Three Things I've Learned - Finals Week 1 Edition

[Eastdog]

Once the Finals Week 1 match against Adelaide is completed, let us know the three things you learned after watching the match.

Be constructive but be honest.

[bulldogtragic]

1. Close loses in finals just hurt. Especially when we should've really won.
2. I'm proud of the boys and coaches.
3. Hopefully Richard Branson liked our brand as much as we said and we have Virgin on board next year.
4. 2016 offers even more hope with a good list management period over the next months and another preseason, and of course Tom Boyd.

[EasternWest]

3. Minson was immense all night.
2. Dale Morris is the most disciplined player I've seen in our colours. Completely shut Betts down (albeit for that late one) when he was switched on to him.
1. I love Luke Dahlhaus.

Bonus one: I feel pretty buoyant to be honest (also depressed). I think we saw a few guys prove that they'll be able to stand up. I was happy with Roberts, Hamling and Biggs in particular. Given a bit more time and experience, they'll be pretty solid.

[Remi Moses]

3. The Port Adelaide logo should be plastered all over the stadium, as to not thinking it will just happen
2. We still need to improve some aspects of our team
1. Wonderful effort from the Ravens after the seasons tragedy

[Sedat]

1. Tom Boyd needs to have the biggest pre-season of his life because we really need him up forward - get trimmer and super fit, and significantly increase core strength.
2. We don't win close finals - doesn't matter what era, which players, what game style. That is our lot in life as Dogs supporters.
3. Composure and good decision-making are underrated qualities in players

[Ghost Dog]

1. Tom Boyd needs to have the biggest pre-season of his life because we really need him up forward - get trimmer and super fit, and significantly increase core strength.
2. We don't win close finals - doesn't matter what era, which players, what game style. That is our lot in life as Dogs supporters.
3. Composure and good decision-making are underrated qualities in players

Chin up. Our day will come. I feel really numb and a bit down, but I refuse to serve the role others in the comp set for us as a Bulldogs supporter.

1. I have a strong emotional attachment to the memory of 2015, and all the good things that came with it.I feel sad it's over.
2. We have some respect in this industry and sport we haven't had for a long time. People are talking about us in a different way.
3. Top 4 is essential. Even very good teams have a bad day, and you need the second chance.

[SonofScray]

1. The Monkey found a new group of backs to jump on.
2. Today sucked.
3. AFL can get stuffed.

[FrediKanoute]

1. Sometimes a team needs to learn what its like to lose in order to win;
2. We are a young side, that makes mistakes, but our best players out there today have years ahead of them, so they have time to learn;
3. Our game plan can and did hold up to finals foot..... we are on the right track.

[GVGjr]

1. Sometimes a team needs to learn what its like to lose in order to win;


I would have glad waited for that lesson to be learned next week ;)

[The Underdog]

1. Luke Dahlhaus is an elite AFL midfielder
2. We can't play our game style and turn the ball over at half forward. No defenders can cope with that sort of space and delivery.
3. I hate football.

[The Underdog]

Chin up. Our day will come.

Maybe, but Bulldogs fatalism tells me it probably won't.
We can say we're young and better days are ahead, but on the off chance they aren't, then we just missed a huge chance that we can't be sure will come around again.

[Go_Dogs]

1. Losing finals doesn't get easier with experience.
2. A number of our young players demonstrated they will stand up and be counted in finals football.
3. Already knew it, but Luke Beveridge is all class. It would be very difficult doing a press conference after a loss like that, but he spoke well. We're lucky to have him.

[Ghost Dog]

Maybe, but Bulldogs fatalism tells me it probably won't.
We can say we're young and better days are ahead, but on the off chance they aren't, then we just missed a huge chance that we can't be sure will come around again.

The rest of the comp wants us to be fatalists. That's the sort of garbage Essendon fans will throw at you after a game so I don't buy it.

[LostDoggy]

Feel sad and gutted, but what I learnt, hopefully:
1. I have to believe this will make them hungrier and stronger for 2016
2. The future looks bright under Luke Beveridge
3. Another week would have been great.....

