Review AUTOPSY: Dogs Win A Cracker Over Hawthorn (despite many supporters panicking as usual) - Rd 2, 2019

Oct 12, 2012
6,822
10,573
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Don't want to get too excited but...

Granted the scoreline was a bit tight and there were a couple of short spells they got on top. But otherwise we totally dominated them, we really did. Inside 50s ratio was crazy. It's why Clarko was so humble in his presser despite the umps.

If our midfield stays fit to play all year we are bloody scary. I hadn't comprehended how much 666 could help us in that regard but it seems so obvious now. If you can't beat our midfield without using extra numbers then we are going to control a LOT of the play.

For this reason alone Bont should play Mid now (fortunately our fwd line is suddenly also looking epic anyway!).

Nice to know we still have McLean and Williams that can jump in to the middle if we need to aswell if an injury strikes.

To be fair I also bet on us to win the premiership before the season, so yeah ever the optimist :D
But geez things are looking pretty effin good.
 
Don't want to get too excited but...

Granted the scoreline was a bit tight and there were a couple of short spells they got on top. But otherwise we totally dominated them, we really did. Inside 50s ratio was crazy. It's why Clarko was so humble in his presser despite the umps.

If our midfield stays fit to play all year we are bloody scary. I hadn't comprehended how much 666 could help us in that regard but it seems so obvious now. If you can't beat our midfield without using extra numbers then we are going to control a LOT of the play.

For this reason alone Bont should play Mid now (fortunately our fwd line is suddenly also looking epic anyway!).

Nice to know we still have McLean and Williams that can jump in to the middle if we need to aswell if an injury strikes.

To be fair I also bet on us to win the premiership before the season, so yeah ever the optimist :D
But geez things are looking pretty effin good.
What price did you get? $101?
I saw the other day we were now $34.
 
Oct 12, 2012
6,822
10,573
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
What price did you get? $101?
I saw the other day we were now $34.
Yeah was still only $34 which feels a bit ripped off considering our start.

Also have Dogs V GWS grandfinal at $151.

Bont brownlow at $34.

Smith rising star at $26.

All small preseason bets. The Dogs GWS granny pays huge though
 
May 15, 2005
1,112
4,556
Melbourne
AFL Club
Essendon
Congratulations on the win.

Here are the midfield frequency stats from the match. In case you missed one of these posts from the 2nd half of last season, this is an overall summary of how often players started as one of the 5 mids at centre bounces. I'll be posting these after all of the Bulldogs's FTA matches. Given last week's weren't posted in a timely fashion, I've thrown them in at the end for comparison.

Overall Summary - 31 Bounces

Hunter 27 wing
Libba 19
Macrae 19
Bont 17 (1w)
Wallis 17
Dunkley 16
Richards 16 wing
Lloyd 8 wing
B.Smith 8 (2w)
Dickson 5 wing
Gowers 2 wing
McLean 1 wing

Rucks:

English 24 (McEvoy 21)
Schache 7 (Ceglar 10)

1st Half - 12 Bounces

Hunter 11 wing
Libba 10
Wallis 7
Dunkley 7
Richards 7 wing
Bont 6 (1w)
Macrae 5
Lloyd 2 wing
B.Smith 2
Gowers 2 wing
Dickson 1 wing

English 10
Schache 2

2nd Half - 19

Hunter 16 wing
Macrae 14
Bont 11
Wallis 10
Libba 9
Dunkley 9
Richards 9 wing
Lloyd 6 wing
B.Smith 6 (4i, 2w)
Dickson 4 wing
McLean 1 wing

English 14
Schache 5

Rd 1 Overall Summary - 23 Bounces

Hunter 20 wing
Macrae 17 (1w)
Libba 13
Wallis 13
B.Smith 12 wing
Bont 11
Dunkley 10
Richards 8 wing
Gowers 5 (1w)
McLean 2
Dickson 2 wing
Lloyd 1 wing

English 21
Schache 2
 
Couple of things:

1. Nobody's saying Hunter's a superstar, but every team needs a wingman who can run plenty of ground between the arcs and get into the right spots, and Hunter's one of the best in the league at that specific role. He's a very smart footballer in knowing where to be, yes, his decision making and quality of kicking is a little bit dodgy at times. But have to remember that with a "per touch" mistake it's just as bad somebody making a mistake 2/3 of the time getting 20 touches a game rather than his 30. Polec went for a $700k contract with North and he's good, but he's not that good, Phillips was a key part of Collingwod's rise as his gut-running and ball-winning ability on the outside helped balanced the minor lack of two-way running of your Pendles, Treloar and Adams group. Whilst Hunter doesn't have the skill or the run-and-carry of some of the others, his flair is still up there, his reading of the play is certainly up there, and he's a better stoppage player in terms of structures and positioning than a lot of these other wingmen in the league.

