Changes vs Collingwood

[Butane]

Campbell was an embarrassment last week, and Will would smash their young ruckmen.

If I didn't already think last week I was a different game after the Redpath stuff I definitely do now.

Campbell was good. Will get better too.

 

[Bulldogsnm1]

I don't think Prudden has had as bad of a two games as everybody is saying - I'm not saying he deserves to keep his spot as others have saying, as the likes of Biggs and Webb are ahead of him - but I don't think that the two games he played has made him a delist candidate - in fact, the opposite, I reckon he showed enough to be a role/fringer player over the next few years and therefore valuable on the list.

His decision making was good as was his disposal, the trouble is he is just way too slow for AFL.

Opposition were running away from him last week.

 

[Bulldogsnm1]

Keen to see darley at afl level again before we need to make a decision on him at the end of the year.

Big big week in the VFL for honey, Jong and hrovat.

Darley was very good last week, his disposal first rate, I liked him last year and would love to see play this week

 

[hatescaptcha]

Shame that the rumours weren't true re: Smith upgrade. Got pumped to see him play in the seniors.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Darley was very good last week, his disposal first rate, I liked him last year and would love to see play this week

Darley's problem though in his games last year was he just couldn't seem to find ways to get involved.
It's no use having first rate disposal if you only get 16 touches with 9 kicks per game, which was a typical game for what he played last year.

 

[stefoid]

His decision making was good as was his disposal, the trouble is he is just way too slow for AFL.

Opposition were running away from him last week.

yeah, but the former is worth more than the latter, IMO. His future is as an inside mid. Needs to get super fit and stronger. Plenty of scope for an inside mid if his disposal is good, particularly one that can kick well.

 

[fronkalicious]

Darley's problem though in his games last year was he just couldn't seem to find ways to get involved.
It's no use having first rate disposal if you only get 16 touches with 9 kicks per game, which was a typical game for what he played last year.

Struggled big time with the conditioning required to play afl last year. Better equipped to handle it 12 months down the line. Keen to see him play.

 

[doggies ftw]

Struggled big time with the conditioning required to play afl last year. Better equipped to handle it 12 months down the line. Keen to see him play.

Really thought he was going to step up this year but he's been a bit disappointing, seems like he's been building some decent form in recent weeks. Would like to see him play further up the ground delivering inside 50 more often, he's probably better suited to a wing rather than half back I reckon.

 

[Libba39]

Darley is just another tutt in my opinion. Strutts around like tarzan, plays like jane.

 

[House_of_Dahl]

Like to see Talia play but who is the Pies tall fwd who will chop us up to warrant the cover?

Maybe Boyd will be out (listed on bench) and Talia will swing between forward and defence?

 

[VitalDread]

Maybe Boyd will be out (listed on bench) and Talia will swing between forward and defence?

Talia forward

 

[Dry Rot]

Talia ruck - we've tried most of our tall players (you read it here first )

 

[bobby2]

Darley's problem though in his games last year was he just couldn't seem to find ways to get involved.
It's no use having first rate disposal if you only get 16 touches with 9 kicks per game, which was a typical game for what he played last year.

This is a bit harsh on a bloke with 18 games to his name. 16 touches per game isn't really that bad at his current stage of development, and he has won much more of the ball at vfl level this year than he did last year. Our game style last year wasn't exactly conducive to his style of play either, so hopefully his kicking can become a weapon in our new attacking game-plan. I think the main question mark with Darley, both this year and last year, is over his toughness and his ability in the contest.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

This is a bit harsh on a bloke with 18 games to his name. 16 touches per game isn't really that bad at his current stage of development, and he has won much more of the ball at vfl level this year than he did last year. Our game style last year wasn't exactly conducive to his style of play either, so hopefully his kicking can become a weapon in our new attacking game-plan. I think the main question mark with Darley, both this year and last year, is over his toughness and his ability in the contest.

Oh, I'm not saying I disagree with any of the above.
I was just explaining that I got the "feeling" that he struggled to read the speed of the game and to get to positions to simply "be involved" in the play - even for someone with his lack of experience - and then using disposal numbers to justify the "feeling" - something that meant he couldn't utilise his biggest strength, his great disposal skills. And as fronk said above, a large part of it can be attributed to his lack of conditioning for AFL level. We can all hope, and it's probably a likely outcome, that his "ability" to "be involved" improves as both of you state he gets experience and he improves his conditioning, combined with a better game style.

 

[topdog69]

Tom Boyd the club has using him differently in the last month,before they used to kick the ball to Boyd in fashion which he made contest and smaller players would be near by crum the ball they need to revert to that structure .The small player have being going further up the field they need to stay closer to Boyd

 

[King Harold]

Struggled big time with the conditioning required to play afl last year. Better equipped to handle it 12 months down the line. Keen to see him play.

He is still very poor one on one Fronk.
I'm not convinced on him just yet , and I find it strange he gets a gig before Biggs.
Biggs form has been miles ahead of Darley.

 

[Snake Livermore]

On current AFL level evidence, Darley lacks the intensity, the fire in the belly, to succeed in the AFL. He should get another crack at it, but for me he's just a step off the pace against the psycho competitors you get at AFL level.

