Three Things I've Learned - Round 7 Edition

[Eastdog]

Once the Round 7 match against Essendon is completed, let us know the three things you learned after watching the match.

Be constructive but be honest.

[GVGjr]

Bump

[The Doctor]

1. 1st year coaches aside, Macca is the worst coach in the league.
2. Jobe sleeps not only with the media but with the umps
3. Morris is a gem

[The Bulldogs Bite]

1. 1st year coaches aside, Macca is the worst coach in the league.
2. Jobe sleeps not only with the media but with the umps
3. Morris is a gem

Agreed.

1. We have a severe lack of football nous in our side.
2. Morris is incredible - best defender I've ever seen in my 24 years.
3. Stringer looked very comfortable playing through the midfield - great poise, a surprising bit of pace. Liked his game a lot.

[Rance Fan]

1. We don't know how to win, no killer instinct
2. We are not smart
3. We still have some way to go

[comrade]

1. Reiterating the general feedback - we are a dumb football side in general
2. The last 5 minutes was some of the worst coaching I've witnessed
3. We are royally screwed when Morris and Murph hang them up

[Remi Moses]

3. We've got some dumb footballers who don't play to instruction .
2. Judging by the post a couple of spots up, a few supporters fit into the dumb category
1. We'll win next week

Good thing McCartney didn't say we're at 11 o'clock on the premiership clock .
He's the worst coach in the world when we lose, but it goes cowardly quiet after a few wins.

[bulldogtragic]

1. Criticism must come to the coach. Match day nouse seems to be getting worse, not better. The last quarter is unbelievable, if not shocking.
2. Williams isn't a defender, he isn't a forward, he doesn't ruck. Where does he play?
3. Higgins fitness is much appreciated by you, oh angry and mean footy god.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

3. We've got some dumb footballers who don't play to instruction .
2. Judging by the post a couple of spots up, a few supporters fit into the dumb category
1. We'll win next week

Good thing McCartney didn't say we're at 11 o'clock on the premiership clock .
He's the worst coach in the world when we lose, but it goes cowardly quiet after a few wins.

Not gonna cop this/have my integrity or intelligence questioned.

A few of us have different but educated opinions to you - apparently that makes us dumb and cowardly?

[The Doctor]

3
He's the worst coach in the world when we lose, but it goes cowardly quiet after a few wins.

WTF? what wins? 15 wins v 36 losses, how can anyone go cowardly after that kind of record?

[Remi Moses]

Pretty much directed to the Doctor. Who seems to visit after a few losses and pots the coach .
I agree McCartney has to assume responsibility as the coach , but the players also have to take some responsibility for not listening to instruction from the bench coach. Constantly told to engage Fletcher, and they didn't adhere to that .Bombed long, wasn't an instruction. I know eventually if the results don't improve he'll get the arse.

[Remi Moses]

WTF? what wins? 15 wins v 36 losses, how can anyone go cowardly after that kind of record?

No point in going over old ground since 2012. You just don't take any notice .

[Eastdog]

I think we need to give it until the end of the season until we can make our judgements on Macca. If we don't improve overall from last year then yes absolutely Macca will be under enormous scrutiny and rightly so if we do improve from last year them we may just need to persist with him. I am no doubt extremely disappointed with the last few weeks as many here are but the positive to come out of it has been that we have been in the games we have lost bar Round 1 against West Coast.

[The Doctor]

Pretty much directed to the Doctor. Who seems to visit after a few losses and pots the coach .
I agree McCartney has to assume responsibility as the coach , but the players also have to take some responsibility for not listening to instruction from the bench coach. Constantly told to engage Fletcher, and they didn't adhere to that .Bombed long, wasn't an instruction. I know eventually if the results don't improve he'll get the arse.

I don't pot the coach for nothing. He deserves it with a record like 15 wins v 36 losses. You defend him regardless of his obvious shortfalls but happy to blame everyone else for our problems, including me. Now tell me, since you've bought into the debate, who aside from the 1st year coaches is worse than Macca?

