Preview Round 10 - Essendon Bombers vs Footascray Bulladogs - Saturday May 17th - 7:35pm at Marvel Stadium

[Happyskeret]

If we win this game the lids off for me .

 

[brutus76]

They're coming back from Darwin then have a 5 day break (4 days rest) before the Cats game then their BYE

So i reckon they'll rest a few and get some fresh legs into the team

I can see Busslinger, Oskar Baker

13

Oskar Baker

Age

27

Ht

184cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.8

4star

K

8.8

3star

HB

5.0

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.7

4star

MG

277.8

4star

No current season stats available

D

16.0

4star

K

10.8

4star

HB

5.2

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

2.0

4star

MG

333.6

5star

and Anthony Scott getting a game next week

Vandermeer's calf might be a month, Gallagher did sweet FA before being subbed, Lobb is lost and got pantsed by King who couldn't kick straight and Khamis no offense is not a FF and will need to play on Caddy or 2MP

Vigo should play for us - as should Tsatas. The Guelf probably gets a go

Langers still looks half fit - Kako maybe a freshen up before Dreamtime at the G

 

[eth-dog]

I'd have Johnson for Hayes. I want Tsatas in but it's hard to drop Setterfield after yesterday

 

[eth-dog]

Also: teams coming off GC in Darwin are 1-5. Adelaide the exception

 

[gillon]

Nothing would be more on brand for us than to leap into the top 8 with a terrible percentage in the first half of the season.

Wouldn’t be surprised if we win but lid will come off for me when we have a percentage above 100.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

It has felt for a while we might fall off the cliff but we have been hanging around and winning. Saying this, I feel a belting is due and we will be on the receiving end unfortunately.

 

[hurlygurdy]

Shit is going to slip away real quick sometime soon. Tougher run of opposition coming up will probably lead to some bad losses which will kill the spirit. Too young and inexperienced to deal with the better teams week in week out. Really needed a good run with injuries this year to build momentum at the club.

 

[hurlygurdy]

Clean hands and clearances would have been most helpful in that second half. Nothing against ADW's game but it's hard to understand how he contributes more to Essendon winning than Tsatas.

By filling a need?

 

[JayJ20]

Shit is going to slip away real quick sometime soon. Tougher run of opposition coming up will probably lead to some bad losses which will kill the spirit. Too young and inexperienced to deal with the better teams week in week out. Really needed a good run with injuries this year to build momentum at the club.

It has felt for a while we might fall off the cliff but we have been hanging around and winning. Saying this, I feel a belting is due and we will be on the receiving end unfortunately.

I don't know why people don't get it after all of these years. It's not some arbitrary point that we fall off.

It's simple. We fall off the cliff when we play Geelong. Season is alive before that. Season is dead after that.

 

[DallasCrane316]

Think this one will be tough for us. Doggies usually have us beat at Marvel, and they really are in great form.

I’m still enjoying seeing the development of our younger players.

Hayes out so you would think they’ll bring in Laverde. Doggies don’t have a tall forwardline right now, but we’d probably want to free up Reid in the backline and have Laverde and McKay do lockdown roles.

However, would be rapt if we went with more speed instead and brought Johnson in for a debut.

Not sure how Guelfi and Cox are tracking in VFL and if they would be a consideration at all?

 

[ydc55]

In Johnson
Out hayes

I would make day wicks sub.
Guelfi and laverde will be looked at I reckon.

 

[Bjchan13]

B McGrath McKay Laverde
HB Redman Reid Roberts
C Duursma Setterfield Martin
HF Merrett Caddy Perkins
F Kako Wright Day-Wicks
R Goldstein Caldwell Durham
INT Langford Shiel Hobbs Prior
SUB El Hawli

OUT Hayes
IN Laverde

 

[andleanback]

Durham v bont round 2

 

[Atavistic]

OUT: Hayes, ADW.
IN: Z Johnson, Guelfi.

Nothing against ADW though. I think he's been good in the VFL this year, and better than expected.

 

[JayJ20]

I haven't really watched Bulldogs games this year. For those that have, how did they get better than last year with more injuries?

 

[thebigboy]

Think this one will be tough for us. Doggies usually have us beat at Marvel, and they really are in great form.

I’m still enjoying seeing the development of our younger players.

Hayes out so you would think they’ll bring in Laverde. Doggies don’t have a tall forwardline right now, but we’d probably want to free up Reid in the backline and have Laverde and McKay do lockdown roles.

However, would be rapt if we went with more speed instead and brought Johnson in for a debut.

Not sure how Guelfi and Cox are tracking in VFL and if they would be a consideration at all?

The VFL having the bye again this coming week might impact selection a bit.

Johnson didn’t play on the weekend (carryover sub?) which doesn’t do him any favours if he doesn’t get picked this week. The bye might also help someone like Guelfi get a game considering you’d imagine Scott & co. have him in the best 22 and not having a competitive game doesn’t help him coming back in at some point soon.

