So. What's our best forward set up look like?

[Twodogs]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

So I think next year it's:

HF: Crameri Cloke Stringer
F: Dickson Boyd Smith

It's worth noting Stringer & Dickson kicked an impressive 42 & 40 goals this year respectively, often on the best two defenders while Boyd was out of the side. If Boyd can continue to clunk big marks, and Cloke can hit form, then Stringer and Dickson get the added benefit of having lesser defenders. So replicating 40+ goals next year is on the cards for Jake & Tory. Crameri is good for 30 goals when in form (done it 5 years straight). We'd be hoping for 30 or so each from Boyd (nearly a goal a game this year) & Cloke (averaged 1.5 goals this year). Plus a couple from Smith (averaged 1.5 goals this year) and all the others rotating through such as Picken, Bonts (a goal a game this year), Daniel, Dahl, Roughy etc.

I have a feeling we will be a considerably higher scoring team next year.

Watching the earlier finals again and I've noticed that Bontempelli is no slouch at CHF himself. A couple of times late in quarters when defenders were starting to get a bit leg weary the Bont would be running them around inside 50 and then running back into the space he'd created for himself and take marks on the lead.

Then again he could sit on the bench all day and be much better at just sitting there than everyone else.

[Bornadog]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

That is one hell of a forward line. Even without the KPFs.
Stringer Crameri Dixon and C. Smith. Sheesh...........try stopping all of THEM.

Dickson

[Twodogs]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

That is one hell of a forward line. Even without the KPFs.
Stringer Crameri Dixon and C. Smith. Sheesh...........try stopping all of THEM.

Dickson

Deadeye Dickson. Premiership player..

[always right]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

Crameri Cloke McLean
Stringer Boyd Dickson

Roughy and Boyd to share ruck duties.

My only concern is this makes our forwardline slower. Cloke is the one who goes out if this is the case and I expect Stringer to be far more effective in 2017 with Crameri back.

[ReLoad]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

Crameri alone makes our forward structure lethal. holy shoot next year is going to be epic!

[choconmientay]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

Just read an article about our forward line stood up in the GF and delivered the premiership for us.
It's scary to think we'll be even better with Crameri and Clokecoing in(back) into the team.

Enjoy.

TheRoar - Western Bulldogs’ forward line delivers in grand final victory

It was one of the pressing storylines heading into the grand final.

How could Western Bulldogs’ forward line deliver against the best defensive unit we have seen in years? Could the Dogs’ manic forward pressure overcome the astonishing Sydney Swans’ defence?

The answer was a resounding yes, but not in the way we expected.

No doubt, the Bulldogs’ pressure and ferocity at the footy was, as always, terrific. The Dogs’ 15 tackles inside 50 and 172 contested possessions reflect this. Sydney couldn’t break out of defence and create scoring chains from their back half, thanks to the Bulldogs’ aggressiveness at the contest.

However, this intrusive nature from the Bulldogs was a given coming into the game. Everyone knew it was going to happen, it was just going to be a matter of how the Swans would handle it.

What wasn’t in the cards, though, was a proficient scoring attack from the Bulldogs’ forwards.

All 13 of the Dogs’ goals came from forwards. No midfield goals or majors from eager defenders, even though Norm Smith Medalist Jason Johannisen came agonisingly close to kicking a monstrous goal from outside 50.

The group of Tory Dickson, Liam Picken, Tom Boyd, Jake Stringer, Zaine Cordy, Clay Smith and Toby McLean kicked the 13 goals that turned Dog dreamers into believers.

Picken, the 2016 finals cult hero, was a pest up forward. The Swans couldn’t get an inch of free space, because Picken was always lurking and pounced when the opportunity presented itself.

Once again, though, you knew Picken was going to bring this mindset to the contest. It was the three goals, including the clincher 26 minutes into the final term, which really made Picken one of the most influential players on the ground.

If you said one of the two million dollar men would boot three goals, take six contested marks and collect 14 touches, Lance Franklin would pose as a shoo-in.




It was the much-maligned Boyd, though, who imposed himself on the contest and lived up to his paycheck. His work around the ground was tremendous, as Boyd’s aerial excellence was awe-inspiring. Boyd’s trio of goals proved he still commands attention up forward, his natural position, and it may flip a switch in the former Giant’s career.

Tom Hawkins had a breaking out party in the 2011 grand final and the similarities between that effort and Boyd’s are striking. Hawkins’ three-goal effort led Geelong to an upset victory on that day, a carbon copy of Boyd’s performance.

Boyd’s paycheck demands him stand up in the big moments. Well, he stood up in the biggest of them all.

Dickson shook off an inaccurate September to return to his old reliable self in front of the big sticks, kicking three goals straight. The game was won at ground level, as a combined 100 inside 50s yielded just 17 marks inside the arcs. This scenario suits someone like Dickson perfectly, as his roving expertise was on full display.

