Lobb shines as Dogs thrash Cats at pork barrel stadium 95-48

[perro_loco]

I will say something. Some great moves in 2024 in no way make up for all the head scratchers that he's put us through over the years.

Two things can be true - Bevo has a history of being stubborn and Bevo has also made numerous good coaching moves in 2024.

Oh yes, like making Dunkley ruck, Wood full forward. Any other examples? Please add to the list. It is an interesting list. That Mr Bevo!

 

[Mojorisin]

Oh yes, like making Dunkley ruck, Wood full forward. Any other examples? Please add to the list. It is an interesting list. That Mr Bevo!

Dale to half back
Richards to forward pocket ️
Lobb to the Wing ️
Picken ditching the tag role

 

[perro_loco]

Look I fall in and out of love with Bev all the time,I desperately want to love him all the time ,but it has taken him 2 3/4 seasons to put Lobb back , by his own admission, because he is too good a player not to be in the side and there was no other spot for him.
Don’t think you can call that a master stroke!

And Richard’s , a lot of us wanted Richard’s into the mid field
I reckon you would have eventually made that switch perro when given the chance.

Yes, agreed. Look Bevo is a good coach, we are only observers and we know very little of what happens behind the scenes. Managing players is an art form and a science. I am happy to be a 'know all supporter' because I would make a terrible coach. I must say, I coached a girls soccer team for two games. Won two of the games and retired with a perfect record. So I have a better record than all AFL coaches in history.

 

[jaxie1]

Just finished watching the replay noticed when Buku had the ball sounded like booing? Was that the case

 

[Zeno The Great]

Just finished watching the replay noticed when Buku had the ball sounded like booing? Was that the case

Everyone is saying buuuuuukkkkuuu

 

[wian]

It was absolutely fantastic to see Geelong shit themselves Big Time against us and even better to see that arrogant smug prick in the coaching box have no answers against us either....

It's been a long time coming believe me

 

[weltschmerz]

Dale to half back
Richards to forward pocket ️
Lobb to the Wing ️
Picken ditching the tag role

Naughton forward

 

[Doggy]

Naughton forward View attachment 2056232

West forward

 

[jaxie1]

Everyone is saying buuuuuukkkkuuu

Thanks I was hoping that was the case

 

[Turtleman3]

Coaches Votes

Geelong v Western Bulldogs​

9 Adam Treloar (WB)
9 Rory Lobb (WB)
6 Ed Richards (WB)
2 Buku Khamis (WB)
2 Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (WB)
1 Bailey Dale (WB)
1 Tom Stewart (GEEL)

In any of the media awards voting I saw/heard on television, newspaper, and radio, the voting was unanimously Bulldogs players. I didn't see all so there may have been some that gave Geelong players votes. This one is the first I have seen awarding votes Geelong's way. I personally didn't think Stewart was in the best 5 players in this game.

 

[Whoyagot]

Lot of water to go under the bridge but if we can keep that forward quintet of Naughty, Marra, Darcy, Weightman and West together we are gonna kick big scores and be a great team to watch for 5+ years. Every player in that lineup brings something different and they are all incredible in the contest (both in the air and at ground level)

 

[X_box_X]

We haven't had a potent forward line like that since the 08-10 Eade years. The dynamic is a lot different.

Coincidentally, St Kilda also had a potent forward line in that era but their mix back then is actually very similar to our current mix in terms of an abundance of elite talls and pesky, cheeky, crafty smalls.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Naughton forward View attachment 2056232

Matthew Boyd (All-Australian season where he was about to retire under the old coach) moved to half back, hmmm

 

[GetDimmaBack]

Coaches Votes

Geelong v Western Bulldogs​

9 Adam Treloar (WB)
9 Rory Lobb (WB)
6 Ed Richards (WB)
2 Buku Khamis (WB)
2 Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (WB)
1 Bailey Dale (WB)
1 Tom Stewart (GEEL)

Looks like C Scott has in fact acknowledged the opposition...

