Game Day Round 21 2016 - Western Bulldogs V Collingwood

[Eastdog]

Margin: Dogs by 28 points
First Goal: T Boyd - Need a big game from Tom
Best On Ground: Bonti - To continue is good form
Crowd: 41,541

Go Bulldogs!

[comrade]

Dogs by 17
FG: Dicko
BOG: Hunter

Crowd: 38K

[bornadog]

Dogs by 21
First Goal: Suckling
BOG: Bont

[Smads57]

Dogs by 12 pts (another heart in mouth game)
First goal to Zaine Cordy this week
BOG Matty Boyd

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 37 pts

FG-SSSTTTRRRRIIIINNNGGGEEERRRR!!!!!!

BOG-JJ

39,456

[bulldogtragic]

Dogs by 78
BOG Tom Boyd (7 goals, 4 actual free kicks paid to him!)
FG Stringer

[Ozza]

Dogs by 26
First Goal - Dickson
BOG - Bont....as always.
Crowd - 40,012

[Go_Dogs]

Dogs by 58
First goal Boyd
BOG JJ

[Bulldog4life]

Dogs by 18
First goal Hunter
BOG The Bont

If we win we would recorded a fourth-straight win over Collingwood for the first time in 70 years so c'mon doggies.

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 53
1st goal: Hrovat
BOG: Bont (although opposition coach will fail to give him a vote)

[KT31]

Dogs by 27pts
1st Goal - Tommy Boyd
BOG - Bonts

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Dogs by 15 points - we just don't blow side away
First goal: Dickson
BOG: Biggs

[1eyedog]

Dogs by 42 points
First goal Tom Boyd
BOG: Bont of course

[AndrewP6]

Dogs by 22
First goal Boyd Jr
BOG: The Bont
Crowd: 31,933

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Dogs by 11
BOG JJ
First goal Picken

[Remi Moses]

Dogs by 12 pts
1st goal Dickson
BOG The Bont

[Remi Moses]

Stevo reporting late change for Pies.
Pendles or Moore

[bornadog]

No late changes

[GVGjr]

No late changes


For either side?

[bornadog]

For either side?
Yes, both sides

[GVGjr]

Yes, both sides
Good, we need to be tested and both Pendles and Moore often play well against us.

[EasternWest]

Biggs has brought his own footy.

[GVGjr]

How exciting are JJ and Biggs in the backline?

[Eleanor Street]

They have no confidence going forward at all. Even Bont stops at the 50, wastes five seconds and just lobs it in. Caleb needs to learn to honor a lead. Iv'e seen him several times ignoring a lead and just lobbing it in to no advantage.

[AndrewP6]

Good contest by Boyd Jr, Smith finishes it off.

[chef]

Free kick for running into the fence WTF

[Eleanor Street]

Zane Cordy showing his stuff. standing out.

[EasternWest]

Zane Cordy showing his stuff. standing out.

He has been beastly so far. Bulldogtragic was right, again.

[bulldogtragic]

Missing easy shots killing us again. Zaine the difference so far.

[Bulldog4life]

Match changed after Dunkley missed that sitter

[GVGjr]

Cracking contest but we are having troubles with some of our finishing skills. We need something from Stringer in the 2nd half

[GVGjr]

Match changed after Dunkley missed that sitter

Real shame. He just pops up whenit counts. Its a shame he isnt better with his set shots

[bulldogtragic]

Match changed after Dunkley missed that sitter

Yep. I thought we had our foot on their throat almost if he'd kicked that. We just miss so many gettable goals. So, so many that it's got to be reflecting on the forward coach.

[Bulldog4life]

Real shame. He just pops up whenit counts. Its a shame he isnt better with his set shots

He tends to lay back when kicking for goal I noticed

[GVGjr]

Woofers are quiet tonight.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

We need a restructure up forward. Gia has had enough time and the results are awful.

We have little system.

[chef]

He tends to lay back when kicking for goal I noticed

Hes got a terrible ball drop which is surprising as i would have thought his dad would have known better and made sure his kid knew how to kick neatly.

[chef]

We are really missing Adams and Morris down back tonight.

[Ghost Dog]

I just got in and saw the score to my horror. 1 point the difference at half time. Dogs, what is going on?

[Twodogs]

Hes got a terrible ball drop which is surprising as i would have thought his dad would have known better and made sure his kid knew how to kick neatly.

Did you ever see his dad kick? It wasn't his strongest suite.

[GVGjr]

Morris gave a sensational overiew of the backline and his injury at the Players Sponors room. I will try and remember to type something up later

[GVGjr]

Did you ever see his dad kick? It wasn't his strongest suite.

I think that's the point Chef is making

[Twodogs]

Come on boys.

[1eyedog]

I just got in and saw the score to my horror. 1 point the difference at half time. Dogs, what is going on?

Lack of forward structure as usual. No linear trajectory into the forward line as usual. Its always chaos.

[chef]

Did you ever see his dad kick? It wasn't his strongest suite.

Thats what i mean about making sure his son didnt have the same fault;), as i said his dad should have known better.

[Ghost Dog]

Thanks 1eye

Collingwood won seven of the last nine clearances of the first half. Brodie Grundy won four hitouts-to-advantage during this period with three of them launching goals. - AFL

Getting killed in the ruck by the sounds.

[Bulldog4life]

Stringer 2 touches

[Twodogs]

Lack of forward structure as usual. No linear trajectory into the forward line as usual. Its always chaos.

