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Originally posted by Stocka
The most impressive bit about the Bulldogs, was that they seemed enthusiastic about having a go. The younger players stuffed up on occasions, but there was certainly an air of intent about the whole side.
N.Brown was very good up forward, and will prove to be one of the hardest players to stop in the league this season.
C.Grant looks like he is set to play the "Paul Roos" role, floating across half-back and carving teams up with plenty of marks and useful forrays up the field. He was excellent at dropping back into the hole, and really had J.Brown running in circles for most of the day.
From the appearance of things, there will certainly be a fair amount of weight on the shoulders of L.Darcy, who went hard all day as the biggest Bulldog on the ground.
If Rohde can instill a strong team spirit, then this will go a long way to bringing a competitive side together, despite the perceived deficiencies of the unit. From what I saw today, players seemed fairly astute in regards to second/third efforts, and playing a meaningful role in the game. It'll take a while for the younger players to come on, and in this regard, the likes of Eagleton, Dimmatina, Garlick and the other 2nd tier players will need to lift in order to bring the strands together in the meantime. Notably though, the likes of Gilbee, Giansiracusa and co. do look somewhat bigger than from previous seasons, without having lost any pace or skill.
I reckon at time the Lions lack purpose, and there were a couple of undisciplined acts from Pike and Akermanis. The younger players, such as McLaren, Charman and McGrath were impressive with their endeavour - McGrath deserves to be given a serious run in the seniors. Notting looks to have worked on his intensity and attack on the ball, and I'm looking forward to an improved season on his part (especially consistency-wise). Caracella was involved in some useful pieces of play.
L.Power had a reasonable day, C.Johnson was good in patches, Leppitsch and Michael were steady down back, and the Scott's had a go. Ashcroft was useful, but had to be moved off of N.Brown when his pace and wit got the better of him in the 3rd. Bradshaw looked as though he has had a good hard look at his work rate, although, Voss appeared to be going at half-pace for most of the day.
The most impressive bit about the Bulldogs, was that they seemed enthusiastic about having a go. The younger players stuffed up on occasions, but there was certainly an air of intent about the whole side.
N.Brown was very good up forward, and will prove to be one of the hardest players to stop in the league this season.
C.Grant looks like he is set to play the "Paul Roos" role, floating across half-back and carving teams up with plenty of marks and useful forrays up the field. He was excellent at dropping back into the hole, and really had J.Brown running in circles for most of the day.
From the appearance of things, there will certainly be a fair amount of weight on the shoulders of L.Darcy, who went hard all day as the biggest Bulldog on the ground.
If Rohde can instill a strong team spirit, then this will go a long way to bringing a competitive side together, despite the perceived deficiencies of the unit. From what I saw today, players seemed fairly astute in regards to second/third efforts, and playing a meaningful role in the game. It'll take a while for the younger players to come on, and in this regard, the likes of Eagleton, Dimmatina, Garlick and the other 2nd tier players will need to lift in order to bring the strands together in the meantime. Notably though, the likes of Gilbee, Giansiracusa and co. do look somewhat bigger than from previous seasons, without having lost any pace or skill.
I reckon at time the Lions lack purpose, and there were a couple of undisciplined acts from Pike and Akermanis. The younger players, such as McLaren, Charman and McGrath were impressive with their endeavour - McGrath deserves to be given a serious run in the seniors. Notting looks to have worked on his intensity and attack on the ball, and I'm looking forward to an improved season on his part (especially consistency-wise). Caracella was involved in some useful pieces of play.
L.Power had a reasonable day, C.Johnson was good in patches, Leppitsch and Michael were steady down back, and the Scott's had a go. Ashcroft was useful, but had to be moved off of N.Brown when his pace and wit got the better of him in the 3rd. Bradshaw looked as though he has had a good hard look at his work rate, although, Voss appeared to be going at half-pace for most of the day.

