View Full Version : A bit of perspective
Western Bulldogs
4 wins
0 losses
1 draw
3rd on the ladder. 1.5 games clear of 4th
How many of you would have taken this if it were offered to you before the start of the season? If I were a betting man I'd say all.
Enough of the "Josh Hill is soft" threads. Enough of the other rubbish negative threads. Richmond are a better side than people give them credit for, and we've had a bad couple of weeks, yet despite that we still find ourselves 3rd on the ladder still undefeated. In my book that's a sign of a good side. If we beat the Eagles next week, we'll be back up there again ready to give the Swans a real good go the week after.
Cut them some slack. They're not perfect, but they're on the right track. We may not be premiers this year, but we're building towards something. Just enjoy the ride.
SOTW 73
21 Apr 2008, 09:01
Absolutely agree with this post.
I would take 7-8th now and a finals spot (think I am being a realist)...the current points (18 out of 20) at the moment are great to have 'in the bank' given our tough run through the middle of the year
fred cook
21 Apr 2008, 09:18
To add my two bobs worth
4 wins and a draw so far and
1 Johhno has been very quiet all year
2 West has only played the three games we have one
3 Everitt,Ray,and Williams havent played a game so far
I think we are doing ok,now lets not underachieve for the rest of the seson though.
lindsay_bulldogs
21 Apr 2008, 09:28
My perspective is that whilst we have wins on the board coming off a great pre-season we seem to be slipping back into old habits. Criticism is labeled usually at the drop off of work ethic and player commitment ie head over the ball. Richmond showed more than us at this. Also we still look slow and we have one to many slow players in the middle.
Borgsta
21 Apr 2008, 09:33
My perspective is that whilst we have wins on the board coming off a great pre-season we seem to be slipping back into old habits. Criticism is labeled usually at the drop off of work ethic and player commitment ie head over the ball. Richmond showed more than us at this. Also we still look slow and we have one to many slow players in the middle.
Which will happen when you have 2 of your quicker players out of the squad.
One thing that disappointed me yesterday was the amount of missed tackles.
Having said that we are undefeated, showed great spirit and determination to come from behind in 4 of our games so far this year and could have had the game sown up at qtr time yesterday if not for some very uncharacteristic kicking by Welsh and a few others.
Lets be honest we were lucky yesterday, however we didnt give up and still remain undefeated. We are now in a good postion to make a serious crack at the finals.
Lets use yesterday's game as a wake up call and a learning curve to the hard work that is required to win games and come out next week firing and beyond.
Johnno_6
21 Apr 2008, 10:25
Lets be honest we were lucky yesterday, however we didnt give up and still remain undefeated. We are now in a good postion to make a serious crack at the finals.
Lets use yesterday's game as a wake up call and a learning curve to the hard work that is required to win games and come out next week firing and beyond.
I don't think we were lucky. While we didn't play at our best, Richmond was still not good enough to win it.
How many teams lose when they are 19 points in front with only 3 minutes to go?
Our last three goals (Cross, Murphy and Lake-Minson) were great goals and only class players could get them.
We didn't give in and I treat this result as a win!
I agree that we need to get some perspective on yesterday and the whole season.
We are a much better team collectively than last season, we have hardened up and have a better spine with the inclusion of Hudson and Welsh.
Minson is giving us a target up forward that we so desperately need, he is a work in progress as well and may drop off a little but so far has been very good for us.
Guys like Hill and Harbrow are young and will be a tad inconsistent as the season progresses but they do offer us something special when they are on song. For the record I don't believe either is 'soft'.
Gia is similar, he has great skills and can be a deadly finisher but probably doesn't relish the really hard stuff.
Johnno is obviously not right and should be rested till he is, its a long season and I thought he should have been rested yesterday.
Callan and Addison are hard nuts whose disposal lets them down from time to time but they do give us some extra steel. I have been very impressed with Callan as he has a red hot crack and doesn't die wondering, so to speak.
Aker has been MUCH better this year as he needed to be.
Overall, we are in a position that we would have only dreamed about after the NAB Cup game against Essendon, remember that?
We have beaten some good teams and we have come from behind to beat Adelaide, St Kilda and Essendon and we DID NOT get beaten yesterday.
We are far from the finished article, anyone who watched Geelong vs Sydney or hawks and Lions would see that we have a way to got before we can challenge the likes of them.
We are moving in the right direction though and I feel that we can beat the Eagles and after that we have some tough games interstate etc.
Lets all get BEHIND the team and not bag them, we are Footscray and proud, so lets look forward to contimnuing our UNBEATEN season next week.
4 and 1/2 wins at this point is fine but good sides wouldnt have dropped yesterdays game. We had a real opportunity to be 5-0. Yes keep in in perspective but yesterday we played like Millionaires which was disappointing as last time I looked we have done stuff all to be honest.
Missed tackles, no gut runing, no manning up. Very lucky to get away with a draw in the end but i will take it.
