Preview Changes v Richmond

[fronkalicious]

Those who are suggesting we should move Naughton back when he returns should just give themselves an uppercut right now. Last night highlighted just how much we are missing him up forward.

I think naughton should play back Mutt. Particularly in the post-Wood era. Cordy moves into that role and naughton at CHB.

I think its a ridiculous assumption that the “play Naughton back” brigade envisage a Bruce, Wallis, Porter, Lachie young, gowers forward line......I commented before the game what a mess that line up looked.

Naugton is an A grade talent and a B- forward IMO.

Clearly he’s going to play there tho, so I hope he improves (a lot).

 

[murphy's twin]

I think naughton should play back Mutt. Particularly in the post-Wood era. Cordy moves into that role and naughton at CHB.

I think its a ridiculous assumption that the “play Naughton back” brigade envisage a Bruce, Wallis, Porter, Lachie young, gowers forward line......I commented before the game what a mess that line up looked.

Naugton is an A grade talent and a B- forward IMO.

Clearly he’s going to play there tho, so I hope he improves (a lot).

Fronk he had the most contested marks in the comp during the H&A season last year playing in the CHF position... and that was his first year playing there.

This year he hasn't had a good run at it with injuries.

I think we need to take a deep breath on this one and let is play out.....

 

[Lex22]

Do we have the luxury to space out our resting’s or do we just pick a game?

I thought the Port game (interstate, 5 day break) looked a perfect opportunity to leave Bont, Jack, Libba and 4-5 others in the Queensland sun for a little spell and get back into it for the Lions.

Hard one for the club to manage and work out.

 

[Cadillac]

Gowers
Porter
Weightman (stiff to be dropped)
Young

It’s the time of the year where we have to start playing our best 22. Look at what Saints are doing and they are playing their best every week. Time for these guys to get back to the praccys. We have done a great job winning games with this many guys in the side battling. (Obviously weightman two weeks ago was good) but I still think west or Mcelan are able to make more of an impact

 

[Cadillac]

I think naughton should play back Mutt. Particularly in the post-Wood era. Cordy moves into that role and naughton at CHB.

I think its a ridiculous assumption that the “play Naughton back” brigade envisage a Bruce, Wallis, Porter, Lachie young, gowers forward line......I commented before the game what a mess that line up looked.

Naugton is an A grade talent and a B- forward IMO.

Clearly he’s going to play there tho, so I hope he improves (a lot).

Fronk. I think the backline is settled at the moment. Getting some continuity of games into Naughton up forward with Bruce is far more beneficial to our side than Naughton In defense. Having Naughton in the forward line just makes like so much easier for our smalls because he will at the minimum bring it to ground and hit hard once it does. But also give Bruce a chop out.
Also, looking ahead in 12 months time I love the idea of Bruce and Naughton getting the top two defenders and JUH getting the 3rd and being able to grow without him getting physically beaten every week.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

Do we have the luxury to space out our resting’s or do we just pick a game?

I thought the Port game (interstate, 5 day break) looked a perfect opportunity to leave Bont, Jack, Libba and 4-5 others in the Queensland sun for a little spell and get back into it for the Lions.

Hard one for the club to manage and work out.

Port are dropping off at a considerable rate atm so they’re ripe for the picking. Not a good idea to go in without our better players imo.

 

[bobs head soup]

Do we have the luxury to space out our resting’s or do we just pick a game?

I thought the Port game (interstate, 5 day break) looked a perfect opportunity to leave Bont, Jack, Libba and 4-5 others in the Queensland sun for a little spell and get back into it for the Lions.

Hard one for the club to manage and work out.

It's going to be an interesting call.

You'd think the 5 key players who will need a rest at some point are those racking up the big midfield minutes; Bont, Macrae, Libba, Smith and English.

Resting a number at once is probably not a great message, unless we get really cute and do it vs Adelaide.

Will probably stagger, maybe waiting for Hunter/Dunkley to return to smooth out the outs.

