Three things I have learned-round 15 v Richmond.

[Twodogs]

Three things you have learned
that the boys may have spurned

[GVGjr]

Bump.

[bulldogtragic]

1. Wood is a leader in every sense.
2. Bonts as a full forward, when he was hot either side of that, is not a good move.
3. We stole that.

[westdog54]

1. Clay Smith could code swap to rugby. Legit.
2. Wood, Bonti and Stringer have stamped their elite status. Got going when the whips were cracking and dragged us kicking and screaming over the line.
3. We need the vibe to be right next week. Boyd has to play.

[1eyedog]

3. Sometimes you've just gotta bank the 4 points and move on.
2. Roughie is not our primary ruck.
1. Clay has come back even stronger.

[Ghost Dog]

1. Suckling, Biggs gave up some important chances and disappointed with their disposal.
2. Great to see Caleb Daniel not afraid to stand up for himself. Going toe to toe with whoever tries to rattle him.
3. Tom Boyd is badly needed up forward.

[bornadog]

1. We have some dumb footballers when kicking inside 50
2. We can turn it on when want to.
3. We can win even though we lost cont. poss.

[SlimPickens]

1. Hospital possessions suck when they lead to our player ending up in hospital.

2. Easton Wood may captain this team for a number of years post Bob.

3. Jake Stringer can stand up when we need him most, Port game and now tonight. Good signs.

[Twodogs]

1. I learned Libba didn't do his knee again tonight-who didn't wonder when he didn't get up?-but what he's done is bad enough.
2. Matthew Suckling can make bad decisions.
3. The footy gods do smile on us. Sometimes. In a helpingtogetusoutofjailandclearoftheperimeterfencetypeway, notgettingoutofagamewithoutlosingonofourbestplayerseverytwow eekstypeway.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

1. Macrae is rarely going to feature as our most sexy player, nor will he inspire kids to display his number on their duffle coat (or what ever it is kids wear to show their devotion today). But by gosh he will always be the heartbeat that never wavers.
2. What the heck do we do when Morris retires. Seriously.. he is more valuable now than he was when we pretended to contend in the years of his so called prime.
3. I am not sure I've ever seen a more natural leader of men emerge at our club in my time than Bontempelli. I thought at various points in time during my life that Templeton then Grant were perhaps the Messiah, only to discover they were only the prophets heralding the coming of Bontempelli. All jokes aside, he is a sterling young man commmanding of respect both on the field and off it.

[Twodogs]

1. I learned Libba didn't do his knee again tonight-who didn't wonder when he didn't get up?-but what he's done is bad enough.
2. Matthew Suckling can make bad decisions.
3. The footy gods do smile on us. Sometimes. In a helpingtogetusoutofjailandclearoftheperimeterfencetypeway, notgettingoutofagamewithoutlosingonofourbestplayerseverytwow eekstypeway.

Oh and one more that came to me during the game.

4. Marcus Bontempelli is a more talented and rounded player than Kelvin Templeton.

[westdog54]

Oh and one more that came to me during the game.

4. Marcus Bontempelli is a more talented and rounded player than Kelvin Templeton.

Knowing you as well as I do, that's a *!*!*!*!ing massive call.

[Twodogs]

Knowing you as well as I do, that's a *!*!*!*!ing massive call.

It is

Maybe KT's feats are fading a bit and maybe because Bont is lucky enough to play in a much better team but Bont just has a quality of picking us up and getting us over the line. I really rate that ability.

KT won lots of games for us off his own boot but that was sheer individual brilliance and a time where a good player could dominate his opponent and win a game. Players can't do that these days so Bont dragging us over the line with individual brilliance and never giving up is more impressive.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Oh and one more that came to me during the game.

4. Marcus Bontempelli is a more talented and rounded player than Kelvin Templeton.

I was a young boy who was completely taken by KT's achievements. He was the personification of what welded me to the Bulldogs. Now as a I present a s a middle aged man, Bontempelli is so much more. Whereas KT was the light in the gloom. Bontempelli presents as the intense flame of hope.
I don't think I unfairly burden the young man with such praise.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

1. Bontempelli can will us over the line.
2. Bulldogs have enough composure to finish out the close ones.
3. We play out the 100 minutes.

