Autopsy Bulldogs lose 127-113 to Geelong. Flat

[Pencil case]

On a positive note, Kennedy completely put the recruit of the year debate to bed tonight.

25+, 12 score involvements, 3 goals, 80% DE.

Compared to Smith’s 33 ineffective disposals at 50% DE; 0 score.

 

[X_box_X]

Very hard to beat those pricks at Alphaebt Stadium. They have ranked #1 for umpire obsession since 1925. They even get more love from the umpires than Collingwood

A flat feeling mate. Always disappointing to not get the four pts but not a confidence sapping defeat. I feel we were the better team and I'd be confident getting the result in a final at the MCG with normal umpiring.

 

[Pencil case]

We are clear as day 1 tall forward short why do people keep thinking moving Buku or Naughton when Darcy is fit is the option?

Assuming all three play, which player do you drop for Darcy when he’s fit? A small?

 

[Dog 36]

On a positive note, Kennedy completely put the recruit of the year debate to bed tonight.

25+, 12 score involvements, 3 goals, 80% DE.

Compared to Smith’s 33 ineffective disposals at 50% DE; 0 score.

Go away please your facts do not fit the media narrative.

It actually takes time to research and then think about it something the media don't do.

 

[AFDogs]

Most disappointing loss of the year so far. Could pretty much stomach all of our other ones but this one meant more.

Geelong too classy in the end. They got their goals easily, we had to scrap and fight for ours. Jezza Cameron = freak.

 

[Dog 36]

And it is time Baines and KWW approach the AFL and demand we do not play there for sometime

We have done our duty playing there.

 

[Martyn_30_]

O’Donnell was solid as. He saved on many occasions. Jones is not the messiah you think he is.

He wasn't, he conceded the ĺast two goals of the game and a number early in the game. I said Jones in form is vital for the team, there was also the final last year where O'Donnell was the worst player for the team. The defenders generally get an arm chair ride because the midfield rarely concedes a high number of inside 50s, it's not the Essendon type games where you should be judging them. Geelong still only had 51 inside 50s, it's not as though they're having 60 plus regularly like the Norf defenders experience.

 

[Al dente]

the final bench for last 7 -10 minutes is telling,

Duryea, Freijah, McNeil, Sanders

 

[Pencil case]

Lot of doom and gloom… should’ve won atleast one of this or the Pies game but still set up well for top 4. We cost ourselves that game, but still positives.

Very happy that Ed smashed the tag. Looked like he was gonna struggle with it.

Definitely an honourable loss all things considered, especially when marks are being paid to players over a metre out of bounds.

But how many honourable losses can a top 4 aspiring team take? The answer is not many, unfortunately it’s looking like we’ll be scraping into the 8 with the log jam again despite the improvement this year.

No team should have to play in Darwin and the mud pit sh*t hole twice in one season.

 

[The Slitherin' Snake]

xScore / Actual Score
GE: 117 / 127 (+10)
WB: 114 / 113 (-1)



xScores Sourced From: Wheelo

I understand you've sourced these stats from Wheelo but our expected score cannot possibly be right. We have 5 posters and xScore is only 1 point higher than actual?

 

[MaxiBont]

I understand you've sourced these stats from Wheelo but our expected score cannot possibly be right. We have 5 posters and xScore is only 1 point higher than actual?

I could be wrong, but I’d suggest that it’s a value given from where the shot was from rather than how close it was.

 

[yebach]

We aren't paying him to be our cheer leader in the media. He typically does that enough when he's involved in a call for it to be pretty cringe anyway. But thats what nearly all ex-players seem to do when they slide into commentary roles these days.

If we're paying him at all (which I doubt) then it's for his goal kicking expertise. Something that becomes moot when as they were tonight many of our misses were under some pretty intense pressure.

Its easy during practice, but not nearly as easy as it is on ones couch.

All true. But in Naughton and McNeil we have probably the two worst kicks for goal inside 30 metres in the AFL.
There's varying opinions on what should be done. The first should be to acknowledge this reality.

 

[lachy]

It was pretty clear that they got a lot of easy shots, we didn't defend the ground all that well

Hard to defend the ground with sloppy unforced turnovers putting all players out of position

 

[The Slitherin' Snake]

Anytime we slip into the aggressive defensive press we allow huge run ons of goals that we can't seem to counteract. I thought this was the reason Jones was dropped?

Anyway, we pissed away this game through stupid skill errors and poor goal kicking. We can't blame the umpires for that.

I don't think team selection was right either. We are at least 1 tall short. There is no flexibility when things don't go to plan. Lobb had some nice moments in the second half and JOD took a couple of nice marks but ultimately their tall forwards kicked 11 goals. Not good enough

 

[Dogsman16]

Assuming all three play, which player do you drop for Darcy when he’s fit? A small?

Duryea. He moves like a tall at the moment so it’s not as if we are losing running ability.

 

[grassman75]

So, 3 brownlow votes it is then...

