Three things I've learned-round 20 v North Melbourne

[Twodogs]

Testing 1, 2, 3
Testing 1, 2, 3

Three things if you please.

[GVGjr]

Count them down. 3 things you have learned from tonight game.

[bulldogtragic]

1. Foot skills are King. Hrovat & Webb make a difference.
2. We don't get bullied by faux tough men anymore. We fight back, hard.
3. This is a hell of a roller coaster season!!

[SlimPickens]

1. Bloody hell that was a young team, what an outstanding win effort against a bunch of geriatrics.
2. Fletch copes it from all angles but this game could be the making of him.
3. I hate Norf, the most, used to be the pies but now I hate Norf the most. Useless bunch of pseudo tough men with minimal ability.

[Ghost Dog]

1.North can't function in their forward line without Brown. Big out.
2.Was a pleasure to watch Lukas Webb. At first glance, he has all aspects of the game covered and just needs to build game time.
3. Liked the Bont heckle at Firrito after the spoil. Have never seen another player on our list do anything like that. Took it to him.

[westbulldog]

1. Whoever makes up the script for our banner has a fine sense of humour.
2. Shane Biggs is a very composed defender.
3. Caleb Daniel gets better and better.

[Twodogs]

1. There's a very good strategic mind ticking away in the coaches box. Nearly every plan came off.
2. This group isn't going to be pushed around. Especially by faux tough guys.
3. That was the most spirited rendition of the club song I've heard for a while.
3.5 I underestimated how much we missed Luke Dalhaus.

[Remi Moses]

1. First time since early in the year our back six looked dangerous
2. Thought the no name backs were terrific
3. That's as close as Furrito will ever get to being a decent footballer
That was as obvious as Brad Scott having his arms out whinging, the pseudo tough by BS

[SonofScray]

1. Norf are extremely cowardly. Previously I assume they were only mildly cowardly.

2. Bont has bucket loads of swagger to match his godliness. He will beat you. He may even beat you up.

3. We are exceptional at locking down games and turning it into a slug fest. Tonight felt like Plan C.

[bornadog]

1. We can still win even if we lose all the major stats, Cont.Poss, Stoppages, disposals etc.

2. Tom Boyd looked a little stuffed - he can't ruck and be a FF

3. We play to plan we can win

[LostDoggy]

My biggest take from the game is that 3 guys who needed to show something if we were to win all did something substantial and took further steps to being long term Bulldogs:

- Lin Jong won a team high 11 contested possessions and generally showed good intensity and composure
- Lukas Webb won a team high 5 clearances, 8 contested balls and generally showed quality
- Hrovat showed class, 86% disposal efficiency, 4 tackles, important goal. Looked right at home.

[merantau]

Our depth has really been tested this year but the list has risen to the challenge. Roberts and Hamling were very good down back. Webb and Hrovat were good contributors and Zaine bounced back to kick a pressure goal shortly after missing a very getable one.
Marcus Bontempelli will be an inspirational captain one day.
Our old hands down back are worth their weight in gold. I loved the way Easton Wood put his hand up in the last five minutes.
We have a lot of self-belief and we are building a team to be reckoned with.

[merantau]

Our depth has really been tested this year but the list has risen to the challenge. Roberts and Hamling were very good down back. Webb and Hrovat were good contributors and Zaine bounced back to kick a pressure goal shortly after missing a very getable one.
Marcus Bontempelli will be an inspirational captain one day.
Our old hands down back are worth their weight in gold. I loved the way Easton Wood put his hand up in the last five minutes.
We have a lot of self-belief and we are building a team to be reckoned with.

[Eastdog]

Three Things

1. We still have a big part to play in season 2016

2. Bonti is a huge chance for the Brownlow

3. Injuries have hit us especially down back but still we have been great defensively

[F'scary]

1. Norf are oiled wankers
2. They act tuff but they are not
3. Their supporters disappear if it looks like they are not winning.
4. They umps favour them for some reason that has to do with drug importation and NMFC

[Ghost Dog]

1. Norf are oiled wankers
2. They act tuff but they are not
3. Their supporters disappear if it looks like they are not winning.
4. They umps favour them for some reason that has to do with drug importation and NMFC

It's crazy their fans left early. They were still technically in that game with 10 minutes to go.

[chef]

1. Bont has gone next level. Loves the physical stuff, rough him up at your peril

2. Hunter seems to be the new whipping boy. Which is sad as he's a very good footballer, but some focus on what he doesn't do rather than what he does.

