Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

[GVGjr]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

We have a collection of small-to-mid sizers who are 'almost' AFL players.

Garcia. McNeill. West. Vandermeer. They are all trying to play that role (small, crumbing forward). Then we have Jones (Arthur version) who was always a mid at underage level but some want to shoehorn in there...

We have (of course) Weightman - who is going well but wants to hit up/take marks AND Clarke who is a high-pick but can't get on the track...so it isn't like we haven't 'TRIED' to address it.

On top of all that, our forward selection will always be compromised as we will be jamming a mid down there because even with the Dunkley exit we are still heavily weighted towards that position..

We have certainly invested a fair bit on trying to land a couple of genuine small forwards and if the rumors were correct even drafting Weightman was after a significant interested in Kossie Pickett.
I know Garcia believed he was brought in to be a high half forward but now seems to be an understudy to Liberatore.
Vandermeer looked like he might have been in the mix for a role in the back line.
This is a big season for West and if he hopes to make it as a half forward who takes some turns in the midfield then he needs to grasp his chances now. McNeil needs to hit the scoreboard when he get his chances and not miss easy goals. As GG would attest his pressure acts would be good for us.

And just to complicate things a bit further it appears we want Weightman to have some runs in the middle which I think is a good move and JJ was used on a wing and back in defence in a couple of intra club games.

If we can get Clarke back to full training he could be a nice addition later in the season.

[SonofScray]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

Is West able to cement a spot in the best 23? From what I've seen, he has significant limitations (pace and lack of explosiveness are a serious concern) and his tricks aren't that good. Love his attack on the ball and player but he doesn't have the intangibles that someone like Libba does - that ability to win the footy and get it in congestion to players on the outside. Where does Westy play? For me, he is in that 24th to 30th preferred player range.

I think he can and will find himself in the squad and getting decent midfield minutes this season. I can see him playing forward at the feet of the big fellas to add some grunt at ground level and filling some of the gap that Dunkley has left.

Would like to see him dish the footy quickly, rather than take everyone on. If he can play within some of his limitations, we’ll see his best.

[Bullies]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

I think he can and will find himself in the squad and getting decent midfield minutes this season. I can see him playing forward at the feet of the big fellas to add some grunt at ground level and filling some of the gap that Dunkley has left.

Would like to see him dish the footy quickly, rather than take everyone on. If he can play within some of his limitations, we’ll see his best.

I think West will be fine. He has been learning to play different positions. It wouldn't surprise if he ends up being a Sam Mitchell type. He knows where the ball is going to go and reads the play so well. Once he adjusts to the pace and gains confidence he will find he has more time and won't get caught as much.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

I think West will be fine. He has been learning to play different positions. It wouldn't surprise if he ends up being a Sam Mitchell type. He knows where the ball is going to go and reads the play so well. Once he adjusts to the pace and gains confidence he will find he has more time and won't get caught as much.

That was my take too. To get caught with the ball you have to find it and a couple of call's were red hot. If I had a concern is that he got burnt by LIbba in the 2nd and didn't adjust his game quickly enough to counter/smother/contain Libba's centre square dominance. I see him as more of a Libba replacement than Garcia, though both have really good attributes.

[Mantis]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

I think West will be fine. He has been learning to play different positions. It wouldn't surprise if he ends up being a Sam Mitchell type. He knows where the ball is going to go and reads the play so well. Once he adjusts to the pace and gains confidence he will find he has more time and won't get caught as much.

Rhylee is going into this 5th season…. At what point does he make the adjustment?

[The Doctor]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

We have certainly invested a fair bit on trying to land a couple of genuine small forwards and if the rumors were correct even drafting Weightman was after a significant interested in Kossie Pickett.

Have we? I can't agree with that.

Weightman and Clarke (unproven) yes, but thats it. How long since the previous specialist small forward who was any good was drafted to our club? Dickson?

All these other small forwards we have shoe horned into our forward line in recent years are not specialist forwards. They were drafted as midfielders or half backs. I speak of McNeil, West, Vandermeer, McComb, JJ, Garcia et al. They have become hybrid type players because they are not getting selected in their preferred position. They have therefore been asked to fill the void our lack of small forward recruiting has created.