If that means we won't kick it straight into the forward line, I agree.

[Twodogs]

Thanks 1eye

Collingwood won seven of the last nine clearances of the first half. Brodie Grundy won four hitouts-to-advantage during this period with three of them launching goals. - AFL

Getting killed in the ruck by the sounds.


That tells the story.

[Eleanor Street]

We need a restructure up forward. Gia has had enough time and the results are awful.

We have little system.
I agree. The sides well under us have more structure going forward. Players running to space and kickers hitting them up. Should I say it's like under 16's. It is the last piece of the pie. Suckers hasn't done much.

[1eyedog]

If that means we won't kick it straight into the forward line, I agree.

No idea what it means I read it somewhere and thought it sounded smart

[Ghost Dog]

Jake Stringer to the midfield please. 2 touches is deplorable. I do not want to go to Perth.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Going to be a very tight second half I think. We've let Collingwood get a real decent confidence boost with that second quarter and they will really be hard to shake off now.

[Eleanor Street]

How's the bounce. the footy gods aren't with us.

[bulldogtragic]

Our forward 50 effort is getting to disgusting level.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

That decision on Hamling..what a crock. Absolute horrid call.

[bulldogtragic]

Now this from the umpires. FFS.

[jeemak]

Wow, we really piss fart around with the footy.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Oh Okay. So it's not chopping the arms in a marking contest, when the choppee is Tom Boyd???

[EasternWest]

I would love Darcy Moore in my side. He looks likely to clunk it every time he goes near it.

[westbulldog]

is anyone playing on Treloar ?

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Wow. Fletch... that's a bit rubbish.

[bulldogtragic]

Home final not enough motivation?

[AndrewP6]

This is simply awful.

[Bulldog4life]

Roberts fumbling cost us a goal. Jongy goal

[1eyedog]

What happened to Clay?

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Lovely finish from 50 by Lin Jong!

[FrediKanoute]

Smith's off

[Ghost Dog]

Great mark Hammers. One player who has stepped up.
CD to Bont, Goal, back on track. Well done Bonty.
In a few minutes Bont gets really involved. Suckling....drat. Sprays it and we point.
Jong gets one and we are back in front.

[Stefcep]

Bont lifting

[Stefcep]

Jong lifting

[Rocket Science]

Reckon Jong just upped the Collingwood offer on the table.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Fantastic back to back long range running goals by Jong!

[FrediKanoute]

Every time I think Jong is overated and not worth it.....he does something great.

[Ghost Dog]

What a come back. Dickson scrambles through with great pressure. 73 66 our way.

[EasternWest]

Dickson worked bloody hard for that.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Reckon Jong just upped the Collingwood offer on the table.

and/or ours

[AndrewP6]

A bit of a lift and we are back in it.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I get the feeling I'm going to be hating Darcy Moore for a very long time...

[FrediKanoute]

Boyd needs to sit down and watch what darcy Moore does. He is a great exponent of forward craft - will be the next BIG forward in the game

[Ghost Dog]

Well defended that time by Roberts. Scores are level.

[Ghost Dog]

Boyd needs to sit down and watch what darcy Moore does. He is a great exponent of forward craft - will be the next BIG forward in the game

His hands look too soft at times.

[Stefcep]

Boyd needs to sit down and watch what darcy Moore does. He is a great exponent of forward craft - will be the next BIG forward in the game

does he do any rucking?

[bulldogtragic]

Can someone call the club and see if Hunter has a right foot? Two times caught HTB 20 metres out,..

[GVGjr]

We are working overtime for not enough reward at the moment. Need a bit lift for the final quarter

[bulldogtragic]

does he do any rucking?

We are smarter. We get a blue chip pick one KPF and we ruck him.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Hunter is a very frustrating player.

Suckling poor too.

Can't see us winning this.

[Stefcep]

We are smarter. We get a blue chip pick one KPF and we ruck him.

Ridiculous, isn't it?

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

This is going to be a tough final quarter. Need another quarter like that from Bont in the last. C'mon

[The Underdog]

We are smarter. We get a blue chip pick one KPF and we ruck him.

Well seeing as Roughy is a better contested Mark, maybe not such a bad plan

[EasternWest]

Hamling has shown some more encouraging signs tonight.

[EasternWest]

Rat is a nifty little footballer.

If we win this game it'll be on the back of Bontempelli's will alone. He's a freak.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Great start this last quarter. First two goals.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Some very poor goal-kicking by Dunkley, undoes so much good work

[Ghost Dog]

We are working overtime for not enough reward at the moment. Need a bit lift for the final quarter

If you don't kick goals from right in front, you deserve to lose. Basically.

[chef]

Thats a killer from Dunks. Got to nail those.

[Bulldog4life]

Some very poor goal-kicking by Dunkley, undoes so much good work
Rather he hanballed it off

[Ghost Dog]

Nathan the Rat. Outmarks a taller Varco to mark in the 50. Unreal. and kicks it!

[Murphy'sLore]

This is not doing my blood pressure any good at all.

[EasternWest]

Stringer has been rubbish tonight.

I think he's still injured. If he's not, then he needs a talking to. Too happy to play from behind and too easily taken out of the play.

[KT31]

How is it all night they seem to have had the lose men ?

[KT31]

Just when Jong starts to turn me around he turns it over so easily.

[Ghost Dog]

Jong. Atrocious turnover. Scores tied.

