Bulldog4life
21-05-2013, 10:40 AM
IT wasn't that long ago that the Western Bulldogs were the entertainers of the AFL.
Free flowing, run-and-stun, coast-to-coast - call it what you will.
Ryan Griffen, Jason Akermanis, Brad Johnson, Adam Cooney is his prime, Lindsay Gilbee, Robert Murphy - the list went on.
They could run, they could kick and they moved the ball at blistering speed in a blur of red, white and blue.
But eight rounds into the 2013 season, the Bulldogs have gone from greyhounds to sausage dogs.
Under Brendan McCartney, a contested ball and stoppage fanatic, the Dogs average four contested disposals more than the opposition each match - ranked seventh in the competition. They average 2.8 more clearances a match than the opposition, ranked fourth.
That's the good news. The bad news is they sit 16th on the ladder with a percentage of 70.5, having won one of their past 19 games.
Why? The fact is the Dogs can win the football, but they can't move it.
Ironically, a club once admired for the most slick ball movement has ground to a halt.
McCartney's Bulldogs have won the contested ball count in six games this year for one victory - the worst conversion of the teams who have won the count three or more times.
In fact, in this barren 19-match run they've won the contested footy in 10 games and the clearances in 12. All for one win.
The Dogs forward line AB (After Barry Hall) is often blamed for them not putting a score on the board.
Yes, they rank 18th for scoring once inside 50m and average 7.8 marks inside 50 - ranked 17th, with only Greater Western Sydney worse.
But this simply masks the big issue - a chronic lack of ball movement from all areas of the ground.
From their defensive 50m, the Dogs are the worst side in the competition at advancing the ball inside their forward 50 with an unbroken chain of possession.
Compare this with 2007 and 2008, when the fast-forward Dogs ranked fifth and fourth respectively.
This year they also rank last in moving the ball forward from a defensive midfield position, 14th from a centre bounce and, when they force a turnover in their attacking 50m, they score the second-least in the competition.
The Dogs score 18.5 per cent of the time from a clearance - also ranked 18th and 2.6 per cent lower than any other side.
To be +23 in clearances after eight matches, but -98 for scoring from clearances - ranked 17th - highlights a serious problem.
If that wasn't enough, their kicking efficiency is languishing at 60.6 per cent - the worst in the AFL.
McCartney had been training the Bulldogs for less than a week when he told them to bring mouthguards.
It was November 2011, and the new Dogs coach had left no one in any doubt over how his side would play.
They would be tough, uncompromising and place winning stoppages and contested ball at a premium. On this front it's mission accomplished.
The back of house is in order.
It's time to restore the entertainment.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/how-the-western-bulldogs-have-gone-from-greyhounds-to-sausage-dogs-under-brendan-mccartney/story-fndv8weh-1226647156243
Free flowing, run-and-stun, coast-to-coast - call it what you will.
Ryan Griffen, Jason Akermanis, Brad Johnson, Adam Cooney is his prime, Lindsay Gilbee, Robert Murphy - the list went on.
They could run, they could kick and they moved the ball at blistering speed in a blur of red, white and blue.
But eight rounds into the 2013 season, the Bulldogs have gone from greyhounds to sausage dogs.
Under Brendan McCartney, a contested ball and stoppage fanatic, the Dogs average four contested disposals more than the opposition each match - ranked seventh in the competition. They average 2.8 more clearances a match than the opposition, ranked fourth.
That's the good news. The bad news is they sit 16th on the ladder with a percentage of 70.5, having won one of their past 19 games.
Why? The fact is the Dogs can win the football, but they can't move it.
Ironically, a club once admired for the most slick ball movement has ground to a halt.
McCartney's Bulldogs have won the contested ball count in six games this year for one victory - the worst conversion of the teams who have won the count three or more times.
In fact, in this barren 19-match run they've won the contested footy in 10 games and the clearances in 12. All for one win.
The Dogs forward line AB (After Barry Hall) is often blamed for them not putting a score on the board.
Yes, they rank 18th for scoring once inside 50m and average 7.8 marks inside 50 - ranked 17th, with only Greater Western Sydney worse.
But this simply masks the big issue - a chronic lack of ball movement from all areas of the ground.
From their defensive 50m, the Dogs are the worst side in the competition at advancing the ball inside their forward 50 with an unbroken chain of possession.
Compare this with 2007 and 2008, when the fast-forward Dogs ranked fifth and fourth respectively.
This year they also rank last in moving the ball forward from a defensive midfield position, 14th from a centre bounce and, when they force a turnover in their attacking 50m, they score the second-least in the competition.
The Dogs score 18.5 per cent of the time from a clearance - also ranked 18th and 2.6 per cent lower than any other side.
To be +23 in clearances after eight matches, but -98 for scoring from clearances - ranked 17th - highlights a serious problem.
If that wasn't enough, their kicking efficiency is languishing at 60.6 per cent - the worst in the AFL.
McCartney had been training the Bulldogs for less than a week when he told them to bring mouthguards.
It was November 2011, and the new Dogs coach had left no one in any doubt over how his side would play.
They would be tough, uncompromising and place winning stoppages and contested ball at a premium. On this front it's mission accomplished.
The back of house is in order.
It's time to restore the entertainment.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/how-the-western-bulldogs-have-gone-from-greyhounds-to-sausage-dogs-under-brendan-mccartney/story-fndv8weh-1226647156243