[bulldogtragic]

I still have Cripps ahead of him though, clearly..............

[bornadog]

I still have Cripps ahead of him though, clearly..............

You bloody media people :D

[Remi Moses]

1. No more MC to clever by half selections
2. I think The Bont has passed Chris Grant as the best young player that's come through
3. One thing better than beating them once a day, it's twice a day

[comrade]

1. No more MC to clever by half selections
2. I think The Bont has passed Chris Grant as the best young player that's come through
3. One thing better than beating them once a day, it's twice a day

And coming from behind twice to break Tiger hearts. Ain't we stinkers!

[ratsmac]

I learned that
1. The Bont is our General. For a 20 year old to be able to lift an AFL team like he did and does is remarkable. Thank you Simon Dalrymple.
2. The selection table need to wear this one on the chin. Going in with Roughead as the only deso ruck was ambitious and it turned out to be a mistake. It made our mids job that much harder. Not to mention robbing the forward line of our focal point when Roughie needed a break. Silly and it almost cost us dearly.
3. Jake Stringer can kick the sealer in a pressure cooker match too.

[hujsh]

I learned that

3. Jake Stringer can kick the sealer in a pressure cooker match too.

Twice!

[jeemak]

1. If you plonk yourself in your seat and studiously plough through 2.5 plastic Yaks per quarter the micro issues affecting our game play move past you too quickly for them to cause too much worry

2. If you plonk yourself in your seat and studiously plough through 2.5 plastic Yaks per quarter the macro issues affecting our game play don't move past you quickly enough for them not to cause too much worry

3. Micro and macro issues aside, knowing in the back of your mind you're too good for the other mob and you'll get over the line because of that is a great feeling

[LostDoggy]

1. If you plonk yourself in your seat and studiously plough through 2.5 plastic Yaks per quarter the micro issues affecting our game play move past you too quickly for them to cause too much worry

2. If you plonk yourself in your seat and studiously plough through 2.5 plastic Yaks per quarter the macro issues affecting our game play don't move past you quickly enough for them not to cause too much worry

3. Micro and macro issues aside, knowing in the back of your mind you're too good for the other mob and you'll get over the line because of that is a great feeling

What a great way to mirror my view of the game! I watched with a, slightly disapointed, confidence that we would prevail.
This is a very different bulldog.

[SonofScray]

1. Selection was a real factor in our performance, which was poor.

2. Dickson is in poor form, really struggling to have an influence.

3. When you cash in, results go better for you.

[comrade]

For those questioning our 1 ruck selection, could we attribute our fast finish to more running power that the 1 ruck option allowed?

I'm not sure either way but something to consider.

[whythelongface]

1. Winning ugly is underrated. Last night was a very very good win. We played poorly but we were able to lift when it mattered. This is a sign of a team that is a serious contender. Coming off the high that was the Swans game it was always going to be tough.

2. Football is not an exact science. You just never know when your team will show up to play. Enjoy all wins no matter how the team plays.

3. Not our game - but the Swans v Cats game indicates that we are right up there with the main contenders.

[SonofScray]

For those questioning our 1 ruck selection, could we attribute our fast finish to more running power that the 1 ruck option allowed?

I'm not sure either way but something to consider.
I figured that was the logic from the selection panel, to get extra legs in after a slog last week, with minimal risk/threat from Richmond if he we did. However, RFC ground to a halt late, they managed one final push but it was fairly toothless. We hung in there just long enough and nailed our chances. I thought we'd run over over them, but it never came.

[The Underdog]

For those questioning our 1 ruck selection, could we attribute our fast finish to more running power that the 1 ruck option allowed?

I'm not sure either way but something to consider.

