Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

[bulldog]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

You would be happy to trade Griff i think it would be the biggest mistake the club would ever make
not that i think we would do it i think everyone should get off Griff's back 3 weeks out we cant expect
a BOG today judge him on how he plays next week against Brisbane.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

You would be happy to trade Griff i think it would be the biggest mistake the club would ever make
not that i think we would do it i think everyone should get off Griff's back 3 weeks out we cant expect
a BOG today judge him on how he plays next week against Brisbane.

Im not on his back, im going off his form for the year, not just today.

I think he is better for us running free from HB rather than fighting thru traffic in the midfield.

[Jasper]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

I agree with that.

It's a huge problem, but not totally the reasons as to why we struggle in finals.

You need a large forward target up there, and not Minson (IMO he isn't the answer). You need someone who is smart & is able to read the play and know where to lead, as well as when to lead. If you watch Geelong, Brisbane etc.. they are forced to straightened because there big strong forwards lead hard, and lead straight. It's ok to have the style of play we do during the home & away season, but when it's put under finals intense pressure, it struggles.

The reason for this IMO, is that teams lift another notch & put more pressure on the ball carrier. Which in turn creates errors, and doesn't allow teams to run the lines as much as they would like to, we i feel, fall into this category.

Because we can't run the ball as much as we do at the dome, on the MCG, we are forced to go wide and bring the ball in. Either pumping the ball long to a short forward line, or being forced to pinpoint a pass to a small leading player in a pocket. When we do get the ball running through the middle of the ground, our small forwards have to lead wide anyway. Because we can't put the ball up a little in the air for a key target to jump and mark, our small forwards have to lead out wider.

It's just one of the problems with our team, the other being that the structure of the team is flawed. We don't have a solid spine from FB, all the way to FF.

That is spot on, although I would say most sides now rely on precision footy, and denying the other side possession, that is why forward pressure and tackling have become more prevalent. Our lack of a genuine harrassing small crumber (similar to Rioli) also hurts us (the lack of which could also be attributed to a big forward to feed him,as well as a need for small crumbers like Aker to play leading forward roles...)

[macca]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

I disagree I would say Hill, Giansiracusa and Griffen all had shockers.

HIll still doesn't know how to lead, and tries to take too many marks with his leap. That won't work if you get out bodied and out muscled by the likes of Enright.

Griffen was slow and lacked any composure today. Reid would have been a better choice, at least he would not have made so many turnovers.

Gia doesn't look fit

We lacked instinct today, and to many times, hesitated, and missed the first option, and got killed by Geelong. It only takes a split second against a good team like Geelong to kill us. The two superb goals by ling and Bartel on 50, near the boundary summarises what is required to step up. Griffen got out marked by Bartel, and Ling just had too much room.

Everything goes up a gear in finals, and we were napping in the first quarter.

Eagleton was usless today, and can't take a contested mark. Minson got outmarked too many times by Ottens. Why can't he just take front position and at least bring the ball down?

I had my doubts about Welsh playing back, but he provided good value today. Lake/Welsh swap could be a good ploy.

Stokes killed Harbrow in the air today.

The whole team needs to be switced on right from the beginning. You just can't allow teams like jump to 5 goal lead, and expect to win.

[Bornadog]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

I disagree I would say Hill, Giansiracusa and Griffen all had shockers.

Gia was the best of that bunch with three goal assists, and 4 inside 50's. Should have nailed a goal as well.

[Sedat]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

We got beaten today for 3 reasons:

- Some senior players didn't stand up to be counted when the pressure was on.
- We played a couple of guys that were underdone.
- A higher portion of unforced skill errors than would normally be acceptable hurt us.

I thought the biggest problem today was the frankly dumb delivery into our forward 50 that played right into the hands of Scarlett, Enright, Mackie, Kelly, Taylor. Bombing it in hope was the complete opposite of our smart delivery and spreading of the forward 6 to make Geelong's defenders accountable two weeks ago.

Also the Cats were running on the spot in the last 15 minutes yet we allowed them to run down the last 6 minutes of the clock by not manning up. Might not have made a difference but surely we could have gone one-on-one as soon as they started icing the clock.

[Bornadog]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

I thought the biggest problem today was the frankly dumb delivery into our forward 50 that played right into the hands of Scarlett, Enright, Mackie, Kelly, Taylor. Bombing it in hope was the complete opposite of our smart delivery and spreading of the forward 6 to make Geelong's defenders accountable two weeks ago.

Also the Cats were running on the spot in the last 15 minutes yet we allowed them to run down the last 6 minutes of the clock by not manning up.

