Prediction Can we play finals this year?

Can the doggies make finals?

  • Yes, Bailey Williams will carry us

    Votes: 9 20.9%
  • No, we are too young

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, our “spine” is too weak

    Votes: 2 4.7%
  • Yes, Billy Gowers will win the Coleman

    Votes: 2 4.7%
  • No, Bevo has lost the players

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes, Bevo is a genius

    Votes: 20 46.5%
  • No, 2020 will be our year

    Votes: 6 14.0%
  • Yes, Tommy Boyd will win us another flag

    Votes: 4 9.3%

  • Total voters
    43

bobs head soup

Peanuts Peanuts
Sep 14, 2015
5,016
14,524
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Our core is the excellent group of early-mid 20s mids/flankers with 60-120 games experience ; Bont, Macrae, Libba, Wallis, JJ, Hunter, Maclean, Daniel. If this group plays most games we will win more than lose and thus make finals.
 
Jan 18, 2011
1,046
1,186
North Bondi
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
The article in the age has our list in the bottom couple. Pelchen reluctantly states that our midfield is OK but that our key positions are weak.

I was stunned that our midfield keeps being rated so badly comparatively.

For example - Adelaide is rated well above us in the midfield?

They have Sloane - a champion but would you pay more for him than Bont?

Then the Crouch brothers - very good players but how could you put them in front of Macrae and Libba (both all Australians) and then the gap gets much wider:

Hunter, Dunkley, McLean, Richards, Daniel, Williams and Wallis (and how Smith and West) v.

Greenwood, Atkins and Douglas.

Ruck - Jacobs is

The KPP’s are clearly a reverse of this.

Walker, Jenkins and Fogarty v. Schache, Boyd and ????. If it were draft position then we kill it - if it is proven ability to score goals then.....


Talia, Keath and Kelly (with Hardigan and Otten in reserve) v. Naughton, Cordy and Morris (with Fletch and Young in reserve). [note Doedee more competes with Wood). Definitely a close contest but not quite there yet.

But despite all this our spine in 2015 (where we should have beaten Adelaide and progressed) and 2016 - was basically:

Hamling - reject from Geelong
Fletch - most people here thinks he is rubbish
Roughy - who most think was night quite up to it
Cordy - makeshift at best
Boyd - was a baby

This took as all the way because the system not the list was tight and effective. I believe we have a better spine today.

What’s more the Age had us staying low for a while - what a pile of crap. Our Mids average around 23 and so have ten years in them.

And Over the next 5 years our core spine will grow and improve together:

Boyd - 23
Schache - 21
Third tall? Don’t have one (playing Gowers and Green both 187 and young also).
English/Sweet 21
Young - 20
Naughton- 19
Cordy - 22

Plenty of questions marks but if this crew develops together (and they will all continue to develop until the prime of 26-30) they can take us up their again.

They love to say we are crap - let’s stick it up em! Again!
 

Yojimbo

Cancelled
10k Posts
Nov 14, 2012
10,914
9,834
The "Elephant" in the room.
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
I am looking forward to seeing some new blood because the same old same old is not going to cut
the mustard. Who knows what is happening behind the iron curtain and not in view at the public
captains run public relations we saw on Saturday morning. I did not vote as none of the options
truly captured my expansive mind.
 

BrisDog

Premiership Player
Dec 13, 2012
4,014
11,085
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
What team can actually beat us on the G’ the last Saturday of September (or October or whatever)? We run at 100% with the new stands and infrastructure.

Unless the Globetrotters are back in the game the League they may as well hand over the silverware now.
 
Last edited:
May 27, 2002
2,653
2,165
Torquay
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Bulldogs
We need to get of to a good start, something like 5 wins, 2 losses from the first 7. As we a young side they will eventually fall away so a good start is paramount.

Positives: Young list and a decent to strong band of onballers (who were down last year).

Negatives: For me its Ruck and Key Forwards. The starting positions in the centre square means players like Max Gawn will dominate with clean hit outs to advantage and straight down to key forwards. I just can't see us beating sides with dominate rucks.

Who do we have English who shows a bit at least and then a workman like tryer Trengrove who has second efforts (which is less important after the rules change).

Yet you can only go with what you have yet I believe our list management has been average at best in recent years. 2018 way to many talls who were average, this year the rules change to suit talls and we go with our shortist list for years?
 
Aug 14, 2001
10,336
17,953
Melbourne
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
A lot of pundits won't look more deeply into it than our recent ladder finishes.

If Wood, Suckling, Morris, Williams, Boyd, Dickson, Dale, Picken and Libba are available most of the time we will do a lot more damage than last year.

I think we can give it a shake if the above happens and the young ones gel. We had a much better list last year than an 8 win side.
 
Yes.

We still have substantial running power which is the cornerstone of the modern game.
I expect our 'second' rotation mids will be far stringer this year than last year which will help stop us being scored against rapidly in short patches through games.
 

Libba39

Norm Smith Medallist
Mar 10, 2008
5,843
7,040
Murrumbeena
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Only one thing will stop us, and that is the inability to put a score on the board.

