- Jul 4, 2016
- 5,378
- 5,478
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
- Banned
- #1
Hi all. Some of you know me, some of you don’t. I’m a very passionate Doggie supporter, I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m very honest, sometimes too honest! But I say it as it is. I know I’ve been very negative at times about our club, and especially after the first two rounds this season. I love the club dearly. I want to bring up a few different things about the current state of affairs, and get everyone’s perspective, good and bad.
At the moment, we have a few injuries to key players, and this is really hurting our side, especially because we are forced to play a lot of young players, some that are ready, some that aren’t.
I believe we are lacking in experience, especially in the backline and forward line right now. There has been some positives, and I’ll go through them below.
Ed Richards has been a great pick up for our backline. Even on Friday night, the young fella was struggling early, but to his credit, he kept battling on and having a go.
Aaron Naughton. Been the story of the year for mine. Love how quick he has come along, even quicker than Adams when he started. Can’t wait to have him back.
Josh Dunkley. Really struggling, positives, he goes in hard around the ball and is great mark for his size. His negatives, he is very slow, and can’t kick straight at the goals. I believe we should trade him, as he has great value to get us a quality small forward.
Bontempelli. Needs a hip operation, my friend’s son was in the rooms after the Carlton game waiting to get Bont’s autograph. Apparently he had an ice pack on his hip as big as a doona! He was the last to leave the rooms about an hour after everyone was gone. Don’t know how he is even playing. Get him operated on now. Too important to us to stuff around with him.
Mitch Wallis. Sometimes he’s slow, but his hardness and goalkicking are super, he hardly misses in front of the big sticks, and should NEVER have been dropped for the Collingwood game. Big reason why we lost! Get him back ASAP!
Lewis Young. Still very young, and has things to work on in his game, but long term, gonna be a good defensive player for us.
Libba. When he went down, so did our season. Libba is super important to us, his hardness around the footy, clearance work, and his big 55 metre left foot kick is badly missed. Hope he comes back healthy!
Dickson. I love Dicko, he was a huge part of our premiership, but unfortunately, the game has become to quick for him, and he isn’t keeping up, hence his bad hamstring against Sydney. Will either retire, or be forced to. I would love him to become our next forward coach!
Roughead. Again, was great in our 2016 finals series, kicked 2 nice goals on Friday night, but was absolutely smashed in the ruck by Grundy on Friday night and the 2nd half of 2017, he was a real liability to our side. If he can stay fit, maybe keep him at CHF as he’s had 4 set shots for 4 goals this year. So, his kicking has improved which was his problem for a couple of years when he played forward. Maybe play him more forward, Boyd ruck and Schache FF
Morris. You’re not a true Bulldog fan if you don’t love Dale Morris, absolute champion all his career for us, we have missed his leadership this year, hopefully he can get back and play a role. Whether he goes on next year, it’s up to him, but one more injury, it’s time.
Adams. Very injury prone and frustrating, but we still hope he comes good, whether playing forward or back. Huge player for us, and not just his size!
Suckling. I have bagged him at times, but he is a real leader on the field this year, and would be in our top 5 players. Rumours he might go to NFL next year and try his hand at punting. His leadership would be missed if he leaves.
Dahlhaus. We all love Luke. His pressure and tackling was a big part of our premiership, however, he is statistically one of the worst kicks in the league, and this really hurts us. I would love to see him traded at years end.
Hunter. Lachie’s gut running during games is great to watch, if you ever watch him off the ball, then running a mile to impact contests, he is a real delight to watch. Especially in the recent Carlton and Brisbane games. His kicking isn’t great, and he does have his limitations, but he is always a lock in our midfield.
Trengove. The game he played on Friday night, especially when Cordy went down, was first class. The last two games, we’ve played him at his original best position at full back, which is where he played most of his football at Port Adelaide. Stays in for now.
Crozier. He was a half forward at Freo, but Bevo has tried to turn into a half back to replace Matty Boyd’s role from last year. It hasn’t worked at all. It was a great move with Matty Boyd in 2015, hasn’t worked with Crozier. Play him forward, or not at all. I don’t think this has turned out for us personally.
JJ. I know a lot of you won’t agree with me, but I think JJ is very overrated. Granted, he is being played as a forward at the moment, he is NOT A FORWARD BEVO! Put him back into the backline, and tell him to lift!
