Western Bulldogs V Essendon - Pre-Season 15/2/25 Whitten Oval 2.00pm
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Well overall not a great spectacle, not helped by the weather really, not sure there was much to take away. i thought out first half defence looked solid and Lobb was great but his partner in crime right now isn't that clear. Crossley wasn't bad, I think he is a shot for round 1, but he did fall away in impact albeit completed the whole game. Mids were ok at best no one really caught my eye. Naughton and Weightman look well off the pace which isn't great at this stage so hopefully they can get going quickly. Didn't like how we bombed it in again but with the conditions I think it's understandable. Not sure how anyone else feels but wasn't that inspiring today to for me but at least a lot of players got a run. Still a month out for our first game so plenty of time to build into the kanagas.👍 1Comment
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Give some credit to Crossley he did seem to ruck all day even taking every centre bounce. Not sure what English job was but it wasn’t sitting back or forward , he just roamed.
Freijah is exceptional , thought that he would be from the first game I saw him .
game plan wasn’t easy to see , I’m not very confident this year as previous years but we did throw around a lot of players and used a lot of younger ones, which is what we all want to see , let’s face it we didn’t go to see Bont, Libba etc .
Whitten oval windy, not conditions for quality football or talls . I’m saying that Darcy looks so far in front of our other talls.
Bring back the biffComment
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Crossley. Like I said earlier we should have signed him after the first quarter. He's not playing unless we break glass and is a perfect backup. He may not even play but at least we have someone we can slot in there if Tim goes down. He can beat up on Tim at training and hopefully toughen him up.Comment
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Buss playing VFL? How long did he play AFL today? (Haven't seen the game due to family commitments)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.Comment
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A bit of a rough one in terms of the spectacle and there’s not much, if anything to really take away as a spectator there today.
Freijah probably the player that looks to have gone up a notch, though there were a lot of turn overs at the end of him winning the footy. Darcy, Ed and Naughton seemed to have a few good moments when the heat in the contest spiked occasionally.
Haven’t left the ground feeling any more bullish about the season and am only barely leaning slightly towards a less favourable view of the season ahead based on what I saw.Time and Tide Waits For No Man👍 2Comment
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Crossley. Like I said earlier we should have signed him after the first quarter. He's not playing unless we break glass and is a perfect backup. He may not even play but at least we have someone we can slot in there if Tim goes down. He can beat up on Tim at training and hopefully toughen him up.Comment
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Had the hospitality offering today, lot left to be desired in terms of food. Really not worth the value, even though we had a nice day out.
Watched a half of the VFL. Brew ain't it - it's Crossley by mile IMO.
Hynes showed some good signs. Clever, calm, skilled - bit to work with here. Dolan showed enough too, very clean below his knees, quick decision making and hit targets. I expect nothing from them at senior level in 2025 but it's obvious they can play.
From the main game I thought Lobb was very good, it's astounding how well he's developed as a key back. Freijah BOG for mine - class above. Richards had some moments, Crossley was strong in the ruck contest but nothing around the ground, and we learn nothing new about the likes of Khamis, Cleary, etc.
No injuries which is about all that matters.W00F!👍 5Comment
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Western Bulldogs 8. 10 (58) lost to Essendon 11. 11 (77)
Goals: Darcy, Naughton, West, Richards, Vandermeer, Poulter, O'Donnell, A. Jones 1
Best 1st half: Lobb, Darcy, Freijah, Williams, M. Kennedy, Richards, Gallagher, West
Best 2nd half: Freijah, Baker, Poulter, English, Sanders, Busslinger, Cleary, O'Donnell
The Dogs lost to Bombers by 19 points today, in a scrappy, dour affair, which felt like a fitting tribute to 1925. Of utmost significance was the fact that there were no injuries and players dealt with four seasons of weather throughout the afternoon, to test their resilience and durability.
