Review Bulldogs win the true battle of the west - Rd 15

[Fossie 32]

Dogs seize moment
Eyrie silence as Eagles’ push for top four takes a hit

BRAD ELBOROUGH

THE Western Bulldogs’ 55-point win over West Coast at Perth Stadium on Sunday can’t be underestimated in terms of this AFL season.
A loss and the Dogs’ hold on to second spot on the ladder was extremely wobbly.
Win, which they ended up doing in style, and they would be in a group of sides eyeing off the advantage a top-two spot brings
The 13.20 (98) to 6.7 (43) win looked ugly at times.
But the 50,000-odd crowd was banned by the WA government only three hours before bounce-down, while the Dogs were in a bus on the way to the game.
That regular noise that gets the Eagles moving when need it wasn’t there when they started to gain some momentum in the third term.
Life is now a lot harder for West Coast, which would have been just a win off second spot with a victory.
Being in the top four has eluded the Eagles for the past couple of seasons and now looks a difficult task again.
Dogs captain Marcus Bontempelli made sure his team overcame a sloppy start against the Eagles.
Then, three goals in the final quarter from Aaron Naughton sealed the result.
After celebrating a great win over Richmond at home, missing several key players, and having a bye to freshen up, the Eagles suffered their biggest loss at Perth Stadium since moving there in 2018.
The Dogs also kept them to their lowest score at the venue.
For the Dogs, it was a first win against West Coast at Perth Stadium and the first against the Eagles in Perth since the 2016 elimination final.
A shoulder injury to defender Ryan Gardner in the third quarter was the only concern for the Dogs.
OFF TARGET EARLY
THE Bulldogs have trailed at quarter-time only once this season (in a round 11 loss to Melbourne) and led West Coast by 13 points at the first change. But they should have had a matchwinning lead as early as that.
In the first term, they went into attack 17 times, compared to the Eagles’ eight and took six marks in goalkicking range.
They had 10 scoring shots to West Coast’s two, but led 2.8 to 1.1. Josh Bruce and Bontempelli missed set shot chances they should have kicked. Bruce had 0.1 on the board, but he had two other shots from inside 50m that failed to score.
BULLDOGS BRING BITE
THE Bulldogs did take intensity into the game.
A week after a devastating after-the-siren loss to Geelong and having spent a week in quarantine in Perth, the Dogs hunted the ball from the first bounce. They went into the quarter-time huddle with 18 more contested possessions than the Eagles, led by Bontempelli, Bailey Smith, Jack Macrae and Lachie Hunter.
They set up many early scoring shots from the 12 turnovers they forced in their front half. And Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore ensured their side controlled clearances.
BACKS TO THE FORE
AT halftime, the Eagles’ top three possession winners were defenders – Brad Sheppard, Josh Rotham and Tom Barrass, who was struggling with a rib-injury sustained in the first term.
The first two quarters were played in wet conditions and Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui was their highest midfield possession winner, with 12.

 

[Mofra]

He is a bull now. If you’ve watched him in vfl it’s clear he is fearless - Clay smith heavy duty tough....

He seems to have Clay's ticker with Libba's hands.
I still think he needs a pre-season until he's a proper AFL footballer but considering he did his ACL in his draft year it's an incredible story.

He and VDM providing forward pressure....

 

[Mofra]

The most pleasing aspect of the West Coast game - we didn't allow them to switch the ball, but we could when it when needed.
It was the complete opposite of the Melbourne game. We're learning and improving.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Well heres the thing, (ive not seen the game yet) but bev said in the presser that Smith played as a follower (for lack of a better word) rather than wing today, and JJ had some time on the wing.

I think the positional changes are what resulted in significant performance improvements for both players - for JJ its obvious, more space to work in suits him, but can someone explain why it obviously does not suit Baz?

Maybe he feels freed up and more in control following the ball rather than "waiting in the wings", so to speak.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

When passing by foot to teammates Bont hits targets so well. I don't know why that doesn't translate to goal kicking. I think the solution is that when Bont is lining up for a shot Bruce or Naughts should set up behind the goal against the fence. Or, when the stands are empty, about five rows deep. Then, rather than taking a shot, Bont can pass it. If the ball just happens to pass between the big sticks... well, we'll take the six points.

