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Match details
North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs, Sunday 17 July 2011, 4:40pm, Etihad Stadium
This Week's Teams
North Melbourne
B: Scott Thompson, Cameron Pedersen, Michael Firrito
HB: Brady Rawlings, Luke Delaney, Scott McMahon
C: Daniel Wells, Ryan Bastinac, Levi Greenwood
HF: Jack Ziebell, Aaron Edwards, Brent Harvey
F: Matt Campbell, Drew Petrie, Lachlan Hansen
Foll: Todd Goldstein, Leigh Adams, Andrew Swallow
I/C: Gavin Urquhart, Ben Warren, Liam Anthony, Benjamin Speight, Jamie Macmillan, Shaun Atley, Kieran Harper
In: Gavin Urquhart, Ben Warren, Benjamin Speight, Jamie Macmillan
Out: Lindsay Thomas
Western Bulldogs
B: Easton Wood, Lukas Markovic, Dale Morris
HB: Liam Picken, Tom L. Williams, Robert Murphy
C: Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd, Lindsay Gilbee
HF: Callan Ward, Liam Jones, Luke Dahlhaus
F: Jarrad Grant, Barry Hall, Daniel Giansiracusa
Foll: Ben Hudson, Ryan Griffen, Adam Cooney
I/C: Dylan Addison, Shaun Higgins, William Minson, Josh Hill, Brennan Stack, Sam Reid, Andrew Hooper
In: Dylan Addison, William Minson, Brennan Stack
Key Match ups
Forward Half
Hall vs Thompson
After last year’s celebrated incident will Thompson go with Hall. Other options for North are Grima/Delaney
Barry has certainly been up and about the last 2 weeks and gives North plenty to ponder
Gia vs Rawlings
Gia has been our most consistent forward and is starting to cop the heavy tag, due to his form. Rawlings has been North’s best defender for smalls over the past 2 years. He has the motor to stick to his task, but is not overly creative on the rebound. Will make Gia work hard and can go with him when Gia has a midfield stint.
Midfield
Boyd vs Swallow
Both players win plenty of it in the contested ball and clearance work. Head to head they may both play their own game unless one starts to have a big influence, when the other might be required to defend more. I’ll back Boyd to keep on going as he always seems to dominate the possessions more in the second half of games.
Picken vs Wells
Oiled Wells is the smooth class player in the North side, particularly with Boomer Harvey not playing. Picken is resolute and just keeps at his task. He can sometimes be caught out by a burst player. Wells just does things effortlessly when he is on song. Liam does not allow anyone to do anything without effort.
Opposition players must dread when they find Liam Picken on them.
Edit: With Harvey still retained it is certainly likely that Liam will go to Boomer if he does come up. This would require Rocket to assign someone to Wells, but he may be happy for a head to head using someone like Ward.
Hudson vs Goldstein
The Jeweller has been the success story in North’s season and is a significant challenge for the Beard. Huddo will need to scrap with all his intensity to wear done Goldstein, who is a strong around the ground player. This match up concerns me most, so we will need to have our class midfielders in Griff, Coons and Ward take away any advantage stemmimg from Goldstein.
How do North approach Cooney/Griffen/Ward. Can they pick one to tag. Who do they have that can be relied on to do a shut down job. This is where they seem to lack class and depth. Ziebell, Greenwood and Anthony will certainly need to work hard to contain their Bulldog opponents. The ability of Daniel Cross to keep running and provide the get out option is also important to the Dogs ability to get a release from any opposition pressure.
Defensive half
Morris vs Thomas
Morris just continues to get the job done. After the demolition of Betts, he should control Yip Yip Thomas.
Edit: Well north have decided the Yips are too much to overcome. May mean Morris is assigned to Campbell. Edwards is the other forward to look at but Easton Wood looks well suited for that contest.
Markovic vs Petrie
Marko is a very defensive minded, who does well in aerial contest, by simply taking the balance of opponents in the air. Can be caught out by a fast leading player, but should be suited to the Dish who relies more on contested marking. Like all Doggies supporters I am wary of Petrie after that absolutely brilliant display at the MCG in 2007 where he scored 6 1st quarter goals playing on Brian Harris.
Williams vs Hansen
Tommy is in career best form over the past few games and is showing the confidence to take marks and provide some rebound as well. I will certainly back Tom to get the points over Hansen.
Edit: Plenty suggest that Hansen will play back, but North need to find some scoring options and not rely on Petrie as their sole marking target.
How do we win?
One of the big dangers is complacency. The Dogs have not been good at maintaining winning streaks, but the situation of the season demands that now. North will be undoubtedly fired up to atone for their dismal display against Collingwood.
If we can get on top early we should deflate their intensity and set up a comfortable win. However if we come out just expecting it to happen we could easily fall behind and struggle to get back in the contest.
Our midfield absolutely has more class and depth. Cooney is back to good form and Griffen has been superb all year. Ward is now having a consistent influence.
Up forward we have looked better since Barry’s return to form and this has helped Jones as well. Jones is also benefiting from his runs in the ruck, getting him involved in the game. Barbie Dalhaus has just added life and we have improved our forward pressure immensely since his introduction.
My Verdict
Well a game the we need to win, should win and should win comfortably. Our class players have come good. Our pressure has emerged and we again have forward options to score goals, while our backline showed last week that even without Lake they are a very good defensive unit.
Dogs by 72 points as I expect them to dominate after a tightish first half..
note
Edit after team selections now completed.