[PedroArvy]

1. The game was lost purely by bad kicking.
2. I am glad there was no capitulation, clearly we matched it with the Crows.
3. I'd rather be living in glory than in hope for the future which is all that is left :-(

[MrMahatma]

1. Next year will be awesome. We'll play the top teams more often, we'll be in close games more often, and we'll learn loads about being clinical.
2. I'm gutted, but in perspective : Sydney lost yesterday cause of bad kicking. Hawks butchered it and that went away to shaping their game. Indeed the Hawks lost the 2012 GF in similar circumstances to our match ie: they won most stats but not the one that matters. What's that mean? It can happen. It's not a trend for this dogs team. It was bad timing but one of those nights. We had some young guys play very well. If we hadn't shown up at all, that would've been a worry. We'll be fine.
3. When we hit the lead it was like electricity running through me. I loved it. Definitely worth the flights from Brisbane!

[Ozza]

2. Dale Morris is the most disciplined player I've seen in our colours. Completely shut Betts down (albeit for that late one) when he was switched on to him.

Dale was on Betts when he kicked his first 3 and was then switched OFF him. Wood and Biggs played on him at various stages after that and Eddie was still pretty prominent for 2 more goals...so I don't really follow this point.

[1eyedog]

1. Next year will be awesome. We'll play the top teams more often, we'll be in close games more often, and we'll learn loads about being clinical.
2. I'm gutted, but in perspective : Sydney lost yesterday cause of bad kicking. Hawks butchered it and that went away to shaping their game. Indeed the Hawks lost the 2012 GF in similar circumstances to our match ie: they won most stats but not the one that matters. What's that mean? It can happen. It's not a trend for this dogs team. It was bad timing but one of those nights. We had some young guys play very well. If we hadn't shown up at all, that would've been a worry. We'll be fine.
3. When we hit the lead it was like electricity running through me. I loved it. Definitely worth the flights from Brisbane!

Yep when we hit the lead it was pure euphoria. About as close to being plugged into the Matrix as possible.

[Bulldog4life]

I. We failed at the most important stat in football.....goal kicking
2. Jongy showed he is a big game player.
3. Notwithstanding we lost I am still very excited about our future

[LostDoggy]

1 - Our team defence needs work at the G. Bit more space and we looked lost, got sucked up the ground far to often.

2 - Second quarter we dominated play and should have been 3-4 goals up at half time. Poor execution going forward and poor execution when we had a shot on goal. 3 marks inside 50 for 38 entries in the first half is really poor.

3 - We don't have a Dangerfield or Tex who can stand up and will our side over the line in a big match. Yet.

[Bulldog4life]

1 - Our team defence needs work at the G. Bit more space and we looked lost, got sucked up the ground far to often.

2 - Second quarter we dominated play and should have been 3-4 goals up at half time. Poor execution going forward and poor execution when we had a shot on goal. 3 marks inside 50 for 38 entries in the first half is really poor.

3 - We don't have a Dangerfield or Tex who can stand up and will our side over the line in a big match. Yet.

Great point. I noticed this too. So much easier to defend at the narrower Etihad.

[1eyedog]

3. The more I move through time post-loss the harder I'm finding it.
2. I felt for a few minutes when we hit the front pure euphoria. Can't imagine what it would be like to win a Prelim.
1. That I should thank the club for the ride this year. Down and out and all in front of us and we nearly pulled off a Semi Final birth. Well done to all including all members.

[EasternWest]

Dale was on Betts when he kicked his first 3 and was then switched OFF him. Wood and Biggs played on him at various stages after that and Eddie was still pretty prominent for 2 more goals...so I don't really follow this point.

When Betts kicked his first three he was floating out the back of our forward press, each time Wood was the nearest player.

When Morris was switched into a lockdown role, Betts basically became a non factor. It confounds me why that wasn't done after the first goal.

[Remi Moses]

Very true on the defending at Etihad compared to the G.

[SlimPickens]

1. This game should of been played at Etihad. 60K at the G did nothing the sway me from that opinion.
2. I can't wait to get Libba, Stevens and hopefully Smith going through that midfield again.
3. Our big men need to get better at halving one on one marking contests. Especially Redpath (we should
of played Boyd)

[Sedat]

1. This game should of been played at Etihad. 60K at the G did nothing the sway me from that opinion.
Sorry but I would rather play any possible game at the MCG that we can. It is the home of football, the home of finals, and the truest ground size. We need to learn and experience playing there as many times as we can. To hell with the greedy scum-sucking leeches who own Etihad. That piece of shit ground drives our financial bottom line into the dirt every year. They should never get another final scheduled there until they hand over the keys to the AFL.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Sorry but I would rather play any possible game at the MCG that we can. It is the home of football, the home of finals, and the truest ground size. We need to learn and experience playing there as many times as we can. To hell with the greedy scum-sucking leeches who own Etihad. That piece of shit ground drives our financial bottom line into the dirt every year. They should never get another final scheduled there until they hand over the keys to the AFL.

