Our opponents next week: Freo

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Re: Our opponents next week: Freo

Are the Dogs in the fight?


TONIGHT'S game in Darwin is crucial for the Western Bulldogs. Their opponent, Fremantle, sits one game behind the Dogs and is a keen rival for a final-eight position. In effect, tonight becomes an eight-point game for Rodney Eade's men: a win will give them an eight-point buffer over Fremantle, a loss and it's all square.
Opinions vary as to how well the Bulldogs are travelling. After winning a final last season, for the first time in eight years, most believed they were on track to be certain finalists in 2007 and many had them pencilled in with a top-four finish.
Even the Bulldog faithful are divided as to how their team sits. One talkback caller suggested the coach would be quietly chuckling to himself as the upside to the second half of the season was massive. Another commented the fact that they have the third-worst defence, behind Carlton and Richmond, and that if you allow the opposition to average more than 100 points a game, then you could forget about winning a premiership.
Even last week against the Brisbane Lions, the Dogs won but lost at the same time. They took home four points but couldn't kick a goal in the final quarter and lost quality players in Daniel Cross and Ryan Griffin to long-term injury. So what does the immediate future hold for a team that has set itself to break a 53-year premiership drought?
THE UPSIDE

THE RECO BOYS Darcy may not be the ruckman he once was, but he is a fine leader and will help develop Will Minson and Peter Street as ruckmen while he consolidates as the effective tall forward the Dogs desperately need.
Murphy is, in my opinion, the Bulldogs' best player. It has been a slow return for him.He has averaged only 11 disposals and one goal a game. From here on, he will go close to doubling those figures, and what a difference that will make.
Hahn has played five games for an average of eight touches. He, too, will double his output and add grunt to a team that needs as much as it can get.
THE RECRUITJason Akermanis is the man, but has he delivered? I don't think so. The Dogs got him to provide a touch of magic that would get them over the line in the four to five down-to-the-wire games they reckoned they would play this year. He has done it once this season, against Melbourne in round seven. He needs to deliver more.

TALL DEFENDERS
The Doggies are delighted with the development of three tall, skinny young defenders in Cameron Wight, Tom Williams and "Spida's" young brother, Andrejs Everitt.

Wight has been a regular in 2007, Williams has just come into the team and Everitt is an emergency for tonight's game. All are shaping up as excellent long-term prospects, in positions where they are sorely needed.

YOUNG IMPROVERS



Shaun Higgins played only five games last year before fracturing his elbow. This season, he has not missed a game and with 17 goals is the third-highest goalkicker. He is on track to be a star.
Dylan Addison tasted two games in 2006, now he is a regular. A tough tackler with a strong appetite for the contest, he is another example of the coach adding much-needed grunt.
Jarrod Harbrow is one to watch. A speedy ball carrier who wins contests, he is another example of a touch of toughness being added to the mix.
MATTHEW BOYD
Boyd is a low-key Bulldog who has come off a rookie list to earn a senior position. It's always been a struggle for the 24-year-old. Tonight will be his 80th game, but Bulldog fans know the tough tagger has gone up another notch. He always has led the way with tackles and hard-ball gets, and has become a quality playmaker in his own right.
THE VETERAN
Chris Grant is yet to play a senior game but he's not far off. Because he can play at either end of the ground, Grant will provide the coach with terrific options as September nears.
THE DOWNSIDE

DEFENCE MARKS INSIDE 50
Geelong, Sydney, Collingwood and Essendon are the top four teams for marks inside 50 because they all have quality power forwards. The Bulldogs rank 16th because they don't have a quality tall forward doing the job. Maybe Darcy or Grant can improve that situation.
CLEARANCES
The Dogs rank 12th for clearances. Their A-graders are Adam Cooney (45), Scott West (43) and Boyd (40). What is needed is for the B-graders to lift in close. Nathan Eagleton (21), Daniel Giansiracusa (18), Akermanis (11) and Hahn (4) need to contribute a lot more.
BIG SCALPS ARE NEEDED
After tonight's game, the Dogs have a terrific run, with eight games out of the next 10 to be played at Telstra Dome. They need to have wins over Geelong and West Coast at the Dome and an away win against Adelaide to gain confidence and credibility come September.
It's not just the defender, it's the forwards and midfield, too, who don't lock down the opposition when they take, or look like taking, possession of the ball. End result, the Dogs too often get big scores kicked against them. The spoiling technique of the defensive six leaves much to be desired, causing Jordan McMahon to lose his spot in the side two weeks ago.Luke Darcy, Robert Murphy and Mitch Hahn are returning to senior football after knee reconstructions. It takes time and adjustments to build the strength and confidence to get back to your best. All three will have better second-half seasons.

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Re: Our opponents next week: Freo

Teen set for 'home' debut


TIWI Islands teenager Malcolm Lynch will have taken the long way around when he makes his AFL debut in Darwin today.
While it seems ideal the latest Tiwi product to find a place in top-flight football should start his career in the Northern Territory, the 19-year-old Western Bulldog — named to line-up against Fremantle at Tio Stadium on Saturday night — had to decamp to a rugby league heartland to get there.
Lynch will get his chance in the Bulldogs line-up due to the absence of Daniel Cross and Ryan Griffen, who both received knee injuries in last weekend's win over the Brisbane Lions.
A product of Sydney's St Ignatius College, which counts Sydney's Leo Barry among alumni, Lynch has the makings of another indigenous footballing star, according to senior teammate Luke Darcy.
"He's a great lad — he's young and skinny and lightning quick and has all the skills the Aboriginal boys have," Darcy said. "It would be a bit of a fairytale debut and obviously he would have a lot of family in that part of the world.
"He played the pre-season game and kicked three goals against Sydney. He has got all the talent, and he's fitted into the place sensationally well.
"So it would be a great story if he got a game."
That NAB Cup game against the Swans confirmed the talent which attracted the Bulldogs to take the lightweight speedster at pick 66 overall the last AFL draft.
While his 178-centimetre, 68-kilogram physique may not be imposing, the teenager's 2.83-second 20-metre sprint could not be ignored.
"If he can be taught to capitalise on his big leap with overhead marking he will be a worry to match up on for small and tall opponents," Bulldogs recruiting manager Scott Clayton said.