Spot on Sedat, we just didn't make use of our opportunities We mainly lost this game in the first quarter. We held Geelong to one shot at goal in the second quarter and we should have kicked more. They also only kicked one in the last quarter. In the third quarter a couple of errors and turnovers also made it hard to come back from 36 points down.

Overall, that first quarter was a disaster.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

We werent switched on across the ground, we had players down more than normal and the ball really did not bounce our way but we still could have beaten the best team going around in the last 3 years if we had taken our chances late or not let them get so far ahead early.

Lots of bagging of Griff, Gia and Hahn here but one of these guys will win us a game before the year is out.

We get Brisbane in Melbourne next week, lets see how we feel after that game.

[alwaysadog]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

A very flat performance, didn't look switched on early and little sparkle throughout and we still went close. In the end poor kicking cost us.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

A very flat performance, didn't look switched on early and little sparkle throughout and we still went close. In the end poor kicking cost us.

Geelong also missed a lot of easy shots, I don't think you can say that. We played poorly and were out classed by a better team.

[Remi Moses]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

I thought the biggest problem today was the frankly dumb delivery into our forward 50 that played right into the hands of Scarlett, Enright, Mackie, Kelly, Taylor. Bombing it in hope was the complete opposite of our smart delivery and spreading of the forward 6 to make Geelong's defenders accountable two weeks ago.

Also the Cats were running on the spot in the last 15 minutes yet we allowed them to run down the last 6 minutes of the clock by not manning up. Might not have made a difference but surely we could have gone one-on-one as soon as they started icing the clock.

Agree I thought the same. You can have Lockett at FF and we would have struggled. Also we were under more pressure than a fortnight ago and self implied pressure on some occassions.Also lost count how many Cat players got out the back in the first quarter when they had the ball in the back 50

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

This is the one I have most issue with.

I'll name them.

Giansircusa - absolute rubbish game. I once got heckled for criticising his soft approach but I've got him in my sights again. He doesn't put his head over the ball. He is slow. He often takes the wrong option (ie passing to Eagleton on the boundary surrounded by cats. He makes sure it's an overhead marking contest as we all know Eagle is so good in the air). He always, I repeat always, slips or goes to ground at the hint of a contest. I've had it with him. Fit or not fit he cost us badly today.

Hahn - Arguably worst on ground. Gave us nothing. Kicked out on the full when we need a senior player to kick a needed goal. On one occassion Johnson and Gilbee fought hard to get the ball out of defence, Hahn was the upfield option but he didn't present. He just stood there. I went off my head. He is slow, doesn't work hard enough and once again exposed in the heat of finals football.

Eagleton - We all know he doesn't put his body on the line. Today was bad by even his standards. He had a great opportunity to cut off a lead when the Cats ran the ball from defence but opted not to go. Why do we kick it to him in one on one marking contests? I'll never know. His use of the ball was ordinary as well. His saving grace was he ran hard.

Johnno - Battles hard but 2 big issues today. Not kicking that goal in the last. The worst one was feigning for a free kick in a one on one in the last 1/4. He went to ground, no free kick and rightly so, Cats run away with it. Not good enough. Reminded me of the prelim last year.

Murphy - Doesn't seem to be able to step up in the pressure cooker of finals football.

I think the Bulldogs have to make some hard decisions at the selection table this week. I want to see sentiment thrown out the window. I am sick of seeing the same players making the same mistakes. It is obvious some of them cannot handle finals footy.

Out: Giansiracusa, Hahn

In: Reid and Everitt

Reid will put his body on the line and do the hard stuff and won't fall over unless hit by a tank. Everitt will offer a lot more than Hahn in terms of presenting and is a far superior kick. Give the young lions a go.

Great post Doc and I fully agree.

The same group of players tend to under perform in Finals every time. I really thought the likes of Gia and Murphy would help us get over the line today but they were nothing short of a liability. Gia's game was one of the worst I've seen from ANY player. He really couldn't do anything right. He was incredibly slow even by his standards, went to ground and was totally unaccountable.

Murphy is another I've lost any faith in too. He really struggles to influence big games. We've given him the injury excuse a couple of times in previous games but today he was dreadful. His disposal from a player of his calibre was pathetic.

Hahn is in the same boat. Never able to stand up when needed. His position should be looked at and as you suggested Doc, the duo of Gia/Hahn should really make way for the youth in Reid and Everitt. Dropping Reid who was in good form and improving each week really came back to bite us IMO.

It's really, really disappointing that the same players struggle to find anything in Finals. That includes Johnson, Eagleton, Minson, Gia, Hahn and Murphy. Obviously a few others had poor games (Hill, Harbrow to an extent) but they're young and have been integral components to our side over the last 12 months. The trio of Gia, Murphy and Hahn is a worry and I was disappointed in Griffen too. Granted - he was short of a gallop.