2. Young's got to get some credit. It was only his 10th game, he only played the two games last year and he's still a very young player in not turning 21 until December this year. But he slotted in as a (probably pre-planned) late changed and filled the roles and structures very fine, and helped our defence hold up in the last quarter. Given that there's only improvement from here on it, and that by virture of this one game being better quality than the two he played last year, there's only upside from here, but the fact that people are not really commenting on his game one way or another proved how well he filled his role: he's a 10th gamer 20-year-old, imagine what he's going to be like as a 70-gamer 24 year old - a very good player indeed.
 
2. Young's got to get some credit. It was only his 10th game, he only played the two games last year and he's still a very young player in not turning 21 until December this year. But he slotted in as a (probably pre-planned) late changed and filled the roles and structures very fine, and helped our defence hold up in the last quarter. Given that there's only improvement from here on it, and that by virture of this one game being better quality than the two he played last year, there's only upside from here, but the fact that people are not really commenting on his game one way or another proved how well he filled his role: he's a 10th gamer 20-year-old, imagine what he's going to be like as a 70-gamer 24 year old - a very good player indeed.
I have no doubts on Young at all. I don't get the worry with him. (not just saying because he's my boy™)
 

Next Waiting

Norm Smith Medallist
Jan 19, 2014
6,142
9,768
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Congratulations on the win.

Here are the midfield frequency stats from the match. In case you missed one of these posts from the 2nd half of last season, this is an overall summary of how often players started as one of the 5 mids at centre bounces. I'll be posting these after all of the Bulldogs's FTA matches. Given last week's weren't posted in a timely fashion, I've thrown them in at the end for comparison.

Overall Summary - 31 Bounces

Hunter 27 wing
Libba 19
Macrae 19
Bont 17 (1w)
Wallis 17
Dunkley 16
Richards 16 wing
Lloyd 8 wing
B.Smith 8 (2w)
Dickson 5 wing
Gowers 2 wing
McLean 1 wing

Rucks:

English 24 (McEvoy 21)
Schache 7 (Ceglar 10)

1st Half - 12 Bounces

Hunter 11 wing
Libba 10
Wallis 7
Dunkley 7
Richards 7 wing
Bont 6 (1w)
Macrae 5
Lloyd 2 wing
B.Smith 2
Gowers 2 wing
Dickson 1 wing

English 10
Schache 2

2nd Half - 19

Hunter 16 wing
Macrae 14
Bont 11
Wallis 10
Libba 9
Dunkley 9
Richards 9 wing
Lloyd 6 wing
B.Smith 6 (4i, 2w)
Dickson 4 wing
McLean 1 wing

English 14
Schache 5

Rd 1 Overall Summary - 23 Bounces

Hunter 20 wing
Macrae 17 (1w)
Libba 13
Wallis 13
B.Smith 12 wing
Bont 11
Dunkley 10
Richards 8 wing
Gowers 5 (1w)
McLean 2
Dickson 2 wing
Lloyd 1 wing

English 21
Schache 2
Can you break it down further into qtrs. In particular the 3rd qtr (where it got away from us) and the 4th qtr (where we recovered and then smashed em).
 

Johnny_Dogg4

Premiership Player
Apr 5, 2017
4,995
3,789
Melbourne
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
image1.PNG
 

Wetdog

I really am Aker.
Jun 23, 2008
2,404
4,396
Williamstown
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Melbourne Victory
What a ****ing win.

It was a strange game today. I thought we were the better team for most of it - we should have nailed them in the second quarter.

Hawthorn were able to do their usual thing of making you pay for not taking chances in the 3rd quarter and I had resigned to the fact that we had blown it.

That last quarter was extraordinary. I went absolutely ape s**t at Macrae and Libba’s goals, it was mental. Incidentally Macrae and Libba were Jebus-like today.

The free kicks:

- The one against Sicily was disgraceful. I can’t stand Sicily (seriously what a nauseating ****wit) but the decision was so bad it was laughable. People are going to hate on us and the umpires for it but the truth it’s not fault, it’s not even the umpire’s fault (to an extent - still a poor decision), it’s the AFL and the stupid rules committee for directing them to needlessly crack down on s**t like that.

- The one that was reversed against the Hawks (can’t remember who) and went to Macrae was also an atrocious call.

- The one to Gowers was there, and Sicily copped the 50 for abusing the umpire - he swore at him twice - so he can cry as much as he wants.

