Autopsy Bad, badder and ugly v Tigs - Rd 9, 2020

He’s obviously carrying an injury at the moment. It’s obvious. But why can’t bont reach the dusty level that we all know he’s capable of?

How old was Dusty when he shopped himself around the league and then had to crawl back to Richmond? 23, 24? Bont was a Premiership player at the age of 20, and he is only 24 now, quite a lot younger than Dusty. His best is still ahead of him.
 

Munnez

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Wallis and Lloyd and other slow forwards cannot all play in the same side.

Only space for Wallis.
Where we find quick smalls who provide pressure... I don't know.

Naughton back helps though. Great mark and for his size very good defensive pressure.
West to replace Lloyd not much of an upgrade in speed but definitely more defensive intensity.
Gowers out Schache in if fit if not Cavarra who is quick.
Have to get more forward half pressure to stop sides waltzing out of our forward half.
 

Ash1337

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Didn't watch the 2nd half. But it sounds like Gowers did much better when moved into the midfield. Dunkley was better as a foward over Gowers but He really Shined when played midfield. I think Gowers just needs to be rotated more into the midfield. Maybe rotate with Bont.
 

Mattdougie

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Didn't watch the 2nd half. But it sounds like Gowers did much better when moved into the midfield. Dunkley was better as a foward over Gowers but He really Shined when played midfield. I think Gowers just needs to be rotated more into the midfield. Maybe rotate with Bont.

Serious question

Is this a joke?
 

Read the article on the SEN app. His conclusion....the Bulldogs get beaten by good, well organised teams.

Well thanks for that Terry. I bet the coaching panel will be able to incorporate this piece of genius into our plan to beat Port.

What a w*nk.
 

Mattdougie

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Read the article on the SEN app. His conclusion....the Bulldogs get beaten by good, well organised teams.

Well thanks for that Terry. I bet the coaching panel will be able to incorporate this piece of genius into our plan to beat Port.

What a w*nk.

well they haven’t for the last 3.5 years and everyone has known it so why would things change now?
 

Munnez

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Used to hate the Tigers but I find it harder and harder to these days, they’re an impressive club. I haven’t looked at Hardwick the same since he made the comment that Jesus Christ couldn’t have stopped Naughton tonight. Was the single greatest comment I’ve ever heard in one of those pressers, he’s had me for life after that.
Richmond have done well no doubt, but the AFL gave them a huge freekick with Lynch.
Competition best KPF for nothing and hang onto 2 x 1st Rnders that they would normally had to give up too get someone like Lynch.
Not bad only 1 year out from a Premiership can't blame the Tigers for that. If they had to pay up to get Lynch Balta isn't playing for the Tigers. Does make a list build much easier though!!
 
Another baffling loss, not just the losing, but the manner of losing. We were never in it after the first 10 minutes.
Our results are all over the place but we're seeing a bit of that right across the competition. It's a weird season.
Here are some of the bigger picture explanations (i.e. not focussing too much on individuals) that have occurred to me, and a few others have posted similar thoughts. Not all of them stack up though.

1. Lack of effective leadership - YES. see my OP in another thread. This problem compounds all the other problems IMO. Not enough suitable leaders onfield, and I suspect off field too.

Youth - NO. It can perhaps be used to explain some variable performance from week to week but we aren't even that young. It certainly can't be used as an excuse this week especially when the teams matched up like this last night:
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Hubs - NOT MUCH. It's hard to say how much the experience of living and playing in hubs is having on players but every Vic club is facing the same thing (including Richmond) so we're not unique. Certainly it's a test of resilience. My guess is older players are probably better equipped to deal with it mentally but then they are the ones more likely to have family to worry about as well. Bevo says they're taking it as an exciting challenge, which is probably the best approach.

Packed Fixture - NOT MUCH. Same story as hubs, every club has to deal with it. Those who play it "one game at a time" and don't let it get to them mentally are likely to get through it best. Let the club's physios and coaches do the worrying about who to rotate and when. I've no idea if one club is doing it better or worse than the average at this stage. Apart from one or two players I think we're doing OK on this physically and can't use it as an excuse.