[Rocket Science]

I love Caleb Daniel like the son I've never had but jeezus he's turned it over this quarter.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Picken. Immense.

[EasternWest]

Biggs has just been fantastic tonight.

[KT31]

Picken. Immense.

Been brilliant tonight.

[Stefcep]

Phew....

[KT31]

Sit down and take a deep breath, another close one.

[jeemak]

Hunter can really dick around with it.

[bulldogtragic]

*!*!*!*! you Margetts. *!*!*!*! you very much.

[EasternWest]

Cracking game. Maybe not a great game to watch but hard to fault both teams desire.

A lot to love about our guys, but still so many worrisome signs.

Happy to take the points and a longer break.

[Murphy'sLore]

If we didn't have Bonti...

[bulldogtragic]

Good win, poor footy at times. Take the points and get this home final boys.

[GVGjr]

Hamling has shown some more encouraging signs tonight.
Agreed, he was good last week as well

[Eleanor Street]

Biggs has just been fantastic tonight.
Absolutely. and joel hamling gives some more aerial skills to the defense. That was the most anxious game this year. The first I've watched on the tv. It seem when we start to attack the defense via the mid field suffers. We can't do both at he moment Sometimes I don't know how we get through.

[chef]

What a frantic game. Love our never say die attitude.

[KT31]

If we didn't have Bonti...

But we do.:):):):):):):):):):)

[Eleanor Street]

If Bevo isn't frustrated by the forward structure, he must be looking much further ahead than me. Did it seem some players stood of a bit in the last quarter, Suckling, Stringer?

[bornadog]

I don't know if my heart can take these. Why can't we win comfortably

[merantau]

We showed character in truck loads out there tonight. It wasn't pretty but, the desperation needle got screwed off its axle. There were so many acts of sheer bloody mindedness NOT to give in, NOT to concede, but to go again, get a hand in, lay a tackle, spoil, harass, break free, DO whatever it takes, that this win must go down as one out of the top drawer. I am just so proud of the team. I died a thousand deaths but I've never felt more alive than I did in the last ten seconds when I knew we'd won Just a magnificent collective effort. GO DOGS!!!

[Hotdog60]

I think Tom Campbell is becoming a big missing piece to the forward line puzzle.
With Tom C in it will allow Boyd to stay forward.

[GVGjr]

I don't know if my heart can take these. Why can't we win comfortably

Twodogs gave me a great response to this a few weeks ago. He's not too old to have the team winning close games but he is probably too old to have them losing close games. Food for thought :)

[Ghost Dog]

A few game-saving tackles away from angina there. if we could kick a bit straighter please it would save me an enormous amount of stress. We made such hard work of that. Glad to chalk it up. Bont the big difference.

[jeemak]

On the train home, it feels good to be the winner of a close Friday night game against a big club.

Have to say, much like last week, I was completely underwhelmed by the turnout of Pies fans. Disappointing effort on their behalf.

[LostDoggy]

What a game and what a win! Bont a star but picken was awesome. The players that have come in have been fantastic.

[FrediKanoute]

Good win.

[EasternWest]

Twodogs gave me a great response to this a few weeks ago. He's not too old to have the team winning close games but he is probably too old to have them losing close games. Food for thought :)

That's gold.

[merantau]

Stringer had an off night but he stood up in the last five minutes. He's very staunch when we are up against it. He showed some controlled mongrel in a couple of critical contests in those last frantic two minutes.

[merantau]

Stringer had an off night but he stood up in the last five minutes. He's very staunch when we are up against it. He showed some controlled mongrel in a couple of critical contests in those last frantic two minutes.

[jeemak]

Treloar's a bloody good footballer. Does a lot of drive work between the half lines and gets forward and back.

[Eastdog]

Just relieved to get the win. We were really cutting thin. I cannot fault our spirit and the team effort as I thought that was excellent. Bontempelli was really good especially in that 3rd quarter. Picken just puts in the effort each week - great player. Dunkley is going to be a player. Liked Clay Smith's efforts and look quite a good forward. Our defence didn't have the best night.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Our effort, heart and courage is fantastic ...

... But we have some major issues that we just aren't improving whatsoever, and that greatly concerns me. Our skill level is poor - particularly our ability to finish off and we still have no system going forward. How can we be 20 weeks into the season and not see any improvement within these areas?

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Treloar's a bloody good footballer. Does a lot of drive work between the half lines and gets forward and back.

Yep - he runs hard, fast and straight.

[jeemak]

Our effort, heart and courage is fantastic ...

... But we have some major issues that we just aren't improving whatsoever, and that greatly concerns me. Our skill level is poor - particularly our ability to finish off and we still have no system going forward. How can we be 20 weeks into the season and not see any improvement within these areas?

Don't underestimate the impact injuries and no genuine forward availability or consistency when available have had on our forward set up. Mixed with less intercept marking and clean clearance from defence due to personnel missing or playing sporadically we've been up against it for that 20 weeks.

Those issues aside, having such one sided players like Jack and Lachie running through the middle accumulating lots of ball means any half smart team can corral them wide or limit their options when they have it, slowing our movement. If you ad the poor disposal by foot of Jong, Dunkley, Picken, Stevens and Dahl among others in transition, or their unwillingness to actually move it quickly in transition then what we've been witnessing is hardly surprising. From Level two TV side I saw Tom Boyd get absolutely torched on the lead in all areas from deep forward to wing by all sorts of players (Picken not lowering his eyes at least twice to spot him up, and Dahl not moving the ball quickly at least twice stood out the most) because the didn't have confidence in being able to move the ball quickly and cleanly.