 

[Mofra]

Naughton forward View attachment 2056232

Need to add - Matty Boyd to HB

 

[TiAn_]

Bev would be well ahead of the ledger now on positional switches, with Lobb and Richards added to the list of success stories.

 

[jdz101]

Didn't he play JOD forward?
Buku been both forward and back.
JJ a bit of everything.

 

[Next Waiting]

Lot of water to go under the bridge but if we can keep that forward quintet of Naughty, Marra, Darcy, Weightman and West together we are gonna kick big scores and be a great team to watch for 5+ years. Every player in that lineup brings something different and they are all incredible in the contest (both in the air and at ground level)

Sextet...you forgot VDM

 

[Sharpiesadog]

Sextet...you forgot VDM

A lightning quick, dare I suggest, Kosi Pickett type, would complement the others perfectly. I’d love to think Artie could be the one, but not sure he makes it at this stage.

 

[dogwatch]

Bev would be well ahead of the ledger now on positional switches, with Lobb and Richards added to the list of success stories.

Where is "the ledger" though? What is par?

There are only so many different roles for players. At its simplest it could be defender, forward, on-baller, ruck, winger. That could be divided a little further if we start talking about inside and outside mids, interceptors, pressure forwards/crumbers, lock-down defenders, running defenders etc.

When players are not performing well over a season or two and have little apparent talent (football IQ, vision, disposal, etc) and few physical advantages (like speed, leap, agility, height etc) then the choice is obvious. De-list or trade.

When players are not performing well but have obvious assets in talent and/or physical attributes then the obvious thing to do is to persevere and to try them in different roles.

So to take the first couple of examples that come to mind ...

Bailey Dale was not a consistently good forward despite having a few standout games (5, 5 and 4 goals in 2019 and 4 goals in 2017). Half-forward is acknowledged as a difficult position to play and not too many do it consistently well. But Dale had pace, marking ability and good disposal so he was certainly worth persevering with. Bevo could have experimented with him as a midfielder but we were generally well-served in that area so he tried him as a half back. Great outcome but not exactly rocket science.

Ed Richards was a high draft pick but not progressing at a great rate as a small/medium sized forward. Obvious talent and attribute though. So Bevo moved him to half back as well. Again, not stunningly original but certainly effective and credit to him for doing so. A year or two further on and quite a few here were arguing for Ed to be shifted to the midfield long before it actually happened, some of those calls being in 2023. Some, presumably including Bevo, were against it for quite a while. While very good in defence, Ed has been a revelation since moving to the midfield and has transformed the way we play. So you could argue that's a brilliant move by Bevo (or his new assistants?) or you could say it was long overdue.

We could go through the list of players who've eventually found their right spot and make arguments both ways in many of those cases. I could give some examples of failures too (all coaches have them) or experiments that went on too long (eg Gardner, maybe Daniel). But then this post would go on too long! I hope you get the idea anyway.

For any given player not measuring up to expectations in a given role there are usually only 2-3 other roles that could reasonably be tried (eg you wouldn't make Caleb Daniel a ruck or a KPP, to choose an extreme example) so a little bit of experimentation in different roles can be instructive in a short space of time. Especially if you include the opportunities afforded by pre-season games.

I'm not having a shot at Bevo here. I'm glad most of these players have eventually found a role that is productive and fulfilling. Not all of them work but some, like Naughton to KPF and Picken to on-baller/forward, have been inspired. Early days, but arguably Lobb to KPD as well. I'm just saying that any coach worth his salt should be trying these moves either for team balance or to get the most out of what appears to be a quality player who is not yet performing to expectations.

All coaches are constrained by the list they have, and within that list there may be problems of balance, injuries, chemistry, etc. The best coaches are the ones that get the very best out of their list, both as individuals and as a team. Bevo certainly did that brilliantly in 2015-16.

Since then he has good years and bad years. 2024 is now shaping into one of the better ones.

 

[TiAn_]

Where is "the ledger" though? What is par?

There are only so many different roles for players. At its simplest it could be defender, forward, on-baller, ruck, winger. That could be divided a little further if we start talking about inside and outside mids, interceptors, pressure forwards/crumbers, lock-down defenders, running defenders etc.

