AFL 2017 - R8 - West Coast Eagles v Western Bulldogs - 18:10 AWST Domain Stadium

[Forward Press]

West Coast were the better side tonight and deserved the hard fought win. Some posters here calling a player like Roughead a spud is a bit out of line. Dickson, Morris, Stringer, Roughead, Cloke, Murphy, Crameri, are all handy to come back. West Coast were better tonight but they got the dogs on a good night. Posters saying West Coast are affected by injury as much as what the dogs are is pretty much crap.

Like I said before, it's still 22 vs 22 and both sides have significant outs. It's difficult to compare Naitanui's influence directly with Stringer's, for example. If we lost against Port (which we almost did), I wouldn't blame the fact we had a long injury list and Port had zero on theirs.

It is what it is, it's not an excuse, merely a contributing reason as to why the Dogs didn't perform well. Maybe Cloke would've kicked a bag. Maybe Cripps, one of our most accurate and reliable shots at goal, would've also kicked a few. Who knows? We can only analyse based on what we saw tonight. We ain't flag contenders, not yet anyway, don't think I've seen any Eagles poster in here claim that on the basis of tonight.

 

[dave123]

Great win

We played our game and didn't allow the bulldogs to flick it about

I'm glad we didn't try to outgun them in a shootout and imghink that's where tea,s get into trouble against the bullies ...free wheeling they will slaughter you

We clogged it up ...made it ugly ...get the four points and walk away

If we had kicked straight we would have won by 5 goals ...the right team won ...the dogs will win be in the mix come,September so will west coast. I went out tonight with friends and didn't have access ....just finished watching the game ..

Elliot yeo is a bloody star and so is McGovern ...and barrass will be....it in two years time this will be the best backline in the league ...if not already

Against port last week and tonight our defence really stood up under immense pressure when port and bullies came late

 

[dave123]

Who are your four? Naitanui, Lycett, Cripps, ??????

Far better is just a stupid comment. Morris is one of the best defenders in the league, Dickson & Cripps similar importance but Dickson kicks more goals & we miss him for fwd line balance. Roughead is probably a better ruck than Lycett, Naitanui obviously a big out. So is Stringer for us.

Murphy probably plays if he hadn't played all season coming back from a year off at his age, either of Cloke or Crameri in helps immense as it would have meant Adams doesn't play up forward most of the night.

My 2c

If Kennedy kicks straight we win by 6 goals

 

[CaptainHowdy87]

Petrie is a god compared to Cloke.

You don't see West Coast supporters throwing his name around.

Most of your fans don't want Cloke either. So stop using him as an out. By year's end you will be pleading for his dumping.

At no point in Petrie's career has he even been half as good as Cloke in Cloke's prime years (2009-2013)

At this point, Petrie is cooked and Clokey was looking somewhat rejuvenated at the Doggies until prick Ziebell broke his ribs.

Even last year and on a few occasions this year Clokey has shown he can still go. Petrie hasn't had a good game in years and Petrie's good games have always been very few and far between.

 

[CaptainHowdy87]

Absolute salt mine

I'd be salty if our team had a below average ruckman on by far the biggest money contract in the league and had 9 more years of his shitness to look forward to

 

[boydee]

I am happy to be a moron.

Simply pointing out what your own fans think.

Cloke is a dud. And i will say it again and again.

He has played 250 games and played well in a premiership side. For a dud, not a bad career.

 

[CaptainHowdy87]

He's a vital cog, in that he constantly presents an option, a great link up player, but offers little in attack.

I still think he's a very good player and possibly one of the best outright wingmen in the game, but could use the ball better.

The contested stuff isn't his go, I don't worry too much about that, he's pretty tough mentally, but could be better in the 1 on 1 contests when he doesn't get the easy ball.

A bit like a Sidebottom that doesn't kick goals?

 

[Scotland]

Cloke played well in a premiership side 7 years ago. His previous coach played him in the VFL last year and gave him away for free. I think he's a useful pick up for the Dogs but Sharrod had 20 touches and kicked 2 in the 2010 GF so that shows how relevant that is.