 

[BallaratBulldog]

We will get a bye soon, probably round 14. Still need to play WA teams and with the 14 day quaratine.

 

[BIG_BONTS]

I agree with moving Naughts back eventually. For the rest of this year it's forward if Schache can't step up a few notches.

With JUH in the side as a big upgrade of Schache, surely that would push Naughts back next year and beyond though.

 

[bobs head soup]

Q: When was the last time a key forward proved himself the best contested marking forward in the comp (as a teenaget no less) and then got sent to defence.

A: Trick question. Ain't never happened.

 

[cherrypie]

Q: When was the last time a key forward proved himself the best contested marking forward in the comp (as a teenaget no less) and then got sent to defence.

A: Trick question. Ain't never happened.

Lance Whitnall arguably did that, although that was more due to his lack of fitness

 

[bobs head soup]

Lance Whitnall arguably did that, although that was more due to his lack of fitness

I might be wrong but I don't recall Whitnall playing a lot of games as a KPD.

 

[Sentinel]

Q: When was the last time a key forward proved himself the best contested marking forward in the comp (as a teenaget no less) and then got sent to defence.

A: Trick question. Ain't never happened.

Chris Grant in his later years

 

[bobs head soup]

Chris Grant in his later years

I love Grant, my all time favorite Bulldog, but he was never the top contested forward mark in the comp, ahead of all of Carey, Lockett, Dunstall, Ablett, Lloyd, Modra, Richo etc.

He's also a great example of why you play your champions forward, we were always so much better when he was forward.

 

[fronkalicious]

Fronk. I think the backline is settled at the moment. Getting some continuity of games into Naughton up forward with Bruce is far more beneficial to our side than Naughton In defense. Having Naughton in the forward line just makes like so much easier for our smalls because he will at the minimum bring it to ground and hit hard once it does. But also give Bruce a chop out.
Also, looking ahead in 12 months time I love the idea of Bruce and Naughton getting the top two defenders and JUH getting the 3rd and being able to grow without him getting physically beaten every week.

Backline looks great. Playing so well.

I’m happy to see how it plays out.

I don’t know how long wood has left. He’s 32 next year and is a fast twitch/soft tissue guy.

And JUH is coming to town. And I think naugton’s overrated as a key forward (his goal kicking is abysmal) and could win a Brownlow at CHB.

I’d love him to become a gun, 60 goal a year key forward. Let’s see.

 

[Dogsman16]

Reasons as to why Naughton shouldn't be pushed back.

A) Currently its a no brainer - Defence is already outstanding and our forward line is pretty poor. Absolute must he plays CHF for the short - mid term.
B) These 3rd tall intercepting types are very very easy to obtain. You don't have to use high draft picks to get a good one. Look at our defence right now, no high draft picks. And good interceptors across the comp... Ridley, Howe, Rampe, Ballard, Sicily, I could go on. Even Josh Walker who everyone thinks is a spud does a competent job of this. They can be found anywhere and not that difficult to obtain.
C) Josh Bruce - I thought was a good pick up and still do but at the end of his 4 years he will be phased out of this team. I think any bulldog supporter wants a decade long combination of KPF's rather than constantly rotating options down there. Would be nice to have our own Lloyd/Lucas, Lynch/Brown, Franklin/Roughead.
D) Naughton's forward play suits our style. Obviously his contested marking is outstanding. Underrated feature of his play is his defensive pressure. Hes outstanding for his size for tackling and chasing. I think because he developed as a defender he places more value on laying tackles than Schache/Boyd for instance. In juniors if Schache or Boyd didnt lay a tackle it could easily come back in with good work up the ground. If Naughton (or any defender) misses a tackle it ends up as a goal. The consequences are dramatically different, hence we see a massive difference in desperation between the two.
E) He draws a heap of attention. If we are concerned about developing JUH then we need a KPF who draws defenders and will allow JUH to take a lesser defender. Naughton will do all of those things.