We obviously thought we could smash them in the middle and the lack of talls wouldn't hurt us. Unfortunately, Hampson dominating (yeah, really) plus Martin and Cotchin matching our inside mids kind of lay that to waste. It probably turned out to be a positive once Libba went down that we still had mid strength as it were.
I wonder if the MC thought that we'd lack run after the taxing game last week and decided to compensate for that.
Now let's not do it again.

[comrade]

One thing I didn't really learn but I'm more concerned every week is the list imbalance towards midfielders and the complete lack of genuine forwards.

Seeing a rotating forward line of Macrae, Jong, Wallis, Bont, Webb and other mids pretending to be forwards drove me mad. Is it any wonder we don't score with that sort of set up. They don't know when to lead, how to create space, have no chemistry.

We can only go so far with a forward line full of inside midfielders.

[The Underdog]

One thing I didn't really learn but I'm more concerned every week is the list imbalance towards midfielders and the complete lack of genuine forwards.

Seeing a rotating forward line of Macrae, Jong, Wallis, Bont, Webb and other mids pretending to be forwards drove me mad. Is it any wonder we don't score with that sort of set up. They don't know when to lead, how to create space, have no chemistry.

We can only go so far with a forward line full of inside midfielders.

Yeah, but who are the genuine forwards who take those spots?

[comrade]

Yeah, but who are the genuine forwards who take those spots?

That's what I'm worried about.

Boyd and McLean will help but I'm almost at the point where if sacrifice Dahl's midfield game and keep him up forward for at least 50% of his TOG. We have enough inside mid presence to cover him ok and he'd make our forward line a lot less toothless.

[Twodogs]

1. If you plonk yourself in your seat and studiously plough through 2.5 plastic Yaks per quarter the micro issues affecting our game play move past you too quickly for them to cause too much worry

2. If you plonk yourself in your seat and studiously plough through 2.5 plastic Yaks per quarter the macro issues affecting our game play don't move past you quickly enough for them not to cause too much worry

3. Micro and macro issues aside, knowing in the back of your mind you're too good for the other mob and you'll get over the line because of that is a great feeling


Bloody piss pots!:)

[Twodogs]

One thing I didn't really learn but I'm more concerned every week is the list imbalance towards midfielders and the complete lack of genuine forwards.

Seeing a rotating forward line of Macrae, Jong, Wallis, Bont, Webb and other mids pretending to be forwards drove me mad. Is it any wonder we don't score with that sort of set up. They don't know when to lead, how to create space, have no chemistry.

We can only go so far with a forward line full of inside midfielders.

Didn't Webb look at a complete loss up forward yesterday.

[The Underdog]

Didn't Webb look at a complete loss up forward yesterday.

Webb as a mid/forward is still very clearly a work in progress. Dickson in form would help mitigate things but he's so clearly off the ball he's almost a negative. Redpath is a reasonable 2nd banana up forward but just isn't top quality enough to carry the load. Crameri will make a difference but that doesn't help us this year.
Boyd is the key but it's still up in the air as to whether he'll be what we need him to be.

[GVGjr]

For those questioning our 1 ruck selection, could we attribute our fast finish to more running power that the 1 ruck option allowed?

I'm not sure either way but something to consider.

This on top of losing Liberatore for a half.

Redpath made two or three errors in the last quarter despite kicking a goal and to me he looked fatigued.
Given how our midfielders like Bontempelli, Jong and Stevens all tried to help out in the ruck as well I wonder how much fresher our midfield might have been if they had ruckman giving them first use of the ball?

[Smads57]

1. it has already been noted in some previous posts, but I need to say it as well, we need to play forwards who are forwards, not mids who are essentially 'marking time'/'taking space'. I think our drafting later this year needs to consider a genuine forward where possible
2. Bont continues to surprise me as to his ability to release other players with his handball skills.
2. i thought Dickson looked a bit better in the last quarter when allowed to play on the wing versus deep forward

[jeemak]

Bloody piss pots!:)

I don't usually let rip at games, but my non-Bulldog mate was in the mood for it last night and we subsequently tied one on.

