Round 8 Match Preview - Western Bulldogs vs Gold Coast Suns

[westdog54]

The Match

Western Bulldogs vs Gold Coast Suns. Saturday 19th of May 2012 @ TIO Stadium, Darwin. First Bounce 7.40pm

Last Time Around

R14 2011 at Carrara

WBD 17.8.110 def GCS 13.10.88

The Form Line

After a month of uninspiring form, the Western Bulldogs have an opportunity to go to 4 wins and 4 losses. Scrappy wins against Melbourne and GWS were followed by a heartbreaking loss to Collingwood, with 4 late goals blowing out the result. The Dogs finally got some reward for effort with a hard fought upset win against North Melbourne.

The Suns are holding up the ladder with Melbourne, winless after 7 rounds. Encouraging recent matches against Essendon, North Melbourne and an unlucky loss against Fremantle were offset with a disappointing loss last week, becoming the first victim of the Greater Western Sydney Giants, a result that had some media commentators questioning the tenure of coach Guy McKenna.

The Medical Room

The Bulldogs backline must be walking on eggshells, with key defenders Dale Morris and Tom Williams, as well as Rebounding defender Easton Wood all unavailable, as well as Lukas Markovic still under a cloud. Midfielder Adam Cooney will miss this week after being a late withdrawl against the Roos, and the Dogs still await the return of youngsters Christian Howard and Jason Tutt, and veteran Lindsay Gilbee

The suns aren't doing much better for defenders, with Nathan Bock gone for the season and Jarrod Harbrow out until at least Round 16. David Swallow will miss 8 weeks with a knee injury incurred against GWS, with the club taking the opportunity to promote StKilda discard Andrew McQualter for another shot at the bigtime. Young ruckman Dan Gorringe will also miss.

The Match-ups

This is how I think some of the match-ups will pan out.

Ablett vs Picken

North Melbourne showed their hand early on in Liam's tagging job on Brent Harvey, taking every possible opportunity to try and physically intimidate the dogs Terrier. It backfired spectacularly and Harvey was a non-factor.

Ablett is the best midfielder in the competition and stopping him goes a long way to limiting Gold Coast chances. Although virtually untaggable this is the sort of job Liam thrives on.

Griffen vs Brennan

As much as I'd pay a truckload of money to watch Ryan Griffen go head to head with Ablett, I'll settle for a duel against the athletic Jared Brennan, who remains an underrated midfielder in my opinion.

Minson/Roughead vs Smith/Fraser

The Gold Coast's ruck recruit against the bloke they should have recruited. Scott Clayton was keen on Minson but was overruled, and this year the dogs have reaped the benefits of that decision. Having said that, Zac Smith is a very talented ruckman, and Roughead will need to work hard if he's to make the second ruck spot his.

Lake vs Day

Last week GWS veteran Chad Cornes had a field day running of Sam Day. All Australian Brian Lake, who is finally returning to career best form, must be licking his lips at the prospect of putting his contested marking, counter-attacking style to good use against the Gold Coast

The Prediction

The past fortnight has showed that the Bulldogs are starting to really understand the game plan that Rookie coach Brendan McCartney has put forward, and last week's upset win against the Roos, and to a lesser extent the scare given to the Magpies the previous week, have had more to do with the Bulldogs hard work around the ball than what some would consider the poor form of the opposition. Intensive pressure and winning contested ball at all costs have become the order of the day.

Darwin is known for its hot humid conditions when the AFL comes to town, and these conditions must surely favour the sun-loving Gold Coast outfit. Unfortunately I doubt thatthe form of their captain and the conditions will be enough to generate an upset, and I see the Bulldogs winning rather comfortably.

Dogs by 56 points.

[LostDoggy]

Great preview!

Harley Bennel worries me, do we need a tag on him? He's been in great form.

Have we been preparing/training for this game weeks in advance like previous years?

[Ghost Dog]

Great write up! Cheers WestDog54

We must ignore the scoreboard and play 4 quarters, similar to last week. Come on Dogs. Second week in a row - you can do it!

[LostDoggy]

North Melbourne showed their hand early on in Liam's tagging job on Brent Harvey, taking every possible opportunity to try and physically intimidate the dogs Terrier. It backfired spectacularly and Harvey was a non-factor.

It was the football equivalent of standing in front of a speeding freight train with your hand extended, frown on the face, “Stop!”