Yep. The majority of Dogs fans seem quite angry that we were denied a home final at ES, and whilst I understand it from a theoretical perspective, to me all it does is reaffirm what people are saying: that we can't get the job done anywhere else.

The only way to improve/fix that, is by actually playing at the MCG. I'm crossing my fingers for 6-7 games at the MCG next season.

[bornadog]

So you prefer a loss at the G versus a win at Etihad.

I will take a win anytime.

[SlimPickens]

Sorry but I would rather play any possible game at the MCG that we can. It is the home of football, the home of finals, and the truest ground size. We need to learn and experience playing there as many times as we can. To hell with the greedy scum-sucking leeches who own Etihad. That piece of shit ground drives our financial bottom line into the dirt every year. They should never get another final scheduled there until they hand over the keys to the AFL.


I've heard this from a number of Dogs fans and I disagree. Our groups best chance of winning this week was on our home deck, not the MCG. Yes the exposure is good but so is winning a final. We could of been playing at the G this week had we got through week one. Give me two (possibly more) finals then going out the first week. We earnt the right to play this game at our home ground and it's BS by the AFL to suggest anything else.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

1. Our inability to man up Eddie Betts was a major factor in the loss.
2. Apart from Dickson our kicking for goal isn't good enough. Bontempelli on two occasions. Crameri with 2.5 for the game and Grant missed far too many gettable goals.
3. We still lack a quality key forward and with the return of Stevens and Liberatore to the midfield next year, Bontempelli to CHF may well be an option.
The inability to settle on a number one ruckman also was a problem with Cordy Minson Campbell and Roughead all tried with mixed results. Minson was very good yesterday against Jacobs which should give him a lot of confidence going in to 2016.

[Bulldog4life]

I've heard this from a number of Dogs fans and I disagree. Our groups best chance of winning this week was on our home deck, not the MCG. Yes the exposure is good but so is winning a final. We could of been playing at the G this week had we got through week one. Give me two (possibly more) finals then going out the first week. We earnt the right to play this game at our home ground and it's BS by the AFL to suggest anything else.

I agree. The AFL covering their backsides in case there were not any finals played at the G on Preliminary final week. Which turned out to be the case

[Sedat]

So you prefer a loss at the G versus a win at Etihad.

I will take a win anytime.
If we need to rely on playing at Etihad to win matches, seriously we may as well shut up shop. Thank Christ that Bevo knows we need to develop a game style that stands up wherever the hell we play, and was delighted to play at the 'G last night.

[Mantis]

3. We still lack a quality key forward and with the return of Stevens and Liberatore to the midfield next year, Bontempelli to CHF may well be an option.


I would be absolutely horrified if we tried to turn the Bont into a full-time CHF.. He was the best clearance player on the ground last night, not bad for a 19yo.

[boydogs]

Bonts is most dangerous as a clearance mid going forward to expose a midfielder opponent

[Remi Moses]

We might as well just give a team a walkover if games are outside of Etihad .
I'm sure we are endeavouring to win everywhere and not just limit ourselves to playing at Etihad, and we need as many games at the G and in front of big crowds . We all want that elusive second flag and the only way we'll get there is winning consistently at the G .

[lemmon]

I would be absolutely horrified if we tried to turn the Bont into a full-time CHF.. He was the best clearance player on the ground last night, not bad for a 19yo.

Not to mention his forward craft is probably the weakest facet to his game. He doesn't mark well above his head for a guy his size and struggles to impact the contest when forward - Mitchy Wallis has been far better at it.

[jazzadogs]

1) I refuse to believe that we failed to stand up, or anything like that. Our set-shot goal kicking has been an issue for most of the season, and I have read on more one occasion a WOOFer say "it will cost us in a final". And it did. It wasn't that they didn't stand up in the big moment...our good shots (Redpath, Dicko) nailed their goals, and our bad shots missed. Bont's two misses will stick with me, and him, for at least 12 months, but his work around the ground showed that he is more than capable of standing up in the big moments.

