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View Full Version : Rd 3 Preview Western Bulldogs V St Kilda



SlimPickens
12-04-2012, 07:23 PM
Round 3 – Western Bulldogs versus St Kilda

When and Where:

7.40pm Saturday 14th April- Etihad Stadium

Live on Fox Footy

Last Time They Met:

Round 19, 2011

Western Bulldogs 8.9.57 defeated by St Kilda 12.9.81


Last 5 Games Head to Head:
Round 12, 2011 WB 57 defeated by StK 81
Prelim Final, 2010 WB 64 defeated StK 88
Round 6, 2010 46 WB defeated by StK49
Prelim Final, 2009 WB 53 defeated by StK 60
Round 17, 2009 StK 106 defeated by WB 61

Form Leading In:

The Bulldogs have lost their first two games against pre-season finalists West Coast and Adelaide. The coach has spoken about improvements in key fundamental areas and an ability to defend as a team. There were good signs against Adelaide and some very good team play, although a costly first quarter and an inability to finish off the game saw a 3 goal loss against the Crows. There were some good signs for the Doggies with the form of Lake, Dahlhaus and Griffen giving the fans something to talk about as well as the continued improvement on implementing a new game plan.

The Saints have had an indifferent start, after losing a close game against Port which many a St Kilda fan would have expected to win. They came out and comprehensibly disposed of Gold Coast by 92 points. St Kilda fans would be buoyed by the form of their skipper and continued good play from the regular stars (Goddard, Dal Santo and Lenny Hayes).

St Kilda has had the wood over the Dogs for a number of years, beating the Dogs in their last 5 encounters including two preliminary finals. Both teams have welcomed new coaches to their club over the off season and are looking to further develop their young kids and implement a different style of play from the predecessors.

Western Bulldogs Line Up

FB - Murphy, Lake, Addison
HB - Hargrave, Markovic, Wood
C - Cross, Smith, Griffen
HF - Giansiracusa, Jones, Cooney
FF - Cordy, Roughead, Higgins
FOL – Minson, Boyd, Liberatore
INT – Grant, Picken, Djerrkura, Dahlhaus




St Kilda Saints Line Up
FB – Blake, Gilbert, Geary
HB – Dempster, Fisher, Cripps
C – Dal Santo, Hayes, Goddard
HF – Steven, Riewoldt, Milera
FF – Milne, Koschitzke, Stanley
FOL – McEvoy, Jones, Montagna
INT – Armitage, Simpkin, Ledger, Newnes


Key Match Ups

Minson versus McEvoy – The Bulldogs need a consistent effort from Minson on a weekly basis, he is our number one ruckman and against the underrated McEvoy it is crucial for Will to beat the Saints ruckmen. McEvoy is very good around the ground and if he is able to give the St Kilda mids first use of the ball on a regular basis we are in trouble. If Will can win this duel, allowing the Bulldog mids to get the ascendency in the middle will be critical to our chances.

Lake versus Riewoldt – It will be a team effort to stop the St Kilda captain but if Lake can neutralise his effect in the forward 50 that is one less headache for our backs. Allowing Nick to run up the ground and get cheap kicks on the wings etc is not a high priority but rather impeding his ability to run hard to provide an option in the forward line and give himself the chance to hit us on the scoreboard. If anything Riewoldts goal scoring ability has slightly decreased over the years but make no mistake he is still very much a premium forward in the competition and Brian will have to play very well to stop him.

Picken versus Goddard- Goddard sets the Saints up through the midfield and across half back. We have to stop this and for that we put Picken our best stopper on him. Goddards ball use was back to its best last week and we simply can’t let him off the leash. Goddard has a tendency to play the third man up in defensive situations so if Picken can get on the end of a couple and hit the scoreboard this will be a win for us.

Where The Game Will Be Won and Lost:

The Bulldogs need to get on top in the midfield- this is going to rely on Minson/Roughy getting their hand first to the ball to feed the likes of Boyd, Griffen, Libba and Cooney. Effectively stopping St Kilda around the clearances will be vital to ensure that Riewoldt, Kosi, Milne et al are not getting effective delivery up forward and in hurting us on the scoreboard.

The Dogs must kick a winnable score- Our forward line has struggled to hit the scoreboard particularly last week. We need to use a number of options and be smarter with our forward entries. We need to kick the ball to advantage whether that is on the lead or simply to advantage in a one on one marking contest. We cannot simply bomb it in on Liam Jones’ head and expect him to mark it. Our ruckmen need to contribute up forward and not just in the middle, St Kilda are quite short in defence and this could play into our hands if we force Fisher or Gilbert to go one on one with a taller opponent this will ensure that Goddard may have to play the third man up and hopefully reduce his effect on the contest

Ball use- We simply cannot turn the ball over in dangerous positions on the ground. Missed handballs and short kicks are unacceptable especially coming out of defence. I’m looking to Hargrave, Wood and Murphy to have a greater effect with the ball in hand when turning defence into attack. Conversely we need to shut down the space and time for Dal Santo, Montagna and Goddard to work in. If we can make them rush their disposal causing them to kick to a contest we have a good chance of clearing the ball away.

