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The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride. -
Re: Game Day - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond
Was at the game and Aker still has a lot to offer. One of our best today.
By the way watching Cooney and Murph live (rather than on tv) is a real treat
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Re: Game Day - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond
I know what you're saying. He looked sharp early last year too comrade, but did drop away a bit.
He will need to be carefully managed.Comment
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Re: Game Day - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond
AgainI think you're misunderstanding the context of this, or I haven't connected it clearly.
The Bulldogs Bite has questioned the structure of forward line and noted the ease with which the Pies rebounded. I think he's made some reasonable points and maybe our critics who claimed that our forward line could suffer with so many older players might be right.
I suspect we've seen the best of Aker and Johnno, and throw in Hall and Hahn and sometimes Minson and we look top heavy and slow up forward.The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.Comment
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Re: Game Day - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond
Forgot to mention this earlier, but watching the match back tonight reminded me... I was impressed by the ability to stand up in tackles (Cooney did this a number of times)... core strength really showing. The sandpit sessions must be paying off![B][COLOR="#0000CD"]Our club was born in blood and boots, not in AFL focus groups.[/COLOR][/B]Comment
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Re: Game Day - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond
Yes the game wasn't overly inspiring - but that was due to the way the Tigers played. Its hard work weaving our way through all 18 of their players in our forward line most of the time. We won by 10 goals 12! We absolutely dominated, got the job well and truly done and apart from some ordinary set shots at goal - put in a good performance.
I really liked Everitt's game.
I thought Hall's job was pretty tough with players crowding his space all day and I'm not worried about him only kicking one goal as games at Etihad and more free flowing types of matches will suit him better.
Gilbee was back in town with some great skills and he got the ball higher up the ground which was encouraging (despite a fwd tag put on him at times by King).
and Higgins laid 6 tackles and showed a bit more urgency at the contest which was great.Comment
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Re: Game Day - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond
My assesment of Picken has probably been more so on his decision making and mistakes rather than his negating roles. There were a couple of instances today where he either fumbled badly or handballed to another player under extreme pressure. Perhaps I haven't noticed him as much as I did last year, but he doesn't seem to be peforming at that level. No doubt he'll hold his spot - my concern is whether he'll keep it once Ward is fully fit and possibly Reid later in the season.
Happy to be proven wrong - I thought Gia had about half of that. Still - I thought he was disappointing in quite a few contests today. He tried to turn his body sideways and mark the ball on his chest, when he should have ran straight at the ball and opened up his hands.
As a leader, I want to see Gia display a bit more mongrel. He's got it in him, it's just a little inconsistent.
As for Minson, he should still be holding onto marks and providing an option around the ground. He hasn't done this so far in 2010. He's given away some very silly free kicks in the last few weeks too. I like Will as a player and generally defend him, but I don't think he'd be happy with his first two weeks.
Hall is a trade up from Welsh and he's not my problem at all.The forward structure comments don't make sense to me, as the structure is the same as last year except Hall in for Welsh, and Barry's defensive pressure could be argued as being better than Welsh's - and last year we were the highest scoring side in the comp. Defensive pressure from the forwards has been an issue for a while (see the Carlton game last year, Collingwood game last week) however it was awesome in the NAB cup with the same setup.
I personally think the combo of Aker, Hahn and Johnson is hurting us. They're very slow and can be carved up on the rebound. It's OK to have a couple of these types but when Murphy, Gia, Higgins and Minson also don't provide much defensive pressure - it begins to add up. Hahn is somewhat of a barometer in that when he's scraping, we're usually applying plenty of pressure to the opposition's backs. When Hahn's sluggish, we look terrible.
I love Aker and Johnson, but they aren't getting any younger. It came as no surprise to me that Aker was pushed up into the midfield for large chunks of tonight's game. He was very good too, mind you.
Agree the pressure was good in the NAB Cup but not a whole lot can be taken from that competition. Case in point is Hall's form. He's not being given the same freedom, even against a side like Richmond.
We desperately lack a Matthew Robbins type. Somebody who's output isn't defined by the amount of goals they put on the board. Aside from Murphy - our forwards are all expected to contribute weekly to the scoreboard. Realistically this can't happen - some will have down days etc. For the opposition, it means they can kill that player on the rebound.
Hall, Johnson, Hahn, Aker, Hill, Gia and even Higgins are almost expected to kick multiple goals per game. If they don't, it's seen as not one of their better games because they're all primarily attacking forwards.
I couldn't disagree more with that comment on SEN. He made a few errors, but most players did. He took the game on, his disposal was usually good and his hands in traffic were brilliant. He stood up in tackles really well a few times, still able to fire out a handball. His defensive pressure was a highlight in the first half too.There was a comment made on SEN radio re. Moles that he seemed a bit nervous and tried to do too much and over played things, this was when he gave away a free for holding the ball just before half time. Obviously you saw it differently, I would be interested to hear your reasoning
FWIW - we aren't going to pluck out a Cyril Rioli type. We haven't got the options on our list at the moment. However, I hope we manage our side so that Picken, Ward, Moles (Based on tonight's pressuring) and Cooney spend periods of the game up forward. Playing Minson, Hall and Hahn at the one time isn't ideal either.W00F!Comment
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Re: Game Day - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond
Does anyone know why we were wearing our "clash jumper" last night?
Are we really clashing with the Tigers jumper?Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"Comment
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Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"Comment
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