2) Stringer's two goals, while we would have liked more, showed that is also unnerved by the big moment. That goal from 50 off one step is vintage String. He didn't have his usual impact, but he took his chances and WANTED the chances. Can't wait to see him with another pre-season. Jong has shown two years in a row that he is also a big-game player...I hope this will help him regain the confidence he had early this season.

3) Hasn't been much discussion about it, but Caleb Daniel should not have been the sub. He has performed too well over the past few weeks for that to be his role, and should have been in the starting 21. Or at least subbed in earlier!

[jazzadogs]

Not to mention his forward craft is probably the weakest facet to his game. He doesn't mark well above his head for a guy his size and struggles to impact the contest when forward - Mitchy Wallis has been far better at it.

I'm quite surprised by this and will be interested to read what others think...I certainly don't want Bont as a full time forward as he is too valuable in the middle, but I have felt that on multiple occasions he has either marked uncontested inside 50 through clever positioning, or impacted on a contest in quite a clever way (tap to Dickson last night, against Port where he roved his own contest and snapped the goal).

I don't think forward craft is a concern...with continued strength training to develop power through his shoulders, he'll be fine.

[soupman]

I'm quite surprised by this and will be interested to read what others think...I certainly don't want Bont as a full time forward as he is too valuable in the middle, but I have felt that on multiple occasions he has either marked uncontested inside 50 through clever positioning, or impacted on a contest in quite a clever way (tap to Dickson last night, against Port where he roved his own contest and snapped the goal).

I don't think forward craft is a concern...with continued strength training to develop power through his shoulders, he'll be fine.
I too think he is quite a clever and dangerous forward, but is more valuable in the middle.

He and Stringer are almost perfect to swap, each is very capable in either midfield or attack, but each has one of those areas they are just that bit more effective and damaging in.

[Mantis]

1) I refuse to believe that we failed to stand up, or anything like that. Our set-shot goal kicking has been an issue for most of the season, and I have read on more one occasion a WOOFer say "it will cost us in a final". And it did. It wasn't that they didn't stand up in the big moment...our good shots (Redpath, Dicko) nailed their goals, and our bad shots missed. Bont's two misses will stick with me, and him, for at least 12 months, but his work around the ground showed that he is more than capable of standing up in the big moments.

Whilst I don't want to sound like a prick, having your best player feeling some guilt isn't the world's worst thing. Those set shots will burn for quite a while and I dare say when he turns up for day 1 of the pre-season he might think that he has a fair bit to prove and will be fairly motivated to make sure he does all he can to get better.. I feel sorry for what he will do to opposing teams next year.


2) Stringer's two goals, while we would have liked more, showed that is also unnerved by the big moment. That goal from 50 off one step is vintage String. He didn't have his usual impact, but he took his chances and WANTED the chances. Can't wait to see him with another pre-season. Jong has shown two years in a row that he is also a big-game player...I hope this will help him regain the confidence he had early this season.

Agree on both points.. D.Talia is probably the best 1 on 1 defender in the comp (why did his brother miss out?) and he made it extremely difficult for Jake, but he still probably should have kicked 4.. Another pre-season will do him the world of good.

Lin had the explosive power back in his game on Saturday night, he has good some excellent traits and not the least his ability to mark over his head.


3) Hasn't been much discussion about it, but Caleb Daniel should not have been the sub. He has performed too well over the past few weeks for that to be his role, and should have been in the starting 21. Or at least subbed in earlier!

Yep, we should have pulled the trigger early in the 3rd as it was obvious that HC was battling.

[Ozza]

Yep, we should have pulled the trigger early in the 3rd as it was obvious that HC was battling.

Probably a good thing that the sub is going for next year.

Agree with the above, that the sub should have happened earlier. I get the feeling that the coaches are often worried that if they go off early, and there's an injury - they'll be left one short for too long. And I know Bevo has said that this group hasn't been able to cope in games where we've become one or two short - so that was probably behind the late sub call.

[Rocket Science]

3) Hasn't been much discussion about it, but Caleb Daniel should not have been the sub. He has performed too well over the past few weeks for that to be his role, and should have been in the starting 21. Or at least subbed in earlier!

