Analysis Five Things We Have Learned

[fargy]

As I've said before. Bulldogs supporters won't be happy until the Dogs win the Premiership. Everything else is worthless.
Don't accept mediocrity!

This is true! I don't have a problem with it, it's more of an observation. We all watch footy for different reasons, not one of those reasons is wrong. I'm gonna be positive about our footy team cause I watch footy to enjoy it. Even when we are struggling, there are always some positives to take away from it, and I choose to view it that way (I hope that isn't accepting mediocrity )

 

[Mutt]

Thank you Mutt I appreciate the support

If you look back over the past few weeks I've agreed with several of your posts MD. I'm happy to support you when I agree with your opinion and I'm also happy to admit when I'm wrong (eg Brendan McCartney.) It puzzles me though that you are always looking for a fight with me. It's your life though - do what you want I suppose.

 

[DexterTan]

Reading all this rubbish, I cannot wait to have a crack at the opening odds on offer for the Bulldogs, for the Adelaide game on Sunday. I have had very nice wins on the punt first two rounds, funny thing Did not have a bet on Sunday ?????
Why would you with your 3 best players out from previous week out, surprise they will all be back next week including Wood.
We did not to expect to win on Sunday, but I believe Adelaide next week a different story, we have targeted Adelaide as a win. I BELIEVE WE WILL DEFEAT ADELAIDE NEXT SUNDAY.
That with my poor Judement leaves us 3 wins out of 4 ???? the charter assassination on the above posts amazes me, most are young players who have had outstanding starts to their careers.
Playing AFL / VFL a little bit harder than posting on Big Footy.
Beveridge is very smart, surprise, surprise a few will probably discreetly miss the following week against Sydney in Sydney.
We have a very young list that has to be mangaged very carefully
Then we will set ourselves to have a serious crack at Fremantle, Melbourne and the Giants.
Our aim would be 5 wins 3 losses, sounds pretty good to me.
We have a Professional Coach now, KPI's to be met. It may not work out, but we are going to have a red hot crack at it.
Western Bulldogs are going along very well, two out of three ain't bad.
Reading most of the above posts, that's it.
GO DOGGIES.

I dunno man, all that analysis and different ways to say a person playing for your club is worthless, does take quite a bit of work!

 

[DexterTan]

If you look back over the past few weeks I've agreed with several of your posts MD. I'm happy to support you when I agree with your opinion and I'm also happy to admit when I'm wrong (eg Brendan McCartney.) It puzzles me though that you are always looking for a fight with me. It's your life though - do what you want I suppose.

I've got MD on ignore. You should try it. Reading BF is so peaceful.

 

[100action]

the problem with having MD on ignore is you have pages and pages of people seemingly having conversations with thin air.

 

[Unorth]

Well running with the theme this is what I've learnt thus far

1: Something I hoped that would have improved from last season is set shots...We're still pretty much hopeless at that with maybe 2 or 3 exceptions. It's hard to watch when Stringer or Dahl go up for a set shot, among others.

2: Macrae had to play against the midfield of the 2x reigning premiers without any one of Griff, Libba, Boyd or Bonti for what I assume is the first time in his career.

3: I think Stringer is in the process of backing himself in a little more; McCartney's ways were very anti-flair, restricting the creativity. Of course he was doing some crazy things last season but it's now on him to learn when to take the risk or when to do the safe option.

4: Ayce Cordy has had a long time in the system now. 7 years is more than what most get. It shouldn't be any more than 7. While I'm at it yes, ruck is a big issue. Interesting to see how they go about solving the problem. Which is a shame as in 2013 Campbell had some pretty solid performances.

5: I like the way Webb goes about it. If all the other draftees from 2014 play like him we'll be in a nice position; even if we can't play all of our short fellas (Not just the ones we drafted last year...Hrovat, Honeychurch etc) some of them might make for good trade assets down the line if they show their talent.

 

[Wizard17]

the problem with having MD on ignore is you have pages and pages of people seemingly having conversations with thin air.

Thin air seems like he likes starting fights over nothing

Reminds me of something...

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Your point about our ruck division is spot on. Definitely a key area to be addressed and arguably the most important area to address now that we seem to have two developing key backs. I think there is a history of ruckmen moving and helping clubs push for premierships. I'm not sure if it's purely coincidental but I think of Jolly, Hale, Ryder and McEvoy as examples. Hopefully we can get one like that because I can't see one on our list and if we are 3-4 years off seriously contending, the one we potentially draft next year probably won't be ready.