Great preview mate…

[bornadog]

Well done Westdog54 on the preview. Lest hope the dogs are on song for this one. Prior to last weeks game the Suns have been playing well and that was without Ablett.

I think the Suns will put up a fight but we should win comfortably.

[Mofra]

Harley Bennel worries me, do we need a tag on him? He's been in great form.
His outside run could really hurt us, he's be the second player I look at.
Rischitelli (apologies for spelling) is another to watch - I'd be happy to go head to head with him though.

[LostDoggy]

Hi Woofers!

Very much looking forward to the boys hitting my town today. We've turned on some beayutiful weather and the humidity is nice and low. Just been out for lunch in the city and walked past quite a few doggies fans, which is nice to see! Have an important meeting to attend tomorrow morning, actually I'm getting out of the office to go watch the boys train at TIO Stadium! Hope to see some of you at the game.

Cheers
Hobdog

[Mofra]

Enjoy the game Hobdog, any sightings/info is much appreciated

[SlimPickens]

Great read Westdog, thanks for that.

Must win the contested ball in the game, there are going to be a lot of tired boys out there come the second half and contested footy is going to be massively important.

Looking for Vez and Murphy to really set us up across half back.

[bornadog]

Hi Woofers!

Very much looking forward to the boys hitting my town today. We've turned on some beayutiful weather and the humidity is nice and low. Just been out for lunch in the city and walked past quite a few doggies fans, which is nice to see! Have an important meeting to attend tomorrow morning, actually I'm getting out of the office to go watch the boys train at TIO Stadium! Hope to see some of you at the game.

Cheers
Hobdog

Wish I was up there, enjoy the game.

If you are going to training, love to read a report.

[Scraggers]

Great write-up WD54 ... I don't know what it is, but this game scares me more than the North game. I would hate to lose this one, but I have a sneaking suspicion we will.

Last week's win was a hard fought encounter, and a sensational result.

If we take the foot off the pedal this week against an under-manned GCS then we might just find ourselves on the other side of the ledger.

I don't expect the Suns to just lie down in this game ... Early in the season, this would have been a game that GCS pencilled in as a 'possible' win ... our resolve last week will hold us in good stead against a determined Suns team.

I am tipping a Bulldog victory, but just ... 11 points.

[Greystache]

Thanks for the preview WD54.

As others have said, this week is a danger game. We need to be switch on and "crack in" as the coach would say.

[The Pie Man]

Seems I'm not alone in seeing this as a real banana skin - also remembering the Suns getting a win over Richmond in Cairns last year, so they can play in heat (I presume the humidity in Darwin is far worse, which we've experienced)

Another first quarter like the one we saw in Canberra will be... less than ideal.

[1eyedog]

I will be shocked and more than a little outraged if we lose this one with them minus Swallow, Bock and Harbrow. They basically don't have a backline to speak of. As West Dog says it should be a 8-10 goal victory.

[mjp]

Preview is fine...just fine!

The reality is that I don't want to think about this weeks game at all - except to say that after last weeks strong effort (and the one the week before) I am going to be most displeased by anything that jeopardises the 4-points. I have felt for a long time now that there is enough quality in our list to play finals THIS year and it is games like this that have the potential to torpedo those thoughts. In the first 8 weeks we will have played Melbourne, Gold Coast and GWS and things get a bit tougher in the next month or so...

I don't know why I am feeling this way - maybe the fact it is in Darwin and I keep reading about the Suns' players who WONT play that convinces me we are walking into an ambush.

[Go_Dogs]

I don't know why I am feeling this way - maybe the fact it is in Darwin and I keep reading about the Suns' players who WONT play that convinces me we are walking into an ambush.

First off, great work on the preview WD54.

I know exactly what you mean mjp. This is the type of game we traditionally lose after a strong performance against the odds the week before. We should win, and win comfortably, whether we will? Hopefully the focus on maintaining a manic intensity with and without the ball will continue. If the intensity is there, we'll overwhelm the Suns pretty quickly.

[Eastdog]

Great preview westdog54. This match is one we should win and quite comfortably. We better make sure we are on song from the start.

[F'scary]

good preview, thank you westdog54. Like others posting before, I am worried about us taking our foot off the pedal following our excellent win last week.

[westdog54]

I will be shocked and more than a little outraged if we lose this one with them minus Swallow, Bock and Harbrow. They basically don't have a backline to speak of. As West Dog says it should be a 8-10 goal victory.

You can now add Brennan to that list.