Four Quarter Effort- To win this game it will take a consistent 4 quarter effort; we have had glimpses of what we are capable of against WCE and Adelaide. If we can keep our intensity high, our structures in place and get a consistent effort from 22 Bulldog players. We can win this game. “GET IN”


Verdict:

Western Bulldogs by 15 points.

azabob
12-04-2012, 07:33 PM
Western Bulldogs by 15 points.

Head or heart with the result?

Nice write up.

Where do you see Minson, Roughead and Cordy spending most of their game time?

Bringing in Cordy is an interesting one. Does he play back or forward? If forward does that mean Minson will only ruck?

I don't like the idea of Cordy, Minson, Roughead all rotating through the forward 50 as neither of them has a chance to get settled and or a feel for it.

I hope Cordy gets an opportunity to spend an extended time forward working with Jones and Grant.

w3design
12-04-2012, 07:48 PM
I hope Cordy gets an opportunity to spend an extended time forward working with Jones and Grant.[/QUOTE]

Agree Cordy needs a chance a full forward make the defenders have to worry about 2 big blokes and not just Jones.

westdog54
12-04-2012, 08:00 PM
Great write up SP, very impressive.

The introduction of Cordy is indeed an interesting one. Given that he's come in at Dickson's expense I can see one of Roughead, Minno or Cordy essentially playing as a forward for the whole game whilst the other two share the ruck duties. Hopefully this allows Jones to push further up the ground, where I think he can be more effective.

One thing the Saints don't seem to have is a viable back-up ruckman. Unfortunately McEvoy is carrying the ruck duties so well on his own that they only need the odd part timer if he's not near the ball. The challenge for whichever pair goes against him is to make sure he gets a good, fair, physical contest to negate that effectiveness.

I'm not sure who we need to stop more, Goddard or Dal Santo. Nicky Dal has grown up since he paid Josh Hill no respect in 2008 and got his pants pulled down, perhaps Cross will need to mind him?

LostDoggy
12-04-2012, 08:04 PM
I agree that someone definitely needs to mark Goddard all game, but i'm not sure Picken is the man. If Picken went to Goddard then i assume he will run forward and be too good in the air.

Picken goes to Dal Santo.

How about Wood to tag Goddard? We all know Woods main strength is his athletism and agility and we all know his weakness is finding the ball then using it well. Get Wood to go with Goddard everywhere, would be a good match up when Goddard goes forward plus it will be a good education for Wood as Goddard will take him to the dangerous parts of the field.

SlimPickens
12-04-2012, 08:08 PM
Head or heart with the result?

Nice write up.

Where do you see Minson, Roughead and Cordy spending most of their game time?

Bringing in Cordy is an interesting one. Does he play back or forward? If forward does that mean Minson will only ruck?

I don't like the idea of Cordy, Minson, Roughead all rotating through the forward 50 as neither of them has a chance to get settled and or a feel for it.

I hope Cordy gets an opportunity to spend an extended time forward working with Jones and Grant.

Always tip with my head, honestly think we will win this. I wouldn't lock Cordy into one roll, but see him as a good match up on Stanley and also as a stay home forward. Agree with you that the three rucks rotating forward may be messy.

Greystache
12-04-2012, 08:23 PM
Good write up Slim.

I particularly like the Picken on Goddard match up. Picken's been in great form so far, plus he has the added advantage of being able to kick goals if Goddard only wants to run one way. Similar to the way Hahn played him in the 2009 prelim.

Go_Dogs
12-04-2012, 08:38 PM
Great work Slim. Agree we have a very good chance this week, I'm expecting us to get over the line.

Happy to see Cordy in and adds some more interest to the game to see how we go rotating all 3. Do you think we may look to sub off one of the rucks to provide some more run late?

westdog54
12-04-2012, 08:42 PM
Great work Slim. Agree we have a very good chance this week, I'm expecting us to get over the line.

Happy to see Cordy in and adds some more interest to the game to see how we go rotating all 3. Do you think we may look to sub off one of the rucks to provide some more run late?

Who starts as the sub in that instance? Grant coming into the game late doesn't work, we're not exactly blessed for pace. DJ perhaps?

Go_Dogs
12-04-2012, 09:22 PM
Who starts as the sub in that instance? Grant coming into the game late doesn't work, we're not exactly blessed for pace. DJ perhaps?