Easton Wood. Has had a shocker this year. He has missed a few games with injury, but even before that, hasn’t been good. The forward experiment was crazy, did not work at all. Moved back to the backline, and is horribly out of form. Personally, I think the captaincy should be taken off him and given to Macrae or Cordy right now. We need a consistent leader ASAP.
Macrae. Absolute superstar. From day 1 until now, Mr. Consistency. Love watching him play. A real leader.
McLean. Having another great year. Leads from the front, and is tough as nails.
Jong. We all love Jongy, his marking is great to watch and he is as hard as nails, unfortunately, his handball and foot skills really let the side down, and that’s why he’s staying in the VFL right now.
Josh Schache. Very early, doesn’t have the mental ability to enter a lot of ground contests at this stage, but his kicking skills are a beautiful thing to watch. Must keep playing him while we are re-building, which is what we are currently doing it seems.
Tom Boyd. The things Tom does during a game really doesn’t get seen by a lot of people that don’t understand the game of football or think that if he’s not kicking multiple goals every week, he’s not doing his job. His ruck work isn’t great, but he’s 2nd efforts, and 1 percenters, are first class, and he makes us a better team. His first quarter on Friday night, he was awesome to watch. That crunching tackle that was near me was a thing of beauty!
Clay Smith. I’m afraid with all the knee injuries, we’ve seen the best of Clay. Was huge in our 2016 finals campaign and will always be loved, but I’m afraid he’s done.
Redpath. Like Clay Smith, just gets too many knee injuries, when he’s fit, he helps us win a few games, but long term, he is not the answer.
Billy Gowers. Love Gower’s start to his career at the Dogs, has genuine forward craft. And is an amazing mark for his size. His goal kicking lets him down, and he also goes in and out of games. I believe he will be better if Boyd and Schache play next to him more. Like Stringer used to play better next to Redpath.
Honeychurch. Cops a lot of flak, and I have been upset with him in the past, he tries his guts out, but every time he gets the ball, he just shits himself with it. He truely doesn’t believe in himself. Will be moved on.
Picken. Another huge loss this year. At his best, Picken is an animal, and our finals hero. Very sad that he had the really bad concussion that is keeping him out. But will we see him back or not? It’s up to him and his family.
Bailey Dale. Was the real improver last year and our shining light, where there wasn’t much improvement from others. Has really fallen away badly this year, and has to be dropped to the VFL ASAP to find some form.
Bailey Williams. Has been our most improved this year. He wasn’t great against Collingwood, but they were all bad. Has been a real solid part of our defence.
Caleb Daniel. A lot of people have been saying he’s been crap this year, I think he’s been a bit up and down, but he is a very clever user of the ball, and when he’s in form, is in our best 5 players.
Webb. Really disappointing Webby. Has great foot skills, but just doesn’t step up at AFL level. Has been given countless opportunity, I think it’s time to move him on.
Tom Campbell. Big Tom is our most natural ruckman. Yes, he is slow, but so is Mason Cox at Collingwood. We have to play Campbell for the rest of the year. Why did we re-sign him, if we aren’t gonna play him?
Roberts. Does get beaten badly by the big key forwards, but if others are in and out the team, then Roberts should be getting a go.
Pat Lipinsky. Had a great few weeks, and is a good kick at goal. Unfortunately, I think we might see him dropped this week to pick up his game a bit. But love the kid long term!
Collins. Too slow, hasn’t been picked in two years. Gone.
Rourke Smith. Kid goes in hard, but has done two knees. Hasn’t a lot of luck. Still early to tell. Didn’t think he was great on Friday night. But, wasn’t terrible either!
Tim English. Will be great after another season or two. Reminds me a lot of Scott Wynd with some of his 2nd efforts.
Now to our assistant coaches merry-go-round. A lot of people are very upset and confused about this one. But why did we have to change something that was working? Seriously? In 2016, we had one of the best defences, Rohan Smith, a 300 game defender was in charge of our defence, then we went and put Steven King, a former ruckman, who never played defence, in charge of our defence. Crazy. Also Ash Hansen, former Eagles forward was put in charge of our forward line. Our forward line is the worst it has been in years. Even worse than 1996, 2003 and the Macca years.
Please, please, can we go out and get a proper forward coach next year.
Everyone of our current players and coaches have to lift their games and start playing players where they should be played. JJ is no good in the forward line. Wood is no good there. Stop this versatility bullshit, and play people, be it players or coaches, in their proper bloody roles. It’s not rocket science!