[GVGjr]

1. it has already been noted in some previous posts, but I need to say it as well, we need to play forwards who are forwards, not mids who are essentially 'marking time'/'taking space'. I think our drafting later this year needs to consider a genuine forward where possible


Didn't we do that a couple of seasons back?
McLean, Webb, Hamiliton and Dale were essentially forwards that rotated through the midfield. Dale was more of a midfield player.

[ratsmac]

I have another thing I learned

4. Libba must shutter when he plays against Richmond. First an ACL now a rib injury and ended up in hospital.

[Bullies]

1. Macrae is rarely going to feature as our most sexy player, nor will he inspire kids to display his number on their duffle coat (or what ever it is kids wear to show their devotion today). But by gosh he will always be the heartbeat that never wavers.
2. What the heck do we do when Morris retires. Seriously.. he is more valuable now than he was when we pretended to contend in the years of his so called prime.
3. I am not sure I've ever seen a more natural leader of men emerge at our club in my time than Bontempelli. I thought at various points in time during my life that Templeton then Grant were perhaps the Messiah, only to discover they were only the prophets heralding the coming of Bontempelli. All jokes aside, he is a sterling young man commmanding of respect both on the field and off it.
So glad someone thinks the same of Macrae. Hard at it and a tackling machine. His hands are super quick. He is under rated.

[bulldogtragic]

So glad someone thinks the same of Macrae. Hard at it and a tackling machine. His hands are super quick. He is under rated.

There's a lot of love for him on here, including me. Jeemak in particular is chief of the fan club.

[jeemak]

So glad someone thinks the same of Macrae. Hard at it and a tackling machine. His hands are super quick. He is under rated.


There's a lot of love for him on here, including me. Jeemak in particular is chief of the fan club.

We're a growing band.

He's got a way to go in building his game offensively, some of his kicking can be haphazard and he's not scoring enough for my liking. However, the effort is there week in, week out and he puts his body on the line for the team without thinking about it.

For a young player that's an excellent base to start with. He'll be scary good in a couple of years.

[Remi Moses]

Sometimes undoes his good work with those dinky round the corner kicks, but he's seriously underrated .

[GVGjr]

Macrae is often in my votes, I really admire this strengths. What I think many would count as a weakness is his complete lack of effort to contribute to the scoreboard. In 15 games this year he has scored just 1 goal and 2 behinds. And that 1 goal was in the first game of the season. We should expect more from a midfielder and especially one who occasionally starts forward

In comparison defenders like, Biggs has kicked 4 goals 2 in the same number of games as Macrae and JJ 5 goals 1 in 6 games this year.

Macrae has had a very good year but he needs to contribute more to our goal scoring.

[bornadog]

Macrae is often in my votes, I really admire this strengths. What I think many would count as a weakness is his complete lack of effort to contribute to the scoreboard. In 15 games this year he has scored just 1 goal and 2 behinds. And that 1 goal was in the first game of the season. We should expect more from a midfielder and especially one who occasionally starts forward

In comparison defenders like, Biggs has kicked 4 goals 2 in the same number of games as Macrae and JJ 5 goals 1 in 6 games this year.

Macrae has had a very good year but he needs to contribute more to our goal scoring.

That is also my only real concern with him ie the lack of goals, and confidence to have a shot. I think the dinky round the corner shots have virtually been eliminated.

[Twodogs]

Macrae is often in my votes, I really admire this strengths. What I think many would count as a weakness is his complete lack of effort to contribute to the scoreboard. In 15 games this year he has scored just 1 goal and 2 behinds. And that 1 goal was in the first game of the season. We should expect more from a midfielder and especially one who occasionally starts forward

In comparison defenders like, Biggs has kicked 4 goals 2 in the same number of games as Macrae and JJ 5 goals 1 in 6 games this year.

Macrae has had a very good year but he needs to contribute more to our goal scoring.

Macrae not only starts forward but he often finds himself with a shot at goal but gives it off. He has to take the opportunity more often.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

This on top of losing Liberatore for a half.

Redpath made two or three errors in the last quarter despite kicking a goal and to me he looked fatigued.
Given how our midfielders like Bontempelli, Jong and Stevens all tried to help out in the ruck as well I wonder how much fresher our midfield might have been if they had ruckman giving them first use of the ball?

