Preview Changes vs Melbourne

[AJARWA]

He is such a whipping boy here. Saw in the paper that he has averaged like 430m meters gained this year. Only 2 players ahead of him. JJ and Murphy.

A few clubs he would be their #1 ranked player by a mile.

Obviously just one statistic, but it's what he is in the team for.

'Obviously just one statistic'... says it all really. He's a one dimensional spud. Only getting a game because Webb and Williams are raw. He should be miles ahead of those two at this stage of his career. There's good reason he was sub in his last GF at the hawks. Can't handle the heat. But obviously needed atm w Bob and Moyd slowing down while the 2xW come on. Like Jong, Suckling being a lock each week is a good indication of why we're in the middle of the pack this year.

 

[perro_loco]

Hu

On Nexus 6P using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[TempleKelvington]

Ins are good, Morris we needed him back so bad. Great to see Libber in and from rewarded with Cordy and Honeychurch getting gigs. Boyd Roughy ruck combo back together for just the second time this year is very welcome.

How they use Honey will be interesting, clearly we are not doing well on the inside so we bring in 2 specialists in that area, perhaps Dalhaus can spend time forward to bring the pressure there.

Hopefully we can settle this team down now over the next 3 weeks which I believe are massive 3 weeks against teams we can beat at home. If we do we set up our season, if don't, we're in trouble.

 

[The Original Swooper]

He is such a whipping boy here. Saw in the paper that he has averaged like 430m meters gained this year. Only 2 players ahead of him. JJ and Murphy.

A few clubs he would be their #1 ranked player by a mile.

Obviously just one statistic, but it's what he is in the team for.

Hey, I'm a JJ fan, but that stat ( like most) can be deceiving. Roosting a ball 50m forward to an opponent who takes an uncontested mark may have gained 50m but its effect was ????

 

[bresker]

Metres gained would be a useful stat if the playing field was 10000m long and you had to race to one end to score. But as it stands, metres gained only matters if the end result is a goal to your team. I suppose you could apply that to many stats but particularly this one.

My hatred for him is irrational, but my feelings towards Suckling are reaching MD/Jong levels. It sickens me that he never gets dropped while harder tougher players do. I've disliked him from the start. There's something arrogant about his trust in his left boot, which isn't nearly as reliable as he thinks it is. He could chase harry and tackle a lot harder. Feel free to disagree, I'd love to be more positive. I usually try to be positive and support all our players but I've never been able to warm to him. He's an albatross around the neck of our team and we won't play well until he's dropped.

 

[Fossie 32]

Metres gained would be a useful stat if the playing field was 10000m long and you had to race to one end to score. But as it stands, metres gained only matters if the end result is a goal to your team. I suppose you could apply that to many stats but particularly this one.

My hatred for him is irrational, but my feelings towards Suckling are reaching MD/Jong levels. It sickens me that he never gets dropped while harder tougher players do. I've disliked him from the start. There's something arrogant about his trust in his left boot, which isn't nearly as reliable as he thinks it is. He could chase harry and tackle a lot harder. Feel free to disagree, I'd love to be more positive. I usually try to be positive and support all our players but I've never been able to warm to him. He's an albatross around the neck of our team and we won't play well until he's dropped.

FWIW a couple of weeks ago at least he was ranked 5th in our total possies and 5th in disposal efficiency from memory ......

 

[ossie_21]

The issue is Suckling is playing as a defender, when he should be wing or forward of that

 

[Golden_6]

The issue is Suckling is playing as a defender, when he should be wing or forward of that

The thing is with the way teams press so high up the ground, Bevo wants him to be the zone breaker and be able to pin point kicks from the backline that open the field up through the midfield.

 

[dogzrule]

The issue is Suckling is playing as a defender, when he should be wing or forward of that

And he is crap one on one so sides just play him tight and give him no room to kick. He is better off as a high half forward if he is not breaking the lines with his kicking


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[BRWB]

And he is crap one on one so sides just play him tight and give him no room to kick. He is better off as a high half forward if he is not breaking the lines with his kicking


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

Compounding that is that Suckling's hands are also seemingly incredibly slow for a mid type, meaning he gets caught a lot.

I kind of like Suckling despite his flaws. For me he's an all cream no cake player. But playing like we are now, we are without a cake, meaning Suckers becomes just a puddle of cream...

 

[House_of_Dahl]

The issue is Suckling is playing as a defender, when he should be wing or forward of that

The bigger (BF) issue is that he came from another club so gets a harder time than our own.