Point 4 I think, is so, so far off the mark and unfair to the players mentioned. So far off the mark. I will elaborate on Stringer because I think his case is the easiest to explain. He is learning the game of football and he is learning how to play the game at the elite level. In doing so, he is playing in many different positions and has many different roles within the team from week to week. It's still about development and learning. E could play Soley inside 50 and be a very good player in that role for his career. But what happens in a prelim in 2019 when he has to go back and hasn't got the experience and knowledge of how to play in that role? I like the idea of him spending time on ball and inside defensive 50 for the development of his game.

I think he more than anyone epitomises where we are as a club at the moment. Youthful, exciting and at his best plays some breathtaking footy. But every now and then he will play a game that reminds us he's still a pup and that he's not quite ready to be a star of the game... Much like us at the weekend.

 

[TMoney22]

Good point about a Ruckman. We pretty much have to trade one in. If we draft one it could be too late by the time they are ready. We probably need to draft one and trade one in once Cordy is delisted. Use our second rounder to draft a good ruck prospect.

T.Boyd is going to have a lot of quiet games. I think its good for him to play a bit of ruck and get around the ground. He has good skills and decision making.

 

[dogwatch]

There seems to be some misunderstanding re point 4 in the OP:
By "stalled" I did NOT mean they have gone backwards or are playing bad footy. Some seem to have interpreted it that way. Perhaps it would have been clearer if I'd said their trajectory has stalled. I simply meant they have plateau'd for the time being when I had expected they would be going on to another level. I had expected these three (and Bonti) to be the engine room of our side's improvement in 2015. Instead that improvement has come mostly in other areas and from other players (which has been a revelation!)

They seem to be a touch off their best of 2014 but have still played some good footy. Most of those who say they disagree with point 4 have backed up my point by giving the various reasons that their form has plateau'd.

I still have the expectation that Stringer and Hrovat will move to another level in 2015. There's certainly plenty of time for them to do exactly that. I'd be happy if Macrae can just reproduce his 2014 form and maybe add a bit more of a defensive edge - he has acknowledged the need for that himself.

 

[immortalmike]

Prudden going down to Tassie suggests he's not all that far off it, even if it followed an injury to Boyd.

I don't think it's out of line to suggest the 2012 class has stalled. Granted, Prudden seems to have progressed and Hrovat & Hunter have had issues with injury/Gamblore, but Stringer and Macrae are on a steeper learning curve & struggling a little bit, even if their stats are okay.

It can be a valid observation without being a criticism.

This Simpsons reference will not go unnoticed!

 

[womble54]

1. We are playing exciting dynamic footy under Bev. He has done an extraordinary job revamping the side with some key decisions paying off - Talia, Matty Boyd etc

2. We beat Richmond and Kennedy finally didn't kick a bag against an undersized bulldogs defence. Yeah to both. Lolcarlton

3. We have more depth than many believed with Jong and Wallis filling midfield gaps nicely - well done boys!

4. Cordy is cooked and we need a ruck and a CHF. Tricky but we'll have to piecemeal this all year and then try to let out A team list/draft gurus try to address.

5. Tom Boyd kicked 3 on B Lake / Hawthorn. Extraordinary development for so many reasons. He's also shown good signs in other games. We can get a little excited I think.

5.(I) We lost a game with a stupid amount of injuries against the current premiers. We have still had a great start to the year and even if Adelaide and Sydney beat us we have still had a great start the year. Libba and Clay are on their way back to help us and we add Wallis, Morris, Wood, Bontempelli and Boyd back at some point and I'd actually kind of crave a rematch against the sniping dawks.

Assessment: feeling kinda good

 

[Dazb86]

I think the next few weeks will teach us a lot about our depth players. A few guys that rely on other players to play well got a little found out over the weekend.

 

[Clay]

We've found two quality young key position players (Talia, Boyd) compared with three games ago. So that's a massive plus.

 

[littlenails]

I've got MD on ignore. You should try it. Reading BF is so peaceful.

Hi DexterTan
I don't know whether it is good to have MD on ignore. He is the number one character of this website I reckon. He provides lots of material for people to argue with.

 

[King Harold]

If you look back over the past few weeks I've agreed with several of your posts MD. I'm happy to support you when I agree with your opinion and I'm also happy to admit when I'm wrong (eg Brendan McCartney.) It puzzles me though that you are always looking for a fight with me. It's your life though - do what you want I suppose.

Don't feel special Mutt , MD has had all of us in his sights at some stage.
But you are right , no big deal to be proven wrong. MD has been proven correct well and truly regarding Macca.
I have to admit playing Goodes this year has not been a great move so far. MD along with others have been anti Goodes all along , so they are in front on that issue.
But plenty of these same blokes including MD , told me also Jong wouldn't be on any other list around the competition.
They are all remarkably quiet these days regarding Jong !

