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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
Thanks BR. Much appreciated.
Thanks BR. Much appreciated.
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Rocket Science: the epitaph for the Beveridge era - whenever it ends - reading 'Here lies a team that could beat anyone on its day, but seldom did when it mattered most'. 15/7/2023 -
Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
To be honest, I was disappointed.
Outstanding first quarter. We absolutely dominated them, moved the ball very well by hand and foot, switched the play and used our rebounding half backs to devastating effect. Higgins, Goodes and co. were excellent. Then, we were well beaten in the second quarter, like we were v St. Kilda and Fremantle. My concern was two fold; we switched off and weren't working hard enough from a personnel perspective, whilst tactically we played into Carlton's hands. We had a spare for most of the quarter in Crameri who clearly has no idea defensively, whilst our half forwards pushed up to half back. The result? When we did win the ball, we were clogged up - there was no space - and we had no options going forward, so we bombed the ball to nobody or to out numbered contests. I was really interested to see what we'd do if/when Carlton got a run on after coughing up good leads v Saints and Freo, but it was much of the same. Fumbling, extremely bad decision making and poor skill execution. As I said, my concern is with the tactics - it simply isn't working. We need to be able to stem the bleeding and slow the game down but we did anything but (again). Disappointing. Against good sides, we'll be pummeled if we switch off for quarters.
We did get back on top after the second quarter and dominated general play, but our forward line was as dysfunctional as you're ever likely to see it. The amount of ball we won/pumped into F50 for the return we got was very average. This again came back to decision making and skill execution at times, however, much of the blame must also go to the forwards. Crameri, Campbell and Cordy were absolutely awful and that's being kind. If Barry Hall played today, he would have kicked 15.
Sounds like a harsh summary, but it's frustrating to see that the things we need to get better at are still our major weaknesses. We looked sublime in the first quarter and our mids were excellent for most of the game, but an an inability to put it on the scoreboard was painful.
Wallis: Tagged Murphy and I thought he did a pretty solid job. Hard to take note of everything, but he was very solid. Faded in the second like the entire side, but overall a good performance. Goes in low and hard.
Boyd: Played a very good game, only made one error if I recall correctly. Used the ball well, gave it to players in better positions and as always is a contested ball winning beast. Needs to keep playing like this within his limitations.
Higgins: Excellent game. Initially lined up on Thomas but the matchups change every ten seconds. His reading of the play from half back was sublime, he looked a cut above the rest on the field. Ran hard to create run/carry from behind and used the ball really well. What pleased me most, however, was that he put his body on the line repeatedly. It was a complete game from Higgins - very impressive performance.
Crameri: Awful. If he wasn't the 'big signing', I wouldn't play him round 1. Not sure if he's trying to do much, but he's making some fundamental errors that boggle the mind. Simple marks/handballs, trying to take on too many opponents, decision making etc. I feel the need to say 'give him time' and I do think he'll be a good addition but if we're being honest, he was woeful.
Wood: Typical Wood game. Made some fantastic spoils, looked exciting in parts, but also made some blunders and was caught out of position on occasion.
Macrae: Class above. Quiet first quarter but really got going after that, particularly in the second half. His ability to either win a contested contest or hold it up is impressive for somebody touted as an outside player. Rarely wastes the ball. Had a few passages of play where his vision and composure was a pleasure to watch. Next step is being able to hurt the opposition a little more via foot.
Gia: Pushed up the ground a lot, made a few un-Gia like errors when he did, but as always finished well in front of goals.
Tutt: Very average. Thought he was quite soft on a few occasions, peering up to see if anybody was coming and thus fumbling the ball. In one piece of play where this happened, Hunter then came through and picked it up as cleanly as one could. Continues to make these same silly errors, as well as kicking into the man on the mark.
Cooney: Another very encouraging and exciting performance. He's moving as well as he did in 2008 IMO. Used his left foot a few times and looked all class. That explosive pace is back - the signs are fantastic. Like Higgins, a class above the rest today.
Pearce: Only came on in the last quarter, hard to judge. No errors.
Libba: Came on in the second half and looked a class above as he always does with his clean hands and vision. Absolute gun.
Honeychurch: Impressive performance. He goes in really hard, seems to generally make solid decisions and use the ball well. A few errors in close under pressure, but overall there's quite a bit to work with.
Roughead: A pretty decent game, although he did look rusty at times with some basic errors. He'll be better for the run and looks in good condition.