Agreed. Certainly could have used an additional quarter of his clean, intelligent use.

Wouldn't surprise me one iota if by this time next year he's cemented his spot in our best 22.

[Sedat]

Probably a good thing that the sub is going for next year.

Agree with the above, that the sub should have happened earlier. I get the feeling that the coaches are often worried that if they go off early, and there's an injury - they'll be left one short for too long. And I know Bevo has said that this group hasn't been able to cope in games where we've become one or two short - so that was probably behind the late sub call.
Well he did pull the trigger at half-time in Daniel's first game - that seemed to go alright ;)

Anyway good riddance to the subs vests

[Sedat]

Whilst I don't want to sound like a prick, having your best player feeling some guilt isn't the world's worst thing. Those set shots will burn for quite a while and I dare say when he turns up for day 1 of the pre-season he might think that he has a fair bit to prove and will be fairly motivated to make sure he does all he can to get better.. I feel sorry for what he will do to opposing teams next year.
The lack of a give-off by hand in the last qtr when he kicked out of bounds will stick in his memory bank for a while too I'd suspect. Likewise the non-dish off by Jakey to Wally in the 3rd qtr when he tried to take on the entire Adelaide backline and got caught.

It's a fine line between being "the go-to man" and doing the instinctive team-oriented thing. Bont and Jake clearly have the ability to be the former but it needs to complement the latter, and it didn't in a couple of crucial passages of play on Saturday night. Those sort of mistakes would no doubt burn for the coaches more so than missing set shots.

[LostDoggy]

So you prefer a loss at the G versus a win at Etihad.

I will take a win anytime.
I think what people are saying is that long-term, our lack of game time at the G is what hurts us come finals time, when there just isn't any latitude to learn on the trot. I'd rather lose at the G this year, get a few more games there next year and then win a lot easier at the G in Finals 2016/17, when we're a far more legitimate chance to go all the way.

1) I refuse to believe that we failed to stand up, or anything like that. Our set-shot goal kicking has been an issue for most of the season, and I have read on more one occasion a WOOFer say "it will cost us in a final". And it did. It wasn't that they didn't stand up in the big moment...our good shots (Redpath, Dicko) nailed their goals, and our bad shots missed. Bont's two misses will stick with me, and him, for at least 12 months, but his work around the ground showed that he is more than capable of standing up in the big moments.

I agree. Quite the opposite: We started fast, were over-run and then we DID stand up. It was a marvellous performance that for a few kicks an inch this way or that way would've won the game. If a team is to learn from a finals loss, the lesson we learnt on Saturday night is perhaps the perfect format.


3) Hasn't been much discussion about it, but Caleb Daniel should not have been the sub. He has performed too well over the past few weeks for that to be his role, and should have been in the starting 21. Or at least subbed in earlier!
Daniel was spectacular. Bloke next to me thought that bringing him in at his size was going to hurt us, but in fact his size is his biggest asset. Adelaide had absolutely no idea how to counter the little pest.

My learnings:

1. The Hammer Of The Dogs played an absolutely brilliant game, for mine. I'll admit I love the bloke, but even without bias, his resilience and composure in critical moments in the fourth were absolutely special. He had me shouting out HAMMER TIME far too many times, fans all around me started cringing at the repetitiveness of it all. :)

2. Tex Walker has the heart of Phar Lap beneath that shitty guernsey he wears. Stuff Betts, he got easies out the back. It was Tex, Sloane and Dangerfield that killed us. Second-most inspiring captain in the game.

3. Top 4 next year is not only a must, but it's incredibly achievable for this team with the inclusions of Libba, the Great White Shark, JJ and a fit Roughead. Even allowing that we might lose a player here and there, we've got so much to be excited about that we'd be silly not to let the disappointment burn for just a little while and then look towards a very, very sunny future.

[westdog54]

1. God help whoever we play in round one. Bevo will have this group breathing fire off the back of this loss.
2. If two years ago you'd told me "Gee Koby Stevens will be crucial for finals" I would have given you a resounding slap. We've missed him badly.
3. This group WILL break the drought.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Have to say, Jong has superb. I've read that a few thought he was poor in the first half, I'd have to re-watch the game which I absolutely will not do, but I thought he was one of the biggest positives when I left the G.