I was thinking also, that maybe Bev knew we were a tad tired from the sydney game so opted for an extra midfielder to cover it? I know the one ruckman strategy hurt us, but would we have fared even worse if we lost a midfielder for an extra tall? Hard to say but Bev did indicate in the post match presser that we wouldnt go in with that setup again.

[Ozza]

1. Redpath can not be considered a 2nd ruck option. He should only be considered 'in case of emergency' in terms of the centre bounces.

2. It's all well and good to have a mantra of 'flexibility' - but our coaches have gotten the balance wrong. When we reverted to having the forwards play forward, and the mids playing midfield - in the last quarter - for a sustained period, the game turned.

3. Stringer's kicking for goal is back to what it was when he first got to the club. He has really turned it around since the North Melbourne game, with the Geelong game (where I think his shots were from 55) the only aberration.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

1. Redpath can not be considered a 2nd ruck option. He should only be considered 'in case of emergency' in terms of the centre bounces.

2. It's all well and good to have a mantra of 'flexibility' - but our coaches have gotten the balance wrong. When we reverted to having the forwards play forward, and the mids playing midfield - in the last quarter - for a sustained period, the game turned.

3. Stringer's kicking for goal is back to what it was when he first got to the club. He has really turned it around since the North Melbourne game, with the Geelong game (where I think his shots were from 55) the only aberration.

Stringer's set shots on Saturday were half kicks but still with a follow through. Much easier to control and less demanding mentally on game day. Obviously the way to go: practise and on game day kick like at practice.

[Mofra]

Stringer's set shots on Saturday were half kicks but still with a follow through. Much easier to control and less demanding mentally on game day. Obviously the way to go: practise and on game day kick like at practice.
I think he's doing what Chris Grant did to overcome the yips - ignore the sticks and kick as if he's passing the ball to someone in the crowd. Certainly not overkicking it when he's 35-40m out. If it works, it works.

[Mantis]

1/ Our forwards & mids are lazy when sides use the ball smart against us through the middle of the ground.. We set up for the 'bomb', but get caught out when sides chip it around.

2/ We have to be patient in games.. It took 3 quarters to start to find space in our forward-line.. But when it opened up we were dangerous.

3/ If we can't change the way we play or teams are denying our wish we need to change our personnel & structure.

[stefoid]

Stringer kicked 11.10 in his first 6 games this year and 22.5 since then. Can we call the yips gone? I *!*!*!*!ing hope so.

[Jam Donuts]

Whilst I respect your opinion, I just cant agree, he still has a way to go yet, lets hope he gets there.

[craigsahibee]

1. If you plonk yourself in your seat and studiously plough through 2.5 plastic Yaks per quarter the micro issues affecting our game play move past you too quickly for them to cause too much worry

2. If you plonk yourself in your seat and studiously plough through 2.5 plastic Yaks per quarter the macro issues affecting our game play don't move past you quickly enough for them not to cause too much worry

3. Micro and macro issues aside, knowing in the back of your mind you're too good for the other mob and you'll get over the line because of that is a great feeling

1. A win and 10 plastic yaks is a bloody good night at the footy.

[bornadog]

Whilst I respect your opinion, I just cant agree, he still has a way to go yet, lets hope he gets there.

Who?

[Ghost Dog]

1/ Our forwards & mids are lazy when sides use the ball smart against us through the middle of the ground.. We set up for the 'bomb', but get caught out when sides chip it around.

2/ We have to be patient in games.. It took 3 quarters to start to find space in our forward-line.. But when it opened up we were dangerous.

3/ If we can't change the way we play or teams are denying our wish we need to change our personnel & structure.

We did try to change our structure didn't we? Stringer went to the centre. Bont went forward.

[1eyedog]

1/ Our forwards & mids are lazy when sides use the ball smart against us through the middle of the ground.. We set up for the 'bomb', but get caught out when sides chip it around.