Stevens: Another really good game from Stevens. He has certainly improved from last year. Looks fitter, enabling him to stay in the game longer and use his gut running abilities to advantage. Very tough, very courageous, very good overhead and he's using the ball well. He's been strong this pre-season, one of our best.
Hunter: Sprayed a couple shots on goal/passes, but oozes class. Opposition find it difficult to tackle/quell him, such a smart footballer. One of my favourite players to watch.
Minson: A good hitout for Big Will, he's not dominating yet but he's competing well and looks set for another big year.
Dickson: I wouldn't play him round one. Did a couple of nice things but overall, he's not doing enough. Missed a few easy shots and still struggles when played up the field.
Young: Came on in the last quarter, hard to judge.
Fuller: Came on in the last quarter, I watched him closely and thought he competed well. Uses his body pretty well in contested marking situations to bring the ball to ground. Made one error by foot but other than that, looks like a neat player on very limited exposure. He didn't look out of place, which was pleasing, and also made me wish we played him in earlier games to get a better look.
Morris: Excellent. Gave Waite a bath. Closing speed is still phenomenal.
JJ: Thought he was quiet. Made one great run from half back to roughly CHF but turned it over. You can just 'see' that the kid can play though, has composure and pace, just needs to string it together more often and keep working harder to stay involved.
Picken: Pretty good game from Liam, ball use was much better and was still very tough as always.
Goodes: The help from Higgins across HB really helped settle him. Didn't 'over do' it, as he has thus far this pre-season. Looking forward to seeing Murph/Goodes/Higgins/JJ rotate through there. Goodes needed a better game and he did deliver that.
Campbell: I'm a fan, but he was woeful. Absolutely woeful. Didn't fully extend his arms for marks, dropped almost all of them and looked for body contact instead of simply charging at the ball carrier way too often. He had quite a lot of supply and really struggled.
Jong: I want to say it was a really impressive game, because in many facets, it was. He was strong, tough, won the ball, showed impressive pace, linked up in general play and ran to the right areas .... but despite all this good work, his disposal is still not good enough. If he can fix this up, we have a player - he just kept getting to the right spots, stayed involved, used his body well and worked hard ... but at the end of the day, you need to be effective by hand and foot at this level. Unfortunately he isn't. I do like him though - I have more faith in Jong and his attitude/effort than many currently on our senior list.
Cordy: Let's start with the positive: he took one great mark, arms fully extended, where he jumped off the ground and converted. Now the negatives: every minute before and after that one piece of play. He so often stood 60-80m away from a player needing an option going forward. He still refuses to lead and jump with purpose to take a mark with both hands. He jogs, woefully tries to initiate body contact and throws up a meek one hand. He's still pushed out of contests by midfielders, is slow and has poor decision making and skill execution skills. The first prime example was when he was running into goal about 50m out. He had a man all alone he could have chipped the ball over to who would have taken the shot from about 30m out. Instead, Cordy ran to 40m and kicked it out on the full. The second example was right at the end of the game, where he couldn't even hit Wallis with a 10m pass. Wallis got crunched just as the siren went. Call me a Cordy basher, but I've said from day one he can't play, and he proves me right every time I see him play. I'm tired of the 'injury/development/insert other excuse here' - the fact is he looks so far out of his depth its embarrassing.
Overall, I still have some concerns - mostly around our ability to defend against a run on. We go to water. On the upside, Higgins and Cooney looked fantastic and despite our extremely poor forward line, we never looked like losing the game because of our dominant midfield.W00F!Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
A big thanks for all that provided the reports today. Some real first round selection conundrums for the match committee.
Still a few questions to answer but I think this is an encouraging result.Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
Appreciate the reports .. especially TBB.Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
Official club match report:
A BEST-ON-GROUND performance from Shaun Higgins has the classy Western Bulldog primed for a round one AFL return.
Higgins, who has not played since round three last year due to a navicular fracture in his foot, continued his progress to a comeback with a 33-possession showing for the Dogs in their practice match win over Carlton on Friday at Visy Park.
The Bulldogs broke away early in the game with a 32-point lead at quarter-time, with Higgins a key player in their dominance. The Blues hit back with a four-goal-to-one second term before a tighter second half, but the Bulldogs prevailed by 17 points.
They won 12.11 (83) to 9.12 (66) in their final competitive hit-out of the pre-season, with the Dogs to hold an intra-club next week ahead of their round one meeting with West Coast on March 23.
