Tweet
Thanks for the opportunity to get one of these up. I haven't had a lot of time on my hands, but I've enjoyed coming up with this all the same and hopefully it's not too bad of a read either. it was too long to post in the one, so I've cut it up into two sections.
----------------------------------------------------
Match: Essendon v Western Bulldogs – Telstra Dome – Friday Night
Recent Form: The Bombers were super impressive in Round 1, taking on a former top four side and taking them to the cleaners. Their run through the middle of the ground was pivotal; Houli was fantastic whilst Jetta, Davey & Dempsey provide plenty of pace & good ball use. Geelong gave them a substantial reality check a week later though, outlining that although the Bombers have talent, there’s a long way to go. They bounced back against Carlton , but a few injuries are of some concern. The Bulldogs have started the season in prolific fashion, recording a very impressive victory over The Saints. Two wins against two very good sides is a great start in anyones books.
----------------------------------------------------
Last time they played:
Rd 15 2007 - TD - Saturday night - Western Bulldogs 20.11.131 dftd Essendon 14.14.98
At the time, it appeared an important game. A win for either side would apparently result most likely in a finals birth. Both sides were vying for a spot in the 8, and the match ebbed and flowed in the first half. The Doggies ran away early taking a 4+ goal early lead before surrending it seconds prior to quarter time. Again, in the second quarter The Doggies fired back where the run of Cooney became crucial. Although mistakes were made, the four points for The Dogs were achieved. Little did we all know that Round 15 would be the last victory of 2007, ensuring we miss out of September action.
----------------------------------------------------
Players missing / At the selection table:
Western Bulldogs: Higgins is out for three months, Ray another two away whilst Williams & Everitt are probably still two-three themselves. I suspect all will have to play through the VFL first, anyhow. It was revealed on Monday that Scott West had surgery on his knee, and although only minor, is likely to miss this week’s game. Nathan Eagleton who’s had a two week layoff would have to be an inclusion if so. Callan or Harbrow were in some sort of danger if the side that took on The Saints was fully fit, but they would have to be very, very stiff to miss as both have done pretty well over the last two weeks & one week respectively. All in all, I suspect either no change or Eagleton to come in at Westy’s injury expense.
Essendon: The Bombers have a few injury concerns, although a couple should be still right to play. Hille came back after his injury and should be right. Jetta is certain to miss however, whilst Pevrill would appear likely to be dropped after a poor game. Welsh & Lovett-Murray are possible inclusions, whilst Jason Johnson is another that The Bombers will look at. McVeigh was reported and although I didn’t witness the incident, the word is that he’ll be OK.
----------------------------------------------------
Style of play / team structure’s:
Western Bulldogs – As the football world knows, our style is to run & carry the football with sublime foot & hand skills. This has been clearly on display in the first three rounds of this season, but our style of play is significantly improved from that of 05-07. After bulking up over the summer, we’ve been able to employ a much harder edge to our hard running gameplan. In recent years we’ve really struggled in the contested situations and in this day & age, it doesn’t matter how fast you can run, if you’re pushed off the ball easily you’re basically useless. Trading away McMahon & Power whilst recruiting Welsh & Hudson have been a clear change of direction. Less emphasis has been put on the receivers, and more on players who can find the ball and compete well in contested situations. Both Hudson & Welsh are great at this and have improved our squad remarkably. Hudson has clearly had a positive effect on Minson as both have been instrumental around the stoppages. The work ethic of the entire club has improved dramatically too, as the players are far more willing to work hard both ways rather than just offensively. Therefore, whilst being deadly as ever on the rebound and when we have the football, we’ve been equally good at applying pressure on the opposition and forcing them to play exactly how they don’t want to be. When they have the football, we’ve applied hard tackles that stick – we’ve had numbers around the ball and we’ve made the opposition work endlessly hard to play the type of style they want to. It’s only early but we’ve certainly employed a similar style to that of Geelongs. This is obviously largely due to the increased strength we’ve built up over the summer, and the improved fitness base. Cooney has been brilliant with his work rate, whilst the usual suspects (Cross, West, Boyd) have featured too. Up forward we’ve had plenty of options. Murphy is moving as well as he ever has, and over the last three weeks has been incredibly impressive with his ability to read the play, hold marks and weave in-between opposition players without kicking the ball to nobody. Akermanis has been very handy up forward whilst Welsh & Johnson have worked beautifully in tandem, despite a quiet outing last week against The Saints. Minson has been great at bringing the ball to ground and as evident against The Saints, he doesn’t need to mark everything, but if he brings the ball to his feet 9/10 times then we’re going to score goals. Crumbers such as Aker, Higgins(inj), Gia & Harbrow will be loving the work of Minson. Down back we struggled in Round 1, but have been great in the last two weeks. Morris & Lake have been simply outstanding, both putting a blanket on their opponents including the likes of Riewoldt & Gehrig. Wight deserves credit, too; he’s working hard and although he makes mistakes, he’s doing well enough to keep his spot. After a rough first quarter, he did a fine job on Kosi and the pleasing thing was that Wight made him work defensively – which simply, he wasn’t prepared to do. This is what Wight has to do, and he has been. Every game he’s been sneaking up the ground and managing a couple of shots on goal. Probably should’ve had two more, but he’s doing really well nevertheless in this aspect and needs to continue it. Overall, we’re playing as a team – a good team. Run & carry with our good skills will always still be on display, but our discipline, perseverance, pressure skills & mentality has improved enormously and this is the reason we’ve been so impressive.
