Round 11 Preview: Eagles v Bulldogs

Mr Q

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Thread starter #1
http://eagles.newman-knights.com/news.php?newsid=51

My weekly preview's a bit rushed this week as I haven't been in town this week and had to catch up on a lot of work today, not to mention having to move my whole office today.

Last weekend's performance wasn't the best of the year, but not entirely unexpected given that we were coming off a five game winning streak. This week we face up to the Bulldogs at home, a game most Eagles supporters will have pencilled in for now.

We have an average record against the Western Bulldogs in recent times, with a 2-2 record since 2000. However we come into this game sitting second on the ladder with an 7-3 record while the Dogs are last, having lost nine in a row since winning in round one. On the basis of this the Eagles should win, with Subiaco the venue, and a need to bounce back after last week's somewhat unexpected loss.

Changes
Eagles biggest man, Dean Cox has been omitted from the team that lost to the Bombers, apparently with an injured calf. At this stage however he is the only omission from the side, with four players being added to the interim team

Phil Matera would be a certainty to play, he was quite clearly missed in last week's team, while Travis Gaspar, Chad Morrison and Andrew McDougall would all certainly be in the mix for a spot - one of Gaspar or McDougall would be likely to replace Cox as a big man in the side, and the inclusion of two big forwards may be a sign the Eagles are thinking of exploiting the Bulldogs' lack of height.

Click here for the squad

Lead up
The Eagles are coming off a smarting loss - particularly as most of us thought they had completely removed the travel monkey. Essendon are certainly a team the Eagles should be able to beat. However prior to that the West Coast's form has been outstanding, with five straight wins. The Eagles home form was spotless last outing against the Tigers, and other than a scare against Geelong has been that way all year.

The Western Bulldogs on the other hand are approaching the sort of streak you never want to see - 10 losses in a row; the Dogs bad run is now as bad as Collingwood's worst in 2000 (nine in a row)and is quickly approaching Carlton's bad run last year (10 in a row). There is a way to go to catch the Dockers' shocker in 2001 (17 in a row), but the Bulldogs will be wanting a win soon to make sure they don't even approach it. Notably all these sides finished last.

Injuries and Suspensions
West Coast's official injury list doesn't contain Dean Cox, however he is out with a calf injury. Phil Matera will face a test before he can play, but he would seem to be a likely return. The only other injury concern at the Eagles is Phil Read who has not been named, so is probably still sidelined for another week.

The Bulldogs will probably regain defender Scott Bassett, but in reality their season has been one big injury plague with Chris Grant and Mark Alvey out for the season, and Daniel Bandy at least a couple of weeks away from being available.

Match Ups
The match up between Michael Gardiner and Luke Darcy will be intriguing. Gardiner spent a lot less time than normal in the ruck last weekend, but with Dean Cox out he will have to shoulder nearly the whole ruck load - a challenge he has successfully managed a couple of times this year.

The Eagles will want to match up on Nathan Brown as he can be a very dangerous forward for the Bulldogs, while the Dogs will equally want to watch Phil Matera as he will be raring to go after a week on the sidelines. Also up forward for the Eagles the form of David Haynes in recent weeks (other than certain dropped chest marks) should see the Dogs very wary of him.

The other main match up will be to see if the Dogs can curb the influence of the Eagles engine room, most notably Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr who were among the best last week against Essendon. West Coast should have too much grunt, but the level of dominance could determine the way the game is played.

2002
There were two clashes last year between the Dogs and the Eagles, and as you would expect they were split along home lines with the Eagles cruising past the Bulldogs at Subi but being crushed in the return match at Princes Park.

Round 3, Subiaco
West Coast 5.2 8.3 10.10 17.11 (113)
Western Bulldogs 2.4 4.9 8.13 11.15 ( 81)

Round 19, Princes Park
Western Bulldogs 5.2 13.2 18.6 22.10 (142)
West Coast 5.2 11.5 13.6 14.7 ( 91)

Head to Head
Overall: Played 27; West Coast 17, Western Bulldogs 10, Draws 0.
At Subiaco: Played 7; West Coast 5, Western Bulldogs 2, Draws 0.
Biggest Margin - West Coast: West Coast 25.15 (165) d Western Bullogs 7.5 (47) - 118 points, W.A.C.A, R13 1991.
Biggest Margin - Western Bulldogs: Western Bulldogs 18.13 (121) d West Coast 7.9 (51) - 70 points, M.C.G, Qual. Final 1998.

Milestones
None this week

Summary
Quite simply I think the Bulldogs just aren't as good as the Eagles at the moment, and given the game is at Subiaco and the Eagles will be wanting to bounce back after the performance against the Bombers, I can't see how the Bulldogs can get up at all. The Bulldogs will try hard, but fall short; sadly the story of their season to date.

My prediction: Eagles by 31 points
 

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Thrawn666

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#2
I would expect both Gaspar and MacDougall to play

McDougall to back up Gardy in the ruck and alternate with Gaspar n Jako at CHF to stretch the Dogs defence, possibly stints at FF too.

If Gaspar plays id say he'll be used sparingly due to his touchy hammies.
 

carlyp

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#3
Originally posted by Thrawn666
I would expect both Gaspar and MacDougall to play

McDougall to back up Gardy in the ruck and alternate with Gaspar n Jako at CHF to stretch the Dogs defence, possibly stints at FF too.

If Gaspar plays id say he'll be used sparingly due to his touchy hammies.
Yeah I agree, but who will be dropped for them do you think.
 

The Passenger

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#6
Yea I think Munro, Carroll and either Morrison or McDougall will miss the cut. Depends how fit Morrison is. If he is upto it again then he'll come back in because he is a classy player, otherwise McDougall will come in.
 

Voice of Reason

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#7
Pity about the trip result last week Mr Q. Hope you enjoyed yourself nonetheless & see you on Sunday

A very balanced preview. This isn't going to be easy. Last year, if Giansiracusa had kicked 6.2 as he should have instead of 2.6 like he did, they would have been close to rolling us at Subi. The return game was one of the most disappointing of the year. An absolute thrashing with poor defensive efforts all over the ground and a complete inability to stop a run-on.

On the other hand, that was last year.

Hard to see us taking it easy. I would be a little surprised to see us play both McDougall & Gaspar but it could happen. Darcy is one of the few ruckmen who can match Gardy around the ground, but will struggle in the ruck. If our midfield read the taps correctly, the scoreboard could get ugly, especially if we get fine weather, but it's not the foregone conclusion the tipsters would have you believe.

Should be high scoring because we have THE BEST attack in the league (sabre, as Dan will tell you, you can't argue with statistics:D ) and their small forwards can play.
 
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