Toast Bulldogs def Swans 67-39

[Dale4captain]

Drafted as an inside mid, makes an impact forward of centre.

Clay Smith mk 2

Has the body to go in low and hard. Short legs and a long torso means a very low center of gravity and great balance/power through the core and geez does he use it!

 

[maddog37]

Agreed but just doesn’t look as agile as normal atm. Maybe needs to gain some extra fitness

I thought he is looking stronger and is becoming a lot harder to tackle. He is going through more than around.

 

[fronkalicious]

Thought CD was great again tonight, the Swans tried to exploit his match up all night with no affect. Also on Bruce whilst he’s not tearing up the stat sheet his work in the contests have been great. Guys like Davis last week and Alir Alir have carved us up in the past with there intercept marking and two on one advantage but Brucey brings it to ground more than most. Also thought the midfield was better balanced tonight and looked quicker and the Bont nailing captains goals and doing captains acts at the right time was special.... Lastly the boy with the mullet in the number 6 jumper would be leading our B&F if it was held tomorrow.

The midfield balance is going to be fascinating to watch as we roll along.

I agree things moved more smoothly/quickly last night.

Jong not being there helps our ball movement stay fluid. Richards and Liponski help with speed (Richards) and quality ball use.

But Dunkley out, smith in to that on ball trio definitely makes us more dynamic.

When I’ve been mucking around with our best lineup recently, I’ve had Bonti fwd and smith on ball.

Macrae also needs to play in the guts. Not off a wing.

 

[Zgope1]

In 2017, a miserable year, we tried to milk the chaos contested style with no real way of kicking goals. We had no height and not a lot of finishing and our best hard nuts were on the way out (Boyd, Picken, Clay) or off with the fairies (libba and Dahl).

everything we’d built meant little anymore.

since then we’ve developed a team with skills and craft and been much softer than we were in ‘15 and ‘16. Guys like Lipinski, Lloyd, Dale and our ruckman became a focus in the clubs development.

we absolutely nailed our high end drafting. Naughton, Smith, English, Richards and Lipinski all look great.

for the last two weeks we’ve finally seen what it’s been building towards.We look very dangerous off turnover, and we look very capable of creating oppo turnovers.

I think we have one of the more skilful teams in the league. Caleb is probably the best user in the game and he sets up the back half. If you put work into him, JJ will take metres.

our key position players are finally holding their lines. Bruce isn’t kicking goals but he’s providing a true target and putting pressure on defensively. That’s not enough to be great but we have very good mid sized forwards to find us goals.

bailey smith is already a star. He’s so untouchable and when you spend so much time putting work into Bont, Macrae and Dunks you just can’t handle another explosive mid breaking tackles and lines.

I would be extremely bullish about this year if dunks and naught weren’t injured. Let’s hope we can beat breakIng even in their absence.

libba hasn’t been this guy since 2016.Haven’t seen it mentioned but his last quarter last night was huge on Kennedy. 2/2 for him now settling Kennedy down in big games for us. He’s also exquisite by hand and foot.

Bevo got started on this wave of momentum a long time ago. Now we look a dangerous offensive team, let’s hope our substance holds up through this period of injuries again. Last time it did, we won a flag

 

[Bont2Bruce]

In 2017, a miserable year, we tried to milk the chaos contested style with no real way of kicking goals.

Remember this fondly from 2017:

 

[Zgope1]

My favourite thing about English- - we may lose a ground ball contest and see the opposition take it the length of the field and then whoop, Timmy’s there for the high ball. That’s what Bevo means in his pressers. This kid is great at helping us win the ball back, and we get great offence off of that

 

[Bont2Bruce]

My favourite thing about English- - we may lose a ground ball contest and see the opposition take it the length of the field and then whoop, Timmy’s there for the high ball. That’s what Bevo means in his pressers. This kid is great at helping us win the ball back, and we get great offence off of that

His defensive game was first class last night.

But too often he has his jump taken away from him by the other ruckman in the centre square - I think he could improve faster with a new mentor/ruck coach.

 

[Dogs Rule]

All been very good. Wouldn’t go any younger though. Suicide imo.

No, but the balance is good now. The kids are alright and we should keep it going.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

In 2017, a miserable year, we tried to milk the chaos contested style with no real way of kicking goals. We had no height and not a lot of finishing and our best hard nuts were on the way out (Boyd, Picken, Clay) or off with the fairies (libba and Dahl).

everything we’d built meant little anymore.

since then we’ve developed a team with skills and craft and been much softer than we were in ‘15 and ‘16. Guys like Lipinski, Lloyd, Dale and our ruckman became a focus in the clubs development.

we absolutely nailed our high end drafting. Naughton, Smith, English, Richards and Lipinski all look great.

for the last two weeks we’ve finally seen what it’s been building towards.We look very dangerous off turnover, and we look very capable of creating oppo turnovers.

