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Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
From the Hun
The Western Bulldogs’ barnstorming finish to 2019 came to a sudden halt in the elimination final.
But performances in the back end of the home-and-away season gave fans plenty to look forward to — and they aren’t the only reason to think the Dogs are on the way back to the business end of the ladder next season.
Here are eight reasons to get excited about the red, white and blue in 2020.
1. THE ASTRONAUT
The Bulldogs breathed a big sigh of relief when it was revealed forward Aaron Naughton did not suffer an ACL tear to his knee in their elimination final thumping by the GWS Giants. He did suffer some damage to his lateral ligament, but the good news is he is expected to start training with the main group in the new year and he should be right for the start of the 2020 season.
Naughton — who has just turned 20 — booted 32 goals and averaged 5.7 marks from 23 games in 2019, with former Essendon and St Kilda champion Brendon Goddard believing he is “in line to be one of the best key forwards in the game by the end of 2020”. With the likes of Josh Schache, new recruit Josh Bruce, Tory Dickson and Sam Lloyd around him, there’s a lot to look forward to next season.
2. THE RECRUITS
Bruce has arrived at the kennel, which is his third club in eight years. The former Giant and Saint will fit nicely into a Bulldogs’ forward line already boasting Naughton and Josh Schache. How this three-pronged attack will work in action remains to be seen, but it has Bulldogs supporters licking their lips. Alex Keath, meanwhile, recently had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his lower leg, although the intercept defender has said it should not affect his 2020 campaign. He is set to be back to full training next month, and the smart money suggests he could be one of the recruits of the year.
3. THE MIDFIELD
The Bulldogs boast the midfield Champion Data has ranked as the second-best in the AFL behind 2019 bolter Brisbane. We all know why. New skipper Marcus Bontempelli, Josh Dunkley and Jack Macrae are all stars. Despite that, they still ranked 12th for total clearances in 2019. Although the return of Tom Liberatore should help in that department, and so will the continued emergence of ruckman Tim English and youngster Bailey Smith.
4. THE RETURNING STARS
The loss of premiership players Tom Liberatore (knee) and Mitch Wallis (foot) hurt the Bulldogs in 2019. The good news is the pair have recently stepped up their training loads after both going under the knife earlier this year. Liberatore was badly missed in the latter stages of 2019. He managed 15 games but had an interrupted season and did not play after Round 20. Wallis did not play after Round 10 due to a stress fracture in his foot, and the Dogs look forward to welcoming both back to their best 22 in 2020.
5. FINISH TO LAST SEASON
They were one of the form sides entering September. In fact, people were already drawing parallels to 2016 when the Bulldogs won the flag from seventh on the ladder. The Dogs got on a serious run in the second half of 2019, winning eight of their last 11 home-and-away matches and knocking off the likes of Geelong, GWS and Essendon in the process. The season, however, ended in the first week of the finals at the hands of a rampant GWS Giants. The young Pups run out of puff, but there was enough there in the second half of the year to excite supporters for the future.
Can new Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli take his game to another level in 2020?
6. SECOND-BEST LIST
They were the bolter of the recently released Champion Data team rankings for 2020. The Bulldogs were ranked 15th going into 2019, but they have risen a staggering 13 places to be second behind premier Richmond going into the new year. Expectations were fairly moderate going into 2019, but heading into 2020 it is a different story. There will be a lot more eyes watching Luke Beveridge’s men in the new year.
7. TIM ENGLISH
English was recently described by Brendon Goddard as “Brodie Grundy 2.0 in the making”. It is a big wrap, but not too many would disagree. There is a lot of buzz surrounding English heading into 2020 and with good reason. Track watchers at the Bulldogs say the emerging star has been dominating pre-season training at the kennel so far this summer. Expect to see English take the next step towards stardom next season.
8. SCORING POWER
The Dogs’ forward half weapons in the second half of 2019 were seriously exciting. They finished the 2019 home-and-away season third overall for scoring with an average of 88.2 per game. In the last five rounds of the season, they ranked No.1. When you add recruit Bruce to the mixture along with the continued development of their talls, you can see why the hype around the Dogs continues to grow.
CHAMPION DATA SAYS
The Bulldogs list is well balanced heading into 2020, having the second-best list rating as well as the second-best defensive and midfield quality. The Bulldogs have a total of 21 players in the age bracket of 21-25 – the most of any side in the competition.