[Cyberdoggie]

1. That was probably the second worst game of football i've seen to date. When the siren sound the crowd reaction was one of "is that it?"
2. We have no idea how to move the ball quickly or take any risks. I'd like to know what exactly the coach means when he says we want to play the game our way but from what i've seen this year it seems to be "don't take any risks and don't try and take the game on. Play conservatively and slowly and kick to our talls who are the worst contested marks in the game.
3. I've also learnt why people aren't going to the footy any more, it's not just the cost it's because apart from a few teams who play attacking football, the rest of them play that kind of dribble as they are too scarred of losing games.

[Remi Moses]

Happy with Hardwick? ^^ would of thought they'd be challenging top 4 after last season.
Malthouse going well? Told the world they were on the verge of a flag.
It's easy to to dish up the 15 36 line and put it on McCartney .

[The Doctor]

It's easy to to dish up the 15 36 line and put it on McCartney .

well thats his record isn't it?

[bulldogtragic]

Happy with Hardwick? ^^ would of thought they'd be challenging top 4 after last season.
Malthouse going well? Told the world they were on the verge of a flag.
It's easy to to dish up the 15 36 line and put it on McCartney .

To be fair, I think Cheap as Chips was about 15-36 too. If there was no criticism of him they'd be no Western Bulldogs. Questioning a coach who loses more than 2 of 3 games if fair comment.

[The Doctor]

Happy with Hardwick? ^^ would of thought they'd be challenging top 4 after last season.
Malthouse going well? Told the world they were on the verge of a flag.
It's easy to to dish up the 15 36 line and put it on McCartney .

C'mon Remi you gonna have to dish up better than that.

I'm no admirer of Hardwick but at least he got a dysfunctional club like Richmond into the finals. Do I really have to point out Malthouse's record to you?

[bornadog]

I will try and stay Postive:

1. Stringer took another step, he is going to be a very good player.

2. A fit Higgins makes a massive difference, 35 disposal game is his highest.

3. I hate the way the AFL has changed the game for the worst with rule changes in the last 10 years, eg. Woeful to watch players incorrectly dispose the ball and its just playon.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

3. I hate the way the AFL has changed the game for the worst with rule changes in the last 10 years, eg. Woeful to watch players incorrectly dispose the ball and its just playon.

It's an ordinary product to watch these days, isn't it? You can barely touch players without some sort of free kick being given (yet holding ball does not exist anymore), there's 250 interpretations for every rule and I still despise the 'sub'.

Aside from the dogs, I really don't care for AFL footy anymore.

[Remi Moses]

C'mon Remi you gonna have to dish up better than that.

I'm no admirer of Hardwick but at least he got a dysfunctional club like Richmond into the finals. Do I really have to point out Malthouse's record to you?
I'll give you Malthouse's record obviously. Don't think he should get away his comment on Carltons premiership coach.
How did Hardwick go in his first three years? I'll leave the conversation by saying its a simplistic argument just to put up his record.
You know very well the clubs been in a major rebuild when he took over.

[Remi Moses]

I meant the premiership clock at Carlton .
Malthouse's record at Carlton is no better than Ratten's

[Remi Moses]

To be fair, I think Cheap as Chips was about 15-36 too. If there was no criticism of him they'd be no Western Bulldogs. Questioning a coach who loses more than 2 of 3 games if fair comment.

Cheap as chips had a better list than McCartney inherited. Got no objection with opinion on his record, as it's shithouse.
My point is that record is obviously slanted because the list was in a dire state when he took over. I just hope the folk who put crap on him have the gonads to come on here and type the following " I Was wrong" if we come good.
I'll get on here if he fails and admit I got it wrong.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I just hope the folk who put crap on him have the gonads to come on here and type the following " I Was wrong" if we come good.
I'll get on here if he fails and admit I got it wrong.

Nothing would make us happier.