One goal stands out above the rest. Dickson’s magnificent snap followed an even better piece of play from Lachie Hunter, whose flicking effort kept the footy in play, a testimony to the Dogs’ desperation.

Stringer had a quiet day by his standards, but as he usually does, one singular moment of brilliance will define his grand final. Amidst a sea of players, Stringer somehow willed himself through the pack to put the Bulldogs back up by seven points, in a moment when the Swans were building momentum.

It’s moments like that, which make guys like Stringer so electric. Missing for most of the day, which is backed up by his 12-disposal outing, Stringer’s goal will go down in Bulldog folk lure. Game defining moments like that is something only the special ones can create.

Smith, another one of the Dogs’ September heroes, continued his sensational finals run. Cordy’s effort is extra impressive, when you consider his mid-season suspension for getting into a punching incident with Boyd. McLean was adequate in the middle of the contest and subsequently rewarded with a goal.

The Bulldogs’ lacking scoring power had many worried, including yours truly.

In a finals campaign that can only be described as magical, though, the Dogs made history and it was their forwards that led the way.

[Twodogs]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

Crameri Cloke McLean
Stringer Boyd Dickson

Roughy and Boyd to share ruck duties.

My only concern is this makes our forwardline slower. Cloke is the one who goes out if this is the case and I expect Stringer to be far more effective in 2017 with Crameri back.

Crameri and Dickson push right up into defence a lot of the game most games and Cloke covers a lot of ground. Boyd will be on Ruck duties a bit (hopefully a little bit). It looks great but I'd bet that combination won't spend a lot of game time together.

But I've not often seen us with a multi pronged attack with various tall marking options for our mids to choose from. And never one this potent. Given the amount of time our mids were able generate in the forward 50 this year we have reason to be genuinely excited and to look forward to some pretty big scores.

[Bornadog]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

Will be interesting to see the forward set up Bevo comes up with in 2017:

[bulldogtragic]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

I think Cloke in particular could be a real wildcard. Now more than ever, the intercept marking defender is one of the most crucial roles in opposition teams. And we obviously rate it because my boy Cordy was playing the shutdown roles on these players through the finals series despite not being a natural forward. If Clokey is still covering 16+ KMs a game, is good for one or two goals and most importantly use his height, weight, experience and fierce attack on the intercepting defender to nullify them and get the ball to ground than he becomes an integral part of our forward system. He doesn't need to personally kick 3 each week in my eyes, if he gets the one or two, but is able to assist in plays that generate more scoring shots then he's comfortably in our best 22 (as Bevo says above). I can only hope some of our impatient or ignorant fans understand he's going to be a role player and not be Nathan Buckley's and demand his dropping if he's not kicking huge bags.

[hujsh]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

I think Cloke in particular could be a real wildcard. Now more than ever, the intercept marking defender is one of the most crucial roles in opposition teams. And we obviously rate it because my boy Cordy was playing the shutdown roles on these players through the finals series despite not being a natural forward. If Clokey is still covering 16+ KMs a game, is good for one or two goals and most importantly use his height, weight, experience and fierce attack on the intercepting defender to nullify them and get the ball to ground than he becomes an integral part of our forward system. He doesn't need to personally kick 3 each week in my eyes, if he gets the one or two, but is able to assist in plays that generate more scoring shots then he's comfortably in our best 22 (as Bevo says above). I can only hope some of our impatient or ignorant fans understand he's going to be a role player and not be Nathan Buckley's and demand his dropping if he's not kicking huge bags.

It's something I think Boyd is good at that we miss when he's in the ruck.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

It's something I think Boyd is good at that we miss when he's in the ruck.

And that's why I'd like us to trial two rucks plus Boyd in the pre season games. Bevo said he'd play a fair bit of Camhead and Boyd & Redders all together before Redders did his ACL. I'd like to see what it looks like in the preseason games, also whether Cloke can pinch hit in the ruck also. There's a lot of options open to trialling in these glorified practice matches, so I'd like to have a good look at them and if they work great and if they don't we can settle down on a set up that does work with big guys around the place. Going ahead we are going to be playing more tall players in our set up (we recruited in 7 of them) so it's incumbent on the match committee now to see how we do it now and with a view to how we will do it when Redders comes back and kids step up.

[Bulldog4life]

Re: So. What's our best forward set up look like?

And that's why I'd like us to trial two rucks plus Boyd in the pre season games. Bevo said he'd play a fair bit of Camhead and Boyd & Redders all together before Redders did his ACL. I'd like to see what it looks like in the preseason games, also whether Cloke can pinch hit in the ruck also. There's a lot of options open to trialling in these glorified practice matches, so I'd like to have a good look at them and if they work great and if they don't we can settle down on a set up that does work with big guys around the place. Going ahead we are going to be playing more tall players in our set up (we recruited in 7 of them) so it's incumbent on the match committee now to see how we do it now and with a view to how we will do it when Redders comes back and kids step up.

I think Boyd will always be the forward/ruck player. Even he said recently that is where he plays his best footy.