Western Bulldogs Game Plan for 2026

[WBFC4FFC]

Time for Bont to go to defence. Still have plenty of midfield depth and helps Dale with another elite kick. Watching these finals it's so clear defence trumps all. Bont is actually our best spoiler as well and I'm sure he could intercept mark as well. Been the best on baller in the comp for 5 years and led to nothing so why not put him back.

Been thinking about this move too for a while and he has had spurts there this season for a “rest”. Penetrating, lethal kick goes straight to the forwards, bypassing a chain of possessions in the middle.

Problem is that teams will try and have their forward drag Bont away from the play, so it could be short-lived, unless he is given reign to read the play and go to where the ball is going.

Luke Hodge did it in Bris, so we should at least give it a shot. Seems like it will only happen when he is older.

[Uninformed]

Time for Bont to go to defence. Still have plenty of midfield depth and helps Dale with another elite kick. Watching these finals it's so clear defence trumps all. Bont is actually our best spoiler as well and I'm sure he could intercept mark as well. Been the best on baller in the comp for 5 years and led to nothing so why not put him back.

The Hodge move. Worked for Hawthorn.

Or move Ed back again?

[Aidan7557]

The Hodge move. Worked for Hawthorn.

Or move Ed back again?

It's pretty clear watching these finals and the ones from 2017 onwards the best chance for success is to have a strong defence and great smalls/flankers. Seems like we are built the complete opposite which is a worry for me. Star on ballers are good for champion data stats and two big forwards are great against bad teams but look at the trend of where the game is going. Hawks, Geelong, GWS, Collingwood, Brisbane all built better then us in my opinion. We need to adjust and the Bont going back is just one possibility to try and follow the trend. Again this is in the context of getting to prelims and going deep into finals.

[Uninformed]

It's pretty clear watching these finals and the ones from 2017 onwards the best chance for success is to have a strong defence and great smalls/flankers. Seems like we are built the complete opposite which is a worry for me. Star on ballers are good for champion data stats and two big forwards are great against bad teams but look at the trend of where the game is going. Hawks, Geelong, GWS, Collingwood, Brisbane all built better than us in my opinion. We need to adjust and the Bont going back is just one possibility to try and follow the trend. Again this is in the context of getting to prelims and going deep into finals.

How does Ed back, Bont. back, Naughts back, Croft and Darcy forward with West, Cody and Dolan, then Treloar, Sanders and Hynes in the middle with Libba and Kennedy sound? (I think I hear screaming from somewhere..)

[Aidan7557]

How does Ed back, Bont. back, Naughts back, Croft and Darcy forward with West, Cody and Dolan, then Treloar, Sanders and Hynes in the middle with Libba and Kennedy sound? (I think I hear screaming from somewhere..)

I still like Naughton forward (hopefully we get butts or someone like that) but I agree with the rest and Bont and Richards can still play on ball if needed. Garcia and Freijah can play through the middle too. I just hope the coaches are looking at the way the best teams play right now and follow the trend. The game always changes and evolves but I think the past 5 to 7 seasons show a way to play that gives you the best chance in finals and I'm not sure we are doing that.

[Sedat]

Hawthorn already have Ginni, Wizard, McDonald and Moore as high half forwards and they've just added Sam Butler to the mix, who was best of the lot tonight.

We need more quality and depth in this area, to put it mildly.

[Aidan7557]

Hawthorn already have Ginni, Wizard, McDonald and Moore as high half forwards and they've just added Sam Butler to the mix, who was best of the lot tonight.

We need more quality and depth in this area, to put it mildly.

Hopefully Dolan and Hynes can improve really quickly. Add in West and a fit Weightman and that is more like it!

[doggies ftw]

Has Geelong always done that because they've consistently had league standard defenders who can be relied upon to win contests or pick the right time to go forward to intercept? If we don't change our personnel, what happens if we have the very same defenders we had this year and had them deploy that structure/way of defending?

None of our current guys are great when isolated or having to hand over moving forwards with the game in front of them (see how Adelaide busted us up with their movement when numbers were neutral). Often if not directly beaten there's a soft fall of the ball and runners capitalise on it - like what happened vs. Fremantle.

I appreciate it'd be nice to play that way, but our personnel needs to be upgraded if that's what we want to do. Having said that, I acknowledge we do squeeze forward too far when we aren't organised, so I get what you're saying.

If our defence personnel is so weak we should be playing a game style that protects them, ie a deep set defence, with players dropping back to plug holes and clog up the defence, playing more a of a back half game giving the defenders time to chop each other out and hide their one on one weaknesses.

The game style we play leaves them hung out one on one on the last line constantly. If we had athletic, great one on one defenders (ie 2024 Jones) our defensive plan would probably work pretty well. I just can’t see this argument that we play this way because we have poor defenders - it’s the opposite, a high risk style which relies on being almost perfect, individually, in defence.

Whether we bring in better personnel or not we need to create a game style based on what we have, not what Bevo wishes we had. But this is the way he coaches, backs us in to play ‘our way’ stubbornly to a fault, even though it’s quite clear we can’t at times

[doggies ftw]

Bonts just way too good in the middle, like so ridiculously far above the next best in the comp with his impact it would be a crime to move him out until he’s at least 34. He can go there for his last 6 years to 40 though.

Richards on the other hand, really thinking he could be the general we need to clean up defence. Hes just such a weapon at ground level mopping up, fantastic one on one, can intercept and then add an offensive weapon to take some pressure off Dale. Think with his maturity & hard edge and now at 26yo he could really be that cool head & big body we need behind the ball and our onfield general.

Bring in Butts too and run Butts Lobb & JOD the talls and Sellwood, Richards and Dale - that’s just such a stronger defensive profile, so much more balanced with big, athletic bodies behind the ball. Not 3 of the more outside players in the comp in Dale, Bramble & JJ all in the same side…

Our midfield is one paced without him though so go get Merrett.

[Mantis]

Bonts just way too good in the middle, like so ridiculously far above the next best in the comp with his impact it would be a crime to move him out until he’s at least 34. He can go there for his last 6 years to 40 though.

Richards on the other hand, really thinking he could be the general we need to clean up defence. Hes just such a weapon at ground level mopping up, fantastic one on one, can intercept and then add an offensive weapon to take some pressure off Dale. Think with his maturity & hard edge and now at 26yo he could really be that cool head & big body we need behind the ball and our onfield general.

Bring in Butts too and run Butts Lobb & JOD the talls and Sellwood, Richards and Dale - that’s just such a stronger defensive profile, so much more balanced with big, athletic bodies behind the ball. Not 3 of the more outside players in the comp in Dale, Bramble & JJ all in the same side…

Our midfield is one paced without him though so go get Merrett.

It all sounds good in theory, but Richards in the midfield was a key part to why we scored so heavily from clearance. He is the POD in the middle and he and Bont simply need to be our 2 primary mids moving into 2026.. I do feel we can use both of them better to give us defensive cover, but they need to play where they both can use the weapons they have.

Do agree we can’t fill our defence with flimsy attacking first players. That needs to change… as does our positioning. We simply can’t allow the opposition attackers to get goal side as much as they do based off our over aggressive high defensive line.