We all want to succeed, none of us could give a stuff who takes us there.

[jeemak]

C'mon Remi you gonna have to dish up better than that.

I'm no admirer of Hardwick but at least he got a dysfunctional club like Richmond into the finals. Do I really have to point out Malthouse's record to you?

A club that's been rebuilding since when?

Bmac's had two full seasons at to this point mate. We lost to EFC tonight by a couple of goals. The coach is no good!

Might I remind you of the build each of Richmond and Carlton have been pushing since 2000 and whatever....we've been going at it for two years! Give it a rest.

[jeemak]

We played our last prelim in 2010. We just missed out on a win against a side that has been building to their next prelim since 2002. Our rebuild is shit, we're not as good as Richmond. Richmond and Hardwick are good. Jesus.

[westdog54]

Higgins is going to give us that season we've all waited patiently for.
Jarrad Grant and Clay Smith can't come back fast enough.
At some point the players have to stand up and stop playing dumb football.

[chef]

well thats his record isn't it?

Eade and Clayton didn't leave him with much to work with.

We are on the right track IMO. We still have a couple of critical positions to fill though and a lot of players need games into them.

[G-Mo77]

Eade and Clayton didn't leave him with much to work with.

We are on the right track IMO. We still have a couple of critical positions to fill though and a lot of players need games into them.

Agree.

We've just got to nail those drafts over the next couple of years. We're looking at a high pick again next year and its uncompromised so that has got to be someone special. We're still at least 2 seasons away IMO, so the next to Drafts and Off-Season moves have got to be spot on.

For those potting Macca who or what is the answer? If you're bold enough to say he's the worst coach in the league surely you're bold enough to show us a plan B. I would love to hear it.

[SonofScray]

1. NOD's mantra of 'hanging in,' can lead to some real uninspiring footy. I felt really detached from that game, we are just constantly grinding out our goals. Not much dazzle and very little dazzle. Footy is emotional game and I think fans and players need those moments of dash, dare, brilliance, violence, fury etc to sustain them. We just invest so much into the boring parts of the game, its resource intensive and the returns haven't been high enough on the scoreboard. It stings doubly so in a scenario where Jab Watson smashes it through from a turn over, gives a fist pump and has them all up and about.

2. The ticketing system is a disgrace. I've never been impacted by it, but $36 to sit in an empty bay on L3 in the 2nd last row?

3. Essendon have lost their 'big club' feel. I pity their pathetic fans and morally bankrupt organisation. It is a blight on society that their sponsors haven't walked away yet. They should be burnt to the ground.

[LostDoggy]

I don't pot the coach for nothing. He deserves it with a record like 15 wins v 36 losses. You defend him regardless of his obvious shortfalls but happy to blame everyone else for our problems, including me. Now tell me, since you've bought into the debate, who aside from the 1st year coaches is worse than Macca?

Dimma Hardwick is the worst coach in the league by a very big margin. Brenton Sanderson is not far off with Adelaide's form and list.

3 things learned/reinforced

1 - I could be wrong about E Wood, he is playing well
2 - Very boring game of footy, the crowd was barely into it
3 - L Jones is not as bad some say (repeat leading could be better) but is crucified with our delivery

[azabob]

1
2. The ticketing system is a disgrace. I've never been impacted by it, but $36 to sit in an empty bay on L3 in the 2nd last row?

.

It looked terrible from the TV. Empty spots on all levels.

[G-Mo77]

It looked terrible from the TV. Empty spots on all levels.

Surprising as well. Only around 35K there last night.

Big club? Maybe the AFL need to give them some more TV time next year to help fill the stadium and boost their brand. They've clearly earned more exposure.

[soupman]

It looked terrible from the TV. Empty spots on all levels.

God knows why they decided to make it a fully reserved seat game but even taking that into account it's a disgrace.

We not only had to go to the effort of reserving seats, but had to pay extra for those seats, then extra for the privilege of using Ticketmaster's shitty website (the $7 handling fee despite never interacting or even impacting a single employee of the company), and then we get assigned seats in the pocket, on the highest level, in the bloody back row.