Brownlow votes should be nowhere near Smith in this Game. If its not out of Holmes, Cameron, Richard’s and Kennedy with random other 1s like Neale ill be shocked.

I’d certainly say this is within Bevos top 3 seasons he’s coached. Certainly with the challenges the club has faced he’s done extremely well.

However his biggest weakness is his at times overconfidence with our game style. Particularly after a couple of good performances he seems to believe the handball happy/run and gun style is going to overwhelm everyone.

Sometimes you gotta give credit where credits due. High pressure teams (or instances of that) can put our game style under significant pressure. And your forced to kick long and high to contests (or you get mass turnovers which happened last night).

No doubt player availability has hurt badly, but I still felt we had the better alternative of another tall (Busslinger) which gives us the possibility of moving O Donnell forward to bring the ball to ground.

Bailey Smith is a perfect example. He can just blaze long and high everytime knowing he has a stack of marking/tall options that at stages which will bring the ball to ground and make him look less silly. Right now our mids don’t have such luxury so the cute option is almost always required.

There was absolutely no need to select Duryea last night. He doesn’t have the leg speed nor flexibility to be a selection option when instead Busslinger would have given us different options.

Interesting you say that, cos they were talking about Ange Postacoglou on SEN yesterday - Adam Simpson i think it was and he said he’d met Ange and asked him about his plan B. Ange looked at him funny and said Plan B is doing Plan A better

 

[Unorth]

We know Doc is cooked.

We played him forward to sneak in 100 games for the father/son factor.

We have games against North Melbourne, Richmond, West coast to come.

Selecting him for this game, and playing him as we did was incredibly stupid.

 

[grassman75]

Duryea. He moves like a tall at the moment so it’s not as if we are losing running ability.

He moves like a snail at the moment

 

[RWnBluey]

Anytime we slip into the aggressive defensive press we allow huge run ons of goals that we can't seem to counteract. I thought this was the reason Jones was dropped?

Anyway, we pissed away this game through stupid skill errors and poor goal kicking. We can't blame the umpires for that.

I don't think team selection was right either. We are at least 1 tall short. There is no flexibility when things don't go to plan. Lobb had some nice moments in the second half and JOD took a couple of nice marks but ultimately their tall forwards kicked 11 goals. Not good enough

Disagree about being a tall short. You said it yourself, we lost for other reasons.

It was a dewy, slippery night where contested marking was difficult nullifying talls.
Despite the fact they had more marks inside F50 we actually had 5 more contested marks for the game. Their tall forwards kicked 11 between not due to height but because we got smashed in turnovers which makes it almost impossible for the defenders.

 

[LondonBulldog]

I cant cop that, 17 behinds ten more scoring shots another honerable loss we are perennial losers

Yes we kicked bad but this is not new. Naughton or McNeil are not going to wake up one day and be able to kick. Naughton especially on snaps around the corner has the ability of my 10 year old son. They are not even hard to do yet time and time again Naugthon misses. Hitting the post a little unlucky yet we always kick bad, it has to be factored into our games now. Weightman who is a good kick doesn't help yet with the current forwards, as many points as goals will be the norm. Was the same last week against Essendon.

 

[Mr. Walker]

Can’t believe the first and second qrt, kept hanballing to a stationary player or one under pressure caused a lot of turnovers and goals.

Cannot agree with this enough. What is the point of hand balling to a teammate with trammate already under pressure. We seemed obsessed with handball in the first half. When a teammate is free great then handball but why do it for the sake of it. Doing it means we either lose the ball or get it back from the stoppage. Electing to kick the ball even if no teammate is open gives the same result BUT the ball is 50 metres closer to our goal and 50 metres further away from theirs.
( 50 metres for us, 50 metres from them that’s a gain of 100 metres if my maths is correct )

 

[Doggy Dan]

Doc looks like he’s dazed and confused every time he is near the ball these days. Sadly think the game has passed him by.

We shouldn’t give too much flack to Cleary and Freijah, we can’t afford for them to lose the confidence to attack the game - this is the hardest thing to train into someone. Decision making, strength and skills will improve, but we don’t want them becoming too safe and/or hot potato merchants.

 

[The Slitherin' Snake]

I could be wrong, but I’d suggest that it’s a value given from where the shot was from rather than how close it was.

Yeah it is. So probably bad wording by me.
But i can't remember many goals we kicked that we shouldnt have, but plenty of easy misses (the posters, Khamis on the goal line, McNeil's shots, Libba's snap in the last, JJ and Frejah from 40 on the run)

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Just saw the Baz interview post game.

Apparently Geelong allow him to be himself, unlike, "umm, previous years".

It really is all about him.

Really.

So did we, at first. Geelong will learn...

 

[Dogs Rule]

And it is time Baines and KWW approach the AFL and demand we do not play there for sometime

We have done our duty playing there.

Eight years in a row (excluding COVID). That's a joke.

Also, hitting the post isn't unlucky. You practice more and you kick the goal you don't hit the post. Simple as that.