 

[fairbump_playon]

Shit is going to slip away real quick sometime soon. Tougher run of opposition coming up will probably lead to some bad losses which will kill the spirit. Too young and inexperienced to deal with the better teams week in week out. Really needed a good run with injuries this year to build momentum at the club.

This is correct, and I’m concerned that narrow wins against struggling clubs may have distracted the faithful from the reality that we are a bottom six club still. Particularly with our injury list.

I’m pleased with our kids and our commitment. But we were bottom six before the season, we will be bottom six at the end of the season.

This moment is a familiar little bump of mid year hope. Enjoy it but don’t let it break your heart.

 

[Milanista28]

I haven't really watched Bulldogs games this year. For those that have, how did they get better than last year with more injuries?

They look happier for one, Jamarra and Smith out might be helping in that regard, also Matt Kennedy has been a huge in for them. Bevo has them engaged again.

 

[joey_jo_jo]

Guys like Ed Richards

20

Ed Richards

Age

26

Ht

188cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.4

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

5.2

4star

M

2.5

3star

T

2.4

4star

CL

0.7

3star

D

11.3

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

5.3

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

2.5

3star

CL

1.1

3star

D

14.6

4star

K

9.8

4star

HB

4.8

4star

M

4.8

5star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.2

2star

and Freijah have really stepped up to cover for treloar/bont when they were out, odonnell doing quite well in backline and lobb alot better than I thought he would be. Mcneil and West have been serviceable enough to cover for absence of weightman.
Johannisen has wound the clock back and with Dale provides run off the half backline.

If Darcy comes back soonish and naughton gets out of his form slump I would call them a lock for top 4 (through gritted teeth).

 

[Darealrath]

Whenever I watch the dogs (not that often to be honest!) they either look unbeatable or like they've never played together before. Hoping for the latter but not confident at all.

 

[cAsEy_18]

Whenever I watch the dogs (not that often to be honest!) they either look unbeatable or like they've never played together before. Hoping for the latter but not confident at all.

I think it's more they tend to play the same way every time, and it is the ability of the opposition that affects their performance. How much can you actually take away from them, and how much can you hurt their limitations? (I know, probably sounds like every AFL game ever, but it especially rings true for them).

Historically we have been notoriously poor at attempting to take away any strength of an opposition, hence the bulldogs have a history of running rings around us. Under Scott, we do seem to at least be trying to do this (almost to a fault, we are exaggerating the defensive mentality of our game).

But I can certainly see a world in which the bulldogs move the ball too quickly and put too much pressure on our backline to make this a sizeable margin.

 

[rioli brownlow]

McGrath McKay prior
Redman Reid Roberts
El hawli Durham duursma
Martin Langford merrett
Kako Wright Caddy
Goldstein Caldwell settlefield
Perkins Jonson tsastas Shiel
Sub. ADW

In Johnson (debut) tsastas
Out. Hayes(inj) Hobbs( rest looks sore)

 

[MiguelM]

This is correct, and I’m concerned that narrow wins against struggling clubs may have distracted the faithful from the reality that we are a bottom six club still. Particularly with our injury list.

I’m pleased with our kids and our commitment. But we were bottom six before the season, we will be bottom six at the end of the season.

This moment is a familiar little bump of mid year hope. Enjoy it but don’t let it break your heart.

To be fair though, Sydney just beat GWS and look what they did to Cats!

Agree though we have a long way to go but the signs are good.

We can play good for a half then play defensive, Swans really should have won. Playing slow in the second half is frustrating but maybe the coaches are teaching tempo and ability to protect a narrow lead at the death.

 

[joey_jo_jo]

To be fair though, Sydney just beat GWS and look what they did to Cats!

Agree though we have a long way to go but the signs are good.

We can play good for a half then play defensive, Swans really should have won. Playing slow in the second half is frustrating but maybe the coaches are teaching tempo and ability to protect a narrow lead at the death.

I was at game live and rewatched game yesterday, they played an extra behind ball for the whole last quarter, it was called out by the fox footy commentators at the first bounce. So it was definitely a decision by the coaching team to protect the lead for whole of last quarter.

I dont really an opinion on whether that's the right move or whether we should have tried to pile on a bit more scoreboard pressure, but what I can say is once sydney got within 2 goals we did pretty well to manage the tempo and ice the game, they didn't really look like scoring another goal from there. Thats definitely a positive considering we didn't have ridley (or heppell) organising the defence and in contrast to the suns and crows games at the end of last year.

 

[Megabattimus]

Expecting a loss, but it would be pretty cool if we won this one. Hoping there's only the one change (Hayes out for Johnson), but I guess I could stomach Tsatas in for Shiel.