Strategising An Elimination Final Win Over WCE

[bulldogtragic]

So then, just how do our boys pull off an against the odds win in 48 hours time?

Do we leave in the contested boys like Smith, Jong & Dunkley with Libba & Macrae back to join Bonts, Picken & co and turn it into a grind? Turn it into an ugly street fight, try to shut their run and carry and try to win ugly?

Do we go with Hrovat, McLean, Daniel etc and with run & carry and try to use foot skills to cut through the defensive zones?

Do we look to make their defenders more accountable leaving Tom Boyd & Stringer forward, and using Camhead to look for ruck dominance and resting forward or back if we need to block up Kennedy?

Do we go for a shoot out, like last year against Adelaide for the most part? Stringer at 100% and no leaked gameplans may have changed that result.

What's the best strategy to make it happen?

[comrade]

Street fight, baby. Grind them down with Libba, Dahl, Picken, Bont etc just bashing them all night.

Win it 78-63

[S Coast Simon]

Street fight with patches of JJ and Biggs flying through the middle delivering to Boyd, Camhead and stringer running through them up forward. 78 -63 would be a celebration from me

[comrade]

Keep it tight all night and give Stringer/Bont/JJ a chance to create some magic.

[Sedat]

I want Gaff to have nightmares of Picken all summer

[Bulldog Joe]

I think we need to win the contest around the ball, but get it clear and use the run of JJ and others to get the ball more quickly forward to give Stringer, Boyd and Dickson some one out contests. This will happen if we can get it into the hands of Bont and Suckling.

We also need to convert opportunities, particularly early. Suckling can be important with his ability to convert from range.

If we could get an early lead and keep the crowd subdued our chances will improve greatly

[LostDoggy]

Streetfight seems the way to go. Our biggest obstacle will be Priddis. Libba on him, diving to the bottom of every pack with radical zeal.

[Rocco Jones]

Did anyone watch the Eagles v Dees game earlier in the season where Melbourne should have beaten them? What style did they play?

[Hotdog60]

Did anyone watch the Eagles v Dees game earlier in the season where Melbourne should have beaten them? What style did they play?

I saw bits of it but things are a bit vague. I think it was speed, keep the ball moving and didn't let WC settle. The dees ball movement was good on that day to.

[Greystache]

Start an actual fight!

[Sedat]

Win it 78-63
I thought you didn't want a shootout ;)

58-43

[The Adelaide Connection]

I saw bits of it but things are a bit vague. I think it was speed, keep the ball moving and didn't let WC settle. The dees ball movement was good on that day to.

The funny thing is that all of a sudden everyone has forgotten about how awful West Coast have been for much of this year. In the past they have relied on Natanui to give them the edge in the midfield and without his silver service to their mids and the clearances he racks up they have struggled and couldn't beat a top 8 team.

They beat North, Hawthorn and GWS late this season with Natanui back in and won one outlier without Natanui against the Crows (who had a us v Fremantle sort of night and whose midfield without Sloane is very vulnerable).

Sure it sucks it is at Subiaco, but we should be going in with the belief we can belt them up in the midfield and be well on the way to an epic "upset".

[jeemak]

1. Run at the defencive wall

2. Kick diagonally rather than laterally, forward and backward. The space will be found in length rather than width

3. Play hard and tight around the middle

[SonofScray]

Start an actual fight!

I agree, just belt the snot out of someone at the first bounce. Then go on and kick more scores than the opposition in the allocated time of play.

[1eyedog]

We've ground out wins all year and I think this game will be similar. We're like a boa constrictor. If the prey gets loose we're stuffed so we need to hold on tight and squeeze. I'd expect lots of stoppages, lots of pressure and F50 lockdowns with lots of entries and goals hard to come by. If it gets out in the open they'll cut us to shreds, has to be an inside game with touches of class from Bont, Stringer and friends. We have the players to belt them up in the midfield and control the contest and tempo.

Having said all that nothing would make me happier than getting hold of them on the outside and do what they did to Adelaide. That seems more like a pipe dream though.

[MrMahatma]

I think we play Camhead so Rough can help down back but also so we can exert some more dominance around the ball.

Boyd to kick 5 in a coming of age performance. Only bettered by Stringer's 6.

[bornadog]

The most important of all - hit targets around the ground. Our kicking has to be spot on, no turnovers and then take our chances when shooting for goal.