Prudden has been cruelled by soft tissue injuries, and has lost a yard of pace. As he continues to develop his body he might get this back. I've rated his disposal and competitiveness so far. He was the one that took the game on and opened up the play for Grant's goal. Little glimpses like that make me think he's worth a bit more time. Definitely not a liability, and I'd probably keep him in. Collingwood will have lots of dangerous small forwards this week, and having Prudden in will allow Boyd to take turns through the middle.

I'd do Talia for Dale, leave the rest as is. If we need more run, then Boyd (since he's named on the bench) comes out for Biggs.

 

[BRWB]

Oh, I'm not saying I disagree with any of the above.
I was just explaining that I got the "feeling" that he struggled to read the speed of the game and to get to positions to simply "be involved" in the play - even for someone with his lack of experience - and then using disposal numbers to justify the "feeling" - something that meant he couldn't utilise his biggest strength, his great disposal skills. And as fronk said above, a large part of it can be attributed to his lack of conditioning for AFL level. We can all hope, and it's probably a likely outcome, that his "ability" to "be involved" improves as both of you state he gets experience and he improves his conditioning, combined with a better game style.

I'm a sucker for a great kick and wanted Darley to succeed. Your concerns mirror mine. But for me his biggest asset (kicking) seems severely compromised by a lack of vision. He seems to do a lot of 'safe' sideways kicks.

 

[BEaston]

I don't think there's anyone on our list that I want to make it more than Darley. That boot could become a serious weapon.

 

[dogwatch]

I'm a sucker for a great kick and wanted Darley to succeed. Your concerns mirror mine. But for me his biggest asset (kicking) seems severely compromised by a lack of vision. He seems to do a lot of 'safe' sideways kicks.

I don't think there's anyone on our list that I want to make it more than Darley. That boot could become a serious weapon.

I haven't seen enough of Darley to comment but I have these questions: does he have good disposal all the time or is it just good disposal when he has ample time and space with no pressure? Does he have this disposal ability on both feet?

We had a bloke on the list last year who came to us (as a shock pick #15) with the wrap that he had elite disposal. It turned out he only had elite disposal when there was no pressure and it was only on one foot. He wasn't a large possession gatherer either. Despite years of us persevering with him he simply couldn't make the transition to AFL level footy.

 

[BRG93]

Back again to cover off last weeks game against the Cats and looking ahead to a must win game against Collingwood. We also preview Footscray VFL as they take on Coburg to cement a spot in the finals and bring you up to date with the latest news from the world of the Western Bulldogs

 

[DognBones]

Add my concerns on Darley to the debate. Having watched a fair bit of him with Footscray, he is usually very good with the ball but he's very much an outside 'out the back' sort of player. With the heavy duty demands of AFL level I just can't see him having much of an impact.

 

[fronkalicious]

He is still very poor one on one Fronk.
I'm not convinced on him just yet , and I find it strange he gets a gig before Biggs.
Biggs form has been miles ahead of Darley.

He'll clearly still have plenty to work on KH. No one can question that.

There aren't too many one on one's in Beveridge's defensive structure though. He's a good size, has nice pace and is a penetrating kick (whether he hits the target enough is a query however). Enough attributes to make him a more interesting talent to keep than prudden for example.

Big 7 weeks coming up for him either way.

 

[Proffessor]

Talia coming back in is certainly a step in the right direction, assuming he stays in

However one of the big problems with the team is our sheer lack of experience, not just in playing at this level but playing as a combination.

It cost us badly last week were we didn't combine well as a group and had too many sub par individual contributions to get over the top of a pretty mediocre team in an undermanned Geelong. Our forward line didn't function well at all.

How are we going to increase the performance this week to beat an opponent that even without Cloke, is probably still superior to the team who defeated us last week?

I think we are going to need a lot of rebounding from the backline, and to rely on a major improvement in overall defensive pressure to generate enough Collingwood turnovers to allow us to kick a winning score.

 

[dogwatch]

Talia coming back in is certainly a step in the right direction, assuming he stays in

However one of the big problems with the team is our sheer lack of experience, not just in playing at this level but playing as a combination.

It cost us badly last week were we didn't combine well as a group and had too many sub par individual contributions to get over the top of a pretty mediocre team in an undermanned Geelong. Our forward line didn't function well at all.

How are we going to increase the performance this week to beat an opponent that even without Cloke, is probably still superior to the team who defeated us last week?

I think we are going to need a lot of rebounding from the backline, and to rely on a major improvement in overall defensive pressure to generate enough Collingwood turnovers to allow us to kick a winning score.

I agree with this last bit in particular.

One of the big reasons we lost last week was because we didn't get the usual drive from Murphy, Boyd, Wood and JJ (2nd half JJ was better). This is not really about lack of experience (apart from JJ perhaps). It was more to do with Geelong recognising and then shutting down these four. Murphy had a bad day for whatever reason and Boyd was less than his usual prolific self. I recall the commentators saying that Stevey J was paying a lot of attention to Wood, who also copped an accidental (?) Geelong knee to the solar plexus during the game. JJ got off the leash as the game went on and became an important contributor to us staying in the match.

I think if these four all have a good day against the Pies we will win. Perhaps one rider on that is that Wallis must be fit and play up to his usual standard. I'm worried about our thinning midfield ranks.