Playing in Qld at night - YES. Whether it's the rain or just a damper atmosphere we are constantly playing in greasy conditions. It's true that other clubs are facing the same but it seems to have more impact on our style of play and we don't seem to have adapted. The ball becomes slick and the one-touch plays become turnovers and fumbles. That affects our confidence in ball-handling and so it deteriorates. It wouldn't be such a problem if not for ...

Tactical inertia - YES. AKA "where is plan B?" We don't seem to be making the adjustments necessary, at least not quickly enough. Examples are the Carlton game (I think that was the one) where they took every opportunity to drive the ball forward in the wet but we fluffed around with handballs looking for the perfect player in space so he could kick forward without pressure to a target. We kept handballing until the persistent Carlton pressure resulted in a turnover. When we changed later in the game to more of an old fashioned territory contest we did better. It might work well at Marvel but not at Metricon. It's still deeply ingrained - so much that last night McLean took a free kick in the fourth quarter and handballed to a surprised Daniel who was ambling past to take a more forward position. Result - Daniel was pantsed and the ball was turned over. Other examples of tactical inertia include the failure to provide a counter move once Stuey Dew figured out how to nullify English. And others have discussed our over-reliance on a zone defence which has been unpicked a few times forcing us into unfavourable mismatches deep in defence.

Structure/personnel - MOSTLY YES. ( This one's a bit of a catch-all so it's not going to be a simple yes or no. ) Our defence is capable, well structured and well-drilled so generally I'd say we're OK there. We lack a good intercept marker who can roam, although in theory Wood should still be capable of that. Keath is required to pay close attention to the KPFs so it can't be him, and Naughton's now a forward. English was doing it for a while but oppo coaches are onto him. We also get found out when it does become a one-on-one in our back 50. At the other end of the ground we have only one KPF target (Bruce) and he has struggled with marking because of the conditions (and perhaps his own condition too). Most of the other forwards are slow, out of form and/or injured (and most aren't natural forwards anyway). A couple are just starting their football careers. Only Wallace and Vandermeer can hold their head up. The midfield is doing OK but is pretty slow apart from Bailey Smith. The ruck is a continuing weakness. No matter how good everyone thinks Tim English will become one day, he's not dominating any games yet. Well maybe just once, against Essendon.

Injuries - NOT REALLY. Most clubs have their share and we're probably somewhere in the middle. Sure it'd be nice to get Dunkley, Hunter and Naughton back. They would certainly have made us more competitive but I doubt they'd have got us over the line against Richmond last night.


In summary - Seems to me a lot of our recurring problems are due to structural weaknesses (ruck and forwards) and lack of strong onfield leadership, combined with slowness to adapt tactically. Our game style isn't suited to greasy conditions and we don't seem able to adjust it.
 
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Richmond have done well no doubt, but the AFL gave them a huge freekick with Lynch.
Competition best KPF for nothing and hang onto 2 x 1st Rnders that they would normally had to give up too get someone like Lynch.
Not bad only 1 year out from a Premiership can't blame the Tigers for that. If they had to pay up to get Lynch Balta isn't playing for the Tigers. Does make a list build much easier though!!
AFLPA had a big hand in that state of affairs.
 

perro_loco

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Drop Bruce and watch our forward 50 entries get even worse. He stops intercept marks from being taken even if he's getting double teamed. Frustrating when he sprays them but he's too important structurally. With Naughton out, if Gowers or Schache take that role, it's not ending well for us. I know it doesn't seem like our forward line could get much worse but I believe without Bruce in there it really would.
I think we need to bring in Schache and persevere with him. He also helped Bruce and they both worked well. He had a shocker, but that is what happens with young taels. When he plays well we win. The guy is young, covers a lot of ground and surely he is better than the experiments Bevo and MC performed in the last two weeks. When Naughton comes back, well then that is another story.
 