I think we have one of the more skilful teams in the league. Caleb is probably the best user in the game and he sets up the back half. If you put work into him, JJ will take metres.

our key position players are finally holding their lines. Bruce isn’t kicking goals but he’s providing a true target and putting pressure on defensively. That’s not enough to be great but we have very good mid sized forwards to find us goals.

bailey smith is already a star. He’s so untouchable and when you spend so much time putting work into Bont, Macrae and Dunks you just can’t handle another explosive mid breaking tackles and lines.

I would be extremely bullish about this year if dunks and naught weren’t injured. Let’s hope we can beat breakIng even in their absence.

libba hasn’t been this guy since 2016.Haven’t seen it mentioned but his last quarter last night was huge on Kennedy. 2/2 for him now settling Kennedy down in big games for us. He’s also exquisite by hand and foot.

Bevo got started on this wave of momentum a long time ago. Now we look a dangerous offensive team, let’s hope our substance holds up through this period of injuries again. Last time it did, we won a flag

Don't you hate it when you do a double return and the caps lock comes off? How long's that been happening, Mr Apple?

And while I'm here being picky, shouldn't this be a Review thread? Autopsies are for gloomy defeats. _Mike_ ?

And another thing! The camera work last night when players were kicking for goal was ridiculous. A side-on shot doesn't show the trajectory of the ball, the camera needs to be behind the goals or behind the player. And the replay of the player from the waist up, kicking then fist pumping is not a replay of any damned thing.

 

[bobs head soup]

All been very good. Wouldn’t go any younger though. Suicide imo.

I get what you're saying, but I just want our best 22 available out there. If the match committee feel that Weightman is going better than Dicko to take Lloyds spot next week then play him.

 

[bobs head soup]

English's game last night was probably the best all round game from a Bulldog ruckman since Luke Darcy was arguably the best player in the conp around 2002.

Big intercept marks at key moments, forward 50 marks, link up play through the middle, hard running, incisive disposal, wowee.

The numbers don't lie; over 10 KMs covered, 296 metres gained, 22 possessions, 82% disposal efficiency, 4 score involvements. 5 intercepts, 3 clearances.

For a 23 year old 3-5 years from his prime that was a hell of an exciting taste of what's to come.

Mike Sheahan may yet be right when he nominated Tim to be the most valuable AFL player of the 2020s.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

No, but the balance is good now. The kids are alright and we should keep it going.

Balance isn’t great imo. We’re playing well but have a lot of inexperienced players in there. We saw what happens when we drop our bundle, Swans opened us up badly through the middle of the ground in long periods of the 3rd and and periods of the last and if it wasn’t for the lack of fwds and inaccurate kicking, we could’ve gotten rolled.
Hallmarks of a young side, unable to hold it together for long enough periods.
All for keeping the squad as it is for now or until the form drops but bringing in say a Weightman and Porter (example) to replace two injured experienced players, I can’t see us maintaining our good form throughout games for too much longer. Especially against strong opposition. They’ll carve our young blokes up (if there’s too many in there)

I get what you're saying, but I just want our best 22 available out there. If the match committee feel that Weightman is going better than Dicko to take Lloyds spot next week then play him.

I agree, it all comes down to form but if Dickos played a 7/10 game in the 2’s and Weightmans played an 8.5, I’d take Dicko atm.
Later on if some of Laith, Richards, Butler, West and Co are not in the side then happy to go Weightman.

 

[doggies ftw]

Any news on Naughty? What are we thinking? He looked set to rip last night apart, I reckon he was on for one of those games where it really comes together for him and he shows patches of absolute dominance. absolutely love the campaigner in him. Really hoping it’s not too bad!

 

[dogwatch]

Really impressed with the inexperienced kids. They all crack in hard when it's their turn. Plenty to like about them.

West could fill the void left by Picken and C.Smith

They're big shoes, but you could be right. I was very impressed with him last night. Not just the toughness and pressure but the thought processes too. He's a natural footballer.

For instance when he tried to crash the pack in the forward 50 and got pinged for holding the ball he was looking to handball over the top and into space but at the last instant he saw a Swans player drifting in to that target space. That player would almost certainly have taken clean possession for an easy clearance out the fat side, possibly for a score up the other end. Instead he made a snap second decision to retain the ball and take the tackle. It looked odd but it was the right decision. Even conceding a free was OK because it gave us time to zone up for the rebound.

Much as I admire Jong for his guts and athletic qualities he provides a good contrast to West in vision and decision making. You just can't teach that stuff.

 

[Golden_6]

I haven’t been as high on West as others due to his size and lack of polish, but he proved me wrong last night.

I don’t think there’s any room for him in the midfield in the future with Bont, Macrae, Dunkley, Smith, Lipinski, Libba etc. so he will have to continue to develop his forward craft.

Could he become our Toby Greene? Without the sniping of course.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

I haven’t been as high on West as others due to his size and lack of polish, but he proved me wrong last night.

