Strategy Changes vs Doggies

[Obeanie1]

He's more athletic than Dalziell. But I think the logic holds true. They are scared of Lucas turning the ball over in the midfield. Nelson will get less possessions and he will generally hit up a target.

Nelson can play as a mid or medium sized back. Lucas adds nothing to our back line.

It's a young dogs outfit so finding a reasonable match up for Nelson is not difficult either, we have plenty of experienced mid sized backs and mids.

 

[Obeanie1]

Still puzzled with Barassment not playing. I think it's a mistake personally but Simpson hasn't made many this season so I guess he has a plan

Hard to believe that at times last year we had cox, Nicnat, lycett(or Sinclair), jk, darling, eMac, brown and schofield all in the same side. Might have even been a game where glass or gov was added to that group as well. So 8 maybe 9 talls

On Sunday only 4 of those guys will be playing - nat, jk, darling and sinkers

From one extreme to the other

A lot of people on here thought we were playing too tall back then, me included.

Would be interesting to hear Worsfold's thoughts on the subject.

Playing shorter down back is working because of the team defense, the zoning / web and the pressure applied to the opposition when they are bringing (trying) the ball up field. Without that you get one on one duels in our back line of which last year MacKenzie would win against opposition #1 kp forwards.

It just shows how injuries can lead to innovation.

If Simpson doesn't win coach of the year with the injuries and results the team has achieved it will only be because of Victorian bias and the Dogs win it.

This Sunday's game will likely decide that actually.

 

[Libba39]

If Simpson doesn't win coach of the year with the injuries and results the team has achieved it will only be because of Victorian bias and the Dogs win it.

This Sunday's game will likely decide that actually.

Pardon the intrusion but I beg to differ on this point. Luke Beveridge has an extremely strong claim on coach of the year whether or not the Dogs win this game. Here's some points to support this:

●Due to the turmoil at season's end Beveridge was not even appointed when most teams were well into pre-season training.

●With a couple of rounds to go we have the chance to make top four when 90% of 'experts' had us in their bottom four at the start of the year

●Our best player from last year Tom Liberatore did his knee in the pre-season. Clay Smith did his knee again and Koby Stevens (now a senior midfielder) has been out for several weeks.

●Some of our best and most experienced players left the club - Griffen, Cooney, Higgins, Giansiracusa retired, meaning we lost our captain and about 800 games experience.

●Of the team you will face on Sunday about 6 or 7 played in our VFL premiership last year, there are two first year players, and two traded-in players who nobody had heard of before this year (Biggs and Hamling). To summarise, 13 of the players in the squad were not in our rnd 23 team in 2014.

●After this week we would have played 39 players on our list including 5 first year players which which is rebuilding territory in anyone's language.

●Against Port a couple of weeks ago we fielded the least experienced side of the round (100 games less than Gold Coast!) and won by 10 goals.

●Bontempelli, Macrae, Wallis, Hunter, Dahlhaus, Daniel. This is now the backbone of our midfield and they are all 18-23!

All in all a pretty strong case.

 

[nameless]

Can we stop with the 'Vic bias' ****, please?

It sounds a bit pathetic and whingy.

Especially when the last time a Victorian coach won COTY it was Malthouse in 2010.

 

[swannies]

●Some of our best and most experienced players left the club - Griffen, Cooney, Higgins, Giansiracusa retired, meaning we lost our captain and about 800 games experience.

All in all a pretty strong case.

What does that tell you though? Maybe the previous coach did you a favour by pissing those players off? The players that are there are clearly playing for the club.

Good post.

 

[Brave Sir Robin]

Good points Libba39. I think Beveridge will get it but Simmo is not without his case.

It is bizarre how similar we are in some of the things you mention.

We also came from a very disappointing season where a lot of people thought the results made us look better than we were, and we were predicted to finish lowly as well. We've debuted 5 players and will have used 35 after this week.

We keep getting struck down by injuries and other team selection issues, especially to key players, so every week the coaches are having to plug a new hole.

Also we are higher than you

 

[EagleEgo]

Pardon the intrusion but I beg to differ on this point. Luke Beveridge has an extremely strong claim on coach of the year whether or not the Dogs win this game. Here's some points to support this:

●Due to the turmoil at season's end Beveridge was not even appointed when most teams were well into pre-season training.