When players are not performing well over a season or two and have little apparent talent (football IQ, vision, disposal, etc) and few physical advantages (like speed, leap, agility, height etc) then the choice is obvious. De-list or trade.

When players are not performing well but have obvious assets in talent and/or physical attributes then the obvious thing to do is to persevere and to try them in different roles.

So to take the first couple of examples that come to mind ...

Bailey Dale was not a consistently good forward despite having a few standout games (5, 5 and 4 goals in 2019 and 4 goals in 2017). Half-forward is acknowledged as a difficult position to play and not too many do it consistently well. But Dale had pace, marking ability and good disposal so he was certainly worth persevering with. Bevo could have experimented with him as a midfielder but we were generally well-served in that area so he tried him as a half back. Great outcome but not exactly rocket science.

Ed Richards was a high draft pick but not progressing at a great rate as a small/medium sized forward. Obvious talent and attribute though. So Bevo moved him to half back as well. Again, not stunningly original but certainly effective and credit to him for doing so. A year or two further on and quite a few here were arguing for Ed to be shifted to the midfield long before it actually happened, some of those calls being in 2023. Some, presumably including Bevo, were against it for quite a while. While very good in defence, Ed has been a revelation since moving to the midfield and has transformed the way we play. So you could argue that's a brilliant move by Bevo (or his new assistants?) or you could say it was long overdue.

We could go through the list of players who've eventually found their right spot and make arguments both ways in many of those cases. I could give some examples of failures too (all coaches have them) or experiments that went on too long (eg Gardner, maybe Daniel). But then this post would go on too long! I hope you get the idea anyway.

For any given player not measuring up to expectations in a given role there are usually only 2-3 other roles that could reasonably be tried (eg you wouldn't make Caleb Daniel a ruck or a KPP, to choose an extreme example) so a little bit of experimentation in different roles can be instructive in a short space of time. Especially if you include the opportunities afforded by pre-season games.

I'm not having a shot at Bevo here. I'm glad most of these players have eventually found a role that is productive and fulfilling. Not all of them work but some, like Naughton to KPF and Picken to on-baller/forward, have been inspired. Early days, but arguably Lobb to KPD as well. I'm just saying that any coach worth his salt should be trying these moves either for team balance or to get the most out of what appears to be a quality player who is not yet performing to expectations.

All coaches are constrained by the list they have, and within that list there may be problems of balance, injuries, chemistry, etc. The best coaches are the ones that get the very best out of their list, both as individuals and as a team. Bevo certainly did that brilliantly in 2015-16.

Since then he has good years and bad years. 2024 is now shaping into one of the better ones.

I don’t think it’s as simple as plonking a player in positions until one clicks. He enabled Dale and Daniel to play half back in their own way and tolerated the trade offs inherent to their individual games.

This is coming from someone that has been right off Bev at times, particularly around some of our strategic nonsense. I was livid at times that we were playing Richards at half forward when I could see a very good half back (he was drafted as a half back, so I’m not professing some great insight). But I accepted that it was better to get AFL games into him in that role than 2-3 years of half back at VFL, if we thought others were in front of him there. Maybe he wouldn’t be quite the attacking mid he is now without that time at half forward? I also wanted us to adopt that thinking with Rhylee West and was highly annoyed we didn’t. So I’m far from a Bev fanboy.

But I do think despite the regular failures (e.g. punting Roughead when we needed KPDs, refusing to ruck Trengove when English was getting obliterated, Wood forward, JJ forward, Lobb back the first time, anything to do with McComb, etc) he has found roles for players that have turned them into guns. Ultimately, I’ll take the role player stuff ups if he keeps delivering us huge wins like Naughton forward (ballsy move given how good he was in defence)/Dale half back/Lobb in defence/Richards onball (perhaps obvious but still ballsy given how good he was at half back and we had to replace him with a delisted FA).

 

[geoffjennings79]

Looks like C Scott has in fact acknowledged the opposition...

Begrudgingly! Him writing down our players' names would have been fun to watch.