Doc's nailed the guys that consistently struggle to stand up. We really need to address this going forward.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

Why did we continually handball backwards? It put us under more pressure to dispose of the ball and as a result we coughed up at least 4 or 5 goals. After playing daring football for the last three weeks, we really went back into our shell and that for mine was most disappointing. I feel as though there's 6-8 players that struggle to stand up in the heat of Finals football. Naturally a couple of others aren't going to be at their best either, so when you combine the two then you're going to find it difficult to win the important games.

The delivery into the forward line was atrocious. Murphy was the biggest culprit for mine and especially early on. He looked up (among many others) and saw we were often out-numbered and out-sized, yet still hoisted the ball up in the air. It was just crazy, dumb football. Ward was about the only player who looked to spot up leading targets and Akermanis finished it off with some beautiful kicking. Very frustrating though.

We were un-accountable. Why? We refused to man up in the last 5-6 minutes. Geelong were struggling but we didn't give ourselves an opportunity to really put scoreboard pressure on them. Obviously missed opportunities hurt (Higgins, Johnson, Cooney) but at times we weren't focused at all. How many times did Geelong find a free player on the wing standing in 50m's of space? Ling and Corey did this quite a few times. Griffen was asleep on a few occasions. Really disappointing.

The Dogs weren't absolutely horrible but the trend of ordinary football in Finals continues. I thought we had turned the corner as far as this damning fact was concerned but sadly, we haven't. Our poor disposal coupled with our negative game of going backwards and our woeful decision making calls for 1-2 changes this week. We only lost by 14 points but IMO it felt more like a 5 goal loss with the way we played. Another great opportunity missed.

[Desipura]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

This is the one I have most issue with.

I'll name them.

Giansircusa - absolute rubbish game. I once got heckled for criticising his soft approach but I've got him in my sights again. He doesn't put his head over the ball. He is slow. He often takes the wrong option (ie passing to Eagleton on the boundary surrounded by cats. He makes sure it's an overhead marking contest as we all know Eagle is so good in the air). He always, I repeat always, slips or goes to ground at the hint of a contest. I've had it with him. Fit or not fit he cost us badly today.

Hahn - Arguably worst on ground. Gave us nothing. Kicked out on the full when we need a senior player to kick a needed goal. On one occassion Johnson and Gilbee fought hard to get the ball out of defence, Hahn was the upfield option but he didn't present. He just stood there. I went off my head. He is slow, doesn't work hard enough and once again exposed in the heat of finals football.

Eagleton - We all know he doesn't put his body on the line. Today was bad by even his standards. He had a great opportunity to cut off a lead when the Cats ran the ball from defence but opted not to go. Why do we kick it to him in one on one marking contests? I'll never know. His use of the ball was ordinary as well. His saving grace was he ran hard.

Johnno - Battles hard but 2 big issues today. Not kicking that goal in the last. The worst one was feigning for a free kick in a one on one in the last 1/4. He went to ground, no free kick and rightly so, Cats run away with it. Not good enough. Reminded me of the prelim last year.

Murphy - Doesn't seem to be able to step up in the pressure cooker of finals football.

I think the Bulldogs have to make some hard decisions at the selection table this week. I want to see sentiment thrown out the window. I am sick of seeing the same players making the same mistakes. It is obvious some of them cannot handle finals footy.

Out: Giansiracusa, Hahn

In: Reid and Everitt

Reid will put his body on the line and do the hard stuff and won't fall over unless hit by a tank. Everitt will offer a lot more than Hahn in terms of presenting and is a far superior kick. Give the young lions a go.

You have hit the nail on the head. Talk of Gia to be made captain at the start of the season was crazy.
I will add that Minson was ordinary as well. Our ruck combo are very similar type players in that they play the crash and bash. Watching Mitch Clark take some marks in the backline last night made me think how handy is it to have an extra big man up in a marking contest down back?
What counts against both of them is that neither can go forward and hurt the opposition.
I agree with your outs, would bring in Reid and one out of left field, Tiller as a forward.
I stated we needed to tweak our game plan months ago as I could not see how we were going to take the next step in finals, nothing has changed.

[Mantis]

Re: Game Day - QF2 Western Bulldogs vs Geelong

I would add Boyd & Cross to your list as well Doc.

They combined yesterday for a whopping 44 handballs and just 11 kicks, and each had just 2 clearances. Cross might be a little rusty, but the quality of possession was poor and I expect more from 2 of our more experienced players.