I guess so, from the named bench it would be between those two. DJ probably makes the most sense, but still has a strong case to start in the 21.

azabob
12-04-2012, 09:42 PM
Who starts as the sub in that instance? Grant coming into the game late doesn't work, we're not exactly blessed for pace. DJ perhaps?

In the match committee thread I suggested Smith. He still is unable to run a game out, and his style would be valuable at the end of this game in particular.

SlimPickens
12-04-2012, 09:46 PM
Who starts as the sub in that instance? Grant coming into the game late doesn't work, we're not exactly blessed for pace. DJ perhaps?

Agree I would have DJ as the sub. Don't think having one of the rucks as a sub offers us much. DJ on in the last third of the game could be a handy addition for one of the big blokes.

Mantis
12-04-2012, 09:50 PM
Good write-up SP.

How do you see the match-ups in our forwardline? Most interested in the match-up you have for Fisher who St.Kilda will try and 'free-up'.

jeemak
12-04-2012, 10:18 PM
Good stuff SP.

I agree with azabob on Smith being the sub. Some grunt late in the game to hit bodies hard might be handy, and his ability to get forward and convert might also be of use late in the game.

Really happy Cordy has been given a run. He needs some solid time at FF to get settled, and I hope the match committee give this to him.

Who of our players will they try and mark, and with who do you think they'll do it?

always right
12-04-2012, 10:35 PM
Good write-up SP.

How do you see the match-ups in our forwardline? Most interested in the match-up you have for Fisher who St.Kilda will try and 'free-up'.

Recall Cross manning him up last year. May be worth another shot.

DragzLS1
12-04-2012, 10:53 PM
I don't mind smith as sub coming on 5-10min into the 3rd quarter. Come in and let him go hard the way he loves to! Can't wait and hope cordy kicks a few! Can't wait

SlimPickens
12-04-2012, 11:31 PM
Good write-up SP.

How do you see the match-ups in our forwardline? Most interested in the match-up you have for Fisher who St.Kilda will try and 'free-up'.

We have to force Fisher to be accountable, whether we go defensive on him(Cross) or attack through his opponent (Jones). I don't mind the idea of trying to stretch St Kilda's defense height wise meaning Fisher has to take a tall, but our forwards must defend strongly because when it comes to ground we may be top heavy.

If St Kilda try to match Gilbert on Jones this could be a win for us as Gilbert is nit that strong in a one on one.

bornadog
12-04-2012, 11:36 PM
If St Kilda try to match Gilbert on Jones this could be a win for us as Gilbert is nit that strong in a one on one.

Thanks SP, great preview.

Gilbert has been in good form and is the most likely opponent of Jones. The Saints defence is their weakness, so we must exploit it as much as possible.

LongWait
13-04-2012, 07:23 AM
Good preview Slim.

I don't think that Cordy's inclusion means we aim to rotate 3 rucks. I reckon Cordy as a versatile player who can play forward or back depending on our need at any time. He can also play the pinch-hit/second ruckman if needed - we may plan on subbing out either Roughy or Will if injuries and form allow.

DragzLS1
13-04-2012, 09:31 AM
I can see Cordy doing some defencive work along with Roughy as we saw Roughead drop back in the hole a few times when Adelaide were attacking. Would Rather have Cordy there though as he has had a little bit more experience playing in the back line and is more athletic then any of our rucks (and is our tallest player aswell). I like his pre season form and hopefully allows us to strectch saints defence!

Come on dogs! lets fire up!

bornadog
13-04-2012, 10:40 AM
I can see Cordy doing some defencive work along with Roughy as we saw Roughead drop back in the hole a few times when Adelaide were attacking. Would Rather have Cordy there though as he has had a little bit more experience playing in the back line and is more athletic then any of our rucks (and is our tallest player aswell). I like his pre season form and hopefully allows us to strectch saints defence!

Come on dogs! lets fire up!

Agree, we need to start getting on top of these clubs and not just keeping up with them to fall away in the last.

Eastdog
13-04-2012, 03:46 PM
Great preview Slim. All those points you brought up about things we need to improve our game are all correct. If we correct those problems then we can win.

Bulldog Revolution
13-04-2012, 08:04 PM
It will be interesting to see who exactly Picken will matchup on?

He's had Montagna recently, but Dal Santo is probably the one we'd really want to curtain most. I don't see Picken being the right matchup for Goddard. I think Picken is better suited to matching up play making midfielders, rather than sweeping half back types.

Would Boyd get Dal Santo and Picken stay with Montagna, or would they try Cross on Dal Santo and Boyd can go with Hayes?

Milne will be a good test to see where Hargrave is at form wise