●With a couple of rounds to go we have the chance to make top four when 90% of 'experts' had us in their bottom four at the start of the year

●Our best player from last year Tom Liberatore did his knee in the pre-season. Clay Smith did his knee again and Koby Stevens (now a senior midfielder) has been out for several weeks.

●Some of our best and most experienced players left the club - Griffen, Cooney, Higgins, Giansiracusa retired, meaning we lost our captain and about 800 games experience.

●Of the team you will face on Sunday about 6 or 7 played in our VFL premiership last year, there are two first year players, and two traded-in players who nobody had heard of before this year (Biggs and Hamling). To summarise, 13 of the players in the squad were not in our rnd 23 team in 2014.

●After this week we would have played 39 players on our list including 5 first year players which which is rebuilding territory in anyone's language.

●Against Port a couple of weeks ago we fielded the least experienced side of the round (100 games less than Gold Coast!) and won by 10 goals.

●Bontempelli, Macrae, Wallis, Hunter, Dahlhaus, Daniel. This is now the backbone of our midfield and they are all 18-23!

All in all a pretty strong case.

Too early to say. The Finals and Grand Final results shall put on a lot of weights too.

 

[La Dolce Vita]

who cares about coach of the year

 

[Happy Mastenator]

I've only just seen the changes. Bizarre to say the least. I know the Bullies dont have a large forward line (Redpath 194 and Stringer 192) But we haven't got a guy over 190 for the defence. You wonder how Barrass feels being left out when we have this many injured KPDs too. If he isn't playing now then he probably wont break into the team again for a while. Must be a little demoralising.

Didn't he start the season in the east Perth reserves? I think he'll be stoked to have played any senior games and be part of a club that's pushing top 2. The coaches will have communicated exactly where he's at and their reason.

 

[Keys]

A lot of people on here thought we were playing too tall back then, me included.

Would be interesting to hear Worsfold's thoughts on the subject.

Playing shorter down back is working because of the team defense, the zoning / web and the pressure applied to the opposition when they are bringing (trying) the ball up field. Without that you get one on one duels in our back line of which last year MacKenzie would win against opposition #1 kp forwards.

It just shows how injuries can lead to innovation.

If Simpson doesn't win coach of the year with the injuries and results the team has achieved it will only be because of Victorian bias and the Dogs win it.

This Sunday's game will likely decide that actually.

Agreed. I think there were very few people who agreed with the land of the giants tactic and we lost games because of it. We can only guess at how Simmo would have structured the side had eMac and brown not been injured but those injuries have forced a reshuffle that has worked wonders and players like Sheppard have been a revelation

One thing that I found interesting watching that footy fix show last night was lycett saying how much he was learning from cox especially now he'd retired and could pass on all his tricks because he wasn't competing for a spot in the team anymore. I think he was half joking but there was a widely held view that this was the case

 

[Keys]

Pardon the intrusion but I beg to differ on this point. Luke Beveridge has an extremely strong claim on coach of the year whether or not the Dogs win this game. Here's some points to support this:

●Due to the turmoil at season's end Beveridge was not even appointed when most teams were well into pre-season training.

●With a couple of rounds to go we have the chance to make top four when 90% of 'experts' had us in their bottom four at the start of the year

●Our best player from last year Tom Liberatore did his knee in the pre-season. Clay Smith did his knee again and Koby Stevens (now a senior midfielder) has been out for several weeks.

●Some of our best and most experienced players left the club - Griffen, Cooney, Higgins, Giansiracusa retired, meaning we lost our captain and about 800 games experience.

●Of the team you will face on Sunday about 6 or 7 played in our VFL premiership last year, there are two first year players, and two traded-in players who nobody had heard of before this year (Biggs and Hamling). To summarise, 13 of the players in the squad were not in our rnd 23 team in 2014.

●After this week we would have played 39 players on our list including 5 first year players which which is rebuilding territory in anyone's language.

●Against Port a couple of weeks ago we fielded the least experienced side of the round (100 games less than Gold Coast!) and won by 10 goals.

●Bontempelli, Macrae, Wallis, Hunter, Dahlhaus, Daniel. This is now the backbone of our midfield and they are all 18-23!

All in all a pretty strong case.

Beveridge has done an outstanding job and it's incredible to think he was a bit of a surprise selection last year. If the coach of the year was decided now he would be a more than worthy winner and if you guys finish top 4 (which I hope you do somehow after losing tomorrow of course) he should get it.

