“Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

[Bornadog]

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Five-time premiership player Dermott Brereton believes the demanding brand of football the Western Bulldogs played in 2016 is having a detrimental effect on the current crop of players.

The Dogs lost by 82-points to Greater Western Sydney on Sunday, and there is a reason Luke Beveridge’s men haven’t been able to recapture their premiership magic, according to the Hawthorn champion.

“They had a total physical commitment to buy in to that style of game,” Brereton told SEN’s KB and The Doc.
“They haven’t got that now. It was the most taxing style of football that we have ever seen.

“It is soul destroying.

“You run that hard, you physically punish yourself that hard, they were able to do it for four weeks in a row, and they had a week off at the start of the finals.

“They went to a new level in that finals series and they haven’t been able to achieve it again.”

Brereton, who has high hopes for the Bulldogs in 2018, is of the notion they still have a list to do damage this year, so they need to reverse the trend quickly.

“The Doggies are poised,” he said.
“If you’ve played 11 or more games, which is half a season or more, I count you as a regular senior player.

“The Doggies, when it’s all said and done and you count regular senior players, are the best-profiled list by far.
“They are poised to strike again, so they would want to get their backsides into gear.”

The Bulldogs will look to bounce back this Sunday against the West Coast Eagles at Etihad Stadium.

[GVGjr]

Re: “soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says derm

Dermott might be onto something with his thoughts on our playing style. The men of Mayhem backline and the handball club etc don't seem to be as evident now plus in 2016 we had a dozen players who could rotate through the middle effectively.

Does Bevo need to tweak the game plan a little?

[Happy Days]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

The "handball club" couldn't have been further from our style of play on the weekend; we were totally incapable of stringing any possessions together and didn't really think through any contested situations.

[Rocket Science]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

Do we even boast the skill level required to execute our game plan?

Or any game plan?

Injuries and inexperience are key contributors of course, but there's more afoot than that.

[Sedat]

Re: “soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says derm

Dermott might be onto something with his thoughts on our playing style. The men of Mayhem backline and the handball club etc don't seem to be as evident now plus in 2016 we had a dozen players who could rotate through the middle effectively.

Does Bevo need to tweak the game plan a little?

Richmond borrowed wholesale from our 2016 plan in 2017 with a game plan every bit as taxing - small sample size but I haven't seen anything from them that suggests a drop-off in intensity this year. They conceded 5 goals to Carlton and yet smashed them in I50's and all other key pressure indicators.

Will be interesting to see how their season progresses and if there is any discernible drop-off.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

Intensity is 99% mental and 1% physical. You have to want it. You have to want to really hurt because the prize at the end is worth it. We have lacked that intensity. You could excuse it last year - we all needed a year off to recover, but by 2018 we need to be switched back on!

[MrMahatma]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

Having no discernible game plan is soul destroying.

[Bornadog]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

Having no discernible game plan is soul destroying.

Do you believe we don't have a game plan?

[MrMahatma]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

Do you believe we don't have a game plan?

Can you articulate it?

[Bornadog]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

Can you articulate it?

No I can't because I don't have the ability to.

[1eyedog]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

To think that the nature of the game plan in 2016 has mentally and physically shot our players in 2018 is absolute drivel. I expected more from Derm.

[hujsh]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

To think that the nature of the game plan in 2016 has mentally and physically shot our players in 2018 is absolute drivel. I expected more from Derm.

I don't think that's what he's saying. It's that the style of play that was successful might not be sustainable long term. We got it going well for brief periods including those 4 weeks in the final but it's not one we've been able to keep working consistently.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

Could this 'incredibly taxing' style of footy be leading to all our injuries? I'm at a loss to just simply put this to bad luck. It's 3 years running we have been decimated by injuries

[Sedat]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

Could this 'incredibly taxing' style of footy be leading to all our injuries? I'm at a loss to just simply put this to bad luck. It's 3 years running we have been decimated by injuries

That's worth a discussion topic on its own. If the injuries continue, a complete clean-out of our fitness and medical staff is surely on the cards. I'm not talking ACL's and broke legs with are freaks of nature, but there has been too many recurring soft tissue injuries the last few seasons for it to be swept under the carpet.

[Bornadog]

Re: “Soul destroying” footy dooming dogs says Derm

That's worth a discussion topic on its own. If the injuries continue, a complete clean-out of our fitness and medical staff is surely on the cards. I'm not talking ACL's and broke legs with are freaks of nature, but there has been too many recurring soft tissue injuries the last few seasons for it to be swept under the carpet.

We need a discussion thread on injuries, and not the list Thread but about the fitness staff and injuries.