McCartney’s plan evolving

[bornadog]

link (http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2013-05-10/mccartneys-plan-evolving.workstation)

Winning contested ball was one of the themes in season 2012 at the Western Bulldogs and now that focus is paying dividends, Senior Coach Brendan McCartney is progressing to the next stage of his vision.

While the Bulldogs are proving they have the capacity to win the contested ball and the clearances, it’s the spread from the contest and taking advantage of their hard work in close that is at the forefront of McCartney’s mind.

“It’s reality that we are very good at the moment when the ball stops, being able to be productive to get it back a bit earlier and use it a little bit better is the next challenge for us,” McCartney told SEN radio.

“A fair bit of it is around the youth of our people around the ball, who at times probably make decisions just that half a second or a second slower than experienced people.

“Experience will help with that and educating them will help with that.”

The Bulldogs have only lost the contested possession and clearance count once, against Richmond in round three, while Will Minson has only come off second best in the ruck hitouts against three ruckman at the West Coast Eagles.

Now that the young Bulldogs’ side is increasingly capable of winning the ball when it is in dispute, McCartney said the focus will shift to setting up around the stoppages and moving the ball to their advantage on the spread.

“There is an onus on a player though, you do have the leave a contest quickly in the game now, the ball just leaves extraordinarily quick and you can’t get left behind with us,” he said.

“So that’s the next step for us, there’s no doubt about that.”

McCartney has seen some improvements already this season and is hoping to see further games this weekend with experienced Bulldogs’ Ryan Griffen, Robert Murphy and Daniel Giansiracusa added to the side.

“I think there’s some fluctuations… some weeks we do it in patches, other weeks we don’t. Last week we weren’t great moving the ball away from contests… which sort of played into West Coast’s hands a little bit,” he said.

“There were periods the week before against the Cats where we moved it really well.”

The balance of players getting involved at the contest and those positioning themselves on the outside was another area for improvement, McCartney said, which can also be the product of fielding a young side.

“It’s funny with young people sometimes, it’s a natural instinct to hunt in after the ball but sometimes it’s not the right thing to do,” he said.

“Sometimes if you’ve got a couple of your teammates already in there, you probably don’t need to be in there as well.

“So that is the learning for them and the development that we are going to have to put into them.”

[wimberga]

Thanks for posting.

Just listened to this interview on the website and it seems quite clear that he knows our deficiencies and he is working on them but it will take time. I am confident that Macca is taking our club on the right path.

However, I do seriously hope that the comments made regarding Christian Howard being a slow learner but the club supporting him and believing he will be a good player are just public spin and that he is cleared off our list at years end.

[bornadog]

Thanks for posting.

Just listened to this interview on the website and it seems quite clear that he knows our deficiencies and he is working on them but it will take time. I am confident that Macca is taking our club on the right path.

However, I do seriously hope that the comments made regarding Christian Howard being a slow learner but the club supporting him and believing he will be a good player are just public spin and that he is cleared off our list at years end.

Listening to Howard speak in the Social club before the game a few weeks ago, I must say he is not the sharpest tool in the box.:eek:

[AndrewP6]

Thanks for posting.

Just listened to this interview on the website and it seems quite clear that he knows our deficiencies and he is working on them but it will take time. I am confident that Macca is taking our club on the right path.

However, I do seriously hope that the comments made regarding Christian Howard being a slow learner but the club supporting him and believing he will be a good player are just public spin and that he is cleared off our list at years end.

Was that what he actually called him? :eek:

[Greystache]

However, I do seriously hope that the comments made regarding Christian Howard being a slow learner but the club supporting him and believing he will be a good player are just public spin and that he is cleared off our list at years end.

In fairness McCartney said he was a slow developer, but I agree it sounded like he was just publicly supporting a player that was under the media microscope.

[DragzLS1]

Anybody else hear SEN this morning talk about the dogs and how we need to take a leaf out of Ports book?

[azabob]

Anybody else hear SEN this morning talk about the dogs and how we need to take a leaf out of Ports book?

No I didn't, what did they say port are doing different to us (besides winning)?

[PedroArvy]

Sounds like Maccer must have watched Lloyd'y on Footy Classifieds ha ha....

[bornadog]

McCartney: We have a job to do (http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2013-05-15/mccartney-we-have-a-job-to-do)

The Western Bulldogs have won just one game this season, but coach Brendan McCartney isn't spending time worrying about that statistic.

The Bulldogs triumphant victory over the Brisbane Lions in round one is but a distant memory, but that's not to say the Dogs have lacked effort this year.

The scoreboard doesn't always reflect it, but for patches this season they have put together the sort of football they want to play consistently in the future.

That was seen against North Melbourne for most of the first three quarters last week, until a dramatic fade out in the final term.

It's the minutes in which the Dogs take control of games that spur the coach on, with the belief that one day in the future, this pain will pay dividends.

That's not to say Brendan McCartney's men aren't in need of a win.

"If you worry totally about the result it can paralyze you," he said on Wednesday.