Maybe he is a better defender than forward. I'd accept that argument. But in terms of team importance Naughton as a forward is just far more crucial. FWIW he should be utilised up the ground as the CHF, rather than just sticking him in the goal square.

 

[dogwatch]

Do we have the luxury to space out our resting’s or do we just pick a game?

I thought the Port game (interstate, 5 day break) looked a perfect opportunity to leave Bont, Jack, Libba and 4-5 others in the Queensland sun for a little spell and get back into it for the Lions.

Hard one for the club to manage and work out.

We need to dismiss this notion that resting a whole lot of players at once is a realistic option.

Bevo is not going to leave all of Bont, Macrae, Libba and 4-5 other regulars out of any one game. Not even under the pretext that 2-3 of them are "sore" or suffering "tightness".

First reason is that the AFL will send a stern "please explain" and possibly issue sanctions. Perhaps not for tanking (although that could be argued) but for the bad look it gives the game. All clubs are on board to try to make this f**ed-up season work the best it can. Effectively throwing a game in order to give players a rest is not in keeping with that.

Second reason is that's not the way Bevo operates. He might adopt a risky approach at times (such as having Gowers plus 3 sub-10 gamers play against the Suns) but he is still angling to win those games and in fact pulled it off against GC. I doubt he'd ever deliberately approach a H&A game and say "I think we'll sacrifice this one".

Possibly a third reason might have something to do with sports betting. It should never come into it, but the AFL has sold its soul to the devil on that one so it's always going to be a background consideration.

We have a relatively young list (very few over 30), playing shortened games with extended breaks after goals and we are getting 5-6 day breaks, so it's not all that bad. Player recovery rates will be carefully monitored. I imagine midweek training is less intense than during a normal season.

No doubt there will be some players rested at some stage (eg Libba) but I'd be surprised if it was more than 2 at any one time.

 

[Yojimbo]

Q: When was the last time a key forward proved himself the best contested marking forward in the comp (as a teenaget no less) and then got sent to defence.

A: Trick question. Ain't never happened.

Hey BHS, i was the first guy to suggest moving Naughton back to defense the reason for doing so was because i felt the volume
and quality of our inside 50's could not support two players who relied on their contested marking. I was also the poster who
suggested two players Lewis Young and Aaron Naughton were more than capable of playing as key forwards, but you cannot
win i guess. Alex Keath has done well as a lock down defender this season, i had never seen that in his game much at Adelaide,
but they did have Daniel Talia to play lock down.

 

[bobs head soup]

We need to dismiss this notion that resting a whole lot of players at once is a realistic option.

Bevo is not going to leave all of Bont, Macrae, Libba and 4-5 other regulars out of any one game. Not even under the pretext that 2-3 of them are "sore" or suffering "tightness".

First reason is that the AFL will send a stern "please explain" and possibly issue sanctions. Perhaps not for tanking (although that could be argued) but for the bad look it gives the game. All clubs are on board to try to make this f**ed-up season work the best it can. Effectively throwing a game in order to give players a rest is not in keeping with that.

Second reason is that's not the way Bevo operates. He might adopt a risky approach at times (such as having Gowers plus 3 sub-10 gamers play against the Suns) but he is still angling to win those games and in fact pulled it off against GC. I doubt he'd ever deliberately approach a H&A game and say "I think we'll sacrifice this one".

Possibly a third reason might have something to do with sports betting. It should never come into it, but the AFL has sold its soul to the devil on that one so it's always going to be a background consideration.

We have a relatively young list (very few over 30), playing shortened games with extended breaks after goals and we are getting 5-6 day breaks, so it's not all that bad. Player recovery rates will be carefully monitored. I imagine midweek training is less intense than during a normal season.

No doubt there will be some players rested at some stage (eg Libba) but I'd be surprised if it was more than 2 at any one time.

I agree it's highly unlikely we make wholesale changes and effectively sacrifice a h&a game, but it's not completely removed from Bevos nature if it suits the bigger picture. The final round against Freo in 2016 is a prime example.