Let’s all discuss these topics with respect of each other and of the club, players, coaches etc.. Tony Dean.
At the moment, we have a few injuries to key players, and this is really hurting our side, especially because we are forced to play a lot of young players, some that are ready, some that aren’t.
I believe we are lacking in experience, especially in the backline and forward line right now. There has been some positives, and I’ll go through them below.
Ed Richards has been a great pick up for our backline. Even on Friday night, the young fella was struggling early, but to his credit, he kept battling on and having a go.
Aaron Naughton. Been the story of the year for mine. Love how quick he has come along, even quicker than Adams when he started. Can’t wait to have him back.
Josh Dunkley. Really struggling, positives, he goes in hard around the ball and is great mark for his size. His negatives, he is very slow, and can’t kick straight at the goals. I believe we should trade him, as he has great value to get us a quality small forward.
Bontempelli. Needs a hip operation, my friend’s son was in the rooms after the Carlton game waiting to get Bont’s autograph. Apparently he had an ice pack on his hip as big as a doona! He was the last to leave the rooms about an hour after everyone was gone. Don’t know how he is even playing. Get him operated on now. Too important to us to stuff around with him.
Mitch Wallis. Sometimes he’s slow, but his hardness and goalkicking are super, he hardly misses in front of the big sticks, and should NEVER have been dropped for the Collingwood game. Big reason why we lost! Get him back ASAP!
Lewis Young. Still very young, and has things to work on in his game, but long term, gonna be a good defensive player for us.
Libba. When he went down, so did our season. Libba is super important to us, his hardness around the footy, clearance work, and his big 55 metre left foot kick is badly missed. Hope he comes back healthy!
Dickson. I love Dicko, he was a huge part of our premiership, but unfortunately, the game has become to quick for him, and he isn’t keeping up, hence his bad hamstring against Sydney. Will either retire, or be forced to. I would love him to become our next forward coach!
Roughead. Again, was great in our 2016 finals series, kicked 2 nice goals on Friday night, but was absolutely smashed in the ruck by Grundy on Friday night and the 2nd half of 2017, he was a real liability to our side. If he can stay fit, maybe keep him at CHF as he’s had 4 set shots for 4 goals this year. So, his kicking has improved which was his problem for a couple of years when he played forward. Maybe play him more forward, Boyd ruck and Schache FF
Morris. You’re not a true Bulldog fan if you don’t love Dale Morris, absolute champion all his career for us, we have missed his leadership this year, hopefully he can get back and play a role. Whether he goes on next year, it’s up to him, but one more injury, it’s time.
Adams. Very injury prone and frustrating, but we still hope he comes good, whether playing forward or back. Huge player for us, and not just his size!
Suckling. I have bagged him at times, but he is a real leader on the field this year, and would be in our top 5 players. Rumours he might go to NFL next year and try his hand at punting. His leadership would be missed if he leaves.
Dahlhaus. We all love Luke. His pressure and tackling was a big part of our premiership, however, he is statistically one of the worst kicks in the league, and this really hurts us. I would love to see him traded at years end.
Hunter. Lachie’s gut running during games is great to watch, if you ever watch him off the ball, then running a mile to impact contests, he is a real delight to watch. Especially in the recent Carlton and Brisbane games. His kicking isn’t great, and he does have his limitations, but he is always a lock in our midfield.
Trengove. The game he played on Friday night, especially when Cordy went down, was first class. The last two games, we’ve played him at his original best position at full back, which is where he played most of his football at Port Adelaide. Stays in for now.
Crozier. He was a half forward at Freo, but Bevo has tried to turn into a half back to replace Matty Boyd’s role from last year. It hasn’t worked at all. It was a great move with Matty Boyd in 2015, hasn’t worked with Crozier. Play him forward, or not at all. I don’t think this has turned out for us personally.
JJ. I know a lot of you won’t agree with me, but I think JJ is very overrated. Granted, he is being played as a forward at the moment, he is NOT A FORWARD BEVO! Put him back into the backline, and tell him to lift!
Easton Wood. Has had a shocker this year. He has missed a few games with injury, but even before that, hasn’t been good. The forward experiment was crazy, did not work at all. Moved back to the backline, and is horribly out of form. Personally, I think the captaincy should be taken off him and given to Macrae or Cordy right now. We need a consistent leader ASAP.
