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By Callum Twomey
IN ATTEMPTS to illustrate how he wants the Western Bulldogs to play their football, new coach Brendan McCartney showed his players vision of champion Geelong midfielder Jimmy Bartel over the pre-season.
McCartney spent 11 years as an assistant coach at Geelong before crossing to Essendon for one season and then winning the Bulldogs' top job.
But his admiration for the Cats clearly remains strong, with the Brownlow and Norm Smith medallist one of several Cats players McCartney chose to highlight as he strives to implement a revised game style at the Bulldogs.
"We've seen a little bit of vision over the pre-season of the way we would like to be seen to be playing [our football] in the future, and Jimmy Bartel has shown the way in big games to go about it," Bulldogs midfielder Shaun Higgins told SEN on Tuesday.
"There were a couple of clips we saw of him, but not just him - there were more Geelong players. [They're] the benchmark of the competition.
"We've sat down and had a good look at that and hopefully the younger players, and all of us, can learn a little bit from that."
Higgins said he watched Monday's encounter between Geelong and Hawthorn, and was impressed by the Cats' resolve to stay in the game when it appeared the Hawks had established a match-winning lead. The reigning premiers provide some lessons for the Bulldogs, he said.
"[Just] the ability for Geelong to win those close games and always stay in the contest and find a way," Higgins said.
"Teams have done it against us and we'd like to get to the stage where we're that side doing it to other teams. And with the things we've put in place with 'Macca', the boys have got full confidence that we'll get there eventually."
The Bulldogs almost snatched their first win of the year on Saturday night against Adelaide but were overrun by the Crows in the final quarter. Higgins said the performance had given the club some confidence, despite the final result.
"When you get yourself in a winning position halfway through the last quarter, especially at AAMI Stadium, you want to come away with a win," Higgins said.
"But you look at the bigger picture and the things we've put in place since Macca arrived in November, it was definitely a step forward. But we're still desperate to get that first win."
Callum Twomey is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.
IN ATTEMPTS to illustrate how he wants the Western Bulldogs to play their football, new coach Brendan McCartney showed his players vision of champion Geelong midfielder Jimmy Bartel over the pre-season.
McCartney spent 11 years as an assistant coach at Geelong before crossing to Essendon for one season and then winning the Bulldogs' top job.
But his admiration for the Cats clearly remains strong, with the Brownlow and Norm Smith medallist one of several Cats players McCartney chose to highlight as he strives to implement a revised game style at the Bulldogs.
"We've seen a little bit of vision over the pre-season of the way we would like to be seen to be playing [our football] in the future, and Jimmy Bartel has shown the way in big games to go about it," Bulldogs midfielder Shaun Higgins told SEN on Tuesday.
"There were a couple of clips we saw of him, but not just him - there were more Geelong players. [They're] the benchmark of the competition.
"We've sat down and had a good look at that and hopefully the younger players, and all of us, can learn a little bit from that."
Higgins said he watched Monday's encounter between Geelong and Hawthorn, and was impressed by the Cats' resolve to stay in the game when it appeared the Hawks had established a match-winning lead. The reigning premiers provide some lessons for the Bulldogs, he said.
"[Just] the ability for Geelong to win those close games and always stay in the contest and find a way," Higgins said.
"Teams have done it against us and we'd like to get to the stage where we're that side doing it to other teams. And with the things we've put in place with 'Macca', the boys have got full confidence that we'll get there eventually."
The Bulldogs almost snatched their first win of the year on Saturday night against Adelaide but were overrun by the Crows in the final quarter. Higgins said the performance had given the club some confidence, despite the final result.
"When you get yourself in a winning position halfway through the last quarter, especially at AAMI Stadium, you want to come away with a win," Higgins said.
"But you look at the bigger picture and the things we've put in place since Macca arrived in November, it was definitely a step forward. But we're still desperate to get that first win."
Callum Twomey is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.
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