It's the price you pay for not bottoming out severely and for extended periods of time - or being lucky enough to be the AFL's love child and handed ridiculous amounts of concessions. Sure, you can end up with good players otherwise, but the reality is you don't end up with the elite kicks and decision makers and this is what we're lacking.

As an aside, Hrovat's input in this area has been refreshing. We need more like him.

[kruder]

Thoughts on Hrovat's game guys? I didn't get to see it, stats looks good was he clean?

[SonofScray]

For the Pies, Grundy and Treloar were terrific. I liked the way things were going early, a tight game with the ball locked up frequently, felt like we'd strangle Collingwood but it opened up quite a bit and we were in strife but for an immense display from Bontempelli. Dunkley's two misses snuffed a lot of momentum. Wish we'd cash in on our opportunities more frequently. Too many behinds.

Has there ever been so many free kicks paid to one side in the final 30 seconds of a game ever?

[Ghost Dog]

Justified his selection I thought. Played well I thought and lots of room for improvement. Too bad he missed one gettable shot.

[jeemak]

Thoughts on Hrovat's game guys? I didn't get to see it, stats looks good was he clean?

With some tackling pressure he would have just about had the perfect second tier midfield rotation/forwards game. How anyone can go through a full game of footy playing midfield forward without registering a tackle is beyond me.

However, he did contribute by and large and as I said in a previous post, his willingness to use the footy in a thoughtful manner is what we need.

[jeemak]

For the Pies, Grundy and Treloar were terrific. I liked the way things were going early, a tight game with the ball locked up frequently, felt like we'd strangle Collingwood but it opened up quite a bit and we were in strife but for an immense display from Bontempelli. Dunkley's two misses snuffed a lot of momentum. Wish we'd cash in on our opportunities more frequently. Too many behinds.

Has there ever been so many free kicks paid to one side in the final 30 seconds of a game ever?

Jong and Stringer just couldn't help themselves.

All Jong needed to do was take the ball and dish off hands to see the contest as a minimum neutralised, but he was dumb and obvious and gave the umpire every excuse to turn the game into the weird sports opera they're always aching to bust out if given a chance.

Stringer isn't thinking at the moment and didn't even make an effort to get it across the line or pretend to dispose of the footy.

[Twodogs]

Twodogs gave me a great response to this a few weeks ago. He's not too old to have the team winning close games but he is probably too old to have them losing close games. Food for thought :)

It was after the Footscray game last week. Two games in a row won by winning points.


Treloar's a bloody good footballer. Does a lot of drive work between the half lines and gets forward and back.


Remember watching him cut us to pieces in the NAB challenge game doing precisely the same thing.

[jeemak]

It was after the Footscray game last week. Two games in a row won by winning points.




Remember watching him cut us to pieces in the NAB challenge game doing precisely the same thing.

That was a lovely day at the footy wasn't it, with that second half fade out..........

[Twodogs]

For the Pies, Grundy and Treloar were terrific. I liked the way things were going early, a tight game with the ball locked up frequently, felt like we'd strangle Collingwood but it opened up quite a bit and we were in strife but for an immense display from Bontempelli. Dunkley's two misses snuffed a lot of momentum. Wish we'd cash in on our opportunities more frequently. Too many behinds.

Has there ever been so many free kicks paid to one side in the final 30 seconds of a game ever?

The frustration must have built especially after the silly deliberate that got the ball into the danger zone. I was just glad no one lost it and gave the umpire an excuse to pay a 50 metre penalty.

[bornadog]

Our effort, heart and courage is fantastic ...

... But we have some major issues that we just aren't improving whatsoever, and that greatly concerns me. Our skill level is poor - particularly our ability to finish off and we still have no system going forward. How can we be 20 weeks into the season and not see any improvement within these areas?

The whole year all we have done is continually plug holes due to injury which hasn't given us the opportunity to improve. Our midfield is almost completely gone. Just when Dahl comes back out goes Macrae, Libba and Wallis. Similar with the backline, but what hasn't stop growing is our spirit and will to win.

[jeemak]

Ironically, with a quick look at the stats from the game (scroll down) it seems our efficiency was the difference between ourselves and the Pies.

http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_match_statistics?mid=6343

There wasn't a huge difference between the sides in terms of experience.

[bornadog]

For the Pies, Grundy and Treloar were terrific.

On Grundy, I am sick and tired of the umpires not picking up this blokes tactics in ruck duels around the ground. At every single one, he has his arms wrapped around his opponent. I said to my mate tonight at the start of the game, just watch him and sure enough I was right.

The umpires were shocking tonight.

[Mofra]

Jong - loved his effort but by god is he a dumb footballer.
Hrovat - stands out so much because of his ball use and decision making.
Stringer - Rest him. Playing one armed and has lost some lateral movement, just give him a break. Bring McLean in next week.
Suckling - an on/off again passionate relationship. Love him one minute, hate him the next
Tom Boyd - almost there, first half possessions/marks were often double-grabs. He become a one touch footballer = he becomes a dominant footballer.

Bonti - test him for alien DNA. Freak, not human. If you offered me the choice between Bonti, Fyfe and Dangerfeld right now I'd take the Bont. Not a single player in the competition I want more in my team.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Don't underestimate the impact injuries and no genuine forward availability or consistency when available have had on our forward set up. Mixed with less intercept marking and clean clearance from defence due to personnel missing or playing sporadically we've been up against it for that 20 weeks.