 

[JJHunter]

Reading all this rubbish, I cannot wait to have a crack at the opening odds on offer for the Bulldogs, for the Adelaide game on Sunday. I have had very nice wins on the punt first two rounds, funny thing Did not have a bet on Sunday ?????
Why would you with your 3 best players out from previous week out, surprise they will all be back next week including Wood.
We did not to expect to win on Sunday, but I believe Adelaide next week a different story, we have targeted Adelaide as a win. I BELIEVE WE WILL DEFEAT ADELAIDE NEXT SUNDAY.
That with my poor Judement leaves us 3 wins out of 4 ???? the charter assassination on the above posts amazes me, most are young players who have had outstanding starts to their careers.
Playing AFL / VFL a little bit harder than posting on Big Footy.
Beveridge is very smart, surprise, surprise a few will probably discreetly miss the following week against Sydney in Sydney.
We have a very young list that has to be mangaged very carefully
Then we will set ourselves to have a serious crack at Fremantle, Melbourne and the Giants.
Our aim would be 5 wins 3 losses, sounds pretty good to me.
We have a Professional Coach now, KPI's to be met. It may not work out, but we are going to have a red hot crack at it.
Western Bulldogs are going along very well, two out of three ain't bad.
Reading most of the above posts, that's it.
GO DOGGIES.

I agree with all that black pup and suggest you are right about player management. Problem is you still need to beat Adelaide.
We can have players available and set for the game but actually get over the line is another thing.

 

[DexterTan]

Don't feel special Mutt , MD has had all of us in his sights at some stage.
But you are right , no big deal to be proven wrong. MD has been proven correct well and truly regarding Macca.
I have to admit playing Goodes this year has not been a great move so far. MD along with others have been anti Goodes all along , so they are in front on that issue.
But plenty of these same blokes including MD , told me also Jong wouldn't be on any other list around the competition.
They are all remarkably quiet these days regarding Jong !

Imagine if these people did something wrong at work. Would they take responsibility for their error or blame someone else?

 

[farstrider]

Don't feel special Mutt , MD has had all of us in his sights at some stage.
But you are right , no big deal to be proven wrong. MD has been proven correct well and truly regarding Macca.
I have to admit playing Goodes this year has not been a great move so far. MD along with others have been anti Goodes all along , so they are in front on that issue.
But plenty of these same blokes including MD , told me also Jong wouldn't be on any other list around the competition.
They are all remarkably quiet these days regarding Jong !

He's not that quiet about Jong actually, he strangely still thinks he was right about him and that he's not playing well. That's the difference for me - most of us here can admit when we're wrong (Macca a big example), he doesn't seem to be able to.

 

[Bont2Bruce]

1. The depth of our list is still quite shallow, but the top end talent is ridiculous.

2. Ayce Cordy is the new Liam Jones, only without the ability to take a mark or get a kick.

3. When we bring our best tackling pressure for 4 quarters, we can beat any side.

4. Luke Beveridge is a man with a plan.

5. Rumours of Matthew Boyd's demise in 2014 were greatly exaggerated.

 

[black pup]

I agree with all that black pup and suggest you are right about player management. Problem is you still need to beat Adelaide.
We can have players available and set for the game but actually get over the line is another thing.

JJ, That's up to us now are we good enough, if we are I believe we can make the eight, Sunday's result could very easily shape our season. Very important game for us.

 

[womble54]

JJ, That's up to us now are we good enough, if we are I believe we can make the eight, Sunday's result could very easily shape our season. Very important game for us.

Totally agree but I could live with getting within 5 goals of Adelaide and I'd be very very happy. In before....that is NOT accepting mediocrity. Our best are absolute kids hitting a team that is coming into its prime in Adelaide. If we beat Adelaide this week I will get super excited about the remainder of the year. I'm already excited about the coming ones!

 

[Dazb86]

If Wallis is out we'll really struggle IMO.

 

[paul scholes]

Prudden going down to Tassie suggests he's not all that far off it, even if it followed an injury to Boyd.

I don't think it's out of line to suggest the 2012 class has stalled. Granted, Prudden seems to have progressed and Hrovat & Hunter have had issues with injury/Gamblore, but Stringer and Macrae are on a steeper learning curve & struggling a little bit, even if their stats are okay.

It can be a valid observation without being a criticism.

Agree . The class of 2012 hasn't stalled, and yes it was a bad day.
Bit harsh on Hrovat considering he's been in the stands the majority of his fledging career . I think Prudden will get a crack at some stage . We got bashed up by a bigger tougher more experienced team . Period

 

[Simon82]

I will like to land zac smith from goals coast somehow. Maybe a second round pick and a player.. A think he is the type of Ruck man perfect for us.. Anyone agree?