20,000 seats empty including entire bays in our pricing category and they give us the shittest tickets they possibly can. What a bunch of money hungry arseholes.

[LostDoggy]

Went to the game with 2 mates and we spent most of the time in the pub watching it on the telly. Just couldn't get into the game as per comments above.
I saw the Stringer I loved early last year again. Welcome back son. He did a couple of very very smart things in the guts.
List is building, coach is fine. We've beaten or gone close to teams that have smashed us over the last couple of years. Adelaide in Adelaide last year and Richmond II are games that spring to mind. Would rather follow us than be a Richmond, Essendon, Adelaide, Freo or Sydney fan currently. Even at 2 and 5 we are in a better place for the future IMO.

[Happy Days]

1. Picken can still go with outside gunners when needed.

2. All in on Wood. Played a fantastic game and his intercept marking looked better than it ever has before.

3. Allowing a side with an 8 point lead to play tempo footy for 15 minutes is shit coaching and deserves criticism.

[always right]

1. We tend to write players off too early. Easton Wood is the perfect illustration of this. Has gone from being one of the most maligned to someone who gives me absolute confidence when the ball is in his area. Some of his efforts last night were outstanding.
2. Like Wood, Higgins has been a popular whipping boy.....not without good reason. This season he has reminded us of what we should have been enjoying the last few years if fate had been kinder.
3. We need to tweak our gameplan. Whilst it's important to get the basics right, we are too safe. We need to instil into our blokes a habit of looking to the corridor more. At the moment we instinctively look wide to the safe option which simply gives the opposition time to structure up.

[Eastdog]

2. The ticketing system is a disgrace. I've never been impacted by it, but $36 to sit in an empty bay on L3 in the 2nd last row

I got a ticket on L3 A45 Row G for $25 which was one of the cheaper ones but decided not to seat up there as I don't like sitting up on L3. Maybe SOS you could just getting the cheapest tickets up there and there if you like do standing room for away games but yeah it's ridiculous the whole thing. The food also is very pricey. I only got a beer last night and had dinner at home before the match.

[boydogs]

1. Easton Wood could end up better than Ryan Hargrave
2. Jake Stringer can play midfield
3. We have a long way to go in spotting up targets instead of expecting Dickson & Hunter to take pack marks

[lemmon]

1. I've said Stringer was a midfielder all along and this confirms it in my eyes...about time we put him there
2. Higgins is a beautiful player to watch in full flight, he'll kill you with 20 touches, if he keeps getting 30+ he'll be a superstar of the competition
3. My faith is all but gone, we could very well finish bottom two, probably favourites to finish bottom three

[F'scary]

A lot of comments earlier in the thread made allusions to some of our footballers being dumb.

Look, they are footballers. They don't have to be clever. They just have to be good at football.

If you don't believe me, ask Koby Stevens.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

1. Dahlhaus has a touch of the Tony Libbas and Georgie Bissets; little frame but guts of a giant.
2. Higgins is a gun and has been wrongly slandered like Bernie Quinlan, Nathan Eagleton, Jarrad Grant and a few others before him.
3. It is an exciting time at the club with lots of young talent undergoing development.

[LostDoggy]

1. We work hard enough; and with a little more experience, we'll work smart enough to win games like last night.
2. The new CEO has a lot of work to do: ticketing is a joke.
3. Dale Morris is the most underrated player in the competition.

[always right]

1. We work hard enough; and with a little more experience, we'll work smart enough to win games like last night.
2. The new CEO has a lot of work to do: ticketing is a joke.
3. Dale Morris is the most underrated player in the competition.

I see this statement a lot but is it actually true? Who under-rates him? Certainly not commentators who sing his praises constantly.

I think it's become a bit of a cliche. He's certainly unobtrusive and your typical quiet achiever but I think he is universally rated as one of the premium defenders going around....as he should be. You just don't see him on highlight reels....in part because we're never on free to air.