It's a valid point, but even when we've had 90% of our side on the park, the way we've brought the ball forward has been embarrassing at times.


Those issues aside, having such one sided players like Jack and Lachie running through the middle accumulating lots of ball means any half smart team can corral them wide or limit their options when they have it, slowing our movement. If you ad the poor disposal by foot of Jong, Dunkley, Picken, Stevens and Dahl among others in transition, or their unwillingness to actually move it quickly in transition then what we've been witnessing is hardly surprising. From Level two TV side I saw Tom Boyd get absolutely torched on the lead in all areas from deep forward to wing by all sorts of players (Picken not lowering his eyes at least twice to spot him up, and Dahl not moving the ball quickly at least twice stood out the most) because the didn't have confidence in being able to move the ball quickly and cleanly.

Our game style is designed to lessen the impact on our defense. We concede less, but we score even less. Last year we were too attacking, this year we're too defensive. Personnel issues aside, we need to find a better balance. Part of this is who is on the park, but much of it is game style and structure too.

I watched Zaine Cordy make quite a few leads in the first half before he began to tire and at the same time Boyd, Stringer and Dickson stood still like statues.

Redpath is limited but the reason why he was playing well is because he led - he gave us an option. Boyd wants the long ball (probably due to being fatigued from rucking, which is another issue), Stringer wants it over the back and Dickson has tried turning himself into a crumber.

Zaine got on the end of a few purely due to movement. Boyd perhaps has an excuse, but Stringer and Dickson have been extremely disappointing for mine. The latter was once a great one on one player - the only way he gets his goals now is through a bit of fortune or crumbing.


As an aside, Hrovat's input in this area has been refreshing. We need more like him.

Yep - agreed. I hope like hell we can get Libba and Macrae back (plus a few others) but I'd be keeping Hrovat in this side. We are desperate for polish and he has a bit.

[comrade]

Time for a Stringer spell. Rest him for the next 2 weeks, means he gets 3 weeks to set himself for a big finals tilt.

Thoughts on Cordy's game? Thought he handled himself well once again, in an unlikely role. Could he be the mobile, marking tall CHF we've been searching for?

[jeemak]

Aside from the two goals I didn't think Cordy was overly productive in a material sense, and I don't really see him being a forward long term.

Right now he's scrapping together a presence of sorts forward for us. If the byproduct of that is him learning more about the game through being exposed to different situations then I'm all for it.

If he can continue to kick a few goals in the process then that's great. For me I just want to get games into him as there's some height and talent there to be used.

[comrade]

Have read some complaints about our forward entries tonight.

Yeah, they weren't great - Picken burnt Tom Boyd twice with 2 ridiculous centering kicks that went 2 metres over his head - but I thought some of our ball movement was the best its been for quite a while. The chain where Dunkley got on the end of it unattended was the best single piece of ball movement I can recall for the past 2 months. Too bad he missed the goal.

Biggs and JJ are getting their hands on it, with JJ in particular looking as though he's reaching peak fitness. With a genuine 2 headed ruck duo, Boyd spending 80-90% of his TOG forward, McLean coming back and Jake Stringer becoming Jake Stringer again, we have the makings of a much better forward set up.

Really should have smashed through the 100 point barrier tonight.

[Twodogs]

Aside from the two goals I didn't think Cordy was overly productive in a material sense, and I don't really see him being a forward long term.

Right now he's scrapping together a presence of sorts forward for us. If the byproduct of that is him learning more about the game through being exposed to different situations then I'm all for it.

If he can continue to kick a few goals in the process then that's great. For me I just want to get games into him as there's some height and talent there to be used.

I see him running out of defence and kicking the ball into the forward line when he's playing his best football for us.

[merantau]

We have seven players who would be automatic selections missing from the side - Murphy, Morris, Adams, Liberatore, Wallis, Macrae and Crameri. Plus another few with strong claims in McLean, Stevens and Campbell. We've been plugging gaps all year. To be 14-6 is a fantastic achiement in the circumstances and in my 60 years of following the Dogs there is no other list that could ever have achieved that given the same amount of injuries. Our future is rosy. We still have a lot to look forward to in 2016. Let's keep on winning.

[Remi Moses]

Reckon Crameri being the connect player is sorely being missed . I'm worried about the disorganisation of our forward half, they seem to congest in the one area, plus the delivery isn't spot on . Gotta get that connection right to challenge in finals . They showed a few instances on fox where there was space to lead into, yet we bombed to a contest .

[Ghost Dog]

Have read some complaints about our forward entries tonight.

Yeah, they weren't great - Picken burnt Tom Boyd twice with 2 ridiculous centering kicks that went 2 metres over his head - but I thought some of our ball movement was the best its been for quite a while. The chain where Dunkley got on the end of it unattended was the best single piece of ball movement I can recall for the past 2 months. Too bad he missed the goal.

Biggs and JJ are getting their hands on it, with JJ in particular looking as though he's reaching peak fitness. With a genuine 2 headed ruck duo, Boyd spending 80-90% of his TOG forward, McLean coming back and Jake Stringer becoming Jake Stringer again, we have the makings of a much better forward set up.

Really should have smashed through the 100 point barrier tonight.
In his defence, Picken played most of the game with little rest.

