Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

[Missing Dog]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

He was on Stoke's i thought. Didnt have the height or strength to go with him in the air.

yep, still needs to build his body strength.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

I thought Harbrow was very ordinary. He should never play defense again and is far too irrational with his decision making. Needs to play forward or be shifted to Williamstown IMHO.

Very disappointed with Morris who got another bath. He's been poor two or three times this season already and tonight he was smashed.

On the upside, Ward and Higgins were sensational and I thought Minson had is best game for the club - fantastic.

Aker's a gem.

[Bornadog]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Would Picken be a better bet for the small quick back pocket spot? Harbrow is just a tad small, plus it could release Harbrow forward.

Did end up in the back pocket in the third quarter.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Ward was awesome. Tonight also showed Higgins is going to be an absolute star, if we lose him i'd be devastated. Harbrow's 2nd half was much better than his 1st half were he made a lot of mistakes.

[GVGjr]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

I thought Harbrow was very ordinary. He should never play defense again and is far too irrational with his decision making. Needs to play forward or be shifted to Williamstown IMHO.

I'm not a huge supporter of Harbrow but I still think this assessment is a tad harsh. He's learning and he has the right attitude but he still has a way to go. We need to be patient with him and I wouldn't stamp his cards from playing in defense again. Given our small forwards are going OK it's more likely that he could be better value coming off the bench as a burst player.

[dog town]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

So many positives to take from tonight but ultimately its 4 points we have missed out on. The only way we can afford to look at it is that we matched it with the best and can now learn from our mistakes.

I think the outs for both sides work out about even. Mooney playing almost would have advantaged us the way the game turned out. They got 10 goals from Stokes and Johnson who they were able to isolate in the square. They also used Hawkins to drag Lake out of the play which would not have happened had Mooney have played. We also missed Hargrave immensely because he would have given us so much flexibility with the Johnson/Stokes situation. The loss of Murphy doesnt need to to be mentioned and Addison would have released Harbrow tonight as well. On the flip side we dominated the stoppages and had Ottens played that just wouldnt have happened. Dont think either side should bleat about injuries at this stage.

I thought we should have found another match up for Stokes earlier and used Harbrow in a more attacking role. Harbrows pace around the contest clearly worried them but he was badly exposed when Geelong got the ball in quickly. I hope supporters dont burn Harbrow for tonight. He is clearly up to the level and we just need to find the best way to use him. Shouldn't be kicking out and was asked to carry the burden when Gilbs started up the ground a bit.

Pretty evident now that we are really more of a scrounging hard nosed side than the fleet footed runners we were previously known for. We are the best clearance side in the comp and we have a good bunch of hard working players who put there nose over the ball. Ward and Picken have really added another couple of hard bodies to the mix. We have a small sprinkling of real class that we need more from IMO. I also think we still had a few guys take some short steps tonight. If we are going to rely on our toughness to get over the line then it has to unconditional from every player. I can recall a few times that we didnt get in as low as we should have.

I really think with a full side Geelong might struggle to score against us.

Big positive for me is that we can get a lot better IMO. We can and should expect better games from Cooney, Griffen, Gilbee, Higgins, Hill, Morris, Lake and possibly Williams. On top of that we have 2 very good players who didnt play.

Griffen- Showed glimpses but for mine he is still far to highly rated. His ability is unquestioned but he needs to work a lot harder. I thought he gave us a quick burst that got us going again but then he quickly dropped out of it again. 3 or 4 times he had perfect taps directed at him only for him to drop the ball trying to take it one hand. Needs to do the hardest thing first and let the pretty stuff fall into line later. Needs to take more care with the footy as well. Could be our Ablett if he can pull it together.

Ward and Picken- How good were these 2? Just kept hitting in all night and both used the ball pretty well. I think Ward needs to work on his first option/awareness type stuff but his endeavour was amazing tonight.

Johnson- Awesome game from the skip. Really tough kick and situation for him at the end.

Cooney- Was a bit flat footed tonight I thought. Intensity was down.

Hudson- Dominated the clearances and actually made himself into a useful target for switches around the middle of the ground.

Minson- Very good I thought. Influenced stoppages and made himself useful.