Essendon – Over the last few seasons, Essendon has been hounded for a serious lack of pace. Over the last two drafts they’ve gone some way to rectifying that. Inclusions of players like Davey, Dempsey, Jetta, Winderlich & co have injected plenty of pace through the midfield and zip up forward. Therefore, The Bombers have somewhat emulated the run & carry gameplan of our 2005 season. It’s only very early days and like us, they’ve had a mixed bag of results. Pretty young side and they’re still developing and learning a new gameplan, so it’s to be expected. Against The Kangaroos they were able to employ their hard running style of play to perfect use. Houli dominated whilst Davey, Jetta & Dempsey got plenty of the ball around the ground. Jay Nash is a nice inclusion for them too, and both Winderlich & Dyson can cover some territory fairly quickly. Up forward they had winners. Lloyd was fantastic and Hille proved to be a good target too. However, the following week Geelong were able to completely shut down their run, out-muscle them with ridiculous ease and absolutely obliterate them on the scoreboard. Familiar results to our gameplan of 05-07, where against bigger & stronger sides, we’d falter – and badly. Against The Blues they were a bit lucky to come away with a win. Fevola dominated with 8 goals up forward whilst Judd returned to terrific form picking up 32 possessions and bagging two majors. Stevens & Murphy were certainly influential too, which would cause concern for The Bombers, as they are priding themselves on their midfield’s ability to run, carry & deliver the footy. Against The Blues, an average side, they struggled to consistently apply this type of style. It’ll be very interesting to watch The Bombers progress over the course of the year, because whilst they have pace, they can be scored heavily against. Michael & Fletcher are good defenders but will probably struggle against the premier forwards. With Lucas going down with a long term injury, it places a massive emphasis on Lloyd to kick 4+ goals a game. With some quality defenders around, that’s not going to be an easy task. Their plan is however to execute their strengths; run in waves, carry the football through handballing & kicking, & spotting up their key forward targets. Playing through the center of the ground is vital, too. On paper it seems simple and effective, but they are a young and fairly inexperienced side. Against bigger bodies and quality opposition, they won’t be given space and they’ll have to work much harder defensively. However, with targets like Lloyd to spot up & Davey at his feet, they’ll still be dangerous at times throughout the year.
----------------------------------------------------
Match: Essendon v Western Bulldogs – Telstra Dome – Friday Night
Recent Form: The Bombers were super impressive in Round 1, taking on a former top four side and taking them to the cleaners. Their run through the middle of the ground was pivotal; Houli was fantastic whilst Jetta, Davey & Dempsey provide plenty of pace & good ball use. Geelong gave them a substantial reality check a week later though, outlining that although the Bombers have talent, there’s a long way to go. They bounced back against Carlton , but a few injuries are of some concern. The Bulldogs have started the season in prolific fashion, recording a very impressive victory over The Saints. Two wins against two very good sides is a great start in anyones books.
----------------------------------------------------
Last time they played:
Rd 15 2007 - TD - Saturday night - Western Bulldogs 20.11.131 dftd Essendon 14.14.98
At the time, it appeared an important game. A win for either side would apparently result most likely in a finals birth. Both sides were vying for a spot in the 8, and the match ebbed and flowed in the first half. The Doggies ran away early taking a 4+ goal early lead before surrending it seconds prior to quarter time. Again, in the second quarter The Doggies fired back where the run of Cooney became crucial. Although mistakes were made, the four points for The Dogs were achieved. Little did we all know that Round 15 would be the last victory of 2007, ensuring we miss out of September action.
----------------------------------------------------
Players missing / At the selection table:
Western Bulldogs: Higgins is out for three months, Ray another two away whilst Williams & Everitt are probably still two-three themselves. I suspect all will have to play through the VFL first, anyhow. It was revealed on Monday that Scott West had surgery on his knee, and although only minor, is likely to miss this week’s game. Nathan Eagleton who’s had a two week layoff would have to be an inclusion if so. Callan or Harbrow were in some sort of danger if the side that took on The Saints was fully fit, but they would have to be very, very stiff to miss as both have done pretty well over the last two weeks & one week respectively. All in all, I suspect either no change or Eagleton to come in at Westy’s injury expense.
Essendon: The Bombers have a few injury concerns, although a couple should be still right to play. Hille came back after his injury and should be right. Jetta is certain to miss however, whilst Pevrill would appear likely to be dropped after a poor game. Welsh & Lovett-Murray are possible inclusions, whilst Jason Johnson is another that The Bombers will look at. McVeigh was reported and although I didn’t witness the incident, the word is that he’ll be OK.