Wasn't one of the goal-kicking techniques to pick out a supporter or a placard behind the middle of the goal posts and aim for that? Bit hard to do that yesterday I know

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

It might not look like it on the stat sheet but I reckon Lachie Hunter is having a career year. Was good to see the commentators call out his defensive running yesterday.

Has become really solid overhead.

How many times do we see the combo of Macrae-to-Hunter? Indomitable duo.

 

[Fossie 32]

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Dogs seize moment
Eyrie silence as Eagles’ push for top four takes a hit

BRAD ELBOROUGH

THE Western Bulldogs’ 55-point win over West Coast at Perth Stadium on Sunday can’t be underestimated in terms of this AFL season.
A loss and the Dogs’ hold on to second spot on the ladder was extremely wobbly.
Win, which they ended up doing in style, and they would be in a group of sides eyeing off the advantage a top-two spot brings
The 13.20 (98) to 6.7 (43) win looked ugly at times.
But the 50,000-odd crowd was banned by the WA government only three hours before bounce-down, while the Dogs were in a bus on the way to the game.
That regular noise that gets the Eagles moving when need it wasn’t there when they started to gain some momentum in the third term.
Life is now a lot harder for West Coast, which would have been just a win off second spot with a victory.
Being in the top four has eluded the Eagles for the past couple of seasons and now looks a difficult task again.
Dogs captain Marcus Bontempelli made sure his team overcame a sloppy start against the Eagles.
Then, three goals in the final quarter from Aaron Naughton sealed the result.
After celebrating a great win over Richmond at home, missing several key players, and having a bye to freshen up, the Eagles suffered their biggest loss at Perth Stadium since moving there in 2018.
The Dogs also kept them to their lowest score at the venue.
For the Dogs, it was a first win against West Coast at Perth Stadium and the first against the Eagles in Perth since the 2016 elimination final.
A shoulder injury to defender Ryan Gardner in the third quarter was the only concern for the Dogs.
OFF TARGET EARLY
THE Bulldogs have trailed at quarter-time only once this season (in a round 11 loss to Melbourne) and led West Coast by 13 points at the first change. But they should have had a matchwinning lead as early as that.
In the first term, they went into attack 17 times, compared to the Eagles’ eight and took six marks in goalkicking range.
They had 10 scoring shots to West Coast’s two, but led 2.8 to 1.1. Josh Bruce and Bontempelli missed set shot chances they should have kicked. Bruce had 0.1 on the board, but he had two other shots from inside 50m that failed to score.
BULLDOGS BRING BITE
THE Bulldogs did take intensity into the game.
A week after a devastating after-the-siren loss to Geelong and having spent a week in quarantine in Perth, the Dogs hunted the ball from the first bounce. They went into the quarter-time huddle with 18 more contested possessions than the Eagles, led by Bontempelli, Bailey Smith, Jack Macrae and Lachie Hunter.
They set up many early scoring shots from the 12 turnovers they forced in their front half. And Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore ensured their side controlled clearances.
BACKS TO THE FORE
AT halftime, the Eagles’ top three possession winners were defenders – Brad Sheppard, Josh Rotham and Tom Barrass, who was struggling with a rib-injury sustained in the first term.
The first two quarters were played in wet conditions and Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui was their highest midfield possession winner, with 12.

Written by the work experience kid?

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

What about all those in the changes thread who seriously suggested we rest players this week?

If I could be bothered I would quote them all in here just for the lolz.

They all are trialling for NSW Health

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

Not sure we've won twice in Perth in a season for a while, let alone twice within a month. Shows this group is going places.

It’s was fantastic how we silenced the crowd!

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

Is Bonts shoulder ok?

Should be ok to carry a Brownlow medal!

 

[Scary_Foot_9]

When passing by foot to teammates Bont hits targets so well. I don't know why that doesn't translate to goal kicking. I think the solution is that when Bont is lining up for a shot Bruce or Naughts should set up behind the goal against the fence. Or, when the stands are empty, about five rows deep. Then, rather than taking a shot, Bont can pass it. If the ball just happens to pass between the big sticks... well, we'll take the six points.

