Western Bulldogs V Fremantle R24, Sunday 24/8/25 Marvel Stadium at 3:15pm

[comrade]

Well if it isn't my favourite time of year where I become overly emotional while putting the boots into the club I love.

It feels good to hate the things you love some times.

[Sedat]

Yeah, I did. That doesn’t excuse the ground ball goals, the missed tackles inside D50, the missed spoils. Is it too much to ask a defender to defend though? Or do they expect dirty ball inside 50 to cover up their deficiencies every week?

We spent all week lauding Taylor Duryea and his ability to halve that D50 groundball against Charlie Cameron in the 2021 SF. You are 100% correct - our defenders need to be able to defend even when they are caught 1-on-1 on occasions. I totally get the criticism of the mids allowing clean entries from their appalling lack of defensive positioning and defensive workrate, but the defensive unit are anything but the men's club of 2016 - they have to do better when they're stuck in deep water.

Also, for a team that supposedly can't move the ball, Freo looked like the Harlem Globetrotters out there today with their D50 to F50 transition.

[azabob]

I would be slotting Croft & Jones into the round 1 side, with Jaques replacing JJ at a minimum.

Add in Dolan and potentially Hynes. Both give our forward line a different dynamic.

[Sedat]

He was there for plenty of collapses himself. This is is not an issue fixed by one individual. The team is ****ed.

You're right about the psychological frailties with this playing group. I just think our midfield mix is still way too aggressive and has been for years under Bevo.

I'm going to go old man yelling at cloud again referencing the 2021 GF collapse of 16 goals in the last 37 minutes of that season - our inability to learn from that still reverberates today unfortunately. Our midfield as a collective cannot handle the opposition heat when it is matched, and they revert to terrible habits like bees to the honeypot and allowing opposition to waltz out of the front stoppage time and time again.

That 2nd qtr today - we've all seen that farken movie many times.

[macca]

.

Also, for a team that supposedly can't move the ball, Freo looked like the Harlem Globetrotters out there today with their D50 to F50 transition.

At the start if 2nd quarter inside 50s:
17 vs 4 wb

half time
27 vs 20

we did not give them enough respect. They ran ut out of their back half and the middle too many times .

[bulldogsthru&thru]

We spent all week lauding Taylor Duryea and his ability to halve that D50 groundball against Charlie Cameron in the 2021 SF. You are 100% correct - our defenders need to be able to defend even when they are caught 1-on-1 on occasions. I totally get the criticism of the mids allowing clean entries from their appalling lack of defensive positioning and defensive workrate, but the defensive unit are anything but the men's club of 2016 - they have to do better when they're stuck in deep water.

Also, for a team that supposedly can't move the ball, Freo looked like the Harlem Globetrotters out there today with their D50 to F50 transition.

It was my major concern all week and why I was worried about 3 talls up forward.

What I cant get my head around is why our forward forays are always under pressure and numbers whereas going the other way is an absolute paddock. You can't have that for 8yrs without adjustment.

[Sedat]

At quarter time, I was confident. We came to play. We were winning the hard 50/50 balls. We were on top around the ball. We just needed to convert better and protect the space out the back.

I didn’t see that second quarter. I thought we were better than that.

We've all seen that 2nd qtr - like you I didn't expect it today, but when it started the memories came flooding back and it was all too familiar

[comrade]

Add in Dolan and potentially Hynes. Both give our forward line a different dynamic.

Yes, I’m excited to see their development. Add Sellwood as another that I hope can take the next step.

[Hotdog60]

I was told numerous times in the broadcast that our defense is 18th in the completion for 1 on 1

[Sedat]

It was my major concern all week and why I was worried about 3 talls up forward.

What I can get my head around is why our forward forays are always under pressure and numbers whereas going the other way is an absolute paddock. You can't have that for 8yrs without adjustment.

Our superstar mids revert to bad habits when challenged. Hack kick clearances, all going in for the ball at stoppage and getting torched on the spread, lack of 2-way running. it was all there in Q2 today.

[angelopetraglia]

Lobb had an absolute shocker, mistimed the ball in the air multiple times. Punched when he should have marked. Overran the ball. Got out marked 1:1.

We needed the absolute best Rory version today and we got the worst version.

[merantau]

This was a very bad way to finish up. That second quarter! Our field kicking is not up to it when it counts - the last kick inside 50 is the one we cannot execute. Naughton and Darcy were not helped at all - either by our guys kicking the ball forward, or by the umpires looking the other way at times rather than pay a free kick. There were some blatant pushes in the back in ruck contests that were allowed to pass.

That being said, they were the better side after quarter time. They punished our every mistake. Two defenders going for the same mark, it spills, they goal. English drops a mark - they goal. Naughton slips over on the wing - they take the ball and goal.: the stuff of nightmares.

Shocking to recall that Lobb played the best game of his career against us and the worst game of his career for us!

On a positive note: we fought the game out to the bitter end.. Croft is going to be a player as is Freijah. Baker and Bramble played very well in the 2nf half of the year. Arthur Jones just needs to get a run at it. He, Weightman, West, Naughton, Darcy and Croft are the makings of a quality forward line.

Cannot fault Libba and Bont today - they played their hearts out. We had our chances early and didn't take them but, still the reality is we are 4-5 quality players off the pace.

[angelopetraglia]

Freo lost by 57 points last week on their home deck. They are not that good. They were made to look silly. They were bullied.

For 40 minutes today they bullied us.

[Bornadog]

I was disappointed by a few players. Davidson doesn't go in hard enough for the ball and cost a few goals with turnovers. McNeil - 4 touches FFS, he is just not the man. Garcia was very disappointing - 9 disposals. English beat their two rucks but didn't do enough in the first half around the ground.

[G-Mo77]

Lobb had an absolute shocker, mistimed the ball in the air multiple times. Punched when he should have marked. Overran the ball. Got out marked 1:1.

We needed the absolute best Rory version today and we got the worst version.

Sadly I don't think he's that good down there. With Jones, yes, he's very valuable. Good at cutting off pass and intercepting. Stick him one on one with good forwards and this is what you get. The drop off from Jones has hurt.