[Twodogs]

I agree, just belt the snot out of someone at the first bounce. Then go on and kick more scores than the opposition in the allocated time of play.

What about their coach? Someone could storm the box and belt him!

Monty maybe. He's retiring anyway.

[Twodogs]

The most important of all - hit targets around the ground. Our kicking has to be spot on, no turnovers and then take our chances when shooting for goal.

Yep. Respect the ball and use it well.

[jeemak]

Start an actual fight!


I agree, just belt the snot out of someone at the first bounce. Then go on and kick more scores than the opposition in the allocated time of play.

This West Coast team is as hard as a poo sandwich and wouldn't respond well in my view. They were the most piss weak GF side in a long time last year. What team as rank underdogs comes over to the G for the GF and plays bruise free like they did?

[jeemak]

Yep. Respect the ball and use it well.

Very Jeemak of you TD :)

Couldn't agree more!

[Rocket Science]

The most important of all - hit targets around the ground. Our kicking has to be spot on, no turnovers and then take our chances when shooting for goal.

This. So much this. If we can't control the ball and conversely make life hard for ourselves with errant disposal they'll feed on it.

Quietly hoping someone slaps a Daniel Southern style sleeper hold on Kennedy prior to the opening bounce.

[bulldogtragic]

Start an actual fight!

Can we make Danny Southern a category B rookie this morning, and elevate him this afternoon?

[Axe Man]

Can we make Danny Southern a category B rookie this morning, and elevate him this afternoon?

And Steve Wallis to disguise himself as Mitch and knock out Brett Heady, ah I mean Luke Shuey.

[Happy Days]

I don't think that as severe a forward press as we play works at Subiaco; Freo got out the back far too often last week and West Coast are both better, and bigger (faster?) downhill skiers than Freo. I can already see Jetta and Hill and Cripps and Le Cras (could go on, how does such a good side have so many of these small timers?) filling their boots from the goal line.

We need to play further back, tag Gaff, and have our all-caps GUNS play better than their all-caps GUNS. Wood has to do a mountain of work in front of Kennedy, who excels at losing his defender in the extra leading space he's afforded at Subi.

[Mofra]

They beat North, Hawthorn and GWS late this season with Natanui back in and won one outlier without Natanui against the Crows (who had a us v Fremantle sort of night and whose midfield without Sloane is very vulnerable).
I hope this an outlier but their ball-movement at the big Subi ground is excellent.

We need to really attack Sinclair of he plays, his knee is stuffed and they're probably going to risk him which is a huge issue as it's two injuries in one knee going by reports.

I'd be tempted to roll the dice here and drop one of our talls to get an extra runner in. We played with just Moz & Adams at times this year (191cm & 193cm) and with Roberts, Cordy, Morris and Hamling available, take out a defender not named Morris and that's still enough flexibility for a plan A and B given I'd want to put a rebounder on Sinclair if he rests forward (make him run hard on the rebound) and any extra footspeed to carry the ball will really help us.

[Axe Man]

I hope this an outlier but their ball-movement at the big Subi ground is excellent.

We need to really attack Sinclair of he plays, his knee is stuffed and they're probably going to risk him which is a huge issue as it's two injuries in one knee going by reports.

I'd be tempted to roll the dice here and drop one of our talls to get an extra runner in. We played with just Moz & Adams at times this year (191cm & 193cm) and with Roberts, Cordy, Morris and Hamling available, take out a defender not named Morris and that's still enough flexibility for a plan A and B given I'd want to put a rebounder on Sinclair if he rests forward (make him run hard on the rebound) and any extra footspeed to carry the ball will really help us.

I don't think we will need to worry about Sinclair this week, maybe if we end up playing Sydney at some stage we will worry about him then. Lycett on the other hand...;)

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I don't think that as severe a forward press as we play works at Subiaco; Freo got out the back far too often last week and West Coast are both better, and bigger (faster?) downhill skiers than Freo. I can already see Jetta and Hill and Cripps and Le Cras (could go on, how does such a good side have so many of these small timers?) filling their boots from the goal line.

We need to play further back, tag Gaff, and have our all-caps GUNS play better than their all-caps GUNS. Wood has to do a mountain of work in front of Kennedy, who excels at losing his defender in the extra leading space he's afforded at Subi.