"It's how you do things, the method to how you go about your football. We know and the playing group know that when they play well these are the things in place. They also know that when they don't play well usually, those things aren’t in place."

McCartney is one of three coaches attracting criticism for his team's performance.

Melbourne coach Mark Neeld and Lions coach Michael Voss are also under pressure with just over a third of the home and away season completed.

"We have a job to do here," McCartney said.

"I think all the people you mentioned are pretty strong, resilient people who have challenges in front of them, and for the most part, the majority of the playing group they have to work with is young and developing.

"My challenge and all the other coaches that feel pressure to get their team to play better, is to come to work every day resilient, optimistic, with a clear vision and focus of what you want the players to do."

Surprisingly, McCartney believes it is acceptable for coaches to be judged on part of a season if certain factors are taken into consideration.

"The one thing you've got to analyze when you watch a club is: Do they look functional? Are the players cracking in? Are they working hard? Do they look like a group of players that want to work for each other? You can't escape that.

"The next thing you've got to factor in is: How has the draw handled them? How is their injury list? How competitive they are when the game gets busy and I think when you watch a club and you watch a game you've got to factor all of those things in."

[Axe Man]

Anybody else hear SEN this morning talk about the dogs and how we need to take a leaf out of Ports book?

Was it to not play finals for at least 5 years? We are well on our way!;)

[MrMahatma]

I don't disagree with him. I'd like more wins but for me this season was all about:

- scoring more: we have
- development in kids like Jones, JJ, Libba, et al. Many of the kids have shown glimpses.

Hard not to get frustrated with the results but also need to be realistic.

[Greystache]

Anybody else hear SEN this morning talk about the dogs and how we need to take a leaf out of Ports book?

What's that- Make sure we get fixtured against Melbourne, GWS, and Gold Coast in the first 4 rounds?

[BornInDroopSt'54]

What's that- Make sure we get fixtured against Melbourne, GWS, and Gold Coast in the first 4 rounds?

Ha:)

[GVGjr]

What's that- Make sure we get fixtured against Melbourne, GWS, and Gold Coast in the first 4 rounds?

In fairness they are playing a lot better than last year regardless of the fixture.

[Greystache]

In fairness they are playing a lot better than last year regardless of the fixture.

Certainly, but if they had played Geelong, Hawthorn, Essendon, and Fremantle in the first 4 rounds the media would be tearing them apart as having not improved and a club on the brink. That's how fickle and reactionary the media is.

[wimberga]

Certainly, but if they had played Geelong, Hawthorn, Essendon, and Fremantle in the first 4 rounds the media would be tearing them apart as having not improved and a club on the brink. That's how fickle and reactionary the media is.

Good point Greystache

[Cyberdoggie]

Certainly, but if they had played Geelong, Hawthorn, Essendon, and Fremantle in the first 4 rounds the media would be tearing them apart as having not improved and a club on the brink. That's how fickle and reactionary the media is.

Getting a good start can make a hell of a difference to a club's confidence for the season.
Just take a look at Brisbane and their poor start, they thought they could waltz over us and haven't got their mojo back since.


I find it interesting how the media can turn on a club on a week to week fashion.
Every week some team has to be the focus of attention or under the microscope, and if they whipped one club too often (Melbourne), they will turn to the next(us).

This Port comparison is bizarre. They have been focussing on rebuilding a lot longer than we have and their younger players should be a lot further on. The only thing that is a surprise to people is that they are all of a sudden playing good footy this year, but to be honest Primus was a poor coach and the club clearly hadn't joined the rest of the clubs in the increase in professionalism in recent years.
Some of their players had been playing below their standard for so long that we all forgot that they were better than that because they aren't under our noses.

[LostDoggy]

Getting a good start can make a hell of a difference to a club's confidence for the season.
Just take a look at Brisbane and their poor start, they thought they could waltz over us and haven't got their mojo back since.


I find it interesting how the media can turn on a club on a week to week fashion.
Every week some team has to be the focus of attention or under the microscope, and if they whipped one club too often (Melbourne), they will turn to the next(us).

This Port comparison is bizarre. They have been focussing on rebuilding a lot longer than we have and their younger players should be a lot further on. The only thing that is a surprise to people is that they are all of a sudden playing good footy this year, but to be honest Primus was a poor coach and the club clearly hadn't joined the rest of the clubs in the increase in professionalism in recent years.
Some of their players had been playing below their standard for so long that we all forgot that they were better than that because they aren't under our noses.

I think we're all aware that the football media lost its way many moons ago.

Is the comparison because both coaches are ex-Geelong assistants? Because that's about the only thing we have in common with them.

[Remi Moses]

The thirst for a story amongst the throng is becoming tiresome.
Just a reminder Port have been poo since 2007.
Melbourne the same time. I just hope the club stays firm if we get rolled this week, as I think it's our turn under the spotlight.Havent got an issue with it, but some opinions are just idiotic .

[Ghost Dog]

Only Gleeson and the non-former players have these kind of intellectualised opinions.
I've been pretty entertained each time I went this year.

[LostDoggy]

I've never really noticed who this Gleeson guy is, but he seems to be a big flog