 

[Dogsman16]

Will be interesting to see if any of Richmond, Port or Brisbane rest any players against us. We have an additional one day break in comparison to those teams in each of our next 3 games.

The Richmond game is sooo vital. If we can win this then we can give Libba, Wood etc a break and other vital players.

 

[Mutt]

I think naughton should play back Mutt. Particularly in the post-Wood era. Cordy moves into that role and naughton at CHB.

I think its a ridiculous assumption that the “play Naughton back” brigade envisage a Bruce, Wallis, Porter, Lachie young, gowers forward line......I commented before the game what a mess that line up looked.

Naugton is an A grade talent and a B- forward IMO.

Clearly he’s going to play there tho, so I hope he improves (a lot).

Can't agree Fronk. Naughton is a huge threat when played up forward. And it's an aerial threat up forward that we need right now much more than we need another marking defender.

 

[Yojimbo]

Can't agree Fronk. Naughton is a huge threat when played up forward. And it's an aerial threat up forward that we need right now much more than we need another marking defender.

Q: Naughton or Bruce ?, because i am not sure Naughton and Bruce works as yet. (Small Sample Size)

 

[Euku]

Our defence is the most consistent part of our game, id play schache Naughton and bruce ( in the wet no schache) with wallace west dale and weightman on the bench and midfield rotations, MacLean is a gun player and should play more midfield minutes to share the load aswell as shutdown roles and stints up forward

 

[Optimistic Dog]

Preview

Key Injuries, Unavailable

Bulldogs

Naughton, Dunkley, Hunter

Tigers

Houli, Edwards, Nankervis, Prestia, Caddy


Likely Changes

Bulldogs

In Mclean, Lewis Young, Lloyd, Dale or maybe a Bevo selection from nowhere.

Outs Gowers, Porter, Weightman, La Young

Tigers

Ins Cotchin, Astbury

Outs ??

Season Form

Bulldogs

In a season like no other the dogs started terribly against the pies and again against the Saints. They got their season back on track having won 5 out of the last six with a bad loss against the blues the only blimp.

In a number of those wins they have had some stand out individual performances. The Bont against the swans and English against the bombers are the obvious ones. However, overall the key driver of the wins has been the backline with Caleb Daniel and Hayden Crozier in AA contention. The dogs forward line without Naughton is their biggest concern presenting scoring a rebound problems.

Tigers

The tigers form has been up and down this season. Winning three of their last five games. The tigers appeared to be the better team against GWS, more inside 50’s, more scoring shots and more possessions, yet they lost the game. Like the bulldogs the tigers biggest problem is their forward line with Riewoldt out form and Lynch playing with a broken finger.


How will the game be played

The game will be a battle of the defences and you would expect a low scoring game. The bulldogs will try to use a high slick handball game to find space and use Caleb Daniel coming out of defence to hit targets.

The tigers will use a high pressure game to create turnovers and get the ball into Martin’s and Bolton’s hands to hit targets.



Match Ups/Tactics

The tigers will be most concerned with Daniel, McCrae, Bont and English’s around the ground movement and intercept marking.


The dogs will be most concerned with Martin, Bolton and Grimes/Vlastuin intercept marking.

Neither coach is big on tagging but you would expect Martin and the Bont to be tagged.

Who Wins

The team that uses the ball best and turns the ball over the least will win this low scoring affair. I will go with the heart and predict a dogs win by 2 points

 

[Sentinel]

I love Grant, my all time favorite Bulldog, but he was never the top contested forward mark in the comp, ahead of all of Carey, Lockett, Dunstall, Ablett, Lloyd, Modra, Richo etc.

He's also a great example of why you play your champions forward, we were always so much better when he was forward.

He arguably may not have ever been the top contested mark in the comp at any point, but he was certainly in the top handful. You could also argue whether Naughton currently is or not.

Rather than a permanent back or forward, I'm of the belief we should be using Naughton as a swingman, exactly how we used to use Grant. We know he has the ability to dominate at either end, so why not use him wherever the circumstance of an individual match and time best dictates.