[G-Mo77]

Aside from the two goals I didn't think Cordy was overly productive in a material sense, and I don't really see him being a forward long term.

Right now he's scrapping together a presence of sorts forward for us. If the byproduct of that is him learning more about the game through being exposed to different situations then I'm all for it.

If he can continue to kick a few goals in the process then that's great. For me I just want to get games into him as there's some height and talent there to be used.

That set shot he kicked had to be a miss hit. The ball barely went 3 meters off the ground in it's way through. I thought he was pretty good in the first half but died out in the 2nd.

Overall I was really happy with the win. Some look at were Collingwood sit on the ladder and just thought it'd be a kick around on a Friday night. They picked the right team to play us and almost got away with a win. To our credit every time they came at us we found a way to get the game back on our terms. It was looking pretty dire when they got a 3 goal break on us in the 3rd but we brought that back in pretty quickly. Every time we did get a run on we had momentum stoppers, turn overs or missed goals. We've got to find a way to keep on rolling.

[merantau]

Jong and Stringer just couldn't help themselves.

All Jong needed to do was take the ball and dish off hands to see the contest as a minimum neutralised, but he was dumb and obvious and gave the umpire every excuse to turn the game into the weird sports opera they're always aching to bust out if given a chance.

Stringer isn't thinking at the moment and didn't even make an effort to get it across the line or pretend to dispose of the footy.

In Lin Jong's defence the only reason the free kick was paid against him is because he is not a star player. Umpires have always been reluctant to penalise the game's stars in pressure situations. Could you imagine Selwood or, in the past Judd or Hird, being pinged in the same circumstances? The classic example was the free kick paid against Wayde Skinner that cost us a finals berth. If Scott Wynd had been contesting it would never have been paid against him. A more telling example was the deliberate out of bounds penalty paid againsy Scott Clayton that cost Fitzroy a final. Then there was the free paid against Carlton full-back Peter Barry against Doug Wade. It cost Carlton the game. It created a lose-lose situation for me as I detest both club's equally but it does illustrate my point: umpires are cowards when it comes to penalizing the games stars.

[1eyedog]

How many were there last night - felt around 35k?

[Rance Fan]

I do wonder why Roberts played 5 metres in front of Moore all night?
Moore is a lean run and jump forward. Why wouldn't Roberts play tight and prevent him from doing that??
Odd!

[Twodogs]

In Lin Jong's defence the only reason the free kick was paid against him is because he is not a star player. Umpires have always been reluctant to penalise the game's stars in pressure situations. Could you imagine Selwood or, in the past Judd or Hird, being pinged in the same circumstances? The classic example was the free kick paid against Wayde Skinner that cost us a finals berth. If Scott Wynd had been contesting it would never have been paid against him. A more telling example was the deliberate out of bounds penalty paid againsy Scott Clayton that cost Fitzroy a final. Then there was the free paid against Carlton full-back Peter Barry against Doug Wade. It cost Carlton the game. It created a lose-lose situation for me as I detest both club's equally but it does illustrate my point: umpires are cowards when it comes to penalizing the games stars.


I was at that game and had always thought Bill Nettlefold that had that decision payed against him. But I looked it up the other day and Nettlefold didn't even play that day. I can still see the umpire and the look on his face thinking "great. A chance at umpiring immortality!"

[Mantis]

In his defence, Picken played most of the game with little rest.

Most of Picken's bad kicks were early in the game.

[soupman]

That set shot he kicked had to be a miss hit. The ball barely went 3 meters off the ground in it's way through. I thought he was pretty good in the first half but died out in the 2nd.



Last night was the first time I've seen Cordy play live at any level so I don't have a huge sample size, but to me he seems to always look to spear kick it. His set shot technique is very reminiscent of a certain former captain, n that after a long run up he pretty much plays on and kicks it off 3 quick steps, but generally he seems to be kicking low and hard.

[GVGjr]

The Players Sponsors and the Top Dogs had Dale Morris as a guest speaker.

He talked about his injury and seemed slightly miffed that he wasn't playing last night. He indicated that the medico's tend to treat any hamstring niggles or minor injuries more seriously when you are over 30.

His main aim when playing is to have only a slight difference between his best and worst games and that is what he works hard to achieve. He is also one the players that have had the most game time this season. Only short rests.

Regarding the back line:

- Continuity in the back 6 is important
- Roberts has had a rapid improvement this year and is finally more vocal than in previous seasons. He will even point out if he thinks he and Morris should swap opponents. He talked Fletch up.
- Teams try and cause mismatches between him and Roberts and occasionally they allow them to do it because they have so much confidence that the likes of Wood, Boyd, Biggs, Hamling and JJ will cover them.

I think he will want to play against Essendon next round.

[Bulldog4life]

In Lin Jong's defence the only reason the free kick was paid against him is because he is not a star player. Umpires have always been reluctant to penalise the game's stars in pressure situations. Could you imagine Selwood or, in the past Judd or Hird, being pinged in the same circumstances? The classic example was the free kick paid against Wayde Skinner that cost us a finals berth. If Scott Wynd had been contesting it would never have been paid against him. A more telling example was the deliberate out of bounds penalty paid againsy Scott Clayton that cost Fitzroy a final. Then there was the free paid against Carlton full-back Peter Barry against Doug Wade. It cost Carlton the game. It created a lose-lose situation for me as I detest both club's equally but it does illustrate my point: umpires are cowards when it comes to penalizing the games stars.