 

[perro_loco]

Sorry to change the subject a bit. Currently in Valparaiso city in Chile. A mate of mine is a Chilean/Aussie and is in the process to set up the Valparaiso Kangaroos to play in the Chilean AFL league. The game is spreading which is good. Anyway, greetings to all of you and barrack hard on Sunday. Will try to listen to the game. Go Dogs and smack those demons!!!

On Nexus 6P using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Proffessor]

I'm a fan of Suckling, although I appreciate his form has been patchy, I'm more than happy that he hasn't been dropped.

I think people often fail to appreciate that one of our major weaknesses as a team is our kicking. Only a handful of our current team can kick over the proverbial jam tin. Suckling, Bontempelli and JJ are the only players that can kick with any penetration over long distances.

Combining this weakness with our lack of marking targets means that if these three players are covered by the opposition, they don't need to worry about defending the long ball and they can focus all their defensive pressure around the ball and/or one short kick away.

Our three long kicks are all struggling a little bit because they are receiving a lot of attention, and are also trying to go for their long kicks too often, purely because the team desperately needs them to try and break up our opponents defensive structures.

I quite like our team selection this week and am looking forward to an improved showing tomorrow.

Go Dogs!

 

[dogwatch]

The bigger (BF) issue is that he came from another club so gets a harder time than our own.

Lin Jong says hello. So do Ayce Cordy, Gia, Liam Jones, Eagleton and a host of other well-flagellated WBs.

 

[dogwatch]

One of my concerns about Suckling is he has no ability or confidence in his right foot. When savvy opponents box him in on his left side he's stuffed.

For someone to be considered an elite kicker they at least should be competent on their non-preferred side, no matter how good they are on their preferred foot.

 

[House_of_Dahl]

Lin Jong says hello. So do Ayce Cordy, Gia, Liam Jones, Eagleton and a host of other well-flagellated WBs.

Yeah it's not exclusive and some of our supporters definitely attack our own unfortunately, but I'm pretty sure trade ins often get judged more harshly than our own. Obviously a few exceptions
like if they are super cheap/discards.

 

[cecil]

Lin Jong says hello. So do Ayce Cordy, Gia, Liam Jones, Eagleton and a host of other well-flagellated WBs.

One of these is not like the others...

 

[Barkly St End]

Compounding that is that Suckling's hands are also seemingly incredibly slow for a mid type, meaning he gets caught a lot.

I kind of like Suckling despite his flaws. For me he's an all cream no cake player. But playing like we are now, we are without a cake, meaning Suckers becomes just a puddle of cream...

Yeh, when we're on song, I find Suckling looks slow in decision-making and execution.

Also, he has a sweet left foot, great attacking weapon, but he success rate at hitting the footy sweetly is not what it should be, it needs to be higher if he wants to be a regular.

 

[dogwatch]

One of these is not like the others...

Ah yes, Eags was an import, right? And bald!

 

[Pugz89]

Sorry to change the subject a bit. Currently in Valparaiso city in Chile. A mate of mine is a Chilean/Aussie and is in the process to set up the Valparaiso Kangaroos to play in the Chilean AFL league. The game is spreading which is good. Anyway, greetings to all of you and barrack hard on Sunday. Will try to listen to the game. Go Dogs and smack those demons!!!

On Nexus 6P using BigFooty.com mobile app

Bulldogs>Kangaroos

 

[perro_loco]

My mate is a Kangaroos fan. Don't worry but I Remind him of his shortcomings. His wife told him he should barrack for the Dogs!!!

On Nexus 6P using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Dry Rot]

Who is the emergency for tomorrow?

 

[DelRe]

Metres gained would be a useful stat if the playing field was 10000m long and you had to race to one end to score. But as it stands, metres gained only matters if the end result is a goal to your team. I suppose you could apply that to many stats but particularly this one.

I think your last line is important; I don't think you can discount metres gained just because it doesn't end in a goal. Plenty can go wrong on the end of the kick. That said, is the metres gained stat literally only that? Does it take account of where it lands or who gets the next possession? Even if it was it still has some value in a relative context - e.g. compared to what other half backs are doing (but would be enhanced by what the outcome/effectiveness was). I see him and JJ as high risk / high reward players though, so you have to take the good with the bad.

As for Suckling specifically, he seems to becoming a caricature of himself with some of those 45 degree angle kicks across his body, so I can see why he's frustrating. I don't remember it being so pronounced at Hawthorn.

And irrational (not malicious) dislike of a player is perfectly valid; in fact I'd say it's as much the lifeblood of footy as the opposite. Can you imagine the atmosphere at a game if we all sat there objectively viewing the game!

 

[Ozil]

Game day.

Between the ten day break and the pasting we copped it feels like a billion years since our last.

Time to come out snarling.