Whilst scrappy, it was great to blow out a few cobwebs and get a glimpse at players owning responsibilty in the absence of regulars including Bontempelli, Liberatore, Dale, Treloar, Liam Jones, Johannisen, Ugle-Hagen, plus Coffield, Scott and Jacques.
Additionally, Lobb, Darcy, Richards, Williams, Kennedy, Weightman, Bramble, West and Duryea came off at half time to give the draftees a run, plus Naughton came off early in the last quarter. There were lots of personnel changes at half time in order to give a lot of younger players a run and it was excellent to see Davidson play a full game, while Hynes, Dolan and Brew impressed. Crossley rucked for most of the day and whilst winning his fair share of hit-outs, was significantly outpointed by the Bombers big units.
Highlights:
1. West's cork in the ocean-style goal, rising from the canvas to get us started.
2. Darcy's aerial dominance in the first quarter, including two commanding grabs inside 50 early in the match.
3. Arty Jones's running goal from the boundary line in the third quarter.
4. English's massive pack mark on the members' wing. goal.
5. Croft's pick up and speed from the contest, ending with his perfectly weighed wedge kick to Poulter who ran in for an open
6. Garcia's don't argue before a blind turn and pinball off his opponents to elude certain capture was like a mosquito in a jar.
7. Naughton and English crunching gang tackle to earn a holding the ball In front of a roaring Doggies Army.
8. Buku's courageous mark with the flight, flattening Baker, but hanging on to the pill.
9. Freijah slicing the Bombers defence like butter, side step and bounce before a long kick inside 50 in the final quarter.
10. Davidson's give and get on the Hawkins wing before a precise pass. With Duryea already owning the nickname 'Doc', the crowd have now started calling this medical student 'The Surgeon'. Please make this stick.Last edited by Mat Lyons; 15-02-2025, 08:38 PM.👍 11Comment
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I guess firstly it was Feb and there was a chunk of talent missing.
Crossley - he gets the spot ahead of Brew. He at least has some AFL traits, he's a solid tap ruckman and certainly knows how to protect the drop. Brew, really I've seen nothing to inspire me.
Hard and fast critique of the fringe guys today :
Poulter : why is he still on the list?
McNeil : thankfully rested after half time, let's wrap him in cotton wool like the Bont.
Baker : i actually like him, why doesn't he play more?
Davidson : see Poulter.
Garcia : I really want him to be good. But....he isn't.
Sanders : Lets pretend that game didn't happen and remember how good he is against the Bulldogs.
Croft : Like. There's something there.
Hynes : Move over Lachie we've got a new man crush !
Brew : see Davidson but like, why is he even at training?
A.Jones : Kicked a nice goal, he teases but I don't know if I'm getting excited.
Busslinger : Not sure if he's an interceptor or a body to body type. Needs more time. Showed some ok things.
Gardner : Sign Crossley already.
Gallagher : See Brew.
Harmes : He looks fitter, was on a wing at times. Maybe there's something there from him this season. But....it's Harmes he's not going to be doing anything too amazing.
LVDM : You;ve changed your hair but we can still tell it's you. He was ok, he does work hard off the ball. I like him.
The others :
Freijah : time slows down for this guy what a star.
Lobb : man, he is actually good down back. For realsie.
Naughton : bring back the headband ffs. He looked off the pace as expected. Not sure why he tried to dodge 80 Essendon players, I'd demote him to the five players not in the leadership group for that.
English : Sign Crossley already. He really seemed like he was somewhere else this afternoon. But he's not had much training of late.
Richards : Solid, Ed's great.
M.Kennedy : Solid, but hard to tell in a half. Looks a good pick up.
Weightman : Nothing game, may have been injured.
JOD and Buku : Fighting it out for the, ah, crap ok we have to pick one of these guys spot.
Williams : Solid, he is one winger locked in.
Shit conditions. Not getting too downcast although i've just been researching the correct microwave setting for small plastic cards.
BTW Caddy is a freak, they've got a ripper there.BT COME BACK!
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