List Mgmt. The game is a changin'

[gungho]

The game is changing people. The fact that Western Bulldogs have stormed into the grand final without a recognised key forward (stringer is more of a half forward flanker and Tom Boyd has probably had more impact in the ruck) means the game is changing before our very eyes.
What does all this mean? Well, if teams prefer fast mobile types to key forwards, then really, where does that leave key backs? The truth is we might only need 2 at the most - and Alex Pearce and Sam Collins might have those spots covered.
I reckon it's all about speed. Why? Because it's all about space - creating it when you have the ball - and reducing it when the opposition has it.
It's also about great decision making, accurate kicking, and guys who can win the contest.
Too old, Too slow. Can't kick or make the right decision. See ya later.
With all that in mind I'm going to make a bold prediction - Aaron Sandilands will be the oldest player in the Freo line up next year. Danyle Pearce......gone. Garrick Ibbotson.....gone. Lee Spurr.......gone. Michael Johnson.....gone. Zac Dawson...gone. Chris Mayne and Hayden Ballentine......gone. Nick Suban....gone. Cam Sutcliffe.....gone
Roll up roll up Blakely, Balic, Deluca, Weller, McCarthy, Langdon, Yarren, Collins and Alex Pearce.
2017 will be the changing of the guard.

 

[AstonSouffle]

Yeah maybe, but it really depends on whether Ross is serious about actual change. Or he's just tweaking his favoured plan and plans to use a new crop to carry it out.

Although since Barlow has been touted as definitely being kicked out the door, surely plenty will go with him if Freo are serious about rejuvenation. Can't let him go and yet still stink the place up with players who are past it.

 

[Scootyb]

Bulldogs finished seventh and have had a good 3 weeks. Let's not get too carried away

 

[mike91]

The game is changing people. The fact that Western Bulldogs have stormed into the grand final without a recognised key forward (stringer is more of a half forward flanker and Tom Boyd has probably had more impact in the ruck) means the game is changing before our very eyes.
What does all this mean? Well, if teams prefer fast mobile types to key forwards, then really, where does that leave key backs? The truth is we might only need 2 at the most - and Alex Pearce and Sam Collins might have those spots covered.
I reckon it's all about speed. Why? Because it's all about space - creating it when you have the ball - and reducing it when the opposition has it.
It's also about great decision making, accurate kicking, and guys who can win the contest.
Too old, Too slow. Can't kick or make the right decision. See ya later.
With all that in mind I'm going to make a bold prediction - Aaron Sandilands will be the oldest player in the Freo line up next year. Danyle Pearce......gone. Garrick Ibbotson.....gone. Lee Spurr.......gone. Michael Johnson.....gone. Zac Dawson...gone. Chris Mayne and Hayden Ballentine......gone. Nick Suban....gone. Cam Sutcliffe.....gone
Roll up roll up Blakely, Balic, Deluca, Weller, McCarthy, Langdon, Yarren, Collins and Alex Pearce.
2017 will be the changing of the guard.

Hardly bold decisions. D. Pearce signed for 2 years, expect him to line up Round One. You have a point, but you're gonna be disappointed when most of this doesn't happen.

 

[freo1997]

Bulldogs finished seventh and have had a good 3 weeks. Let's not get too carried away

Yeah......but teams are going to replicate there run and carry zig zag whatever the hell it is thru the mid. Dickson and stringer are there biggest kpf atm with smith crumbing. The thing going for them is there mids ability to kick goals.

With the wheels of langdon, weller, crozier and bennell we could bring back the old run and carry and try emulate what the dogs are doing. But we'll play it safe and revert back to defence.

 

[Crippa]

The game is changing people. The fact that Western Bulldogs have stormed into the grand final without a recognised key forward (stringer is more of a half forward flanker and Tom Boyd has probably had more impact in the ruck) means the game is changing before our very eyes.

The Doggies didn't "storm" into the GF. They scraped in by one kick through heart and soul and pressure reminsiscent of us the 2013 PF.

My preference would be to save the grand theories until after the Doggies win the premiership. Until then, the smart money's on a setup that includes Lance Franklin, Kurt Tippett plus ruckman (although the loss of Aliir Aliir wil hurt the Swans badly).

Even then, I would argue if the Dogs win, it will only be because God is on their side. It won't be because the game has done away with the need for key forwards.