The dreamteam week cant come quick enough. We looked tired and flat yesterday.
Snagboy
21 Apr 2008, 10:54
TOTALLY AGREE!!!!
We slaughtered the ball; particularly in the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Quarters when
going forward; which allowed them to rebound & hurt us. We cannot afford to let teams off the hook
4 and 1/2 wins at this point is fine but good sides wouldnt have dropped yesterdays game. We had a real opportunity to be 5-0. Yes keep in in perspective but yesterday we played like Millionaires which was disappointing as last time I looked we have done stuff all to be honest.
Missed tackles, no gut runing, no manning up. Very lucky to get away with a draw in the end but i will take it.
The dreamteam week cant come quick enough. We looked tired and flat yesterday.
Bodicifer
21 Apr 2008, 10:58
4 and 1/2 wins at this point is fine but good sides wouldnt have dropped yesterdays game. We had a real opportunity to be 5-0. Yes keep in in perspective but yesterday we played like Millionaires which was disappointing as last time I looked we have done stuff all to be honest.
Missed tackles, no gut runing, no manning up. Very lucky to get away with a draw in the end but i will take it.
The dreamteam week cant come quick enough. We looked tired and flat yesterday.
Couldn't agree with you more...we didn't do the hard stuff yesterday. Except for the Melbourne game, we seem to lull back against potentially weaker opponents. I thought we were lazy yesterday, not running hard to put pressure on the opponents up the ground to prevent the easy inside 50's that they had. We need to do it for 4 quarters, that's what the Geelongs, Hawthorns, Brisbanes do.
I know there has been a bit said about Josh Hill...he copped a phone bake yesterday from Eade and rightfully so, Hill would agree...he probably should have copped it a week earlier...give the kid a chance though and let's see if he learns by it. He is full of talent and hopefully he can take it in his stride
Bulldog Brent
21 Apr 2008, 11:10
I'll put my hand up - I'd have taken 4 and a half games from the first 5 rounds before the season. I'd have wondered who we drew against!
Another upshot - we've kicked 19 goals in each of the 4 Telstra Dome match we've played, and the only other game - we kicked 24 goals. That's 5 consecutive matches over 125 points. And largely without BJ.
libbasgiantshorts
21 Apr 2008, 12:54
Also we still look slow and we have one to many slow players in the middle.
yes we do look a bit slow at times but is it legspeed slow?
interesting that the games west has missed is the ones we looked slow.
we look like a different side when he is out there.
definately have a better balance this year of pace and hard bodies
which u need for finals.
positives are for 3 quaters against the saints we looked like
a team that could really challenge the likes of hawthorn
(i wont say geelong just yet) so we know we have it in us .
stefoid
21 Apr 2008, 13:10
We miss Gilbees output a lot. Addison and Callan are great defensively but nothing beats Gilbees pinpoint 100m plays.
If we can get Everitt fit and firing by the business end of the season it will be fantastic. Ray will give us a lot too -- his ability to quickly cover heaps of ground and I think his contested skills are getting better too.
I wouldnt mind seeing Hill perhaps playing as a defensive forward on the opposition play maker in the Davey type role. It would be a huge risk to run off Josh with his aerial and kicking skills, plus he is a good tackle for his weight.
this is the sort of thread i hate, it is promoting a middle of the road perspective that has dogged (pardon the pun) this club for years if this was collingwood they would be screaming till they were blue in the face about richo's "mark", why cant we do the same
4 wins in a row is as good a run as we've had in a long time, and to draw in Rd 5 - well, maybe that was the 'loss' we had to have.
Not happy with the draw, but am happy with how we've gone in the first 5 rounds.
We're not a perfect team yet, but taking it one week at a time we're a huge chance to be winners against the Eagles - and that's what we should be aiming for.
Look, we all have a whinge about our sides from time to time. I know I was p#@ed off big time yesterday during large chunks of the game. But as the thread title says - a bit of perspective. After the NAB Essendon game I couldn't see us winning a game for the season yet 3-4 weeks later we were beating media world beaters Adelaide and St Kilda and are "unbeaten" after 5 rounds. Geelong were far from world beaters after Round 5 last year. Sydney were written off in 2005 and won the premiership. Adelaide were considered unbeatable for about 12 rounds two years ago then fell away. West Coast escaped 3 weeks in a row in 2006 and won the premiership. Sam Newman declared us certainties in Rd 11 in 1998.( I have a long memory) The beauty of this great game is "a week is a long time in football". We win next week and we'll be all excited and posting positive threads again. So let's have our whinge this week as is natural after a crap effort but let's get ready for some more highs (and lows ) as we hopefully push for a finals spot.
Dogs_r_barking
21 Apr 2008, 19:52
this is the sort of thread i hate, it is promoting a middle of the road perspective that has dogged (pardon the pun) this club for years if this was collingwood they would be screaming till they were blue in the face about richo's "mark", why cant we do the same
I don't think Collingwood is a good example to use at the moment:cool: What have they achieved recently?