I don’t think there’s any room for him in the midfield in the future with Bont, Macrae, Dunkley, Smith, Lipinski, Libba etc. so he will have to continue to develop his forward craft.

Could he become our Toby Greene? Without the sniping of course.

I wasn’t sold on him either but he was very impressive last night.

 

[dogwatch]

Balance isn’t great imo. We’re playing well but have a lot of inexperienced players in there. We saw what happens when we drop our bundle, Swans opened us up badly through the middle of the ground in long periods of the 3rd and and periods of the last and if it wasn’t for the lack of fwds and inaccurate kicking, we could’ve gotten rolled.
Hallmarks of a young side, unable to hold it together for long enough periods.
All for keeping the squad as it is for now or until the form drops but bringing in say a Weightman and Porter (example) to replace two injured experienced players, I can’t see us maintaining our good form throughout games for too much longer. Especially against strong opposition. They’ll carve our young blokes up (if there’s too many in there)



I agree, it all comes down to form but if Dickos played a 7/10 game in the 2’s and Weightmans played an 8.5, I’d take Dicko atm.
Later on if some of Laith, Richards, Butler, West and Co are not in the side then happy to go Weightman.

I disagree that our youth caused us to drop our bundle last night. On the contrary I thought they held up extraordinarily well in the circumstances.

What was against us in the second half was the lack of bench rotations due to injury. We were fatiguing faster than they were. Swans players were well structured and were fresher so they could run hard to present midfield options. The fact that we were still able to slow them down and limit their F50 entries was a testament to the sustained effort of our whole side. Experienced heads like Libba and Crozier certainly helped.

I do agree we don't need to go any younger. But if Weightman kills it in today's scratch match I'll back him in to do OK against North. The flair of youth helped us to a flag in 2016 but that's a rare feat. Most flags are won by a balance of talented youth and hardened over 25s.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

We’ve seen far better performances from Cordy, Libba and McLean over the last two games than what we’ve seen in recent times.
Was being left out for the prior game/s the rocket that they needed?
Hopefully they continue on with it. We’re definitely a better side with them playing well in it.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

I disagree that our youth caused us to drop our bundle last night. On the contrary I thought they held up extraordinarily well in the circumstances.

What was against us in the second half was the lack of bench rotations due to injury. We were fatiguing faster than they were. Swans players were well structured and were fresher so they could run hard to present midfield options. The fact that we were still able to slow them down and limit their F50 entries was a testament to the sustained effort of our whole side. Experienced heads like Libba and Crozier certainly helped.

I do agree we don't need to go any younger. But if Weightman kills it in today's scratch match I'll back him in to do OK against North. The flair of youth helped us to a flag in 2016 but that's a rare feat. Most flags are won by a balance of talented youth and hardened over 25s.

Yeah, absolutely. I was more so using last night as an example of what can happen over a period of time when we play inexperienced players.

I certainly wouldn’t melt if Weightman comes in on the back of good 2’s form but I would prefer wiser, more experienced heads and would be less confident moving forward if we get younger again.

FWIW, I still think we have North covered if we nail what we have the last few weeks.

 

[True Dog]

Dale is finally finding the form, which is quite important to our forward line. West is wetting-my-pants good.

Thought his best quarter was the last where he played much further up the ground. Some very influential plays late in the game.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

What was against us in the second half was the lack of bench rotations due to injury. We were fatiguing faster than they were. Swans players were well structured and were fresher so they could run hard to present midfield options. The fact that we were still able to slow them down and limit their F50 entries was a testament to the sustained effort of our whole side. Experienced heads like Libba and Crozier certainly helped.

Agree with this too. Very impressive to see us re gain control of the game multiple times when Sydney came at us.

 

[Dogsman16]

Underwhelmed with Bruce thus far but I think he will come good.

I think covid lockdowns would have been more difficult for the older players than younger players.
4 - 6 weeks of game time and training will get Bruce into better shape.

 

[The Inbetweener]

Haven’t been as high on him as others but I think Richards has been really good recently.

Feel very confident with Crozier and Williams as our mid sized defenders. Both go well in the air and are good by foot. Crozier might be one of the most underrated players in the league.

fingers crossed for Naughton but doesn’t look good

 

[Dogsman16]

Curious on people’s opinions on Wallis.
Not calling him to be dropped by any means but in a top 4 side he’d be right on the edge with selection.

Wouldnt mind another quick player with great defensive pressure to be included. Weightman should get an opportunity to replace Lloyd.

 

[weltschmerz]

Curious on people’s opinions on Wallis.
Not calling him to be dropped by any means but in a top 4 side he’d be right on the edge with selection.

Wouldnt mind another quick player with great defensive pressure to be included. Weightman should get an opportunity to replace Lloyd.

If he was to have a week off I'd assume it would be so he could spend more time with his newborn baby, rather than anything about his performance. I think he's doing pretty well.