Dogs v Lions

OldSchool

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#26
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.
A good assessment Stocka
 

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Stocka

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#27
Originally posted by mel 40
I thought akers should have got reported for doing what he did to robbo.
It was late, and deserved a down-field free, but from where I viewed it (behind both players), there wasn't much more in it apart from a bump after the player had gotten rid of the ball. Still, I don't know why Akermanis involves himself in these sorts of dubious activities in the first place, as it only leaves situations open to be questioned.

There was some guy near me who went nuts about it, but I reckon he may have just been venting his frustration about having filled his pants in the line for a hot-dog (well he smelt as if he had, at least).
 

OldSchool

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#28
Has anyone checked the Bulldog website best players for todays game ?
I can agree with a few but how Hahn does not rate a mention is beyond me
 

Bulldog1954

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#29
Originally posted by Chops

Grant was BOG for me because he never made a mistake and solid as a rock(Brisbane's Brown was lost). Where did Sheehan place these two in his top 50. (Another matter-how hird got #2 on last years form/no of games is amazing)
B]


How over rated is Brown??? He will be a good player, but he isn't yet.

In 2002 Jon Brown averaged 12 disposals, a tad over 5 marks and 0.7 goals a game
In 2002 Chris Grant averaged 14.5 disposals, 5.5 marks a game and 0.8 goals a game.

Everybody thought Grant was woeful while Brown was great. The media works in strange ways. And how Hird was 2 is a joke, and where was Westy???
 

Captain Sensible

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#30
I thought Wiggins was great and provided a target until he ran out of legs.

Hahn was BOG and really lifted when the game was in the balance.

Birss was Libba like in his attack on the ball but was also Libba like in his disposal. He needs to realise that he will never be a long kicker and learn to play to his limitations.

Brown was just Brown and I was suprised to learn he had only kicked four.

Bassett had a fight on his hands with Lynch but stuck to his task and came out on top.

Darcy dominated the stop-plays but opposition players are onto his tactic of taking the ball out of the air. He needs to start tapping the ball more often.

Eagleton is sooooooooo frustrating. He now does the hard things but is making basic skill errors and really bad decisions.

Grant was brilliant across half-back. If he played Gridiron he would make a fortune as a quarter back.

Garlick was one of our best. Plays his best footy in the forward 50.

Skipper showed a bit of the promise Clayton saw in him. Did good work at both ends of the ground.


Some questions:

Bruton played well for the 'bees. Anyone see the perfect tap out to ummmm cant remember now in the last quarter?

Did Faulkner have a tagging role for Werribee today?

Is Minson injured?
 

OldSchool

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#31
Originally posted by Bulldog1954
How over rated is Brown??? He will be a good player, but he isn't yet.

In 2002 Jon Brown averaged 12 disposals, a tad over 5 marks and 0.7 goals a game
In 2002 Chris Grant averaged 14.5 disposals, 5.5 marks a game and 0.8 goals a game.

Everybody thought Grant was woeful while Brown was great. The media works in strange ways. And how Hird was 2 is a joke, and where was Westy???
My understanding is Jonathon Brown is currently a little underdone with fitness. I would love to have him at the club because in a season or two he will be a very good player
 

mel 40

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#33
Originally posted by Stocka
It was late, and deserved a down-field free, but from where I viewed it (behind both players), there wasn't much more in it apart from a bump after the player had gotten rid of the ball. Still, I don't know why Akermanis involves himself in these sorts of dubious activities in the first place, as it only leaves situations open to be questioned.

There was some guy near me who went nuts about it, but I reckon he may have just been venting his frustration about having filled his pants in the line for a hot-dog (well he smelt as if he had, at least).
Oh ok then.Well i was on the side where most people were watching the game so i probably didnt have a very good view, but from where i was it didnt look good.

Spoke to robbo after the game and he said it was a pretty hard knock.But hes tough and he can handle it.
 

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#35
I was sittin almost in line with where Robbo got the bump and from where I was lookin it looked as though Akermanis lifted his elbow and put it into the side of my head. Though I was more concerned with the way that Robbo landed than the bump.

Im bloody glad he jumped straight up and got on with the job. The ground was fairly soft so that would've helped too.

Go Robbo!
 

OldSchool

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#36
Originally posted by mel 40
Wow birssy made a few mistakes today and he knew he did as well. But he kept on giving it all he had and made up for some of them.
GO BIRSSY.:D :D
It was out of character for him to make the errors that he did today because he normally uses the ball well and is fairly decisive.
 

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mel 40

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#37
Originally posted by OldSchool
It was out of character for him to make the errors that he did today because he normally uses the ball well and is fairly decisive.
I know i was thinking the same thing when he was making them. But doesnt matter id rather him make these mistakes in prac matches than in the real stuff.But hey hes only human and he will make mistakes and he will learn from them. But the good thing today was he never gave up, even though he was making mistakes, which was good to see.
 