[Remi Moses]

A lot of comments earlier in the thread made allusions to some of our footballers being dumb.

Look, they are footballers. They don't have to be clever. They just have to be good at football.

If you don't believe me, ask Koby Stevens.
Probably in a football iQ way. Lance Whitnall was as dumb as dog s*** , but as football IQ is concerned he was very smart.

[F'scary]

Probably in a football iQ way. Lance Whitnall was as dumb as dog s*** , but as football IQ is concerned he was very smart.

Kobe's game is excellent in so many aspects. If only he could develop a bit of vision when he gets the ball. He has the worst disposal by hand in the team, including a penchant for handballing a micro-second after he gets possession to team mates who are in fact shepherding for him or clearly gesturing that they are not in a position to receive.

[azabob]

1. I am really impressed with Dahlhaus game and season overall. He just keeps improving week in, week out.

2. We are developing goal kicking midfielders (Liberatore, Macrae, Smith, Stevens, Dahlhaus, etc) Goal kicking midfielders are so so important.

3. In the fourth quarter we were screaming out for a moving target, that is Crameri's bread and butter. Not sure where he was or what he was doing. What I do know is he didn't impact the contest nearly enough.

[Remi Moses]

Kobe's game is excellent in so many aspects. If only he could develop a bit of vision when he gets the ball. He has the worst disposal by hand in the team, including a penchant for handballing a micro-second after he gets possession to team mates who are in fact shepherding for him or clearly gesturing that they are not in a position to receive.

The hot potato handball he certainly has perfected.
Needs more poise

[F'scary]

The hot potato handball he certainly has perfected.
Needs more poise

He seems to like to prop a lot when he gets the ball. Maybe if he borrowed a bit from Tutt or some others and made a point of trying to tear away offensively for a few metres. Take tacklers on - he has the build and he is not slow.

[jeemak]

Koby needs some Kramer tutorials!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMJnWrKQeqY

[The Bulldogs Bite]

It's a big flaw in Stevens' game. Sadly he's not alone.

Dahlhaus is prone to some errors when in the midfield of a similar nature too. Come to think of it, not many on our list use it well by hand.

How I miss seeing Scotty West amaze me weekly with his vision.

[Ghost Dog]

Enjoy Brendan's press conferences and thought he defended the boys well. A few journo's wanted to paint him into a corner, re a timeline on improvement. He played a straight bat, always with humor, but could sense his disappointment with the loss. He is right; Bombers were touted as top 4 this season. To get within a few kicks of them is quite reasonable.
A minor point, he gushes on a bit about opposition players. Of course we all know, Dustin Fletcher is a freak, great man, but just perhaps a few soundbites too much? Maybe I'm just a sore loser.

[always right]

He runs a fine line between being open and being a touch folksy.

[LostDoggy]

1. Absolutely beneficial for Stringer's development to be played all over the ground. I remember the criticism when Griffen was played in the middle and all those posters who wanted him back on the half back flank early in his career.
2. A lot of posters talk about our lapses, but I think it is as much about the opposition lifting and trying other things. Watson lifted in the second half and won some hard ball. He is a champion who can change the course of a game.
3. We are playing with one hand tied behind our back. Each week we seem to have a player(s) who barely contributes. We need a team of even contributors if we are to succeed.

[anfo27]

1. Libba for mine is our best & most important player.

2. Easton Wood has surprised me with his improvement. Getting better every week but would be rapt if he could improve his kicking a little.

3. Thank god macca has already signed an extension otherwise the pressure would be on.

When teams don't do well there will always be supporters who question the coach so i get the posters who are not fans of macca. Has been a disappointing year thus far and think if anything we have taken a step back. Like Remi & a few other posters i still think macca is the right coach for our club.

[The Doctor]

Dimma Hardwick is the worst coach in the league by a very big margin.

Do you still stand by that comment?