I believe part of his problem from shorter set shots is that he a naturally lower trajectory kick due to the swing angle of his long legs. This results in him kicking around the man on the mark more from closer in. If he's on the left this tends to result in a slight slice or pull if he's on the right.

My solution is that he start his run up from further out so he can kick 10-15 metres further out but with a straighter angle to the target.

 

[Ghenghis]

It’s was fantastic how we silenced the crowd!

HaHa. I said to my son when Bont kicked that snap goal that you could tell it went through by the lack of crowd noise.

 

[Fossie 32]

Oh ... play on 'Sleigh' and 'Eyrie' ... right

 

[Doggies_13]

Only got to see the first 3 quarters yesterday, caught up on the last quarter today.

Goal kicking aside great performance should have been an 80 odd point belting if we had kicked straight.

Some great performances made the eagles look second rate and some key players to come back.

injury to Gardner the only disappointing thing from the game and will be interesting to see what structure we go with.

Garcia showed a bit and had great composure. Richards slotted in the the backline seamlessly.

Still don’t see what Hannan offers and think we have better options.

 

[stefoid]

Macrae is the best midfielder I've seen in a dogs jumper.

We will be debating whether Bont or Macrae were the better player for the next 30 years.

Macrae is great, but Bont is ahead of him, both in terms of the amount of defensive attention he copes with on a consistent basis, and the amount of defensive work he does himself. Bont is consistently in the top 1 or 2 for pressure acts.

Macrae and the other mids by and large get a free run at it simply because they play alongside Bont.

 

[stefoid]

He is a bull now. If you’ve watched him in vfl it’s clear he is fearless - Clay smith heavy duty tough....

He fairly crunched barrass in a very clay smith like collision.

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

No doubt. If we’d just held on last week we’d be looking very solid for the minor premiership. Still in with a chance.

I can taste that McClelland Trophy!

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

Aaron Naughton is the best marking forward in the league.

If he played back he'd be the best intercept backman in the league.

He's 21.

I can see the Premiership window through that doorway!

 

[Cousin Ben]

Macrae is great, but Bont is ahead of him, both in terms of the amount of defensive attention he copes with on a consistent basis, and the amount of defensive work he does himself. Bont is consistently in the top 1 or 2 for pressure acts.

Macrae and the other mids by and large get a free run at it simply because they play alongside Bont.

I’d put Bont just ahead based on impact & scoring ability, but I’m not sure it’s fair to suggest the opposition never go to work on Macrae. He’s that good he either overcomes it or they give up the idea.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Maverick Dog]

what pleased me the most was our defensive structure and zone worked really well. Probably best it has been all year. As others have mention this list is amazing and there is no excuse not to finish top 4 for the next 5 years. so glad Richards got a game as a HBF. I rate him and could be a massive advantage in finals

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

I’m 40 years old. When I was a kid I wore the number 7 when I played cos of Douggie Hawkins. As I got a bit older all I wanted to be was Chris Grant. But I’ve never been more excited as a supporter to have a bloke like Naughton playing for the doggies. He might not be the best player in the game (yet) but he’s by far the most exciting.
What a time to be a doggies fan!!

I might have to change my Shane Loveless number 2 to 33 !

 

[BEaston]

Damn 11 hit outs to advantage by Timmy is insane, maybe he can ruck

He has always had a fantastic hitout to hitout-to-advantage ratio, going back several seasons now. Up there with the best in the league.
The problem with him was always his ruck contest to hitout ratio. He just got bodied out too often that he never had a chance to actually get a hand to it.
His strength has improved which helps in him this regard, but he's still a work in progress IMO. His core strength is still lacking comapred to a lot of the league's best rucks.
Getting there though.

 

[Bulldogs Legend]

How did English go vs NicNac?

Better than BF team selection thread!

 

[dogwatch]

what pleased me the most was our defensive structure and zone worked really well. Probably best it has been all year.
...

True, it was very good.

But it always seems to work best when our midfield is dominating. No coincidence there.