Higgins admitted he had felt some anxiousness in his first game back from the injury last week against Fremantle, but said the positional switch had helped him settle back in.
"The foot's fine," he said post-game. "Last week I had probably a few nerves going into the game in terms of just getting back out there and playing and wondering how you'd go.
"But I think the role across half-back has probably helped that a little bit and made me focus on just beating my man and then play from there.
"The foot was a long time ago now, I've had a full pre-season of running so I feel as if I've done plenty of work. It's not as if I'm going in a little underdone."
That was obvious. He set up the play from half-back and also moved forward to use his damaging possession and poise, with the 26-year-old appearing in strong physical shape.
He described 2013 as "as frustrating as you get" but said the progress made by the side had steeled him to get fit and be a part of some success.
"You play to win and we've had some reasonably successful sides and I was part of that so I want to get back there as quickly as possible," he said.
"Obviously it's not great on the sidelines but it's probably made me a little bit hungry over the pre-season and I'm really enjoying playing with those guys.
"I think tonight showed how good some of them are so it's going to be an exciting couple of years I think."
The Blues lost Brock McLean in the first term, with the midfielder hobbling off the field and heading to the club's headquarters for medical attention.
Although he played no further part in the game, the club said he was fine and had only suffered a knock, and was not going to be risked in the practice match.
The Blues expect him to be fit to play against Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium next Sunday for the Blues' season-opener.
Higgins was supported by Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney, who kicked three goals from 21 disposals, including several vintage Cooney moments where he created space and time for himself and delivered the ball with precision.
Koby Stevens (20 disposals), Jack Macrae (25 and 10 tackles) and Lin Jong (19) were younger Bulldogs to show encouraging signs.
And after sitting out the first half Tom Liberatore had 20 disposals in the second half, including an amazing 16 touches in the third term alone when he controlled the clearances.
The Blues started the contest off the pace (the Bulldogs had 52 more disposals in the opening term), but they came into the game in the second quarter and were better thereafter.
Second-year forward Troy Menzel, who appears set for a more permanent role in the club's attack this season with his crafty left foot and goal smarts, supplied two majors.
Kade Simpson led the Blues with 29 disposals, with Mitch Robinson (17 and two goals), Ed Curnow (23) and Zach Tuohy (18) also solid contributors. New recruit Dale Thomas had 17 disposals but not a significant impact.
Carlton will be buoyed by what they saw before the clash with the Dogs, however, with big man Lachie Henderson playing for the Northern Blues against Footscray in the preceding VFL practice match.
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They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them.Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
And some video:
They say Burt Lancaster has one, but I don't believe them.Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
It was an encouraging result with the forward line still a concern. Outside of Dalhlhaus who didn't play today, Gia and Hunter we still have others like Crameri Stringer Jones and Dickson needing to show a lot more. Campbell although just fair today has done enough to be selected. Cordy continues to disappoint. I was informed that Fletcher Roberts was good in the early game today and I would like to see him given an opportunity.Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
Just to add, I only saw the last quarter of the VFL game, but Bontempelli looks huge. For somebody his age and height, he's already quite thick across his back. He's going to be a physical beast in a few years time, whether he can play midfield at his size I am not certain, but what is certain is that he will be an imposing figure.W00F!Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
Thanks James Poutney Fitness.
(See how I subtly worked that in?)
Rocket Science: the epitaph for the Beveridge era - whenever it ends - reading 'Here lies a team that could beat anyone on its day, but seldom did when it mattered most'. 15/7/2023Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
For all who could not be at the game today, here are some pictures of the match. I took the kids with me so I didn't bother to walk around so I only sat at one spot and randomly taking some shoots with my little camera (omd em-5 + 75mm lens).
Enjoy.It always seems impossible until it's done. Nelson MandelaComment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
Good result ( always nice to beat them)
Obviously we are a work in progress, but I think some people should realise we did finish 15th last season.
Just wondering whether the whole ASADA stuff is affecting Stewart Crameri.Comment
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Re: Practise Match - Dogs vs Blues March 7 at 4pm Princes Park
Every season I find practise matches do not reflect how the team is going and what they will be like for the coming season. The players are not fully fit and the coaches are easing the team ready for the opening season.
Appreciate all the reports but i wouldn't take it too seriously at this stage. There are still a few weeks of training and getting ready for the real stuff.FFC: Established 1883
Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.Comment
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