You do have two important games to go against us and north and if results in those don't go your way you could finish as low as 7th. That would still be a great performance but if the eagles do finish 2nd in that scenario I'd think that Simpson would deserve to pip beveridge

 

[Bluke]

Pardon the intrusion but I beg to differ on this point. Luke Beveridge has an extremely strong claim on coach of the year whether or not the Dogs win this game. Here's some points to support this:

●Due to the turmoil at season's end Beveridge was not even appointed when most teams were well into pre-season training.

●With a couple of rounds to go we have the chance to make top four when 90% of 'experts' had us in their bottom four at the start of the year

●Our best player from last year Tom Liberatore did his knee in the pre-season. Clay Smith did his knee again and Koby Stevens (now a senior midfielder) has been out for several weeks.

●Some of our best and most experienced players left the club - Griffen, Cooney, Higgins, Giansiracusa retired, meaning we lost our captain and about 800 games experience.

●Of the team you will face on Sunday about 6 or 7 played in our VFL premiership last year, there are two first year players, and two traded-in players who nobody had heard of before this year (Biggs and Hamling). To summarise, 13 of the players in the squad were not in our rnd 23 team in 2014.

●After this week we would have played 39 players on our list including 5 first year players which which is rebuilding territory in anyone's language.

●Against Port a couple of weeks ago we fielded the least experienced side of the round (100 games less than Gold Coast!) and won by 10 goals.

●Bontempelli, Macrae, Wallis, Hunter, Dahlhaus, Daniel. This is now the backbone of our midfield and they are all 18-23!

All in all a pretty strong case.

As it stand, Beveridge is definitely the coach of the year. The only thing that will change that is if we go deep into the finals and the dogs don't.

 

[ep2018]

Come on Eagles

 

[Libba39]

As it stand, Beveridge is definitely the coach of the year. The only thing that will change that is if we go deep into the finals and the dogs don't.

yep, agree 100%

 

[Pat_Footy]

who cares about coach of the year

Heaps of nuffies on bigfooty care about these stupid awards. People on this board were jumping on the Naitanui criticism bandwagon over his lack of marking as if that mean't anything. The amount of stupidity that people buy into is astounding.

It's akin to cricketers thinking that 100 runs deserves ten fold the amount of praise that 99 runs does.

 

[Keys]

Heaps of nuffies on bigfooty care about these stupid awards. People on this board were jumping on the Naitanui criticism bandwagon over his lack of marking as if that mean't anything. The amount of stupidity that people buy into is astounding.

It's akin to cricketers thinking that 100 runs deserves ten fold the amount of praise that 99 runs does.

Or that a footballers hairstyle affects his ability to play

 

[larrikin]

Surely Yeo plays down back all game.

At least he won't be playing ruck

 

[Biggie]

At least he won't be playing ruck

Never say never [emoji52]

 

[WCE_phil]

Feels like a fool. Told an eagles player was playing his first game off the rookie list and assumed it was lucas (didn't realise i was tricked and it was newman who although he's played games for us not off the rookie list!)

 

[Bleedblueandgold]

At least he won't be playing ruck

Sinkers is likely to be the sole KPD, so Yeo will be the 2nd ruckman.

 

[ep2018]

Didn't they trial Sinclair as a defender in WAFL and it was a massive flop?

 

[Prem87]

Lol. Sinclair won't be playing as a defender.

We'll either bring in Barrass for Cripps or put Yeo/Rosa/Nelson back and back in our midfield to win the clearances and keep it inside our forward 50.

Really excited for the game. Win and we're so close to being top two which is a HUGE Advantage and something I didn't think we could achieve when we lost to the Hawks.

The Dogs will really test how well Simpson has evolved our zone/web since the Gold Coast tore us apart too easily.

So nervous.

 

[eaglespremiers]

Luke Beveridge has an extremely strong claim on coach of the year whether or not the Dogs win this game.

Very likely you guys will come 6th if you lose tomorrow.
Whereas we'll basically have 2nd sown up.
That difference is not insignificant.

 

[inbetween]

Or that a footballers hairstyle affects his ability to play

What? You mean to tell me it doesn't?

 

[whatis]

Another point about Beveridge, his balls on dropping campaigners.