Game Day 2011 - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Bris

[Maddog37]

Funny sort of game. Lots of fumbling but attack on the man and ball were greatly improved. Gia led the way in that regard I reckon. We definitely play our best footy when we take more risks. The down side is when the risks don't come off we look terrible.

Still think we need to get the balance right regarding when our players run forward of the ball.

Games into our younger guys is a big bonus. Bring on wallis and maybe Howard.

[Mofra]

Our Round 1 in many respects will be in round 5.
Our first ten minutes was poor, but the team started to click more as the game wore on.

The result was irrelevent in some ways - we played ourselves into some form, although structurally we still get too many sucked forward of the ball. If our defenders win the one on ones we will hurt sides. Our HF line did much better today, although Jones seems to either run too hard to the fall of the ball from CHF or teammates kick it too high to him - rarely got one out on the lead. It's something that will improve with time and when he plays deep he looks dangerous.

I was very happy with Tommy's game, really provided some rebound and he would butter up any mistakes he made. Tackling was also a feature.

Going to be very hard to drop Markovic - he is rapidly going from a depth player to someone who is a legitimate consideration every week depending on match ups.

[LostDoggy]

Obviously Brisvegas are going to be fairly ordinary this year, so we didn't have that much opposition, and I was nervous at the start as we seemed to be very slow off the mark. The boys improved from last week, and there were some good signs - gotta love Libba, and whilst Stack made some errors and doesn't seem to be able to keep his feet, he certainly looked to me like he was giving it 100%. We still have lots of room for improvement, but I'm happy to take a percentage boosting win over ordinary opposition than a galant defeat against a great side any day!

[mjp]

Obviously Brisvegas are going to be fairly ordinary this year,

We don't know that yet.

Freo beat Brisbane (lucky) by 2 points, and Freo should have beaten Geelong last night but for some inaccurate kicking at the death...and Geelong beat the Saints...

Brisbane are young, but after two weeks we don't know much about anyone except Collingwood.

[LostDoggy]

We don't know that yet.

Freo beat Brisbane (lucky) by 2 points, and Freo should have beaten Geelong last night but for some inaccurate kicking at the death...and Geelong beat the Saints...

Brisbane are young, but after two weeks we don't know much about anyone except Collingwood.

True MJP, but I probably should have clarified my statement i.e., with Brown out for an extended period, they are looking very ordinary! Your statement about Collingwood just confirms what I said to someone at the game today - just how do you beat them? Is there any team up to the task?

[EasternWest]

I was very happy with Tommy's game, really provided some rebound and he would butter up any mistakes he made. Tackling was also a feature.

Very true. It was "certainly pleasing" that he never dropped his head when he got beaten, just hustled his tail off to harass and tackle.

Even feeling confident enough to spoil with the back of his head .

[alwaysadog]

Maybe some would be happier if we lost. Nothing to complain about and no one to scapegoat.

You can't be serious.

After a big win like this, all the usual suspects will be dammed with faint praise and the context and the real issues will be ignored.

Analysis is for fools, let the emotions rip.

[alwaysadog]

Is it appropriate to take time off from complaining and to talk in terms of the transformation of the side, or perhaps the side in transition?

It’s so different from the one we used to know and all those who have been complaining about the lack of opportunity afforded our young players should get off the backs of individuals and start concentrating on what’s happening structurally.

Take today
1 Of the back six, Marcovic, Stack and Hill played key roles. That’s an amazing change, and all acquitted well, but not perfectly and experience and leadership was not exactly abundant.

2. Up forward we had Grant, Jones and at times Roughead, and once Hall was retired for the day only Gia was a senior player, and at the start of the last ¼ the oldest player in the front six was Higgins.

3. On ball we have Libba jnr and have also introduced Sherman, and Djerrkura, with my mate Vez and young Wallis in the wings.

Does anybody really expect a side with this structure to yet work like a finely oiled and tuned machine?

While I was critical of a lot of things last week, the audacity of the changes being implemented is breath taking and while not yet a polished package showed that the more they play together the better they get.

There are still issues and I’m not about to give up my critical stance, anyone who has followed what I write would know that, but if I’d told anyone we’d win a game by 13 goals with the side we had today you’d have told me “I was dreaming”.

[AndrewP6]

Is it appropriate to take time off from complaining and to talk in terms of the transformation of the side, or perhaps the side in transition?

It’s so different from the one we used to know and all those who have been complaining about the lack of opportunity afforded our young players should get off the backs of individuals and start concentrating on what’s happening structurally.

Take today
1 Of the back six, Marcovic, Stack and Hill played key roles. That’s an amazing change, and all acquitted well, but not perfectly and experience and leadership was not exactly abundant.

2. Up forward we had Grant, Jones and at times Roughead, and once Hall was retired for the day only Gia was a senior player, and at the start of the last ¼ the oldest player in the front six was Higgins.

3. On ball we have Libba jnr and have also introduced Sherman, and Djkerrua, with my mate Vez and young Wallis in the wings.

Does anybody really expect a side with this structure to yet work like a finely oiled and tuned machine?

While I was critical of a lot of things last week, the audacity of the changes being implemented is breath taking and while not yet a polished package showed that the more they play together the better they get.

There are still issues and I’m not about to give up my critical stance, anyone who has followed what I write would know that, but if I’d told anyone we’d win a game by 13 goals with the side we had today you’d have told me “I was dreaming”.

Well said.

[alwaysadog]

If Tommy had held his marks he would have been Lake-esq in his performance today

Slowly the things we hoped for from Tommy are happening and with Lake back next week or the one after he'll only get better.