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perro_loco

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Sometimes you have off nights. It doesn't take a lot to make a difference in an even competition, and we had a lot of things not going our way tonight.

Although I think our down performance tonight was partially a result of our core senior players having to carry too heavy a load for an extended period.
They can't carry that load forever, so we need to at least try to select more matured/settled teams for the rest of the season.

All season we have had too many players that were new or far from settled in the side, and tonight was no exception with McLean, Trengove and Lloyd 1st games back, Gowers, 2nd game back and clearly under the pump.

I think putting the microscope on some of our mid tier players wouldn't hurt either. Was very disappointed in Patrick Lipinski tonight. I'm not sure I've ever seen him display overt desperation on the field. He has 30+ games under his belt now and needs to step up when the chips are down or get ready to make way for someone who will.
I think you are right on this. Lipinski frustrates me a lot. He has amazing skill and kicks important goals. but gee when he goes missing, the guy is a total ghost. Nowhere to be seen and he looks soft at times. Other times, he looks like a Ferrari with his skills and passing.
 

perro_loco

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Today the tigers were on and we were indifferent.
Our board on meltdown. Every other board has had similar moments.
Every team is improvising and facing less than ideal conditions.
We re-tweak and wreck port. Its the bulldog way. Trust me we will look a million dollars next week.
Changes will be made as players become available. A we have some AAA talent to come back.
This is the season of ups, downs and inconsistency across all teams that are challenging
the round will be over and at worst 8 points off first position, half way through.
Relax guys
lets bank next week and see where we at
Actually agree. Last week I watched the Richmond vs GWS and the tigers looked average. It is a season of ups and downs. Just watch tomorrow's Covid 19 numbers being half as big as today. Well at least I bloody well hope.!
 
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Feel like where exactly in the same position as we were at the bye last year. The things that should be working (our quality midfield) just aren't and there are some pretty significant holes that look impossible to fix in the short term. Maybe the post-bye will also be the same and we'll inexplicably turn things around. Funny game football.
 
Actually agree. Last week I watched the Richmond vs GWS and the tigers looked average. It is a season of ups and downs. Just watch tomorrow's Covid 19 numbers being half as big as today. Well at least I bloody well hope.!

Richmond and Dusty in particular showed glimpses late in that game which had me worried for our game.

Were there any glimpses from us late in the game??
 
Richmond and Dusty in particular showed glimpses late in that game which had me worried for our game.

Were there any glimpses from us late in the game??
Not as a team, only as individuals.

Our connection between our forwards and the rest of the team would be 17th in the comp (marginally ahead of only Melbourne).

We let Bruce be constantly double teamed. Wallis gets to good spots and is a surprisingly good one on one mark,he's our best forward but he isn't going to tear a game apart. Vandermeer has real spunk about him but he's a kid in his 8th game, you don't put work into those types if you're an opposition coach. Lloyd has dropped off a cliff, McLean and Richards just don't have the output to be a threat either. Schache is patchy and has has a few injury troubles this year, Naughton out but had had an injury affected pre-season so won't be anywhere near his best when he returns.
Bont can do everything except actually kick the ball through the big sticks - I honestly believe that even carrying his hip niggle, his marking this year is better than it ever has been. It may be worth 'saving/managing' him and keeping him at high half forward for long stretches of the game where he can mark the ball and deliver it into the F50, which is something he still is doing well.
 
Feel like where exactly in the same position as we were at the bye last year. The things that should be working (our quality midfield) just aren't and there are some pretty significant holes that look impossible to fix in the short term. Maybe the post-bye will also be the same and we'll inexplicably turn things around. Funny game football.

Is our midfield quality? It’s ok. Great for inside mids. English is a slightly above average ruckman at this point.

We lack speed and class through the middle of the ground.

Port’s 3 draftees are exactly what we need. Butters, duursma and rozee are absolute class. All one touch players with acceleration that are lethal with ball in hand. Kudos to them.

We need more vandermeer types and less Porter types.
 
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