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Robert Walls
HANDS up if you had the Western Bulldogs in your top two pre-season? I know I did. After round 11, they sat 13th on the ladder, having lost six of their last seven games. Tonight they play St Kilda, another team that has disappointed so far this season. If the Dogs lose, they can kiss goodbye any chance of making the finals and that would be amazing, because after three successive years of preliminary finals appearances, they appeared to be primed to take the next step.
So what has gone wrong? The bottom line is that some top-class veterans have delivered next to nothing. Promising youngsters haven't blossomed as expected, and the defection of dashing defender Jarrod Harbrow to the Gold Coast has hurt the team in more ways than one.
Last year, the Bulldogs' bookends had fantastic seasons. Brian Lake at full-back and Barry Hall at full-forward played so well both earned All-Australian selection. Neither has fired a shot in 2011. For a coach, pencilling in the full-back is generally the first thing done. Last year, the Dogs played 25 games and, on each occasion, Lake's name was gleefully written down by Rodney Eade, and the big full-back performed admirably. So good was his season that the hierarchy rushed to put a three-year $600,000-a-year contract in front of him. But since the signature went down, Lake's football has turned from brilliant to embarrassingly bad. Public knowledge of a business deal spat with former teammate Nathan Eagleton wouldn't have helped. Then there were operations over summer that led to a restricted pre-season. Some say he put off the surgery to enjoy a holiday. So Lake's professionalism was questioned.
So far, the All-Australian full-back has played just half of the Dogs' 10 games, and performed well in none. A lack of preparedness to attack the footy and non-existent second efforts damn him. He does not appear to talk to or encourage teammates during games or breaks. He looks completely lost. The coach has switched him forward in an attempt to find him some form. Last week against the Cats, Lake kicked three final-quarter goals, but the game was over by then and the goals meant little.
Last year, Lake took more marks than any other player in the AFL, averaging 10 per game. This season, he averages just four. The Bulldogs pay Lake big bucks to be one of the best backmen in the game, not to be a floating forward. So both club and player should bite the bullet and he should be put back into defence to tough it out.
Hall is different. His problem is to do with body, not brain. Bazza's body is simply not holding up. Operations at 34 are hard to get over. Hall has played just half the games and hasn't been fully fit in any of them. His goal average has halved, and significantly he has laid just one tackle in five games. He just can't chase, twist or turn, and opponents are running off him with ease.
Last year, Hall dominated the goalkicking, slotting 80 majors; next best was Daniel Giansiracusa with 35. In 2009, without Hall but with Jason Akermanis, Brad Johnson and Mitch Hahn, the Bulldogs were the highest-scoring team. Now, with just a battling Hall and no Johnson, Akermanis or Hahn, they have slipped to 11th.
Also well below par is Brownlow medallist and key midfielder Adam Cooney. Knee injuries have cost him games and restricted output. Playing more as a forward than a midfielder means the scintillating dash from the stoppages has ceased. And why isn't Ben Hudson getting a game? He rucks better than Will Minson, gets twice the disposals around the ground, and wins more clearances than most midfielders because he is desperate at ground level.
And Harbrow's value to the team should not be undersold. The bouncy left-footer was the spark of the back line. He loved to run and carry and, along with Lake, he dominated the defensive rebounds. Now he is gone and the Gold Coast is benefiting from his talents. No one has filled the void.
On a personal level, the Bulldogs' demise could not have come at a worse time for coach Eade, who is out of contract at season's end. He has done a fine job in his seven seasons out west, making finals in five of six completed seasons. But 2011 was to be the big one. Injuries have hurt, but where has the improvement come from in younger Dogs Shaun Higgins, Jarrad Grant, Liam Jones and Jordan Roughhead? Tom Williams has been in the system for five years and still looks lost out there.
Management has a tough call to make on Eade. Do they say thank you for a job well done and give someone else a crack with an ageing list that, with a bit of luck and freakish leadership, might just rally for a flag challenge in 2012? Or do they keep the coach on?
President David Smorgon has an interesting four months ahead of him. And for what it's worth, Smorgon and his board don't need past players stirring the pot while the club goes through a lean period. Paul Dimattina and co either need to put up or shut up.