Other way round if I remember correctly. Geelong were 5 points in front with not long to go in the prelim when Doug Wade marked in front of goal but was penalised for holding Barry's shorts. Carlton went on to win.

[soupman]

Anybody else hear our ground announcer introduce and congratulate Jordan Roughead on the big screen somehow thinking he was Tory Dickson? Wasn't her finest moment.

[Ghost Dog]

Most of Picken's bad kicks were early in the game.

Ok. There was another iffy inside 50 where he could have spotted up a few players. In the end we got the goal but he made pretty hard work of it.

[Twodogs]

Billy Picken was a lousy kick too. Dunkling, Picken. We might have to change that adage about broken full forwards to "if your old man couldn't kick you'll end up at the bulldogs"

[AndrewP6]

How many were there last night - felt around 35k?

Yep, 35,010.

[Twodogs]

I'm convinced today's Sunday-I was just looking for the Sunday Age in the supermarket and wondering why they hadn't moved the Saturday Ages. I'm just not used to winning Friday night games.

[bornadog]

I'm convinced today's Sunday-I was just looking for the Sunday Age in the supermarket and wondering why they hadn't moved the Saturday Ages. I'm just not used to winning Friday night games.

4 wins in a row against Collingwood, first time since 1946 or so.

[Twodogs]

4 wins in a row against Collingwood, first time since 1946 or so.

Interesting year 1946 from memory. I think we won our first ten or something silly like that.

[merantau]

Other way round if I remember correctly. Geelong were 5 points in front with not long to go in the prelim when Doug Wade marked in front of goal but was penalised for holding Barry's shorts. Carlton went on to win.

I'm not going to dispute you - it was a long time ago. I'll catagorise it as "an exception to the rule."
I remember a game at Princes Park in the 60s. Alf Brown, I think it was, in the Herald, began his match report with something like: "Spectators at Princes Park this afternoon were treated to a magnificent display of drop kicking by full backs Peter Barry and John "Choco" Bradbury."

[Bulldog4life]

I'm not going to dispute you - it was a long time ago. I'll catagorise it as "an exception to the rule."
I remember a game at Princes Park in the 60s. Alf Brown, I think it was, in the Herald, began his match report with something like: "Spectators at Princes Park this afternoon were treated to a magnificent display of drop kicking by full backs Peter Barry and John "Choco" Bradbury."

One of the best drop kicks for the doggies was Ian Bryant. Magnificent ones.

[Flamethrower]

I do wonder why Roberts played 5 metres in front of Moore all night?
Moore is a lean run and jump forward. Why wouldn't Roberts play tight and prevent him from doing that??
Odd!

I was miffed at Fletcher's positioning on Darcy - I know for a fact that the men's department discussed at length how he likes to have a running jump at the ball, and maintaining body contact was vital to curbing his game. The Eagles failed badly 2 weeks ago and Darcy destroyed them until hurting himself. Unfortunately when he was on him Fletch played Darcy like we normally play - 5 metres in front of their opponent rather than shoulder to shoulder. Good learning curve for Fletch who has come on in leaps and bounds this year.

For those calling for Jake to be rested - it would help some of the injuries he is carrying but it would make no difference to his A/C joint injury - they take a long time to get over, and most require surgery to get right. He seems to be trying to nurse it through the rest of the season going at a lot of contests with one arm, knowing that one more big hit to the area will end his season there and then.

[merantau]

I thought Roberts made two crucial errors. One when he over ran/ fumbled and Collingwood goaled and two, when he was standing 3 - 4 metres to Moore's left and, when a quick, short, kick came in, he couldn't bridge the gap in time to effect a spoil. For me, Hamling played a very solid game. Stood under some high balls, was composed, used it well and more than held his own in disputed situations.

[Twodogs]

I was miffed at Fletcher's positioning on Darcy - I know for a fact that the men's department discussed at length how he likes to have a running jump at the ball, and maintaining body contact was vital to curbing his game. The Eagles failed badly 2 weeks ago and Darcy destroyed them until hurting himself. Unfortunately when he was on him Fletch played Darcy like we normally play - 5 metres in front of their opponent rather than shoulder to shoulder. Good learning curve for Fletch who has come on in leaps and bounds this year.

For those calling for Jake to be rested - it would help some of the injuries he is carrying but it would make no difference to his A/C joint injury - they take a long time to get over, and most require surgery to get right. He seems to be trying to nurse it through the rest of the season going at a lot of contests with one arm, knowing that one more big hit to the area will end his season there and then.

Yeah that shoulder A/C can affect a player for 18 months to two years. Unless it comes out completely then it nots so bad that he can't play but it impacts on how he contests the ball. Bugger Steven May.


Do you think it would help if the mids got the ball into him a bit quicker?

[Eastdog]

We have seven players who would be automatic selections missing from the side - Murphy, Morris, Adams, Liberatore, Wallis, Macrae and Crameri. Plus another few with strong claims in McLean, Stevens and Campbell. We've been plugging gaps all year. To be 14-6 is a fantastic achiement in the circumstances and in my 60 years of following the Dogs there is no other list that could ever have achieved that given the same amount of injuries. Our future is rosy. We still have a lot to look forward to in 2016. Let's keep on winning.

Yep so much more quality to come back. We have done so well despite all the injuries.

[Eastdog]

I watched the last 2 minutes of the game on the Bulldog App today and I have to say the roar from our supporters in the end was electric.