----------------------------------------------------
Style of play / team structure’s:
Western Bulldogs – As the football world knows, our style is to run & carry the football with sublime foot & hand skills. This has been clearly on display in the first three rounds of this season, but our style of play is significantly improved from that of 05-07. After bulking up over the summer, we’ve been able to employ a much harder edge to our hard running gameplan. In recent years we’ve really struggled in the contested situations and in this day & age, it doesn’t matter how fast you can run, if you’re pushed off the ball easily you’re basically useless. Trading away McMahon & Power whilst recruiting Welsh & Hudson have been a clear change of direction. Less emphasis has been put on the receivers, and more on players who can find the ball and compete well in contested situations. Both Hudson & Welsh are great at this and have improved our squad remarkably. Hudson has clearly had a positive effect on Minson as both have been instrumental around the stoppages. The work ethic of the entire club has improved dramatically too, as the players are far more willing to work hard both ways rather than just offensively. Therefore, whilst being deadly as ever on the rebound and when we have the football, we’ve been equally good at applying pressure on the opposition and forcing them to play exactly how they don’t want to be. When they have the football, we’ve applied hard tackles that stick – we’ve had numbers around the ball and we’ve made the opposition work endlessly hard to play the type of style they want to. It’s only early but we’ve certainly employed a similar style to that of Geelongs. This is obviously largely due to the increased strength we’ve built up over the summer, and the improved fitness base. Cooney has been brilliant with his work rate, whilst the usual suspects (Cross, West, Boyd) have featured too. Up forward we’ve had plenty of options. Murphy is moving as well as he ever has, and over the last three weeks has been incredibly impressive with his ability to read the play, hold marks and weave in-between opposition players without kicking the ball to nobody. Akermanis has been very handy up forward whilst Welsh & Johnson have worked beautifully in tandem, despite a quiet outing last week against The Saints. Minson has been great at bringing the ball to ground and as evident against The Saints, he doesn’t need to mark everything, but if he brings the ball to his feet 9/10 times then we’re going to score goals. Crumbers such as Aker, Higgins(inj), Gia & Harbrow will be loving the work of Minson. Down back we struggled in Round 1, but have been great in the last two weeks. Morris & Lake have been simply outstanding, both putting a blanket on their opponents including the likes of Riewoldt & Gehrig. Wight deserves credit, too; he’s working hard and although he makes mistakes, he’s doing well enough to keep his spot. After a rough first quarter, he did a fine job on Kosi and the pleasing thing was that Wight made him work defensively – which simply, he wasn’t prepared to do. This is what Wight has to do, and he has been. Every game he’s been sneaking up the ground and managing a couple of shots on goal. Probably should’ve had two more, but he’s doing really well nevertheless in this aspect and needs to continue it. Overall, we’re playing as a team – a good team. Run & carry with our good skills will always still be on display, but our discipline, perseverance, pressure skills & mentality has improved enormously and this is the reason we’ve been so impressive.
Essendon – Over the last few seasons, Essendon has been hounded for a serious lack of pace. Over the last two drafts they’ve gone some way to rectifying that. Inclusions of players like Davey, Dempsey, Jetta, Winderlich & co have injected plenty of pace through the midfield and zip up forward. Therefore, The Bombers have somewhat emulated the run & carry gameplan of our 2005 season. It’s only very early days and like us, they’ve had a mixed bag of results. Pretty young side and they’re still developing and learning a new gameplan, so it’s to be expected. Against The Kangaroos they were able to employ their hard running style of play to perfect use. Houli dominated whilst Davey, Jetta & Dempsey got plenty of the ball around the ground. Jay Nash is a nice inclusion for them too, and both Winderlich & Dyson can cover some territory fairly quickly. Up forward they had winners. Lloyd was fantastic and Hille proved to be a good target too. However, the following week Geelong were able to completely shut down their run, out-muscle them with ridiculous ease and absolutely obliterate them on the scoreboard. Familiar results to our gameplan of 05-07, where against bigger & stronger sides, we’d falter – and badly. Against The Blues they were a bit lucky to come away with a win. Fevola dominated with 8 goals up forward whilst Judd returned to terrific form picking up 32 possessions and bagging two majors. Stevens & Murphy were certainly influential too, which would cause concern for The Bombers, as they are priding themselves on their midfield’s ability to run, carry & deliver the footy. Against The Blues, an average side, they struggled to consistently apply this type of style. It’ll be very interesting to watch The Bombers progress over the course of the year, because whilst they have pace, they can be scored heavily against. Michael & Fletcher are good defenders but will probably struggle against the premier forwards. With Lucas going down with a long term injury, it places a massive emphasis on Lloyd to kick 4+ goals a game. With some quality defenders around, that’s not going to be an easy task. Their plan is however to execute their strengths; run in waves, carry the football through handballing & kicking, & spotting up their key forward targets. Playing through the center of the ground is vital, too. On paper it seems simple and effective, but they are a young and fairly inexperienced side. Against bigger bodies and quality opposition, they won’t be given space and they’ll have to work much harder defensively. However, with targets like Lloyd to spot up & Davey at his feet, they’ll still be dangerous at times throughout the year.
Comment