What does all this mean [...] if teams prefer fast mobile types to key forwards

They don't. They want both. Don't forget, the Doggies have just chased Cloke and got him, after spending $5 million on a Number 1 draft pick they hope will the best KPF in the land. So that tells you what they think about the need for key forwards. Smart club them Doggies

 

[PurpleWizard]

Bulldogs would have loved a big key forward with all the bombing into the forward 50 they did last week. I don't they had a contested mark from all those entires and it makes sense why they're going after Travis Cloke.

 

[freo1997]

The Doggies didn't "storm" into the GF. They scraped in by one kick through heart and soul and pressure reminsiscent of us the 2013 PF.

My preference would be to save the grand theories until after the Doggies win the premiership Until then, the smart money's on a setup that includes Lance Franklin, Kurt Tippett plus ruckman (although the loss of Aliir Aliir wil hurt the Swans badly).

Even then, I would argue if the Dogs win, it will only be because God is on their side. It won't be because the game has done away with the need for key forwards.

You'll always need leading forwards who are targets, but these fowards dont necessarily have to be huge like a tippett, hawkins, cloke, hogan, walker.

It depends on your game style in some respects and bulldogs have figured out they can win games without one.

 

[freo1997]

Bulldogs would have loved a big key forward with all the bombing into the forward 50 they did last week. I don't they had a contested mark from all those entires and it makes sense why they're going after Travis Cloke.

Dickson took a couple from memory.

 

[Crippa]

You'll always need leading forwards who are targets, but these fowards dont necessarily have to be huge like a tippett, hawkins, cloke, hogan, walker.

It depends on your game style in some respects and bulldogs have figured out they can win games without one.

Good coaches make the best of what they've got. Doesn't mean its the ideal setup. Being short of an A grade tall forward can be the difference between winning or losing a premiership. The Dogs are all too aware of that, as are we.

 

[Alfonz]

The talk about the game is changing is just media-fed nonsense to me. I don't read any papers, watch any shows, listen to any radio, etc. All I do is watch games during the season between the good teams, and watch the finals. And the winning formula looks the same to me as it has for a while ... play hard football and apply immense pressure. Use the ball when you get a chance. Football at it's core is a simple game.

People bang on about the Bulldogs as being some super speedy and skillful team. But they have a lot of guys who are very ordinary kicks and with average speed. The reason the Dogs are doing well is because of inside/contested football ... pressure, tackling and quick hands in close. Everything else flows on from that. Same with Sydney ... Kennedy, Jack, Parker, Hannebery, Mitchell ... that's the core strength of their side, and none are super fast and a lot of them have average footskills.

GWS vs Bulldogs ... the game was fantastic. But if you look at it, most of it was high pressure and rushed/ineffective disposals. Bombing the ball forward. Sure there were moments of open play, but that happens in any game. Including when we were at our best. The Fremantle of early 2015 would have smashed both of those sides.

The Dogs stormed in without any KPF? Good for them. I guarantee you they would be itching to get Crameri back and put Cloke and Boyd into the KPF slots. Wouldn't be surprised if Tippett and Franklin are the difference on Saturday.

I don't think the formula for winning finals has changed much at all. Just play largely like we did in 2015, and replace the plodders with better speed/skill in Bennell/Weller/Langdon/Blakely/etc. And getting something out of our KPP is still going to be critical.

 

[mightymouse75]

Would have looked better if they had someone imposing themselves in the forward entry. Would have looked real good

 

[Sweetback]

Bulldogs finished seventh and have had a good 3 weeks. Let's not get too carried away

Doggies had a significant injury toll all year and finished a game and percentage from top four.

 

[FreoRicci]

Tbh the game has hardly changed to what Freo were replicating in 2013. Hard, intense pressure and well drilled defensive structure. Bulldogs kept GWS' forwards to nearly half their I50s and that in turn meant they gave themselves every chance to win. I know we dislike "defensive, boring football" but in finals it works, Sydney did just that last Friday night- jumped Geelong's tall and with quick ball movement at all cost. The one thing that both Bulldogs and Sydney has got is gun midfields. Bonts, Lachie Hunter, Libba, and Parker, Kennedy, Hanneberry, Jack, Mitchell etc. In 2013-2015 we've had a similar set up in midfield and that got us to a PF last season and a GF in 2013. The only anamoly was clearly last season, in 2015, where an uncontested game style got Eagles more or less in the GF. They tried to do the same this season, and were found out plenty of times.