Cross- very good again imo. Third man up worked a treat. Geelong support each other at ground level brilliantly. We were able to take first possesion and not give them a chance to win the ball and spread.

[The Coon Dog]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Whilst Callan Ward finished the game well, I was disappointed in him early. He was selected to play on Joel Selwood & couldn't get within cooee of him in the first quarter. Selwood got a hold of it 13 times in the first term.

Terrific in the final quarter.

[dog town]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Whilst Callan Ward finished the game well, I was disappointed in him early. He was selected to play on Joel Selwood & couldn't get within cooee of him in the first quarter. Selwood got a hold of it 13 times in the first term.

Terrific in the final quarter.

I dont think he was on him all of that first quarter. I saw Cooney let Selwood go past him at least 2 touches early on. I am sure you are right but dont think he is responsible for all 13 touches.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Whilst Callan Ward finished the game well, I was disappointed in him early. He was selected to play on Joel Selwood & couldn't get within cooee of him in the first quarter. Selwood got a hold of it 13 times in the first term.

Terrific in the final quarter.

Selwood didn't get it much in the final quarter did he. I think we can call it even, which, seeing as its Callan's first handful of games and Selwood is a heralded 50-gamer, tells me that Callan has a brighter future than Selwood, and far more upside.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

To many turnovers from direct play, Lake kicking straight to Johnson.

Unbelievable.

[The Pie Man]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

I nearly had a heart attack when he first tried to play on...it would've been even worse had the ump not called him back and the siren going before he could get the kick off.
That woud've been totally deflating.

One hour and many beers after watching this on tv, I'm so conflicted.

For memory, Johnson's taken the mark with 6 seconds left, so when he backed back and then played on I did think 'oh crap, the siren's going to sound before he kicks it' What I don't understand is why he was called back - he took a mark, he wasn't awarded a free kick. My understanding is you can play on any time you like if you mark the pill.

Even then, the tv angle showed it to be a quite getable shot with the 'ckeckside' but hey, not to be tonight - I'll look at the silver lining and say this will leave us hungry

And that's the poz way to look at it - they bleed..I know Hawthorn showed that last year, but they seem to be the obvious standout in 09, driven by the GF failure in 08, and we should've won in the end. Lot closer than I predicted. Still shattered we didn't win, after taking a mark where we did, that's a win for me...I'd pretty much started celebrating in the loungeroom.................................................. ..................I consoled myself that this wasn't Jeff White and nor was it round 21

But I'll poz up - they're very getable

[The Pie Man]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Whilst Callan Ward finished the game well, I was disappointed in him early. He was selected to play on Joel Selwood & couldn't get within cooee of him in the first quarter. Selwood got a hold of it 13 times in the first term.

Terrific in the final quarter.

I've been a little critical of Cal, but I agree with you on his second half. Looked like the kind of contested performer you need late in the year

[Mantis]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Pretty evident now that we are really more of a scrounging hard nosed side than the fleet footed runners we were previously known for. We are the best clearance side in the comp and we have a good bunch of hard working players who put there nose over the ball. Ward and Picken have really added another couple of hard bodies to the mix. We have a small sprinkling of real class that we need more from IMO. I also think we still had a few guys take some short steps tonight. If we are going to rely on our toughness to get over the line then it has to unconditional from every player. I can recall a few times that we didnt get in as low as we should have.

Good summary dt.

I have taken all small piece out I would like some clarification on. Which players did you have in mind with these thoughts?

[dog town]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Good summary dt.

I have taken all small piece out I would like some clarification on. Which players did you have in mind with these thoughts?

I will wait for another look at the game before I hang anyone

Anyone else think we immediately look a better side with Tim Callan in? Lacks a little polish but he helps out other defenders and is one of the bravest players in the comp.

[azabob]

Re: Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

Having a crack.... but it doesn't help that 7 of Geelongs goals have come from our turnovers.
Why have we (since pre-season as well) become so poor at disposing of the ball?

Watching it at the ground I couldn't believe how many numbers Geelong get around the footy and ball carrier or get to the spots where the ball is going to go. Our skills were poor at times but Geelongs pressure is just amazing.
Also at some stages our players would look up and have nothing to kick to.