If Dickson and Gowers can both play 18+ games I'd just about pencil us in. Big load for Schache, with English and Trengove swapping, and Ed Naughton pinch-hitting.
Suckling off a flank, Wallis' straight kicking, and the likes of Lloyd chipping in.
Last but not least Bont will play 50% down there.
 

Bulldogs Legend

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 18, 2015
6,848
7,454
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
The article in the age has our list in the bottom couple. Pelchen reluctantly states that our midfield is OK but that our key positions are weak.

I was stunned that our midfield keeps being rated so badly comparatively.

For example - Adelaide is rated well above us in the midfield?

They have Sloane - a champion but would you pay more for him than Bont?

Then the Crouch brothers - very good players but how could you put them in front of Macrae and Libba (both all Australians) and then the gap gets much wider:

Hunter, Dunkley, McLean, Richards, Daniel, Williams and Wallis (and how Smith and West) v.

Greenwood, Atkins and Douglas.

Ruck - Jacobs is

The KPP’s are clearly a reverse of this.

Walker, Jenkins and Fogarty v. Schache, Boyd and ????. If it were draft position then we kill it - if it is proven ability to score goals then.....


Talia, Keath and Kelly (with Hardigan and Otten in reserve) v. Naughton, Cordy and Morris (with Fletch and Young in reserve). [note Doedee more competes with Wood). Definitely a close contest but not quite there yet.

But despite all this our spine in 2015 (where we should have beaten Adelaide and progressed) and 2016 - was basically:

Hamling - reject from Geelong
Fletch - most people here thinks he is rubbish
Roughy - who most think was night quite up to it
Cordy - makeshift at best
Boyd - was a baby

This took as all the way because the system not the list was tight and effective. I believe we have a better spine today.

What’s more the Age had us staying low for a while - what a pile of crap. Our Mids average around 23 and so have ten years in them.

And Over the next 5 years our core spine will grow and improve together:

Boyd - 23
Schache - 21
Third tall? Don’t have one (playing Gowers and Green both 187 and young also).
English/Sweet 21
Young - 20
Naughton- 19
Cordy - 22

Plenty of questions marks but if this crew develops together (and they will all continue to develop until the prime of 26-30) they can take us up their again.

They love to say we are crap - let’s stick it up em! Again!
Pelchen is a has been
 

Bulldogs Legend

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 18, 2015
6,848
7,454
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Only one thing will stop us, and that is the inability to put a score on the board.

If Dickson and Gowers can both play 18+ games I'd just about pencil us in. Big load for Schache, with English and Trengove swapping, and Ed Naughton pinch-hitting.
Suckling off a flank, Wallis' straight kicking, and the likes of Lloyd chipping in.
Last but not least Bont will play 50% down there.
I reckon part of the reason we went with Cavarra, Lloyd and others is to create a mobile high pressure fwd line similar to the Tigers (ablieit without someone of Riewoldts quality) or even simislar to our 2016 Finals version.
 

Bulldogs Legend

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 18, 2015
6,848
7,454
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
I reckon we still have a great core of relatively young Premiership players but where we have fallen over in the last two years is through a combination of injuries and lack of depth. The list on paper looks healthier and more depth than last year so I think we can make the finals but just like any side we cant aford to have too many of our best injured.
 

gohardorgohome

All Australian
Feb 25, 2006
817
124
Gisborne
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Gisborne FC; Keilor Park FC;
I’d love to see Roberts make an impact.....

Naughton to take the Hamling Role
Cordy back as a pinch hit forward (don’t underestimate how good he was in 2016 finals)
English in the Ruck
Schache Boyd and Trengove filling other key roles.

Lipinski shows promise
Young to return to 2017
Ed Richards to be Liam Picken if Liam Picken cannot be Liam Picken



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Yojimbo

Cancelled
10k Posts
Nov 14, 2012
10,914
9,834
The "Elephant" in the room.
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Didn't he go back for family reasons? His brother if i recall correctly.
I am not sure if it was his brother, but he did sight family reasons also his best mate Shane Kersten also
went to Fremantle which helped get him across the line. He has been added to their leadership group
this year and he has established himself in their defence. I have higher hopes for Aaron Naughton than
to be a Joel Hamling clone.
 

footyfan000001

Cancelled
Jun 8, 2006
5,086
4,901
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
In my opinion it comes down to how our midfield goes (mainly Bont and Macrae) and how our forward line functions. We cannot carry anyone up forward anymore and I really hope this has been worked on over summer.
 

joel_billo

Senior List
Dec 12, 2009
239
180
Melbourne
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Selected our spine too weak cos it was closest to what i reckon. Which is that our forward line isnt as good as most of the competition. the rest is fine. Another year for english. More leaning towards 2021 tbh. Love to be wrong.
 

AFDogs

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 9, 2014
8,548
11,932
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
We won't play finals. We aren't bad, just other teams are better. Adelaide/Melbourne/Richmond/GWS/West Coast/Collingwood will be too strong for us.

North and Brisbane should also improve.

I'd be surprised if we finished anywhere near 10th.
 
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