HANDS up if you had the Western Bulldogs in your top two pre-season? I know I did. After round 11, they sat 13th on the ladder, having lost six of their last seven games. Tonight they play St Kilda, another team that has disappointed so far this season. If the Dogs lose, they can kiss goodbye any chance of making the finals and that would be amazing, because after three successive years of preliminary finals appearances, they appeared to be primed to take the next step.
So what has gone wrong? The bottom line is that some top-class veterans have delivered next to nothing. Promising youngsters haven't blossomed as expected, and the defection of dashing defender Jarrod Harbrow to the Gold Coast has hurt the team in more ways than one.
Last year, the Bulldogs' bookends had fantastic seasons. Brian Lake at full-back and Barry Hall at full-forward played so well both earned All-Australian selection. Neither has fired a shot in 2011. For a coach, pencilling in the full-back is generally the first thing done. Last year, the Dogs played 25 games and, on each occasion, Lake's name was gleefully written down by Rodney Eade, and the big full-back performed admirably. So good was his season that the hierarchy rushed to put a three-year $600,000-a-year contract in front of him. But since the signature went down, Lake's football has turned from brilliant to embarrassingly bad. Public knowledge of a business deal spat with former teammate Nathan Eagleton wouldn't have helped. Then there were operations over summer that led to a restricted pre-season. Some say he put off the surgery to enjoy a holiday. So Lake's professionalism was questioned.
So far, the All-Australian full-back has played just half of the Dogs' 10 games, and performed well in none. A lack of preparedness to attack the footy and non-existent second efforts damn him. He does not appear to talk to or encourage teammates during games or breaks. He looks completely lost. The coach has switched him forward in an attempt to find him some form. Last week against the Cats, Lake kicked three final-quarter goals, but the game was over by then and the goals meant little.
Last year, Lake took more marks than any other player in the AFL, averaging 10 per game. This season, he averages just four. The Bulldogs pay Lake big bucks to be one of the best backmen in the game, not to be a floating forward. So both club and player should bite the bullet and he should be put back into defence to tough it out.
Hall is different. His problem is to do with body, not brain. Bazza's body is simply not holding up. Operations at 34 are hard to get over. Hall has played just half the games and hasn't been fully fit in any of them. His goal average has halved, and significantly he has laid just one tackle in five games. He just can't chase, twist or turn, and opponents are running off him with ease.
Last year, Hall dominated the goalkicking, slotting 80 majors; next best was Daniel Giansiracusa with 35. In 2009, without Hall but with Jason Akermanis, Brad Johnson and Mitch Hahn, the Bulldogs were the highest-scoring team. Now, with just a battling Hall and no Johnson, Akermanis or Hahn, they have slipped to 11th.
Also well below par is Brownlow medallist and key midfielder Adam Cooney. Knee injuries have cost him games and restricted output. Playing more as a forward than a midfielder means the scintillating dash from the stoppages has ceased. And why isn't Ben Hudson getting a game? He rucks better than Will Minson, gets twice the disposals around the ground, and wins more clearances than most midfielders because he is desperate at ground level.
And Harbrow's value to the team should not be undersold. The bouncy left-footer was the spark of the back line. He loved to run and carry and, along with Lake, he dominated the defensive rebounds. Now he is gone and the Gold Coast is benefiting from his talents. No one has filled the void.
On a personal level, the Bulldogs' demise could not have come at a worse time for coach Eade, who is out of contract at season's end. He has done a fine job in his seven seasons out west, making finals in five of six completed seasons. But 2011 was to be the big one. Injuries have hurt, but where has the improvement come from in younger Dogs Shaun Higgins, Jarrad Grant, Liam Jones and Jordan Roughhead? Tom Williams has been in the system for five years and still looks lost out there.
Management has a tough call to make on Eade. Do they say thank you for a job well done and give someone else a crack with an ageing list that, with a bit of luck and freakish leadership, might just rally for a flag challenge in 2012? Or do they keep the coach on?
President David Smorgon has an interesting four months ahead of him. And for what it's worth, Smorgon and his board don't need past players stirring the pot while the club goes through a lean period. Paul Dimattina and co either need to put up or shut up.
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