HOW THE DOGS ARE TRACKING
2015: 6th — 14W, 8L (elimination fial)
2016: 7th — 15W, 7L (premier)
2017: 10th — 11W, 11L
2018: 13th — 8W, 14L
2019: 7th — 12W, 10L (elimination final)
TAB ODDS
Premiership: $11
Top 8: $1.60
Top 4: $2.60
Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"
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Post Thanks / Like - 3 Thanks, 1 Likes
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Can't argue with any of that. Looking forward to the 2020 season, it is going to be a cracker.
FFC: Established 1883
Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
bornadog
Can't argue with any of that. Looking forward to the 2020 season, it is going to be a cracker.
I'd argue that Wallis isn't a premiership player.
Our biggest worry is how much other sides, ones we don't really pay attention to, improve over the preseason. Some will drop, some will rise, how we fit into all of that with what should be some improvement remains to be seen.
Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
jeemak
I'd argue that Wallis isn't a premiership player.
Our biggest worry is how much other sides, ones we don't really pay attention to, improve over the preseason. Some will drop, some will rise, how we fit into all of that with what should be some improvement remains to be seen.
Yeah the Wallis thing is a big mistake.
Mitch won't care at the moment I reckon. He's got a ultrasound to show everyone!
They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them.
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Post Thanks / Like - 0 Thanks, 1 Likes
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Not getting ahead of myself just yet but it is very exciting.
"Footscray people are incredible people; so humble. I'm just so happy - ecstatic"
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Yay. Expectation. What could possibly go wrong.
Tis hard not to feel some excitement.
We've got some atoning to do.
BORDERLINE FLYING
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
Rocket Science
Yay. Expectation. What could possibly go wrong.
Tis hard not to feel some excitement.
We've got some atoning to do.
I can't think of anything that could possibly go wrong.
They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them.
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
Rocket Science
Yay. Expectation. What could possibly go wrong.
Tis hard not to feel some excitement.
We've got some atoning to do.
We should be more than willing to accept the additional level of expectation. We've addressed our lack of KP players and we have one of the best midfields in the competition. I think we've basically run out of convenient reasons to accept an under performing season
If our performance against GWS in the final isn't enough to motivate the players and the club then nothing will
Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
GVGjr
We should be more than willing to accept the additional level of expectation. We've addressed our lack of KP players and we have one of the best midfields in the competition. I think we've basically run out of convenient reasons to accept an under performing season
If our performance against GWS in the final isn't enough to motivate the players and the club then nothing will
That was embarrassing. They intimidated us and I *!*!*!*!ing hated it.
They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them.
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
Twodogs
That was embarrassing. They intimidated us and I *!*!*!*!ing hated it.
Yeah it wasn't a great game at all Twodogs. We had a period there where we played well but mostly we just couldn't get going because of their physical pressure. Will be good to payback Toby Greene and GWS with an emphatic win against them when we next meet. Would love to beat them at the MCG in a final one day but we would have to finish higher on the ladder for that to be a chance.
"Footscray people are incredible people; so humble. I'm just so happy - ecstatic"
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Can’t agree with number 4.. on current form both will need to work hard to get back into the team and aren’t ‘stars’.
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
Mantis
Can’t agree with number 4.. on current form both will need to work hard to get back into the team and aren’t ‘stars’.
Agreed. Libba is a big concern for me. He needs to get more football and clean football so he can use his kicking more effectively. He’s not productive enough for mine.
Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
jeemak
Agreed. Libba is a big concern for me. He needs to get more football and clean football so he can use his kicking more effectively. He’s not productive enough for mine.
How productive do we want him to be? We've got enough blokes who get in 25+ times and most of them are as or more effective/efficient than Libba is these days. As a depth midfielder and spare parts player, he's probably a 15-20 possession player.
Agree we want him getting more clean ball, but does that mean he has to play behind the ball or high half forward? Maybe it does but is he going to be the most effective/efficient option there? I can see him playing 22 games body permitting but in a range of roles week to week, and within each game. Defensive work, a good rotation in the clearance and being combative/serviceable should be enough in the 16-22 range where I think he sits now.
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Re: Eight reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020
Originally Posted by
jeemak
Agreed. Libba is a big concern for me. He needs to get more football and clean football so he can use his kicking more effectively. He’s not productive enough for mine.
Don't forget he came back from an ACL last year, and still had knee problems. He will be fine as his clearance work is first class.
FFC: Established 1883
Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.