Are the Dogs over rated?

[I Lost My Keays]

Recent premiers are overrated?

 

[clivenator26]

Yes Op they are and WCE are severely underrated and I am told you are a very good love maker too. Happy?

 

[Sinjin Smith]

They won the premiership ffs.

Link??

 

[Bokonon_]

Link??

You'd think they'd be shouting it from the rooftops if it were true.

 

[sonnywalters]

I think by definition you cannot 'over-rate' the current Premier.
Sure by Rd 5 2017 we can re-assess.
But until then - they are as it good as it gets. Cant be over-rated.

 

[Endless]

The bye happened

That pesky bye!
I hear that all teams will get it this year

 

[Mootsy]

I think they're pretty good ....

 

[exxcessivve]

Saying "they only won because of the bye" or suggesting that the bye made the finals unfair is such a ridiculous argument. If anything, the bye made the finals fairer, because teams that had players return were actually able to play with something closer to their best team. The fact that the Bulldogs got so far without so many players is a testament to how good the team is. The Bulldogs only "benefited" from the bye in that it gave them access to their list that most of their opponents had for the whole year, for the most part.

 

[bradrowe#32]

They absolutely deserved it. They beat a red-hot West Coast (away), Hawthorn (reigning premiers), Giants (away and with a week's rest) and a pretty good Sydney team.

The last month of the regular season doesn't reflect well on them (tough win over North and Collingwood, a tough game from Essendon after quarter time and a loss to the struggling Freo). However, their form throughout the year was excellent save for a few aberrations.

And the bye thing is nonsense. Every team had it and the Dogs probably would have played most of those players under question if there wasn't a bye.

 

[theprospect]

Pretty sure they were still paying like 34-1 for the flag before the Hawthorn game as well

 

[Sunny Day]

Here's a recap of their final series:

EF - Defeated 2015 Runners-Up
SF - Defeated 2013-15 Premiers
PF - Defeated Spoonfed GWS
GF - Defeated Minor Premiers

So no, they are not "overrated" by any means.

Whether they are overhyped or not is a different story...

 

[TheKanga]

They had a great year.
I do think they could struggle to replicate it in 2017.

 

[WestCoast05]

They are the reigning Premiers - SO OF COURSE THEY ARE NOT OVERRATED!!!

 

[hoianbulldog]

The bye happened

4 days extra rest resulted in a premiership? Really? You are that dumb?

 

[hoianbulldog]

5 minutes into the West Coast v Dogs game, people around the bar were already growining that it was going to be a blowout victory to the Eagles. No one expected the dogs to win the game.

Round 23 they lost to Fremantle and were $67 odds to win the flag.

5 weeks later they were premiers.

WTF happened?

In that 5 weeks they had some amazing form. But is it possible they just had an amazing 5 weeks of footy? In 5 weeks we went from completel writing them off to hailing a new dynasty.

Now let’s compare West Coast. Yes I am a fan but this is just for experimental purposes.

In August. Eagles beat Hawks. Giants away and Adelaide away. Eagles were a higher favourite to win the flag than the dogs then. If this month of footy was played a month later who knows?

Did the dogs just have a great month? Or are they the genuine real deal?

Is there anyone out there that thinks Bulldogs will slip a little as other teams quickly adapt?

Personally I have a feeling they will.

Watched the elim final again last night. It is amasing how early Simpson gave up. Face palming in the second quarter by a senior coach is saying "i've got nothing".
So in answer to the real question you are asking, yes the bulldogs were deserving winners of the Elim final and Eagles are so far of what is required in finals football it is laughable.

 

[FootyJunkie]

they should move to Ballarat, too many teams in Melbourne

 

[gangsta deluxe]

Far from it. Eagles didn't turn up to play.

Yes you only turned up to play during a few weeks of the season. And we're overrated?

Seems you've had trouble adjusting, and a bit of cognitive dissonance (we won, you can't credit why, you've still been drinking your own bath water that you heard prior to the Elim).

 

[Topkent]

Most footy fans could see how they were playing and we're expecting big things of them in the future. No one saw it coming as early as 2016 September which is why the dynasty calls have been made
They should be ready to play 5-7 years of preliminary finals now.

You can't expect teams to win a flag when 2 sides can both lose a game in September but if it's in the first week you get another Crack and if it's the last week your season is a waste

 

[M Malice]

settle down boys, don't you know a flag is over rated.

#alreadyhasbeens

 

[Monkey King]

They won the flag when no one gave them a chance. I would call that underrated myself.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Watched the elim final again last night. It is amasing how early Simpson gave up. Face palming in the second quarter by a senior coach is saying "i've got nothing".
So in answer to the real question you are asking, yes the bulldogs were deserving winners of the Elim final and Eagles are so far of what is required in finals football it is laughable.

Yes west coast players also threw in the towel that night. Reality is they were flogged and couldn't handle the heat - something we've seen from this group the previous year in a big game

 

[Doggy Dan]

I backed them to win the WC final by between 40-60 points @40s, $67 for the flag at that stage does sound suss.

Not suss at all, it was actually unders.

If you had an all up before each game you would've got even better odds;

$1 to beat WC @ 4 = $4
$4 to beat Hawks @ 3 = $12
$12 to beat GWS @ 3 = $36
$36 to beat Syd @ 2.50 = $90

I'd be filthy if I took $67's

 

[tugga]

Lost to Freo in round 23 and finished 7th on the ladder before playing the most breathtaking month of footy I have seen for quite some years. If anything they are still underrated.

 

[Kram]

WTF happened?

 

[TiAn_]

We were a young squad on the up that surprised by winning a flag earlier than people (including Dogs supporters) thought we were capable of.

We're now second favorites for the flag in a very competitive and even top 8. Most would say we're a very good team. I think we're properly rated.