#1 Dogs Fan
21 Apr 2008, 20:17
Agree totally with you Mingo :thumbsu:
Also can I add we haven't had any Knee Reconstructions so far.
Man just saying that word brings shivers down my spine :(
Great season so far and this time next week when we beat the Eagles everybody will be very confident again when we meet the swans !!!
Drunken Bum
21 Apr 2008, 20:42
cant believe you even mentioned those words above, i cant even bring myself to quote it, we better not get a cpl of them this week
#1 Dogs Fan
21 Apr 2008, 20:47
cant believe you even mentioned those words above, i cant even bring myself to quote it, we better not get a cpl of them this week
I agree but I feel as if it must be said because we have had some horror seasons with them :mad:
Spectre
22 Apr 2008, 05:19
18 points and a draw to Adelaide, followed by progressively better gameplay and a respective increase in the pummeling margin of the opposition (culminating in a 100+ belting of Richmond and McMahon sporting a bit of black&blue) is very different from the current situation. Hunting for perspective or not, this slow down is worrying. Let's hope we're not ALL praying for the DreamTeam week by the end of this week.
Bulldog4life
22 Apr 2008, 12:34
this is the sort of thread i hate, it is promoting a middle of the road perspective that has dogged (pardon the pun) this club for years if this was collingwood they would be screaming till they were blue in the face about richo's "mark", why cant we do the same
To want to be like Collingwood supporters is ridiculous to the extreme. Who wants to be? Also apart from Geelong & Hawthorn tell me what other team....besides us there are 13 of them........are travelling better than us. None of them. That is what perspective is. Anyone who is not happy with the start of our season needs their head red.:rolleyes:
lindsay_bulldogs
22 Apr 2008, 13:04
To want to be like Collingwood supporters is ridiculous to the extreme. Who wants to be? Also apart from Geelong & Hawthorn tell me what other team....besides us there are 13 of them........are travelling better than us. None of them. That is what perspective is. Anyone who is not happy with the start of our season needs their head red.:rolleyes:
We are happy however we also know that the season is long. We need to beat these sides to make top four. We have a long road to come with interstate games coming up. I think 7 in total therefore having the first 6 games in Melbourne it is important we win as many as possible especially against Wooden spoon sides like Richmond.
Put it in Perspective of a WHOLE season and when you look down at the losses/draws at the end off the season you will be disappointed if we miss out on the top 4 because off this game. Good sides put away these teams.
Bulldog4life
22 Apr 2008, 13:25
We are happy however we also know that the season is long. We need to beat these sides to make top four. We have a long road to come with interstate games coming up. I think 7 in total therefore having the first 6 games in Melbourne it is important we win as many as possible especially against Wooden spoon sides like Richmond.
Put it in Perspective of a WHOLE season and when you look down at the losses/draws at the end off the season you will be disappointed if we miss out on the top 4 because off this game. Good sides put away these teams.
After reading Mingo's post he is saying a bit of perspective on the season so far. That is what I'm commenting on. No one knows the future. For example Richmond might finish in the 8, who knows. So my question remains, besides Geelong & Hawthorn what other sides are travelling better than us at the moment? I'd love to know.
Dogs Rule
22 Apr 2008, 15:09
My perspective is that whilst we have wins on the board coming off a great pre-season we seem to be slipping back into old habits. Criticism is labeled usually at the drop off of work ethic and player commitment ie head over the ball. Richmond showed more than us at this. Also we still look slow and we have one to many slow players in the middle.
I can't believe I'm reading this. Weren't we one of the quickest sides in the comp not so long ago?
lindsay_bulldogs
22 Apr 2008, 15:16
I can't believe I'm reading this. Weren't we one of the quickest sides in the comp not so long ago?
One off the quickest compared to whom. My concerns with PACE stem from the Richmond, and Essendon games so far this year. Last year I had major concerns with our pace with the last six games. Maybe you think we are quick but I would say there is a fare few teams in front off us at the moment.
lindsay_bulldogs
22 Apr 2008, 15:19
After reading Mingo's post he is saying a bit of perspective on the season so far. That is what I'm commenting on. No one knows the future. For example Richmond might finish in the 8, who knows. So my question remains, besides Geelong & Hawthorn what other sides are travelling better than us at the moment? I'd love to know.
I can see were your coming from. We are the third best side so far. If the season ends now fine we are third. Shame it goes for 22 weeks though. I find these games as a good indicator as to where the team is at. Based on Sunday I still have concerns.
gridlocked
22 Apr 2008, 15:48
Pace is not the be all and end all, as we found out 2 years ago.
Pace alone will not win you a flag, its takes a whole lot more.
kookadog
22 Apr 2008, 16:39
My God are some of you suggesting you'd rather have Richmond or essendon's list than ours? get a grip
Good start, we've given ourselves a real chance to entrench ourselves in the top 4, We must put everything we've got into these next 2 games, to beat the eagles then the swans will give us a look at a top 2. Let's just keep winning.