North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs, Sunday 17 July 2011, 4:40pm, Etihad Stadium
This Week's Teams
North Melbourne
B: Scott Thompson, Cameron Pedersen, Michael Firrito
HB: Brady Rawlings, Luke Delaney, Scott McMahon
C: Daniel Wells, Ryan Bastinac, Levi Greenwood
HF: Jack Ziebell, Aaron Edwards, Brent Harvey
F: Matt Campbell, Drew Petrie, Lachlan Hansen
Foll: Todd Goldstein, Leigh Adams, Andrew Swallow
I/C: Gavin Urquhart, Ben Warren, Liam Anthony, Benjamin Speight, Jamie Macmillan, Shaun Atley, Kieran Harper
In: Gavin Urquhart, Ben Warren, Benjamin Speight, Jamie Macmillan
Out: Lindsay Thomas
Western Bulldogs
B: Easton Wood, Lukas Markovic, Dale Morris
HB: Liam Picken, Tom L. Williams, Robert Murphy
C: Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd, Lindsay Gilbee
HF: Callan Ward, Liam Jones, Luke Dahlhaus
F: Jarrad Grant, Barry Hall, Daniel Giansiracusa
Foll: Ben Hudson, Ryan Griffen, Adam Cooney
I/C: Dylan Addison, Shaun Higgins, William Minson, Josh Hill, Brennan Stack, Sam Reid, Andrew Hooper
In: Dylan Addison, William Minson, Brennan Stack
Key Match ups
Forward Half
Hall vs Thompson
After last year’s celebrated incident will Thompson go with Hall. Other options for North are Grima/Delaney
Barry has certainly been up and about the last 2 weeks and gives North plenty to ponder
Gia vs Rawlings
Gia has been our most consistent forward and is starting to cop the heavy tag, due to his form. Rawlings has been North’s best defender for smalls over the past 2 years. He has the motor to stick to his task, but is not overly creative on the rebound. Will make Gia work hard and can go with him when Gia has a midfield stint.
Midfield
Boyd vs Swallow
Both players win plenty of it in the contested ball and clearance work. Head to head they may both play their own game unless one starts to have a big influence, when the other might be required to defend more. I’ll back Boyd to keep on going as he always seems to dominate the possessions more in the second half of games.
Picken vs Wells
Oiled Wells is the smooth class player in the North side, particularly with Boomer Harvey not playing. Picken is resolute and just keeps at his task. He can sometimes be caught out by a burst player. Wells just does things effortlessly when he is on song. Liam does not allow anyone to do anything without effort.
Opposition players must dread when they find Liam Picken on them.
Edit: With Harvey still retained it is certainly likely that Liam will go to Boomer if he does come up. This would require Rocket to assign someone to Wells, but he may be happy for a head to head using someone like Ward.
Hudson vs Goldstein
The Jeweller has been the success story in North’s season and is a significant challenge for the Beard. Huddo will need to scrap with all his intensity to wear done Goldstein, who is a strong around the ground player. This match up concerns me most, so we will need to have our class midfielders in Griff, Coons and Ward take away any advantage stemmimg from Goldstein.
How do North approach Cooney/Griffen/Ward. Can they pick one to tag. Who do they have that can be relied on to do a shut down job. This is where they seem to lack class and depth. Ziebell, Greenwood and Anthony will certainly need to work hard to contain their Bulldog opponents. The ability of Daniel Cross to keep running and provide the get out option is also important to the Dogs ability to get a release from any opposition pressure.
Defensive half
Morris vs Thomas
Morris just continues to get the job done. After the demolition of Betts, he should control Yip Yip Thomas.
Edit: Well north have decided the Yips are too much to overcome. May mean Morris is assigned to Campbell. Edwards is the other forward to look at but Easton Wood looks well suited for that contest.
Markovic vs Petrie
Marko is a very defensive minded, who does well in aerial contest, by simply taking the balance of opponents in the air. Can be caught out by a fast leading player, but should be suited to the Dish who relies more on contested marking. Like all Doggies supporters I am wary of Petrie after that absolutely brilliant display at the MCG in 2007 where he scored 6 1st quarter goals playing on Brian Harris.
Williams vs Hansen
Tommy is in career best form over the past few games and is showing the confidence to take marks and provide some rebound as well. I will certainly back Tom to get the points over Hansen.
Edit: Plenty suggest that Hansen will play back, but North need to find some scoring options and not rely on Petrie as their sole marking target.
How do we win?
One of the big dangers is complacency. The Dogs have not been good at maintaining winning streaks, but the situation of the season demands that now. North will be undoubtedly fired up to atone for their dismal display against Collingwood.
If we can get on top early we should deflate their intensity and set up a comfortable win. However if we come out just expecting it to happen we could easily fall behind and struggle to get back in the contest.
Our midfield absolutely has more class and depth. Cooney is back to good form and Griffen has been superb all year. Ward is now having a consistent influence.
Up forward we have looked better since Barry’s return to form and this has helped Jones as well. Jones is also benefiting from his runs in the ruck, getting him involved in the game. Barbie Dalhaus has just added life and we have improved our forward pressure immensely since his introduction.
My Verdict
Well a game the we need to win, should win and should win comfortably. Our class players have come good. Our pressure has emerged and we again have forward options to score goals, while our backline showed last week that even without Lake they are a very good defensive unit.
Dogs by 72 points as I expect them to dominate after a tightish first half..
note
Edit after team selections now completed.
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