We're missing Naitanui, Cripps and Nelson. Not because they're all that good (Natanui is obviously) but because they've got zip. Too many plodders in our 22, but then we weren't playing well with Cripps and Nelson available anyway. Game style needs attention.

 

[boydee]

I'd be salty if our team had a below average ruckman on by far the biggest money contract in the league and had 9 more years of his shitness to look forward to

Id be more salty losing week after week and watching players like Mayne playing in the twos getting half of what Boyd gets. At least Boyd is a premiership hero and at 21, who knows, he has heaps of time and is playing in an outstanding team. Unlike any of your boys whos season is over already.

 

[Scotland]

Gaff is a very good player, but got too many possessions backwards of centre this week.

1st and 2nd for I50s the last two years for us, so to get none says a lot about how poor we were tonight. Killed in the middle.

 

[Quinz]

Not a great Friday night game by any stretch. Both teams missed so many gettable goals; Kennedy has his normal kicking game and we win that by 30+, none of his misses were even difficult apart from the snap. Very frustrating.

Dogs looked rusty but we could never put them away, they have a stupid amount of belief and tenacity.

 

[CaptainHowdy87]

Cloke played well in a premiership side 7 years ago. His previous coach played him in the VFL last year and gave him away for free. I think he's a useful pick up for the Dogs but Sharrod had 20 touches and kicked 2 in the 2010 GF so that shows how relevant that is.

We're missing Naitanui, Cripps and Nelson. Not because they're all that good (Natanui is obviously) but because they've got zip. Too many plodders in our 22, but then we weren't playing well with Cripps and Nelson available anyway. Game style needs attention.

I'm hoping there's no implication here that Clokey was mishandled last year. He was in terrible form and deserved to be dropped. He had 3 good games last year, one of which was with an illegal glove.

Good luck to him though. I wish him well at the Bulldogs but he wasn't up to it anymore at Collingwood. He'd been on a downward spiral for years and absolutely bottomed out last year.

 

[Forward Press]

We're missing Naitanui, Cripps and Nelson. Not because they're all that good (Natanui is obviously) but because they've got zip. Too many plodders in our 22, but then we weren't playing well with Cripps and Nelson available anyway. Game style needs attention.

The defence won us the game tonight and last week. I think we are building, a long way to go yet but, as is usual for the post-2011 Eagles, it is the midfield that is our achilles heel.

 

[West Coast 06]

I hope you make top 4 with full strength you wouldn't get close to us.

Kennedy kicks straight tonight and you wouldn't have got close to us.

Lucky for us he doesn't have off nights like that very often.

 

[CaptainHowdy87]

Id be more salty losing week after week and watching players like Mayne playing in the twos getting half of what Boyd gets. At least Boyd is a premiership hero and at 21, who knows, he has heaps of time and is playing in an outstanding team. Unlike any of your boys whos season is over already.

I certainly won't argue with you on Mayne. We're an absolute rabble and signing Mayne on the money he's allegedly on is perplexing and absolutely embarrassing.

Boyd however is the laughing stock of the entire league. The Jack Watts of this era. He's played one good game in his entire career and has since shown no signs of ever being able to follow up on that performance. He's been awful week in week out this year and he'll be taking up a million dollars of your salary cap for another 9 years.

I'd honestly rather have Mayne and I don't want Mayne at all. It's basically 2 million dollars vs 10 million dollars for nothing in return. At-least we've got a premier ruckman and have pissed Mayne off to the magoo's. Boyd is front and center for the Doggies stinking it up every week and getting dominated by every ruckman in the comp.

 

[bzparkes]

Butler, Mitchell, Wellingham...?

Jetta, though not playin obviously.

 

[Mattdougie]

Kennedy kicks straight tonight and you wouldn't have got close to us.

Lucky for us he doesn't have off nights like that very often.

Coz we kicked so straight also

Lol wow

 

[Scotland]

I'm hoping there's no implication here that Clokey was mishandled last year. He was in terrible form and deserved to be dropped. He had 3 good games last year, one of which was with an illegal glove.

Good luck to him though. I wish him well at the Bulldogs but he wasn't up to it anymore at Collingwood. He'd been on a downward spiral for years and absolutely bottomed out last year.