OldSchool

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#38
Originally posted by localyokel

Birss was Libba like in his attack on the ball but was also Libba like in his disposal. He needs to realise that he will never be a long kicker and learn to play to his limitations.
Spot on Local, he was trying to play above his limitations.
Perhaps he is under the coaches instruction to flat out attack but he was the turnover king today for us. It was a good effort that would have been far better except for the skills errors.

Re the Bees game, I will wait until Chops posts his report but one thing I will say is that Prendergast was impressive with them today. I listened to his player addresses and he was working to a plan to develop some of the players skills and fine tune some positional set-ups rather than necessarily getting a win.
 

mel 40

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#39
Originally posted by localyokel

Birss was Libba like in his attack on the ball but was also Libba like in his disposal. He needs to realise that he will never be a long kicker and learn to play to his limitations.
Have to agree with you on that one.
 

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Thread starter #40
Originally posted by Bulldog1954
How over rated is Brown??? He will be a good player, but he isn't yet.

he is not over rated at all

forget all the dribble and hysteria created by Mike Sheahans 50. If we had J.Brown in our line up we would all be drooling. He is the CHF of the new millenium.
 

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#44
Originally posted by The Doctor
he is not over rated at all

forget all the dribble and hysteria created by Mike Sheahans 50. If we had J.Brown in our line up we would all be drooling. He is the CHF of the new millenium.
He will be a champion, but from what you hear in the media you'd think he already was. 15 goals from a permanent forward last season would suggest he is not there yet. How often have you heard anyone say he had a disappointing season??? At the moment Tredrea, Whitnall and Rocca are all considerably better
 

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#45
Originally posted by Stocka
It was late, and deserved a down-field free, but from where I viewed it (behind both players), there wasn't much more in it apart from a bump after the player had gotten rid of the ball. Still, I don't know why Akermanis involves himself in these sorts of dubious activities in the first place, as it only leaves situations open to be questioned.

There was some guy near me who went nuts about it, but I reckon he may have just been venting his frustration about having filled his pants in the line for a hot-dog (well he smelt as if he had, at least).
After the game Robbo played charades with Akermanis, like 'whats with the elbow?', and Aker is like 'more of a forearm, sorry mate'.
 

stefoid

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#46
Originally posted by OldSchool
It was out of character for him to make the errors that he did today because he normally uses the ball well and is fairly decisive.
hes inexperienced, and should get better with every game.

Q: is he trying to look like our version of John Platten, or Yahoo Serious?
 

OldSchool

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#47
Originally posted by stefoid
hes inexperienced, and should get better with every game.

Q: is he trying to look like our version of John Platten, or Yahoo Serious?
:) Whilst he is inexperienced he has gone backwards in some areas from last season. Trying to do too much and as Local pointed out, trying to play above his limitations.
 

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#48
This was in the age, just thought you might like to have a read.



Dogs stand up to Lions
By Melissa Ryan
March 16 2003





It might only have been a practice match, but putting in a strong display against the reigning premier is always uplifting for a team, and for the Western Bulldogs yesterday, the task against Brisbane was as much about riding out the bumps as attacking the scoreboard.

Of the bumps, there were many. Brisbane, regarded as the most physically intimidating team in the competition, brought its fierce brand of physicality to Whitten Oval and while the Lions hammered away, the Bulldogs withstood the challenge to win by three goals, 12.14 (86) to 9.14 (68).

Just to pick out a few of those flesh-smacking moments: Alastair Lynch squashed Mark Alvey in a tackle, Chris Johnson delivered a bruising hip-and-shoulder to Brad Johnson, Brownlow medallist Jason Akermanis earned the wrath of the Bulldogs crowd when he cleaned up Matthew Robbins, while Martin Pike was into Mitchell Hahn.

Brad Johnson suffered a bruised shoulder in that first-quarter collision and spent the rest of the game off the field, but coach Peter Rohde said the injury was minor and Johnson could have returned if premiership points had been up for grabs.

The Bulldogs' refusal to be intimidated was one of the most pleasing aspects of the performance for Rohde, as a swirling breeze at the Geelong Road end of Whitten Oval made goalkicking a chancy prospect, the wind whisking away many shots at goal and rendering them ineffective.


"Yeah, there's no doubt (the Lions tried to intimidate the Bulldogs). Essendon gave it to us a bit last week and probably got away with it a bit. I think it was pretty important that our blokes stand up and they certainly stood up under pressure," Rohde said.

"I think Brisbane are a pretty tough, hard footy team and you really expect that when you go out against them. I was really pleased with the way our blokes fought on. I thought Mitch Hahn, for example, who struggled a bit early on, really stepped up later in the game and was very good physically himself and that's what we need."