Yeah, this is what scares me too. They have some tremendous hard running downhill skiers and if we press too high we could be genuinely found out pretty quickly. The other concern is that by pressing high, it allows Kennedy more space - he's pretty clever with his leading patterns, perhaps the best forward in the game at it. I'd like to see us 'clog' their forward 50 and stop that. If Kennedy can mark and goal from tight angles 50m out so be it, but blocking the corridor is important because he owns it.

[bulldogtragic]

2015 EF:

Wood Roberts Morris
Murphy Hamling Boyd
Hunter Bonts Macrae
Crameri Stringer Dahl
Daniel Redpath Dickson
Minson Wallis Picken
Jong, Biggs, Honeychurch, Grant


2016 EF:

Biggs Hamling Boyd
Wood Morris JJ
Hunter Bonts Macrae
Picken Cordy Dahl
Daniel T. Boyd Dickson
Roughead Liberatore Daniel
Jong, Suckling, Smith, Dunkley

Ins: Roughead (Minson), Suckling (Grant), JJ (Murphy), Cordy (Roberts), Dunkley (Honeychurch), Libba (Wallis), Tom Boyd (Redders), Clay Smith (Crameri)

[comrade]

Better team on paper this year, IMO. Shame we're in worse form.

[bulldogtragic]

Better team on paper this year, IMO. Shame we're in worse form.

Yep, better on paper. Hopefully 'it' just 'clicks'.

[FrediKanoute]

I think we have to win this early. If the WCE are within touching distance at the start of the last they will over run us. Libba, Macrae, Dahlhaus all still a little underdone coming back from injury. For me its about jumping them in the 1st quarter and then holding them at bay.

[Ozza]

I think we have to win this early. If the WCE are within touching distance at the start of the last they will over run us. Libba, Macrae, Dahlhaus all still a little underdone coming back from injury. For me its about jumping them in the 1st quarter and then holding them at bay.

That wouldn't really reflect the evidence of the last season or two.

Until the St.Kilda game (where we lost 3 players) we had a run where we won 9 or 10 games in a row when trailing by 10 points or less at 3 quarter time.

[jeemak]

Better team on paper this year, IMO. Shame we're in worse form.

Last year we got a massive kick in the pants at Brisbane during the last week of the home and away season, and didn't learn from it appropriately. Our defence was too easy to penetrate in the elimination final as it was that week.

If we haven't learned anything from our last week of the home and away season this time around, or laid sufficient plans to perform somewhere close to the peak our available players can perform at over a two week preparation, I'll be annoyed.

[FrediKanoute]

That wouldn't really reflect the evidence of the last season or two.

Until the St.Kilda game (where we lost 3 players) we had a run where we won 9 or 10 games in a row when trailing by 10 points or less at 3 quarter time.

Difference is though we have 2 mid's coming back from an extended break. We have Dahlhaus who is still short of a gallop. if we play Suckers that's another who probably needs some game time. Finals footy is tough, hard and draining. The fact we haven't dropped off in prior games counts for nothing against WCE on their patch - beat them early.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

If the Eagles go in as selected, expect McGovern to play forward.

Very odd decision if so. Brown is rubbish and their forward half is already strong.

[Remi Moses]

They've actually played Brown forward a few times. They have to many defenders in that side .
Jetta was just starting to fire up, so that's a handy out

[bulldogtragic]

Keep it going unchanged, knowing they will change it up a little? Lock it down? Go hard now and try to break them?

[Sedat]

Just about the perfect game plan against a bunch of front-running seagulls. Immense pressure to deny them space, handball through the web, take risks through the corridor, no clean ball into their forward line - tick, tick, tick, tick.

[bulldogtragic]

Just about the perfect game plan against a bunch of front-running seagulls. Immense pressure and deny them space, handball through the web, take risks through the corridor, no clean ball into their forward line - tick, tick, tick, tick.

Bevo was just brilliant. Kennedy with only one goal to near the end. McGovern sent to the ruck by Cordy. Darling up at the wing just to touch it. No rebound. Priddis & Gaff with no space or time. And he lost Jong who was important at the time. Congrats Bevo.

[josie]

Brave, brave players. Made the odd mistake however still looked to kick to corridor and played direct, fast, clever footy. Bevo - you are the messiah.