- Hawks were in front by 5 goals, one of their players - again can’t recall who - missed a gettable shot that would have sealed the win for them, they allowed us to get a run on, and they still conceded 9 goals in the last quarter. They blew it.


Special kudos to Josh Scache today, that’s his best game for the club, he stood up big time.

Macrae and Libba as mentioned were extraordinary. Bont, McLean, Dicko, Caleb, all huge in the last.

What a bloody win.

Great post.
 
May 15, 2005
1,112
4,556
Melbourne
AFL Club
Essendon
Can you break it down further into qtrs. In particular the 3rd qtr (where it got away from us) and the 4th qtr (where we recovered and then smashed em).
Yep, sorry, I usually do post Q4 stats for close games and will do so going forward.

Q3 - 9 Bounces

Hunter 7 wing
Bontempelli 6
Lloyd 6 wing
Libba 5
Macrae 5
Wallis 4
B.Smith 4
Dunkley 3
Dickson 3 wing
Richards 1 wing
McLean 1 wing

English 7
Schache 2

Q4 - 10

Hunter 9 wing
Macrae 9
Richards 8 wing
Wallis 6
Dunkley 6
Bont 5
Libba 4
B.Smith 2 wing
Dickson 1 wing

English 7
Schache 3
 

Next Waiting

Norm Smith Medallist
Jan 19, 2014
6,142
9,768
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
So Macrae went from 5 (56%) in the 3rd qtr to 9 (90%) in the deciding quarter.
Another big bodied mid in Dunks nearly doubled his attendance also going from 3 (33%) to 6 (60%).
Smith 4 (44%) was relieved of any inside the square action in the decider but did attend the wing twice.

Those were the most significant changes i thought from a purely numbers point of view.
Smith being taken out completely perhaps indicates he was a weak link in the 3rd qtr set up. Jack and Dunks step up and in to shore things up and add a bit of beef and experience.

Macrae clearly had an influence when it mattered and his BOG coaches votes support that.
 
Last edited:
give us your take?
Hey mate - no hot take or anything. 3np highlighted some of the reasons already. He's still so young but that combined with his exposed form at AFL level give me a decent amount of confidence. Yes he's been inconsistent and had some bad games, but he's shown in his good games that he has some very good attributes. Similar to Bailey Williams when he started, you could see he had the tools just needed to put it all together/adjust to the next level/get more consistent. I think the same with Young. Also he has shown he's more than capable at VFL level, especially with his aerial ability, that I think it will translate to AFL fairly easily once he puts a bit more weight on.

TLDR: Shown great signs, still so young.
 
According to the AFL/WB website this is how the coaches' votes were cast for Rd 2:

8 - Macrae
6 - Daniel
5 - Bontempelli
4 - Schache
3 - Henderson (Haw)
2 - Hunter
1 - Dickson
1- Suckling

So here's my guess:
Clarkson
5 - Macrae
4 - Daniel
3 - Henderson (H)
2 - Hunter
1 - Suckling

Bevo
5 - Bontempelli
4 - Schache
3 - Macrae
2 - Daniel
1 - Dickson

I'm pretty sure the individual player votes are right. I don't think there's any other combo that works.

It's just a matter of guesswork as to which coach cast them. Since Clarko talked so much about our dominant midfield I've put Macrae, Daniel, Hunter and Suckling in his votes (they were all big possession winners off half-back or in the midfield). Also Bevo seems to set the bar pretty high for Macrae. Don't know why.

Variations: The one votes could be swapped around, as could the combined 4 & 2 votes.

https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2019-04-02/coaches-votes-round-2
 
According to the AFL/WB website this is how the coaches' votes were cast for Rd 2:

8 - Macrae
6 - Daniel
5 - Bontempelli
4 - Schache
3 - Henderson (Haw)
2 - Hunter
1 - Dickson
1- Suckling

So here's my guess:
Clarkson
5 - Macrae
4 - Daniel
3 - Henderson (H)
2 - Hunter
1 - Suckling

Bevo
5 - Bontempelli
4 - Schache
3 - Macrae
2 - Daniel
1 - Dickson

I'm pretty sure the individual player votes are right. I don't think there's any other combo that works.

It's just a matter of guesswork as to which coach cast them. Since Clarko talked so much about our dominant midfield I've put Macrae, Daniel, Hunter and Suckling in his votes (they were all big possession winners off half-back or in the midfield). Also Bevo seems to set the bar pretty high for Macrae. Don't know why.

Variations: The one votes could be swapped around, as could the combined 4 & 2 votes.

https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2019-04-02/coaches-votes-round-2
Mindblowing that Libba didn't get a single vote.
 
Back