Buckley has clearly not been a positive influence on Cloke's career. His last 3 seasons were pretty average. Whether it's structure, personality clash, confidence etc. I don't know, but Cloke 2016 was a shadow of Cloke 2011-13. He deserved to be dropped because he was playing terrible footy, but that didn't just happen. Buckley turned Cloke & Dawes with Leigh Brown as a forward/ruck into Jesse White, Mason Cox and Darcy Moore who is battling for a goal a game. Goldsack, Reid, Quinten Lynch have all been tried up forward too.

I mean when Adam Simpson arrived Josh Kennedy had kicked 59, 18 in 9 then 60 in 3 seasons. He's since kicked 61, 80, 82 and 27 in 8. If a couple of years in Kennedy was battling for a goal or 2 a game and playing in the WAFL with it common knowledge he'd be given away while Fraser McInnes was FF I know I'd be asking WTF is going on.

 

[West Coast 06]

Coz we kicked so straight also

Lol wow

Yes but crap kicking for goal is normal for you, not so much for us.

 

[Quinz]

Coz we kicked so straight also

Lol wow

That's the Dogs average kicking performance this year though. It was well below Kennedy's usual.

We should have won by 30+ I think, but we might have stolen one against Port last week so numbers don't always tell the story. I thought we were in control for the majority of the game.

 

[Scotland]

Caleb Daniel is absurdly underrated. I know he's only a few feet off the ground but his balance is exceptional. Moves like a nippy Sam Mitchell.

Was surprisingly impressed with McInnes. He's still a nothing player (too small to ruck, too slow/ordinary to be a key forward) but his ball use around the ground was fantastic.

 

[Quinz]

Just watching the highlights, how good was the goal umpires call of the touched behind from McGovern? Amazing courage to call that and get it correct. We have technology to assist but it's good to see a goal umpire back themselves in.

 

[Scotland]

Why do goal umipres even call for reviews on goals?

If you think it's a goal and you call it a goal, it'll be reviewed and overturned if it's not a goal.

If you think it's a goal and call 'I think it's a goal, just want to make sure' it'll be reviewed and overturned if it's not a goal.

 

[CaptainHowdy87]

Buckley has clearly not been a positive influence on Cloke's career. His last 3 seasons were pretty average. Whether it's structure, personality clash, confidence etc. I don't know, but Cloke 2016 was a shadow of Cloke 2011-13. He deserved to be dropped because he was playing terrible footy, but that didn't just happen. Buckley turned Cloke & Dawes with Leigh Brown as a forward/ruck into Jesse White, Mason Cox and Darcy Moore who is battling for a goal a game. Goldsack, Reid, Quinten Lynch have all been tried up forward too.

I mean when Adam Simpson arrived Josh Kennedy had kicked 59, 18 in 9 then 60 in 3 seasons. He's since kicked 61, 80, 82 and 27 in 8. If a couple of years in Kennedy was battling for a goal or 2 a game and playing in the WAFL with it common knowledge he'd be given away while Fraser McInnes was FF I know I'd be asking WTF is going on.

I don't know, nor do I take much interest with all the internal goings on at the club. But from what I've heard and from what we've seen from Collingwood for the last few years, it's fair to say that Bucks hasn't been the best coach and a few players probably have had/do have issues with him that effect their output.

Cloke's always been a confidence player and if he's felt like he doesn't wanna be there and doesn't have a good rapport with the coach then that has probably effected his game over the last few years which is a real shame.

I've wanted to defend Bucks but there's no defending the downward trajectory we've been on for the last 4-5 years with Bucks as coach.

Loved him as a player but it's probably time he step aside at this point. Same with whoever the genius is that recruited Chris Mayne on such an inordinately large contract.

Anyway...I do wish Clokey the best at the Bulldogs. He served us well for a good 4-5 years and was part of our premiership side. Bevo will probably get a couple of pretty decent years out of him.

 

[Quinz]

Why do goal umipres even call for reviews on goals?

If you think it's a goal and you call it a goal, it'll be reviewed and overturned if it's not a goal.

If you think it's a goal and call 'I think it's a goal, just want to make sure' it'll be reviewed and overturned if it's not a goal.

If you call a behind though there's no review, which almost makes the umpires incentivized to call a goal.