[LostDoggy]

http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2016-08-12/the-ghosts-of-1946

(http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2016-08-12/the-ghosts-of-1946)
4 wins in a row against Collingwood, first time since 1946 or so.

The westernbulldogs website had an article mentioning the similarities between this match and the 1946 match, published before the match. Incredibly, the result turned out to be identical, Dogs by 3 points.

[Ozza]

I do wonder why Roberts played 5 metres in front of Moore all night?
Moore is a lean run and jump forward. Why wouldn't Roberts play tight and prevent him from doing that??
Odd!

I'm guessing that Roberts was concerned about Moore's pace and athleticism - and wanted to start in front of him to try and cut off some of the angles better. With Moore being around 200cms - and the way he takes the ball at the highest point, he would be incredibly difficult to spoil from behind. Playing in front of Moore, gives him the possibility of taking away Moore's ability to get a clear run and jump at the footy.

Now, Roberts - after 4 weeks of really good footy as a lock down defender - did not have a good night on Friday at all - BUT.
What didn't help was how open the Collingwood forward line was at times and how unchallenged their entries were. Moore is hugely talented - has a heap of weapons - and is going to be very hard to stop at any time that he gets the opportunity to get one on one's in an open forward 50. We didn't defend as a team as well this week as some previous weeks.

[jeemak]

Agreed Ozza. They opened us up a few times going forward with a handball to a player almost dead centre of the ground (who had his back towards goal) and it allowed them different avenues deep forward that would have been very difficult to defend.

[Twodogs]

Roberts isn't the only defender who's going to have a bad game on Moore over the next decade. He's just one of the first.

[ledge]

I think it showed how valuable Morris is. He uses his body and knows exactly how to stop a good forward no Matter the height

[GVGjr]

Roberts isn't the only defender who's going to have a bad game on Moore over the next decade. He's just one of the first.

Moore has already had a few good games against us. He must tick off on the calendar likes it's his birthday when we are scheduled to play them.

[Twodogs]

Moore has already had a few good games against us. He must tick off on the calendar likes it's his birthday when we are scheduled to play them.


Just as long as we keep winning the game.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Moore has already had a few good games against us. He must tick off on the calendar likes it's his birthday when we are scheduled to play them.

Yep. Going into the game I said he'd dominate us.

Going to give us a lot of trouble (and many others) for years to come.

[bornadog]

AFLCA Awards

WESTERN BULLDOGS v COLLINGWOOD

10 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
8 Adam Treloar (Coll)
3 Luke Dahlhaus (WB)
3 Liam Picken (WB)
2 Brodie Grundy (Coll)
2 Darcy Moore (Coll)
1 Joel Hamling (WB)
1 Tyson Goldsack (Coll)

AFLCA LEADERBOARD

105 Patrick Dangerfield (Geel)
93 Rory Sloane (Adel)
88 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
88 Dustin Martin (Rich)
80 Luke Shuey (WCE)
77 Dan Hannebery (Syd)
77 Luke Parker (Syd)
77 Joel Selwood (Geel)
67 Tom Lynch (GC)
65 Sam Mitchell (Haw)

[1eyedog]

AFLCA Awards

WESTERN BULLDOGS v COLLINGWOOD

10 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
8 Adam Treloar (Coll)
3 Luke Dahlhaus (WB)
3 Liam Picken (WB)
2 Brodie Grundy (Coll)
2 Darcy Moore (Coll)
1 Joel Hamling (WB)
1 Tyson Goldsack (Coll)

AFLCA LEADERBOARD

105 Patrick Dangerfield (Geel)
93 Rory Sloane (Adel)
88 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
88 Dustin Martin (Rich)
80 Luke Shuey (WCE)
77 Dan Hannebery (Syd)
77 Luke Parker (Syd)
77 Joel Selwood (Geel)
67 Tom Lynch (GC)
65 Sam Mitchell (Haw)

elite, elite, elite

I'm tired of this future superstar crap. He is a superstar already!

[bornadog]

elite, elite, elite

I'm tired of this future superstar crap. He is a superstar already!

He is a match winner. Can you remember any other Bulldog player who has been a match winner in the same way as The Bont. I certainly can't.

[bulldogtragic]

Would be second if not for that piss ant Scott.

[EasternWest]

Moore has already had a few good games against us. He must tick off on the calendar likes it's his birthday when we are scheduled to play them.

Aka the Hayesian Calendar.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

I was going to say the Kennedy Calender

[comrade]

Nice to see Hammer get some recognition.

[LostDoggy]

AFLCA Awards

WESTERN BULLDOGS v COLLINGWOOD

10 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
8 Adam Treloar (Coll)
3 Luke Dahlhaus (WB)
3 Liam Picken (WB)
2 Brodie Grundy (Coll)
2 Darcy Moore (Coll)
1 Joel Hamling (WB)
1 Tyson Goldsack (Coll)

AFLCA LEADERBOARD

105 Patrick Dangerfield (Geel)
93 Rory Sloane (Adel)
88 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
88 Dustin Martin (Rich)
80 Luke Shuey (WCE)
77 Dan Hannebery (Syd)
77 Luke Parker (Syd)
77 Joel Selwood (Geel)
67 Tom Lynch (GC)
65 Sam Mitchell (Haw)

At least Buckley knows when he's seen a superstar strut his stuff.
Unlike that Putrid KnobEnd Scott!!!!!

[LostDoggy]

Nice to see Hammer get some recognition.

Hammer getting some Bevo love ;)