Keys
Looking for a cloud to yell at
- Moderator
- #1
Apologies for the delay but I'm blaming it on this being our first home Sunday game for the year.
Last 5 :
R18, 2018 : West Coast 14.16:100 v Bulldogs 6.10:46 (Optus)
R2, 2018 : Bulldogs 9.16:70 v West Coast 18.13:121 (Docklands)
R15, 2017 : Bulldogs 11.14:80 v West Coast 12.15:87 (Docklands)
R8, 2017 : West Coast 9.15:69 v Bulldogs 8.13:61 (Subiaco)
EF, 2016 : <Nothing to see here>
Teams (Benefit of delaying the preview is I have the almost named teams) :
WEST COAST EAGLES
B : Shannon Hurn, Will Schofield, Liam Duggan
HB : Brad Sheppard, Jeremy McGovern, Lewis Jetta
C: Jamie Cripps, Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff
HF: Jack Petruccelle, Jack Darling, Dom Sheed
F: Liam Ryan, Josh J. Kennedy, Willie Rioli
FOL: Nathan Vardy, Elliot Yeo, Jack Redden
I/C: Jake Waterman, Oscar Allen, Tom Cole, Jackson Nelson, Brayden Ainsworth, Mark Hutchings, Brendon Ah Chee, Josh Smith
(Four to be omitted)
IN: Lewis Jetta, Brayden Ainsworth, Brendon Ah Chee, Josh Smith
OUT: TBA
WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Jason Johannisen, Jackson Trengove, Bailey Williams (the s**t one not the Karl Langdon lookalike who's gonna be a star)
HB: Caleb Daniel, Zaine Cordy, Easton Wood
C: Lachie Hunter, Tom Liberatore, Bailey Smith
HF: Matthew Suckling, Ryan Gardner, Sam Lloyd
F: Marcus Bontempelli, Aaron Naughton, Billy Gowers
FOL: Tim English, Josh Dunkley, Jack Macrae
I/C: Josh Schache, Rhylee West, Toby McLean, Patrick Lipinski, Tory Dickson, Bailey Dale, Roarke Smith, Lachie Young
(Four to be omitted)
IN: Ryan Gardner, Billy Gowers, Josh Schache, Rhylee West, Tory Dickson, Roarke Smith, Lachie Young
OUT: Ed Richards (Omitted), Hayden Crozier (Injured), Mitch Wallis (Injured)
Forecast : Sunny with a max of 23
Anyhow, on with the game
Formline :
Fun Fact - We've played the Western Bulldogs more than any other team in the league (54 times) with an overall W/L record of 35-18-1 giving us more wins than other club bar Melbourne (lol) who we've also beaten 35 times. At home that record stands at an imposing 21-5-1 and you have to go back to our spoon year (2010) to find a H&A loss to the Bulldogs. (Another fun fact - 27 home games against the Bulldogs, 17 against Collingwood. Makes sense)
Despite that we don't seem to have built up any long term rivalry or animosity with the Bulldogs apart from a brief period in the late 90's headlined by Danny Southern's sleeper hold on Peter Sumich below
Maybe that's because we've generally beaten up on the doggies this decade with 7 of our 10 wins since 2010 being by 49 points or more with just 4 losses in that period. Couple this with our somewhat indifferent form so far this year and you might understand the difficulty I've had finding an angle to preview this game from - normally I'd be looking forward to a good old fashioned flat tracking but there's nothing from our 10 games this year to suggest that's on the horizon.
It's fair to say that the Bulldogs form this year has been befuddling at best. On face value a 4-6 record looks about right for a side that finished 13th in 2018 with 8 wins but look a little closer and it makes less sense. Wins over top 8 sides in Brisbane, Richmond and Hawthorn (yeah ok they're 9th) plus competitive losses to Collingwood and Geelong (in Geelong) have been offset by losses to the likes of Gold Coast, North and Carlton (yes Carlton's only win was against the bulldogs). If you want to find a pattern there it seems they rise against the better sides meaning we'll have to be switched on just to ensure a win, let alone entertain thoughts of a flat track.
Matchups :
West Coast v Four Quarters
Only once this year have we won all four quarters in a game (v GWS) and in 4 of our wins we've only won 1 or 2 quarters. Consistency across games has been an issue as we struggle to find our rhythm (no vowels in rhythm, weird) either starting well and not capitalising (Saints, Freo, Suns) or battling early only to storm home (Melbourne, Crows). Concerningly, when we've been bad we've been woeful with all 3 losses in excess of 40 points.
There's been a grand canyon sized void between our best and worst that I'm sure has been as frustrating for the coaching staff as it has for us onlookers. Apart from the 2nd quarter against the Crows last week signs were there that just maybe the wheel is starting to turn and our 2nd half was arguably the best we've played in 2019
Yeo v Bontempelli
Time will tell if these two midfield behemoths line up next to each other but they each hold the key to the midfield battle. Angry Yeo has been a major factor in recent weeks not only finding the ball but his tackling pressure and physicality has been through the roof. He's the only one of our midfielders with the physical attributes to go toe to toe with Bont and he has the added advantage of being able to go back with him when he pushes forward.
Forwardline Supply
On paper our forward half looks stronger than the Bulldogs yet they've scored a goal more per game on average. A big part of that is due to our very low F50 entries with 50 or thereabouts apparently our ceiling - last time our saw we were near the bottom of the league for forward entries. Pleasingly though we have been one of the most efficient sides for scoring once it's in there underlining the strike power we have up there. Defensively the Bulldogs have leaked 2 goals a game more reinforcing that supply will be a key indicator for this game - quite simply if we can at least break even in entries we should win
Whipping Boys v Fans
Whispering Masten continues to be in the outer for this week leaving a void to be filled as the target for raising the ire of the crowd. Waterman (should he be selected), Vardy, Hutchings and Cole seem to be favourites at the moment for that role albeit there is a degree of legitimacy to some of the criticism. Hopefully they all have big games
What I'm Hoping To See
> Shuey and Yeo to continue their good form
> Gaff to be pushed to a more outside role to better exploit his outside run and decrease his around the corner hacks forward
> Pressure through the midfield so the Bulldogs aren't able to expose us with linking handball trough the corridor giving them time and space to lower their eyes and find leading targets
> JK and JD to take a game apart - signs were there in the second half against Adelaide so it'd be good to see them build on that
> Petch, Ryan and Willie to run amok. The most exciting trio to watch we've had up forward for a long time
> Shepp, Hurn and Gov doing their thing
> Cleaner ball coming out of our back half with Jetta returning to the side
> Intent for four ******* quarters
Prediction
I think the Bulldogs will come over with a real purpose. They'll be stung by their loss to North and watching our games should feel we are gettable - a win over the reigning premier is always a big scalp in any year, when you do it on the road it's even more significant. If we're not prepared it could get ugly
Listening to Tom Barrass on the Backchat podcast he gave a pretty good insight into what it's like backing up after winning a flag and admitted that it was difficult to find that same level of motivation but did say that as the season progresses the routine is taking over making it easier to find the rhythm that had been elusive. At some point I feel it will click and we might see one of those legendary eagles flat tracks. Don't think it will be Sunday though
Eagles by 24 in a hard fought scrappy game