The most controversial moment of yesterday's match came in the second term, when the Lions gave away three consecutive 50-metre penalties, bringing Robbins from just outside his defensive 50-metre arc to the goal line.

The undisciplined sequence - the first given for not throwing the ball back, the second for pushing and shoving, and the third against Chris Scott for arguing with the umpire - left Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews fuming.

"It was very poor," Matthews said. "We've given a 120-metre penalty, so I don't think you can be too happy with that."

The Bulldogs had opened up a 20-point lead by quarter-time and the Lions dominated the second quarter in catching up until their big infringement allowed Robbins to steady the scores.

In the third term, the familiar figure of Nathan Brown came to the rescue, kicking three of his four goals in that quarter to hand the Dogs a 21-point lead at the last break.

Captain Chris Grant was strong in defence, his marking defusing a number of potentially worrying situations for the Bulldogs. Scott West had racked up 11 possessions by quarter-time and finished with more than 30 for the day, while Hahn, Simon Garlick and Robert Murphy were among those in strong support roles.

Meanwhile, for the Lions, Michael Voss was bullish as ever, Simon Black was ready with the hard handball, Chris Johnson was busy and Luke Power proved to be a pivotal link. But, with round one only two weeks away, Matthews noted room for improvement.

"We got beaten on the scoreboard, we didn't get smashed, we didn't play well, we made too many errors in the game itself," he said.

"You get to this stage of the year and, rightly or wrongly, everyone's just worried about two weeks' time. We've got through unscathed injury-wise and that's probably the most important thing that you get out of this kind of game today."
 
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#49
Originally posted by OldSchool
Dogs v Lions

Strong swirly wind to the Barkly Street end
Traditional 6 man forward set-up for both teams.
Noticeable outs: Bandy, Johnson injured shoulder early

1st Q line up for the interstaters/country/overseas fans
Robbins Bassett Kretiuk
Smith Grant Murphy
Alvey West Eagleton
Johnno Skipper Harro :)
Garlick Wiggins Brown
Darcy Hahn Guido
Inter: Numerous

Match ups: Alvey-Pike, Bassett-Lynch, Leppa-Skip, Smith on Voss when he went forward, Kretiuk-Bradshaw.

Pro's: Solid team effort and had most of the Lions prime movers covered.
Wiggins leading and marking (First Goal)
Harro and Skipper good targets across half forward
Garlick doing OK on the forward line
Hahn contesting well in the midfield
Cons: Birss made some silly skill errors when he came on

2nd Q line up
Robbins Bassett Kretiuk
Guido Grant Smith
Murphy West Alvey
Harro Skipper Eagleton
Garlick Wiggins Brown
Darcy Hahn Birss

Pro's: Eagle doing some good work defensively up forward
Wiggo strong mark, good contests
Harro providing a target up forward
Smith quality use of the ball
Grant great mark in time on
Robbo great tackle also received 3x50m penalties then goal after a Pike/Darcy dust up
Hahn solid effort
Cons: Once again Birss skill errors
Pike cutting Alvey apart

3rd Q line up

Robbins Bassett Kretiuk
Smith Grant Hargrave
Alvey West Dimma
Harro Skipper Eagleton
Brown Wiggins Garlick
Darcy Hahn Birss
Guido, Murphy off

Pro's: Hahn strong attack on the ball
Kretiuk imposing his will on the game with some timely marks
Grant solid
Browny getting plenty of attention (playing well)
Wiggo providing a target
Skipper into the ruck, OK

Cons: Eagle getting frustrated
Birss critical error, turnover

4th Q line up
Robbins Bassett Kretiuk
Murphy Grant Hargrave
Dimma West Gilbee
Eagle Harro Guido
Brown Wiggins Garlick
Darcy Hahn Birss

Match ups Murphy on Brennan (first time on) then Kretiuk
Note: Lions lifting the tempo but the Dogs are answering
Pro's: Birss lifted game
Guido mark and goal
Skipper mark and goal
Solid team effort
Cons: Darcy injured and off for a while Skipper into the ruck

Overall a good day for the coach and the team.
Rohde got his match-ups right and Lethal was constantly changing his line up.
Wiggins provided a good target up forward and our new look forward line with Harro as a third tall worked well. Brown and Garlick did a great job as crumbing and leading smalls
Our defence was solid and Grant, Bassett, Robbins, Smith and Kretiuk all worked hard.
Darcy was effective without dominating although the wind conditions played their part.

Enjoyed the day
So was Browny up forward the whole game? did he have a go in the midfield?

Also Garlick, was he up forward the whole game too? Did he do any good?
 

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#50
thanks for reports

Thanks for reports guys & gals - especially OldSchool. Wish I'd been there but the reports here are a lot better than the papers.

Anyway 2 blokes who were not mentioned:
Sam Power
Patrick Bowden

Did they play for the bees? Any reports?
 
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