I'd now have Griff go head to head with Bennell and make him really work.

[LostDoggy]

Enjoy the game Hobdog, any sightings/info is much appreciated


Wish I was up there, enjoy the game.

If you are going to training, love to read a report.

No worries guys. The fellas usually stay on the Esplanade where I work so probably see them walk past. I'll head to training for about an hour and report back. I've also got a gig to the Chief Minister's welcome function at Parliament House tomorrow after work so might chat to a few of the guys there.

[bornadog]

I don't know why I am feeling this way - maybe the fact it is in Darwin and I keep reading about the Suns' players who WONT play that convinces me we are walking into an ambush.

Its because you have been following the Doggies for too long:D

[jeemak]

Excellent profile. Great read.

I think if can maintain the level of pressure we've been able to show over the last two weeks we're in for a ten goal victory. As long as all goes well and they show the form they have to this point of the year we'll be fine.

AFL football is funny though, if we drop five to ten per cent, and they play our of their skins the turnaround in fortune will be swift, and they'll potentially do us over.

Eventually GC will click and they'll start winning games consistently. It won't happen this year, though after this game I'm going to struggle to post what I have above with any certainty.

[Axe Man]

I wonder if the fact that Gold Coast have Port at Metricon next week may work in our favour? Whilst I don't think they will give us an easy match and would consider themselves a chance against us, it would be hard for them not to have one eye on next weeks game where they will probably go in as an even money bet or even slight favourites.

[LostDoggy]

It will be interesting to see where we position Dickson this week with Jones back at the 50m arc , he said last week that his role was to get closer to goal , he moved well and had Spud Firrito tied up , he read the ball quickly and it only took about 10mins to adjust to the lights

It could be Gia on the edge of the goal square and Dickson in the hole behind Jones with DJ and Grommet as the crumbers / midfield rotation

Its a fairly wide ground so we could see Cordy moving up to the wings

.

[LostDoggy]

Hi guys,

Went along to training but unfortunately by the time I got there they were finishing up on the ground. A few guys were doing some individual stuff and others were talking and signing autographs etc. From a personal prespective, I was impressed with the size and condition of some of our young guys. Even the guys who look small on tv eg Dahl are actually pretty big units in the flesh!

There's quite a bit of red, white and blue floating around the city, which is great to see!

[bornadog]

Hi guys,

Went along to training but unfortunately by the time I got there they were finishing up on the ground. A few guys were doing some individual stuff and others were talking and signing autographs etc. From a personal prespective, I was impressed with the size and condition of some of our young guys. Even the guys who look small on tv eg Dahl are actually pretty big units in the flesh!

There's quite a bit of red, white and blue floating around the city, which is great to see!

Any chance that Zeph may play?

[LongWait]

Any chance that Zeph may play?

First emergency it seems.

[bornadog]

First emergency it seems.

Was wondering if there will be a last minute change.

[EasternWest]

Was wondering if there will be a last minute change.

Hope not. Not for Skinner anyway. I think it sends the wrong message and smacks of tokenism if a guy who is not playing well enough at VFL level gets a game on the basis of it being in Darwin/Indigenous round.

I'd love for Zeph to play on his merits alone. I wouldn't have thought McCartney would be the type of guy to gift games though.

[LongWait]

Was wondering if there will be a last minute change.

Wouldn't surprise would it? Planets are aligning.

[Scraggers]

Hope not. Not for Skinner anyway. I think it sends the wrong message and smacks of tokenism if a guy who is not playing well enough at VFL level gets a game on the basis of it being in Darwin/Indigenous round.

I'd love for Zeph to play on his merits alone. I wouldn't have thought McCartney would be the type of guy to gift games though.

Agreed

[1eyedog]

Was wondering if there will be a last minute change.

Maybe wait for the team sheets 45 minutes out.

[LostDoggy]

Any chance that Zeph may play?

Not sure, didn't appear tone any injury concerns with anyone at training.

I went to parliament house last night and met a few bulldogs people. Introduced myself to Macca - great guy who was more than happy to have a chat. Told him I was rapt with what he was doing and how the harder edge was noticeable. Said the young guys can't sustain the high level of pressure for the whole game but that will improve. Said we could have had a couple more wins on the board too.

Spoke to Murph. Lovely guy who was generally interested in what I had to say. Spoke about twitter and he even recognized my twitter name and pic! He told me that Macca is a ripping bloke.