3. This foward setup wont win us a final. We badly need Camhead back and Boyd staying deep.

[comrade]

3. This foward setup wont win us a final. We badly need Camhead back and Boyd staying deep.

Yep, I'm desperate to see a Camhead + Boyd line up. Will help Boyd so much. The bloke is stuffed when he gets time in the forward line.

[EasternWest]

2. Hunter seems to be the new whipping boy. Which is sad as he's a very good footballer, but some focus on what he doesn't do rather than what he does.


Are players immune from criticism due to the good things they do?

Hunter works very hard and accumulates a heap of possession. But he's careless with the ball and his disposal can be sloppy and it hurts us.

If you think some on here think he's a whipping boy, perhaps you should consider why the opposition is happy to let a guy like him rack up possession.

That being said, despite a few clangers I thought he played a pretty good game last night. Credit will be given where it's due, but so should criticism.

[jeemak]

Agreed on Hunter EW. In the game day thread I mentioned he figured prominently in our best and worst yesterday which is as balanced as it can get.

To me it seems between the ears as much as anything else. Whist his hand and foot disposal technique isn't perfect it's not atrocious and shouldn't be a barrier to not using it well. Hopefully things tighten up as he matures.

[Go_Dogs]

1. Hamling and Roberts may yet be our long term answers in the key defensive posts. That was the best games they've played this season (admittedly helped by Brown going off injured) but it should give them confidence to build on and renewed faith for us supporters.

2. Zaine Cordy might yet be the forward we've been looking for - didn't see that one coming.

3. Webb - he will be able to impact games as a midfielder, great to see him spend more time in the role we've been developing him in at VFL level.

[Templeton31]

I've been OS since the Swans game so first one I've seen for 4-5 weeks. As a consequence my 3 things are compared with 5 weeks ago:

1. Our run and movement out of the back line (transition) has improved. JJ is back, Dal, M Boyd and Caleb doing great.

2. Players look a lot better when playing the position they know. Hamling, Jong, Hrovart, T Boyd look much better playing the position they know. Hamling most noticeable. Conversely playing a position they are not so practiced can make them look ordinary - Hamling in the fwd line, Cordy in the fwd line, Jong in the fwd line.

3. T Boyd might not have caught many (any) last night but he knows how to play key forward and we seem to be using him in that role more now. Out of the square, hit up man on the wing, marking the long ball from kick outs he was there.

3.5. Players like T Boyd get slammed for not enough touches/goals but gee they are important. Round the league I think of Hawkins, Patton, Ben Brown, Daniher, Tex Walker etc and they often have games with not many touches but they are such key players in going forward as can be kicked to and a contest made for little men to then get involved. It doesn't measure in stats but very important to structure. Norf looked a lot worse when Brown went off and Petrie continued to be awful (or beaten by Fletcher depending on your point of view). Very important.

[Mofra]

1. Webb's work in close was outstanding. Led our side for clearances, a kid in his third game for the year. Probably rated about 30-35 on our list right now and he can do that at AFL level. Excellent.

2. Zaine has some real mongrel to his game, he'll make it.

3. If we took Dunkley at pick 11 I'd be satisfied we got value. He is going to be fantastic, his tiny touches, taps and positioning is already excellent. A natural footballer.

[bulldogtragic]

1. Webb's work in close was outstanding. Led our side for clearances, a kid in his third game for the year. Probably rated about 30-35 on our list right now and he can do that at AFL level. Excellent.

2. Zaine has some real mongrel to his game, he'll make it.

3. If we took Dunkley at pick 11 I'd be satisfied we got value. He is going to be fantastic, his tiny touches, taps and positioning is already excellent. A natural footballer.

Perfect summation, and about 20 games combined.

[boydogs]

1. You can't write this group off, they will make you look silly
2. We can win very low scoring games
3. Cordy is taller than Hamling

http://puu.sh/qsIHW/f7b166183c.jpg

[LostDoggy]

And they are both taller than wonderful Caleb!!

[Murphy'sLore]

And they are both taller than wonderful Caleb!!

That, I already knew :)

[LostDoggy]

1.Put a fork in him-Petrie is cooked
2.Winning ugly is still great to watch especially against the Knob Jockey's of Norf.
3.The Bont takes shit from no-one.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

1. If you think you can't love Dale Morris any more than you already do you can
2. When Footscray were playing Webb upfield I wondered why now I get it
3. Norf have out bittered me by a mile
Quite an educational week