoping to see.

[southerncross]

How much pressure does everyone think Wallace might be under? While he is the master of spin, he has had enough time to get the Tigers into better form than what they are displaying and I'm surprised that the media hasn't focused on it. Chris Connelly has been under heaps pressure throughout his tenure and yet Wallace somehow keeps escaping the same spotlight.

I noticed in a couple of extracts from various things he said after the game that he didn't seem to be putting himself under the same microscope as the players. I thought it was strange that he didn't move Polak onto Darcy in the first half or at least Gaspar. Once Gaspar went on Darcy he shut him down a fair bit but Wallace was very late with the move. I also thought it strange that Deledio wasn't given a real midfield role.

It's all very well for Wallce to say at the press conferences that 'we have been smashed in the clearances at vital moments in the game' but he basically used the same midfield set-up of Tuck, Foley and Johnson after each goal. I thought he might have tried a couple of different combinations.

[LostDoggy]

Hargrave did well last night. Loved that goal that he kicked. Thought he was on the receiving end of a couple of soft decisions as well. With Williams in the team it might create an opportunity for Hargrave to be used in a more attacking role from the back line. Jordy was good as well last night and it was great to see the team running well and moving the ball forward so quickly. How good was West? I have ready a few people having some cracks at him so I hope they had a good look at the game last night and start to appreciate what a great player he was and still is.

[Go_Dogs]

Was a terrific game we played some of our best football of the year in patches, and there were a lot of positives.
Cooney was brilliant in the centre in the 4th and as always applied plenty of scoreboard pressure with his smarts.

West was great, at one stage late in the game there were about 4 or 5 players from either side battling for a ball on the ground, Harris and a few others lost their feet and Westy charged through and won the ball and got the handpass over to Harris.

Higgins was again all class, didn't win a lot of the ball, but whenever he was near the play, he did everything right pretty much all the time. Love his ability to kick goals too.

Darcy & Murphy were sensational, Darcy's first half would've lifted both him and Murphy, it was so good to see. I had a huge smile on my face as he kept getting in good spots and using his body reasonably well - as well as leading out to the ball too. Murphy really played a great role off half forward, and I'm glad he stayed up there like I had wanted instead of being thrown into the backline.

Addison was good, again not too involved but got a few clearances early and showed good composure. Looks a real player to me.

Wight was again good.

Ray played his best game of the year. His contested mark on our F50 was huge, his pressure, run and skills all looked great. So good to see.

Boydy, Jordy, Gilbee, we'd be lost without these three. Some toughness, some dash and some sublime kicking skills. All played great roles.

Eagleton was good. Wish he'd been able to finish his work better with a couple of goals, but that's ok. Hopefully he can continue to improve as the weeks go on.

[GVGjr]

What did everyone think of the way that Eade used Cooney early on?

[bornadog]

Hargrave did well last night. Loved that goal that he kicked. Thought he was on the receiving end of a couple of soft decisions as well. With Williams in the team it might create an opportunity for Hargrave to be used in a more attacking role from the back line. Jordy was good as well last night and it was great to see the team running well and moving the ball forward so quickly. How good was West? I have ready a few people having some cracks at him so I hope they had a good look at the game last night and start to appreciate what a great player he was and still is.

I am a big fan of Hargrave but God he dissapoints me with the number of stupid free kicks he gives away. I know he is often mistmatched but look at the free kicks he has given away over the past few years. Yes, some were soft, but slinging players to the ground in a marking contest is just silly. I thought Shulzt should have marked more balls and really could have kicked 6 last night, but he wasn't good enough.

I really enjoyed the game , but we should not have allowed Richmond to kick 6 in the last quarter when we had them on their knees. The backline is still not settled, but Harro has had a good start to the season and was very impressive once more down there.

In the mid field, Scotty West, what a Champ, 35 posessions what more can you say. The unsung hero for us was Matthew Boyd, his centre clearances really hurt Richmond and his hard running and long kicks into the forward line created a few goals for him and others.

Murphy was unstoppable in the forward line and really should have had 5 on the board , he must be kicking himself missing from 12 metres out. He also created a few goals for Cooney and others. But was it a case Richmond didn't have any one to put on him?

Overall, I thought we did well against an opposition lacking any real stars.

[Go_Dogs]

Discipline was one area that was disappointing last night.

[GVGjr]

Discipline was one area that was disappointing last night.

Who did you think were the main culprits?