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Re: Our opponents next week: Freo

This is a good article about the tactics for tonights game.

Connolly's counter to Bulldogs' attack no tall order

FREMANTLE will attempt to stretch the Western Bulldogs in Darwin tonight via its twin talls Matthew Pavlich and Chris Tarrant, coach Chris Connolly said yesterday.

Connolly believes Fremantle can seize control of the match, and square its win-loss ledger, through the marking power of the star pair.
Pavlich, outstanding over the past three weeks, kicking 13 goals, is averaging nine marks a game this season, while Tarrant has continued his run of fine form despite being inaccurate when kicking.
"Whoever gets their hands on the ball first is going to try and take advantage of that thing they may have over the other team, whether it is our marking strength up forward or their running strength," Connolly said. The plan was boosted further by the presence of 211cm ruckman Aaron Sandilands at training at TIO Stadium yesterday.
The leading ruckman, who posed problems for Richmond last Sunday drifting forward, has been under an injury cloud, but trained strongly and seems certain to play.
"He strained his groin last week but he's been 100 per cent since and he's trained well," Connolly said.
Bulldogs defender Ryan Hargrave is a potential candidate for Pavlich should the Dockers captain get the better of regular full-back Brian Harris tonight.
But he said Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade might surprise with a match-up for Tarrant.
"We have five or six options who could go with them. It does not have to be Brian or me," Hargrave said.
"Even Lindsay Gilbee could be the one that goes with Tarrant around the ground because of his mobility.
"But it will be a tough challenge, especially with the way they both play because they are pretty good movers."
Gilbee, an All Australian last year, provides drive from defence with his clean hands and skills but would concede Tarrant, who has taken 81 marks this season, 12cm in height should he get the task.
While Connolly is confident his side can out-mark the Bulldogs, he is wary of their ability to turn defence into attack.
Dockers veteran Troy Cook, who has revived his career over the past season with his outstanding defensive pressure in attack, flew to Darwin as an emergency and looms as a possible inclusion.
"The Western Bulldogs have really adapted their game to Telstra Dome and it is like a pinball machine. The ball zings around," Connolly said.
"To be able to do that, you need players who are quick on their feet and quick with their ball movement.
"That is their strength, so the pressure in the forward line, to not let them run the ball out easily, will be very important.
"We have to make sure we are not exploited in areas that vulnerabilities may be created in."
The humid, warm conditions are certain to have an effect tonight, with the temperature not likely to drop below 22C.
The Western Bulldogs have been preparing for the conditions for a month, using a number of techniques to help players cope.
"We haven't been in the garbage bags. It's been a little bit more advanced than that now," Hargrave said.
"But we have been wearing these skin-suit things and we have been going to the heat chamber and stuff, just trying to get our preparation right."
The Dockers also visited the West Australian Institute of Sport's heat chamber after last Sunday's win over Richmond, although the Bulldogs coach, Eade, dismissed the session as a token effort.
That criticism provoked a fiery response from Fremantle assistant coach Peter German.
"You can't do anything. You try and be proactive, and get the players used to the conditions, and they are bagging us," German told Perth radio. Criticism aside, Docker Paul Hasleby said fitness, rather than finesse, would be the key.
"It is not uncommon for players to lose up to 5 or 6kg in the extreme heat up there," Hasleby said.
"It is a really different circumstance playing in that heat. You really have to get hydrated and get your preparation spot-on."
The midfielder, who has returned to the form that won him All Australian selection in 2003 after a horror run with injuries last year, said the absence of injured Bulldogs Ryan Griffen and Ryan Cross could help the Dockers gain the upper hand through the middle.
"I watched the game last weekend and they did lose some key players, so it is a good opportunity for us to get back to six and six, to square the ledger, and really kick-start our season," Hasleby said.

[Mofra]

Re: Our opponents next week: Freo

But doesn't a crumbing forward crumb off a tall team mate making a contest?

With Dracy, Minson & Street all in teh side, we could have Darcy as a forward (changing at times with Minson) just to bring the ball to ground.

Between Lynch, Aker, Higgins, Harbrow, Johnson, & Cooney we should be able to crumb enough goals.

Throw in a Hahn bull-effort for another & your regulation Eagle/Gilbee/Gia goals on teh run from making space, we can definately kick a winning score

[Go_Dogs]

Re: Our opponents next week: Freo

Going to be interesting to see if Minson is given a run up forwards for a bit of time tonight. I'd love to see him haul in a big mark or two up forward.

[Bornadog]

Re: Our opponents next week: Freo

Well as we know Minson played in the VFL today, not a bad game, very vocal trying to gee up his team mates. I hope Murphy has come up, otherwise its Power in, which would be very dissapointing considering we should have had a tall in there