Also had a chat to Monty. Once again, great bloke who was really interested in what I was doing in Darwin, how long I'd lived there for and where I was from before that. I told him I was shattered when he left the club and he said "yeah but I made it back didn't I?" :)
Also spoke about the final against pies when he got snacked at the start. He said it was really disappointing that they lost the following week as they had heaps of momentum.

Now just looking forward to the game! Suns look very young but hopefully we don't take them lightly and we continue this theme of bashing teams in the contest. I'll tweet from the game tonight if anyone is interested? @Dan_Sward

Cheers
Hobdog

[Sedat]

Hope not. Not for Skinner anyway. I think it sends the wrong message and smacks of tokenism if a guy who is not playing well enough at VFL level gets a game on the basis of it being in Darwin/Indigenous round.Could be a good horses for courses selection if he comes in to replace say a Cordy. Can pinch hit in the ruck, adds defensive pressure up forward, conditions would be 2nd nature. Not deserving based on form but could understand it if it did eventuate.

[LostDoggy]

It look likely that Skinner might play as the Sub , he's not named in the Willi side for Sunday

.

[Bulldog Joe]

It look likely that Skinner might play as the Sub , he's not named in the Willi side for Sunday

.

The travelling emergency would struggle to ge back from Darwin for the game on Sunday.

[Maddog37]

Not sure, didn't appear tone any injury concerns with anyone at training.

I went to parliament house last night and met a few bulldogs people. Introduced myself to Macca - great guy who was more than happy to have a chat. Told him I was rapt with what he was doing and how the harder edge was noticeable. Said the young guys can't sustain the high level of pressure for the whole game but that will improve. Said we could have had a couple more wins on the board too.

Spoke to Murph. Lovely guy who was generally interested in what I had to say. Spoke about twitter and he even recognized my twitter name and pic! He told me that Macca is a ripping bloke.

Also had a chat to Monty. Once again, great bloke who was really interested in what I was doing in Darwin, how long I'd lived there for and where I was from before that. I told him I was shattered when he left the club and he said "yeah but I made it back didn't I?" :)
Also spoke about the final against pies when he got snacked at the start. He said it was really disappointing that they lost the following week as they had heaps of momentum.

Now just looking forward to the game! Suns look very young but hopefully we don't take them lightly and we continue this theme of bashing teams in the contest. I'll tweet from the game tonight if anyone is interested? @Dan_Sward

Cheers
Hobdog



Nice work Hobdog. Sounds like the group is pretty tight.

[1eyedog]

Not sure, didn't appear tone any injury concerns with anyone at training.

I went to parliament house last night and met a few bulldogs people. Introduced myself to Macca - great guy who was more than happy to have a chat. Told him I was rapt with what he was doing and how the harder edge was noticeable. Said the young guys can't sustain the high level of pressure for the whole game but that will improve. Said we could have had a couple more wins on the board too.

Spoke to Murph. Lovely guy who was generally interested in what I had to say. Spoke about twitter and he even recognized my twitter name and pic! He told me that Macca is a ripping bloke.

Also had a chat to Monty. Once again, great bloke who was really interested in what I was doing in Darwin, how long I'd lived there for and where I was from before that. I told him I was shattered when he left the club and he said "yeah but I made it back didn't I?" :)
Also spoke about the final against pies when he got snacked at the start. He said it was really disappointing that they lost the following week as they had heaps of momentum.

Now just looking forward to the game! Suns look very young but hopefully we don't take them lightly and we continue this theme of bashing teams in the contest. I'll tweet from the game tonight if anyone is interested? @Dan_Sward

Cheers
Hobdog

Top stuff, HD thanks.

What are our boys likely to encounter weather wise tonight? Milder conditioners than usual? I see it's forecast 31 today and 22 overnight but what will the temp be at game time? Mid 20s? Also what level of humidity can we expect at game time? Cheers.

[bornadog]

I'll tweet from the game tonight if anyone is interested? @Dan_Sward

Cheers
Hobdog

Thank you for the update. Its great going to those functions interstate as you really do get access to players and the coach.

Enjoy the evening and will look out for your tweets.

[Eastdog]

Thanks for the update Hobdog. Im going to a cousins 30th tonight, so hopefully at the place there is a TV with Foxtel so I can have a look at how we are going. If not then ill have to checks the Bulldogs app. Enjoy the evening HD at TIO stadium and hopefully will be 4-4 at the end of the night.