PS Brian was a guest at the TopDogs lunch and had pulled up well and is looking to getting his spot back.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

We started off very rusty, which confirms my belief that it's going to take at least half a season until we are playing our best football. However, I thought the same last year - and that didn't really happen at any stage. A 78 point win is very good, but there's still a lot of worrying signs. Inside 50's being the biggest of them. If we were to play against a half decent side, we'd probably be in trouble - ala last week. I've read various suggestions that our fitness etc. isn't as high as what it has been in previous seasons, due to us hoping to peak for finals. It sort of looks that way, in that we're playing as though we haven't been training at full intensity for long enough.

On the upside, I thought we improved as the game wore on. The pressuring and defensive game was better than last week, particularly in the forward half, however I don't like that we are conceeding a lot of space in the midfield. It means sides can freely run the ball up to the 70-80m mark, and bomb the ball to put our defence under seige. Sides like Brisbane will struggle to make us pay, but Essendon did, and Collingwood will. Why are we allowing sides so much space in the midfield? Why are we clogging up the backline? We only make it harder for ourselves when we win the ball, and have nobody/nowhere to kick it to. Against weaker sides, you may get away with running the ball out in numbers, but against good sides - you're put under immense pressure. It's a game plan I really hate.

* Cross: He finds the ball, he shows courage and takes some good marks. However, his time in the game is limited - particularly within our side. He makes far too many errors by foot and hand. Again today he used his left foot when he didn't need to, and turned it over. It's stupid football. We cannot play Cross, Boyd and Gia in the same side - one of them has to go, and I don't believe Cross offers us enough offensively or defensively.

* Williams: Very good game. Dropped around 4 marks he should have held onto, which would have made his game in the top bracket. However - Clarke is a good player, and Williams gave him a bath today. He's confident with the ball in hand, made strong tackles, had second efforts, spoiled the ball and rectified mistakes he made.

* Griffen: Seriously good game. It was very pleasing to see Griff return to form after a poor pre-season and round one. Showed today he is a cut above the rest when switched on. Nice to see him convert his chances in front of goal, including a brilliant piece of play with the snap around the body.

* Cooney: Improved on last week's performance and looked fitter. Good signs.

* Higgins slowly getting back into it. His stats looked good, better than I expected. Thought his defensive pressure was good today, and we all know he can finish - which he did.

* Libba is a gem. You can't teach a player how to find the ball. It's an innate ability that few have, and coupled with his lethal hands - he's a beauty. Left foot skills also pretty neat. Very impressed.

* Hill was impressive again today. Made a few basic errors, including a few attempts to mark the ball in defence when he should have spoiled. However, his reading of the play is very handy down back. Picks off kicks nicely, positions himself well, and as a result is playing the perfect sweeper role.

* Whilst Hudson was better today, I still think this is his last year and that he'll struggle to impact as many games as we'll want him to. Looks to be struggling with the pace of the game, even though some of his desperate acts today were very good.

* Markovic played pretty well. I think he's doing a better job than expected. Whilst he only played on kids today, he did a decent job on Hurley last week. He's keeping things relatively simple, spoiling the ball, and getting it into the hands of the runners when he has a chance to.

* Stack is a frustrating player. Shows some good signs, with quick closing speed at times, some strong tackles, some run and carry. However, he still makes some poor skill and decision making errors. He's doing OK at this stage.

* Sherman will be an important player for us. His run and carry was good, and his attack on the ball/man even better. Never thought he was a soft player, but didn't think he was as hard as he showed today. Seems to me like he's a confidence player; he got better as the game wore on.

[anfo27]

79 tackles today. I can't remember the last time i have seen us put up a tally of tackles that high. That is a step in the right direction.

[bornadog]

* Whilst Hudson was better today, I still think this is his last year and that he'll struggle to impact as many games as we'll want him to. Looks to be struggling with the pace of the game, even though some of his desperate acts today were very good.

Got smashed in the ruck today as did Roughead. Rucks are an issue at this stage.

* Stack is a frustrating player. Shows some good signs, with quick closing speed at times, some strong tackles, some run and carry. However, he still makes some poor skill and decision making errors. He's doing OK at this stage.

.

Is Stack the new Hargrave early in his career?

He has played a 13 games and everyone expects him to be a super star. He is now getting better every week as he learns the game. Yes he made some poor decisions but also played some good footy, so not sure why he is singled out by many posters.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Got smashed in the ruck today as did Roughead. Rucks are an issue at this stage.

Yep.

I actually think a Minson/Roughead combination would be the best way to go, however I don't want to write Hudson off after only two games.

Is Stack the new Hargrave early in his career?

He has played a 13 games and everyone expects him to be a super star. He is now getting better every week as he learns the game. Yes he made some poor decisions but also played some good footy, so not sure why he is singled out by many posters.

I was one of few that supported Stack being picked to play in round one.

He deserves another game, too.

He's frustrating because he has obvious raw talent, but at times can make very basic errors. If he eliminates this, he can be a good player. His desperation has certainly improved.

I think there's hope for Stack, especially when we get Lake (and either Hargrave/Gilbee in form) back.

[anfo27]

Got smashed in the ruck today as did Roughead. Rucks are an issue at this stage.



Is Stack the new Hargrave early in his career?

He has played a 13 games and everyone expects him to be a super star. He is now getting better every week as he learns the game. Yes he made some poor decisions but also played some good footy, so not sure why he is singled out by many posters.

I think thats unfair. Posters have come out and suggested he played well I just didn't agree with that.