Remembered watching Freo v WB Round 1 and the pressure, ball movement from the Dogs was brilliant plus they defended as a pack. No surprises it got them to a GF at the end of the season.

 

[Alfonz]

And if it wasn't for the umpire thankfully ignoring a blatant 50m in the dying stages, then GWS could have made it through on the back of Lobb and Patton and people would be bemoaning the Dogs lack of tall targets to convert their 68-45 inside 50 dominance. To say the game has changed and is moving away from big KPF is misguided.

 

[M_rash]

Soooo the new look forward line?
HF: Bennell Fyfe Walters
FF: Ballas Yarran Weller
Or swap ballas for de boer as that fwd/ruck role

 

[mike91]

Soooo the new look forward line?
HF: Bennell Fyfe Walters
FF: Ballas Yarran Weller
Or swap ballas for de boer as that fwd/ruck role

Fyfe will be in the middle, Ballas is goneski. de Boer (if/hopefully) kept on the list should (highly unlikely) be played in the guts. Not sure how you didn't include Tabs, McCarthy or Apeness.

 

[Schauermann]

Perhaps my memory is fading, but the Bulldogs play a bit like Freo 1995...

But generally I think it is about using what you got. Quality key position player are still very, very valuable. Not so much playing an average player just because of his size. Then built a gameplay around your team.

 

[Crippa]

With the wheels of langdon, weller, crozier and bennell we could bring back the old run and carry and try emulate what the dogs are doing. But we'll play it safe and revert back to defence.

I think you need to swallow a bit less of the media bullshit and think for yourself.

Never seen a coach emulate Ross Lyon football more than Beveridge.

Team defence, pressure, hardness at the contest, strangling the opposition with a forward press. He's been emulating us, not the other way around.

 

[freo_leo29]

I think you need to swallow a bit less of the media bullshit and think for yourself.

Never seen a coach emulate Ross Lyon football more than Beveridge.

Team defence, pressure, hardness at the contest, strangling the opposition with a forward press. He's been emulating us, not the other way around.

This is so spot on, Bevo has even made them a defense first team which Ross gets widely criticised for lol

The only real difference with our gameplan is that we love to dominate the ruck contest whereas the dogs would rather play a agile second tall as a ruck like Roughead or Boyd, which gives them another runner/someone who puts on pressure.

Also Johannisen would have to be the quickest player over 50 metres in the AFL, he is a dead set speedster and tears passages of play apart. Something that we were always lacking
The only player we had close to that in our challenging years was Hill and he wouldn't crack the top 20 in the AFL on pace IMO.

 

[kingswood71]

I think you need to swallow a bit less of the media bullshit and think for yourself.

Never seen a coach emulate Ross Lyon football more than Beveridge.

Team defence, pressure, hardness at the contest, strangling the opposition with a forward press. He's been emulating us, not the other way around.

This is spot on. At one stage there on Saturday, every Doggie was in the defensive 50. When Beveridge does it, good play. When Ross did it, "ruining football" !!

 

[holy diver]

I wouldn't say the Bulldogs stormed into the GF.


Lyon needs fresh cattle.

 

[Kram]

Hopefully it wont happen but can also see a decent possibility of Sydney blowing the Dogs away comfortably this Saturday.

 

[go_the_dockers]

This is so spot on, Bevo has even made them a defense first team which Ross gets widely criticised for lol

The only real difference with our gameplan is that we love to dominate the ruck contest whereas the dogs would rather play a agile second tall as a ruck like Roughead or Boyd, which gives them another runner/someone who puts on pressure.

Also Johannisen would have to be the quickest player over 50 metres in the AFL, he is a dead set speedster and tears passages of play apart. Something that we were always lacking
The only player we had close to that in our challenging years was Hill and he wouldn't crack the top 20 in the AFL on pace IMO.

Yeah we are missing elite skills and line breaking speed from out back line. They also do 3 or 4 quick hand balls and find the man in the clear so that he has an opportunity to hit someone up.

 

[johnthegardener]

Very noticeable to me that the Doggies are drilled to keep the ball moving, don't allow stoppages (due to their ruck weakness) and shovel the ball forward if tackled. It's very obvious that they have players positioned for the ball to be pushed/forced out at stoppages.