Had my doubts on him/his form coming into the game but he lived up to his nickname "Mr. September". His explosiveness was back in a big way, he was as hard as anyone at the contest and that contested grab and goal was brilliant.

Hard to know how much he can improve. He's proven he can play v the best at AFL level, the challenge is to be able to do it consistently. Might be difficult with Libba and Koby back, but he offers us something unique. Another pre-season and Jong could start making serious ground.

[soupman]

Have to say, Jong has superb. I've read that a few thought he was poor in the first half, I'd have to re-watch the game which I absolutely will not do, but I thought he was one of the biggest positives when I left the G.


First quarter he was in the right spots but his execution was lacking. A few haphazard handballs or fumbles. After that though he was fantastic.

[Remi Moses]

I think Lin's carrying a leg injury of some sort as well.
I'd heard the hand was still troubling him as well

[Mantis]

1. God help whoever we play in round one. Bevo will have this group breathing fire off the back of this loss.
2. If two years ago you'd told me "Gee Koby Stevens will be crucial for finals" I would have given you a resounding slap. We've missed him badly.
3. This group WILL break the drought.

What would have added that we didn't already have?

[bulldogsthru&thru]

1. God help whoever we play in round one. Bevo will have this group breathing fire off the back of this loss.
2. If two years ago you'd told me "Gee Koby Stevens will be crucial for finals" I would have given you a resounding slap. We've missed him badly.
3. This group WILL break the drought.

Nothing is certain, but to think we should have the likes of Bont, Macrae, Wallis, Libba, Dahl, Stringer, Boyd (just to name a few) together for 10 years playing at or above this level, we should have a decent shot at it!

[1eyedog]

So you prefer a loss at the G versus a win at Etihad.

I will take a win anytime.

I don't, but playing at the MCG wasn't the reason we lost. We had it in the bag. It was really death by a thousand cuts, many of which were self mutilation. Our kicking for goal were our deepest ones. Could have / should have been up by 3-4 goals at the last change regardless of the efficiency of the Crows.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

I don't, but playing at the MCG wasn't the reason we lost. We had it in the bag. It was really death by a thousand cuts, many of which were self mutilation. Our kicking for goal were our deepest ones. Could have / should have been up by 3-4 goals at the last change regardless of the efficiency of the Crows.

And it wasnt just missed shots at goal. It was the heap of fumbles that normally don't occur and our defense being way too excited and pushing too far up the ground. The latter being the strangest as that's where most of our experience is

[bornadog]

I don't, but playing at the MCG wasn't the reason we lost. We had it in the bag. It was really death by a thousand cuts, many of which were self mutilation. Our kicking for goal were our deepest ones. Could have / should have been up by 3-4 goals at the last change regardless of the efficiency of the Crows.

You didn't answer the question.

[Ghost Dog]

What would have added that we didn't already have?

Badly missed JJ. It was our back half that needed help.

[Sedat]

Badly missed JJ. It was our back half that needed help.
We got it into our forward line 65 times and had 32 scoring shots. I don't think we suffered all that much rebounding out of defence - Biggs was very good on the night and Bob was Bob. JJ would have been handy of course but our run and carry was very good on the night even without him.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

And it wasnt just missed shots at goal. It was the heap of fumbles that normally don't occur and our defense being way too excited and pushing too far up the ground. The latter being the strangest as that's where most of our experience is

Yep. Thought our back 6 were very poor collectively and not much better individually, aside from Hamling who did a fantastic job on Jenkins. Biggs was good too.

Whilst Murphy, Morris and Boyd had some nice moments, and were better in the second half, I was actually disappointed in them. They didn't deal with the pressure well at all several times. Wood had the worst first quarter of a final you're likely to see and Roberts was well beaten as a result of poor team defense.

That said, we still should have won by 4 goals.

[Ghost Dog]

We got it into our forward line 65 times and had 32 scoring shots. I don't think we suffered all that much rebounding out of defence - Biggs was very good on the night and Bob was Bob. JJ would have been handy of course but our run and carry was very good on the night even without him.

I guess I was thinking more of him on Betts. That would have been a better match up. But not sure if we can blame Dale, depending on what the coaching instructions were. He wasn't locked down early enough in any case.

[bornadog]

We got it into our forward line 65 times and had 32 scoring shots. I don't think we suffered all that much rebounding out of defence - Biggs was very good on the night and Bob was Bob. JJ would have been handy of course but our run and carry was very good on the night even without him.