Macrae. Absolute superstar. From day 1 until now, Mr. Consistency. Love watching him play. A real leader.
McLean. Having another great year. Leads from the front, and is tough as nails.
Jong. We all love Jongy, his marking is great to watch and he is as hard as nails, unfortunately, his handball and foot skills really let the side down, and that’s why he’s staying in the VFL right now.
Josh Schache. Very early, doesn’t have the mental ability to enter a lot of ground contests at this stage, but his kicking skills are a beautiful thing to watch. Must keep playing him while we are re-building, which is what we are currently doing it seems.
Tom Boyd. The things Tom does during a game really doesn’t get seen by a lot of people that don’t understand the game of football or think that if he’s not kicking multiple goals every week, he’s not doing his job. His ruck work isn’t great, but he’s 2nd efforts, and 1 percenters, are first class, and he makes us a better team. His first quarter on Friday night, he was awesome to watch. That crunching tackle that was near me was a thing of beauty!
Clay Smith. I’m afraid with all the knee injuries, we’ve seen the best of Clay. Was huge in our 2016 finals campaign and will always be loved, but I’m afraid he’s done.
Redpath. Like Clay Smith, just gets too many knee injuries, when he’s fit, he helps us win a few games, but long term, he is not the answer.
Billy Gowers. Love Gower’s start to his career at the Dogs, has genuine forward craft. And is an amazing mark for his size. His goal kicking lets him down, and he also goes in and out of games. I believe he will be better if Boyd and Schache play next to him more. Like Stringer used to play better next to Redpath.
Honeychurch. Cops a lot of flak, and I have been upset with him in the past, he tries his guts out, but every time he gets the ball, he just shits himself with it. He truely doesn’t believe in himself. Will be moved on.
Picken. Another huge loss this year. At his best, Picken is an animal, and our finals hero. Very sad that he had the really bad concussion that is keeping him out. But will we see him back or not? It’s up to him and his family.
Bailey Dale. Was the real improver last year and our shining light, where there wasn’t much improvement from others. Has really fallen away badly this year, and has to be dropped to the VFL ASAP to find some form.
Bailey Williams. Has been our most improved this year. He wasn’t great against Collingwood, but they were all bad. Has been a real solid part of our defence.
Caleb Daniel. A lot of people have been saying he’s been crap this year, I think he’s been a bit up and down, but he is a very clever user of the ball, and when he’s in form, is in our best 5 players.
Webb. Really disappointing Webby. Has great foot skills, but just doesn’t step up at AFL level. Has been given countless opportunity, I think it’s time to move him on.
Tom Campbell. Big Tom is our most natural ruckman. Yes, he is slow, but so is Mason Cox at Collingwood. We have to play Campbell for the rest of the year. Why did we re-sign him, if we aren’t gonna play him?
Roberts. Does get beaten badly by the big key forwards, but if others are in and out the team, then Roberts should be getting a go.
Pat Lipinsky. Had a great few weeks, and is a good kick at goal. Unfortunately, I think we might see him dropped this week to pick up his game a bit. But love the kid long term!
Collins. Too slow, hasn’t been picked in two years. Gone.
Rourke Smith. Kid goes in hard, but has done two knees. Hasn’t a lot of luck. Still early to tell. Didn’t think he was great on Friday night. But, wasn’t terrible either!
Tim English. Will be great after another season or two. Reminds me a lot of Scott Wynd with some of his 2nd efforts.
Now to our assistant coaches merry-go-round. A lot of people are very upset and confused about this one. But why did we have to change something that was working? Seriously? In 2016, we had one of the best defences, Rohan Smith, a 300 game defender was in charge of our defence, then we went and put Steven King, a former ruckman, who never played defence, in charge of our defence. Crazy. Also Ash Hansen, former Eagles forward was put in charge of our forward line. Our forward line is the worst it has been in years. Even worse than 1996, 2003 and the Macca years.
Please, please, can we go out and get a proper forward coach next year.
Everyone of our current players and coaches have to lift their games and start playing players where they should be played. JJ is no good in the forward line. Wood is no good there. Stop this versatility bullshit, and play people, be it players or coaches, in their proper bloody roles. It’s not rocket science!
Let’s all discuss these topics with respect of each other and of the club, players, coaches etc.. Tony Dean.
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