2/ We have to be patient in games.. It took 3 quarters to start to find space in our forward-line.. But when it opened up we were dangerous.

3/ If we can't change the way we play or teams are denying our wish we need to change our personnel & structure.

That's not lazy most teams can be opened up through the middle of the ground with smart ball use / precise kicking. It's why Hawthorn is on top of the ladder. Also, most teams set up for the long kick and don't mind chip kicks because it doesn't affect structure. Settingt up the other way around would be scoreboard suicide.

[1eyedog]

1. A win and 10 plastic yaks is a bloody good night at the footy.

Also a bloody expensive one, but after the sixth who cares?

[Mantis]

We did try to change our structure didn't we? Stringer went to the centre. Bont went forward.

More so about not playing a tall up forward at all times and also clogging up the forward-line with inside mids.

Stringer & Bont have moved between roles for most of the season.

[Mantis]

That's not lazy most teams can be opened up through the middle of the ground with smart ball use / precise kicking. It's why Hawthorn is on top of the ladder. Also, most teams set up for the long kick and don't mind chip kicks because it doesn't affect structure. Settingt up the other way around would be scoreboard suicide.

Middle section of the ground, not just the corridor. Richmond just chipped the ball around and we made very little effort to pick up a man, we just guarded space very poorly.. We were unable to adjust and a better would have had the game won a 3/4 time... The number of times that Wallis, Picken, Bont, Macrae, Stevens and Daniel were not pushing hard enough to find a man was concerning.. At least for me.

Geelong walked the ball out of defence in a similiar fashion.

[jeemak]

Also a bloody expensive one, but after the sixth who cares?

I had an early dinner so saved on food!

[Ghost Dog]

More so about not playing a tall up forward at all times and also clogging up the forward-line with inside mids.

Stringer & Bont have moved between roles for most of the season.

We did over-do the hand passing. If the pressure is that intense would like to see big long handpasses used instead rather than flipping it around several times only to turn it over. Picken is pretty good at the long-bomb handpass.
Suckling scored the first goal in a way I'd like us to try more of. Getting caught in that thickly defended area just around the 50 seems to be a habit.

[LostDoggy]

1.We looked cooked at 1/2 time.But we still found a way to win.

2.Roberts played his best game for the year.

3.I can't stand watching tight games at home.

[S Coast Simon]

Clay Smith just might be our Max Rooke. I always thought we needed someone that hurts people when he tackles them and Clay is it. Puts fear in the opposition when he's running at them.

Thought Webb hit in hard when it was his turn. Some of his tackles were on par with Macrae. Like what the coaches are doing

Fletcher has great skills for a big guy. If he continues to get a little bit better each game he will be a good CHB one day for sure

[Mantis]

Fletcher has great skills for a big guy. If he continues to get a little bit better each game he will be a good CHB one day for sure

Yeah his kick inside 50 in the first couple of minutes was a cracker. :rolleyes:

[Dancin' Douggy]

Stringer kicked 11.10 in his first 6 games this year and 22.5 since then. Can we call the yips gone? I *!*!*!*!ing hope so.
wow. 22/5 that's rarified air. Let's hope he keeps it up.
I reckon he will.
I KNOW he will.

[Ghost Dog]

wow. 22/5 that's rarified air. Let's hope he keeps it up.
I reckon he will.
I KNOW he will.

When Barry Hall was kicking for goal, I felt relaxed. Getting that way with Jake now. Most often he will get it, even if the pressure is immense.

[1eyedog]

I had an early dinner so saved on food!

Good move and good to see you have your priorities in order.

[Happy Days]

I only just finished the replay, here's mine;

- I can't work a 5-close when the footy is on. Spent the entirety of the game with the match centre from afl.com.au open on the register.

- We have a squad of A-grade heavy artillery that can, and often does, win finals without the assistance of their teammates. We won this game because we had Wood/Stringer/Bont and Richmond didn't.

- Treating the ruck with contempt doesn't work even when you don't play Ayce Cordy. Boyd has to come in this week.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Redpath is a danger to goal umpires with his stab pass goals.