The biggest issue for me was the quality of the 65 inside 50's. More often than not the ball was just banged into the forward line to no one in particular and the Adelaide backs had easy pickings. Even though we missed lots of shots, we should have been having even more shots at goal.

[Sedat]

The biggest issue for me was the quality of the 65 inside 50's. More often than not the ball was just banged into the forward line to no one in particular and the Adelaide backs had easy pickings. Even though we missed lots of shots, we should have been having even more shots at goal.
Yep, there was a fair bit of "long bombs to Snake" about how we just booted it long into the forward 50, especially in the 2nd qtr. When we started spotting up shorter targets in the 3rd qtr we looked far more dangerous going into forward 50.

[bornadog]

I guess I was thinking more of him on Betts. That would have been a better match up. But not sure if we can blame Dale, depending on what the coaching instructions were. He wasn't locked down early enough in any case.

Betts 5 goals, Dicko 5 goals. He wasn't the difference in the end. Adelaide kicked 9 goals from set shots.

Taylor Walker, 10 marks really killed us, he kicked 3.2 but also had 6 inside 50's including a hand in the last goal.

[LostDoggy]

Bevo's criticism of the back 6, particularly in the 1st qtr, was that they were overenthusiastic when we were attacking. They pushed too far forward and allowed too much space in behind. As a result, Crows % of goals from turnovers was very high.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

The biggest issue for me was the quality of the 65 inside 50's. More often than not the ball was just banged into the forward line to no one in particular and the Adelaide backs had easy pickings. Even though we missed lots of shots, we should have been having even more shots at goal.

Exactly what i was thinking on the night - we really could have used Boyd to contest those long bombs

[1eyedog]

You didn't answer the question.

No I would have preferred a win at Etihad rather than a loss at the G.

[jazzadogs]

Yep, there was a fair bit of "long bombs to Snake" about how we just booted it long into the forward 50, especially in the 2nd qtr. When we started spotting up shorter targets in the 3rd qtr we looked far more dangerous going into forward 50.

Great composure by Dahl, Macrae, Bont and Picken on at least one occasion each, to hit up a target on the lead rather than blazing.

Crameri, on the other hand, had three 50m hacked accidental floaters within 5min in the second quarter. His lack of composure (also illustrated by his 2.5) is his biggest ongoing issue.

[Happy Days]

Great composure by Dahl, Macrae, Bont and Picken on at least one occasion each, to hit up a target on the lead rather than blazing.

Crameri, on the other hand, had three 50m hacked accidental floaters within 5min in the second quarter. His lack of composure (also illustrated by his 2.5) is his biggest ongoing issue.

This is spot on. Crameri is a very talented footballer but can be far too linear (and in all honesty stupid) in his game, with and without the ball. When the opposition lined up with 2 certified scrubs in their back 6, one of our three "talls" should have gotten off the chain - 7 scoring shots indicates it probably should have been Stew.

As an aside, given how much we all gave it to him leading up to the game, couldn't help but laugh at whoever Hartigan rotated on to taking him straight back to the square and clearing out 25m of space.

[bornadog]

Exactly what i was thinking on the night - we really could have used Boyd to contest those long bombs

Yes my mates were saying the same thing. I would have had Tom in, instead of Honeychurch and then we could have subbed out either Tom or Red in the last if it wasn't working. Talia would have had to play on Tom as they wouldn't have had anyone else and we would have upset their structure.

Under the current structure, when Red goes into the ruck, we lose something up forward.

[Twodogs]

Would have liked to see Boyd in to exploit a weakness but his form at Footscray didn't warrant a return.

[Ghost Dog]

Would have liked to see Boyd in to exploit a weakness but his form at Footscray didn't warrant a return.

Might have risen to the occasion. I raised my eyebrow at Lin Jong's inclusion. After the first quarter I was backing my judgement, but proven wrong in the second.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

We got it into our forward line 65 times and had 32 scoring shots. I don't think we suffered all that much rebounding out of defence - Biggs was very good on the night and Bob was Bob. JJ would have been handy of course but our run and carry was very good on the night even without him.

The defence gave Eddie Betts far too much latitude with his 5 goals coming with rediculous ease. I felt it was a major factor in the defeat apart from so much inaccuracy when shooting for goal.