Small forwards, like ruckmen, is a highly specialised position. We should be focussing on this a lot more than we do in our list management. We could easily replace 1 or 2 of the fringe small midfielders on our list to bolster our small forward attack force.

I'll have more to say on this and the Nick Watson bandwagon in the 2023 List Management thread as the year goes on.

[azabob]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

I'll like it Azza.....Keep up the good work mate.

Thanks jee. The encouragement award was my bread and butter in junior footy.

[meenies]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

Rhylee is going into this 5th season…. At what point does he make the adjustment?

When he get's regular games and more mid-field time this will improve. Just hasn't had enough decent opportunities yet.

[Bornadog]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

When he get's regular games and more mid-field time this will improve. Just hasn't had enough decent opportunities yet.

He will be 23 this year. If you are good at what you do you get more game time.

[Pedro Sanchez]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

It's a fair call. Like you I'm not sure he is best 22 just yet but he is right around the mark. Weightman and McLean will be locks for 2 of the smaller forward spots and I suspect that if JJ is ready to go he could be the third option. JJ could also be an option to play elsewhere. Bailey Smith will play HF as well.

Last season when we played the Eagles in a night game over here and won by 950 points or thereabouts, I watched West closely. And I was really impressed. His low centre of gravity he put to great use to out body McGovern in a marking contest, his attack in the packs and at the oppo bodies was fierce to see live. Sure he's still rough in some areas, and can try and do to much at times, but he showed real signs of being a smart, hard footballer. Likely never to be our best, but should carve an important role as an inside rover.

[Dogs 24/7]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

Rhylee is going into this 5th season…. At what point does he make the adjustment?

This year is just about it for West and he cant just play 10 bits of games.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

Rhylee is going into this 5th season…. At what point does he make the adjustment?

Think that's a bit harsh. Yes 5th season, but really in terms of playing in the middle its season 1. He has the tools to be a quality inside mid. Key is learning to move his arms into positions when tackled so he can still release the ball. He is a kick orientated player. He woudl do well to look at LIbba and see how he transformed into being a quick hands player.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

He will be 23 this year. If you are good at what you do you get more game time.

Not entirely true....if you are good at what you do and there are opportunities available then you get more game time. Dunks going has created an opportunity.

[soupman]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

Have we? I can't agree with that.

Weightman and Clarke (unproven) yes, but thats it. How long since the previous specialist small forward who was any good was drafted to our club? Dickson?

All these other small forwards we have shoe horned into our forward line in recent years are not specialist forwards. They were drafted as midfielders or half backs. I speak of McNeil, West, Vandermeer, McComb, JJ, Garcia et al. They have become hybrid type players because they are not getting selected in their preferred position. They have therefore been asked to fill the void our lack of small forward recruiting has created.

Small forwards, like ruckmen, is a highly specialised position. We should be focussing on this a lot more than we do in our list management. We could easily replace 1 or 2 of the fringe small midfielders on our list to bolster our small forward attack force.

I'll have more to say on this and the Nick Watson bandwagon in the 2023 List Management thread as the year goes on.

I very much agree with this. Aside from the mentioned Weightman and Clarke, we haven't drafted small forwards, and instead have drafted undersized mids and tried to make them work as small forwards. In many aspects they have, certainly from a pressure and ability to cover the ground perspective they have, but none are naturally dangerous at ground level as crumbers like Charlie Cameron, Jack Ginnivan, Anthony McDonald Tipungwuti, Lachie Schultz, Tyson Stengle, Brad Close, Dylan Moore, Luke Breust or Tom Papley.

I mention the above players because they are all products of the rookie system, showing that it can be addressed at relatively minimal cost. There were probably another 6 or so that were late picks, so there is probably one to two good players of this type getting picked up every single year past pick 60. We never buy a lottery ticket though.

[Grantysghost]

Re: Bulldogs Ballarat Practice Match.... Your thoughts.

He will be 23 this year. If you are good at what you do you get more game time.

Last year was clearly his breakout season, he just ran out of steam. I'm not surprised to see him really double down on his fitness in the off season as it was likely identified as a reason for his late season fade.

I have no negativity in terms of his future, he's shown he has some X factor and smarts that not many have; couple that with his improved fitness base I expect a very big season.