JLT 2 vs Brisbane

[Mantis]

Squad named:

WESTERN BULLDOGS

1. Matthew Suckling
4. Marcus Bontempelli
5. Matthew Boyd
8. Stewart Crameri
9. Jake Stringer
10. Easton Wood
11. Jackson Macrae
12. Zaine Cordy
13. Travis Cloke
14. Clay Smith
16. Toby McLean
17. Tom Boyd
19. Lukas Webb
20. Josh Dunkley
22. Mitch Honeychurch
25. Marcus Adams
26. Declan Hamilton
27. Patrick Lipinski
31. Bailey Dale
32. Kieran Collins
33. Lewis Young
34. Bailey Williams
36. Brad Lynch
37. Roarke Smith
38. Dale Morris
40. Nathan Mullenger-McHugh
42. Liam Picken
44. Tim English
46. Lin Jong

Missing: Murphy, Wallis, Dahlhaus, Hunter, Campbell, Roberts, Liberatore, Roughead, Biggs, Prudden, Dickson, Greene, Daniel, Johannisen, Redpath, Tweedie

[bulldogtragic]

I wonder if any of the draftees will get a game. English is the only specialist ruckman. There's still a lot of talent in this squad.

[Mofra]

I wonder if any of the draftees will get a game. English is the only specialist ruckman. There's still a lot of talent in this squad.
NMM has run through ruck too according to some training watchers although he's too short to do more than pinch hit.
Boyd might take 50% or more though

[bulldogtragic]

NMM has run through ruck too according to some training watchers although he's too short to do more than pinch hit.
Boyd might take 50% or more though

With a limited defence, Boyd could slaughter them up forward. The confidence that could come with that for Tom heading into the season might be worth more than halving the ruck duties. With having rucks that tend to sustain injuries, it might be good practice to play with English and try to have our mids read the other rucks hit outs and use English as the extra midfielder after the initial contest.

[GVGjr]

I wonder if any of the draftees will get a game. English is the only specialist ruckman. There's still a lot of talent in this squad.

I suspect Lewis Young might have a couple of bursts at it as well

[GVGjr]

NMM has run through ruck too according to some training watchers although he's too short to do more than pinch hit.
Boyd might take 50% or more though

He plays with a lot of vigor as well. I think in time he could help fill a lot of roles for us.

[Greystache]

I suspect Lewis Young might have a couple of bursts at it as well

I wonder if we'd get Jong to help out at times as well.

[Templeton31]

Campbell not there obviously. Any word on extent of his ankle injury from weekend?

[Twodogs]

Campbell not there obviously. Any word on extent of his ankle injury from weekend?


Nothing I can find. I don't know that no news is good news saying extends to player injuries.

[GVGjr]

Campbell not there obviously. Any word on extent of his ankle injury from weekend?

The only thing I heard was that it was likely a 2 week injury. I'm not sure though if Campbell recovers too quickly from injuries.

We are going to need him while Roughead is injured

[GVGjr]

I wonder if we'd get Jong to help out at times as well.

I guess that is a chance but it's not the sort of position that you can just throw players into because it increases the chances of getting injured.

I'm reluctant to throw English or Lewis into the role either given their age and their physical development but I think we will have to.

[Eastdog]

Campbell not there obviously. Any word on extent of his ankle injury from weekend?

On the 7news sports report last weekend from the fan day in regards to Tom Campbell and that injury they were saying that its not serious and he won't be out for very long at all but haven't heard anything further than that.

[Eastdog]

Nothing I can find. I don't know that no news is good news saying extends to player injuries.

A lot times its a good thing but yes sometimes it can be not good as they want to hide information.

On the match tomorrow night it should be a good hit out again for our group and hopefully we can get our first victory for 2017 on the board. Will be keen to see how guys like the obvious one Cloke, Crammers go as well as the Bont but more so the younger guys particularly the new draftees on Etihad. Im keen to see how Mitch Honeychurch goes - hopefully its a big year for him.

[divvydan]

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Out: Zaine Cordy, Marcus Bontempelli, Matthew Boyd, Travis Cloke

BRISBANE LIONS
Out: Josh Walker, Jarrad Jansen, Rhys Mathieson


Looks like we don't care about this one.

[Twodogs]

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Out: Zaine Cordy, Marcus Bontempelli, Matthew Boyd, Travis Cloke

BRISBANE LIONS
Out: Josh Walker, Jarrad Jansen, Rhys Mathieson


Looks like we don't care about this one.

Four premiership stars out. That's my new rating. Premiership star rating. I think we are on 12 tonight now. Could be ten even.

[Remi Moses]

Premiership stars out ! Thought I'd never hear that term :D

[Eastdog]

Our first game at Etihad for the year. Expecting another good showing tonight.

[Eastdog]

The best team from 2016 the Lions coach referred to us. Love it!

[chef]

Dermie calling Liam Marcus Picken already.

FFS hes a premiership hero you idiot. Learn his *!*!*!*!ing name.

[Eastdog]

Dermie call Liam Marcus Picken already.

FFS hes a premiership hero you idiot. Learn his *!*!*!*!ing name.

Yeah it's amateurish.

[Eastdog]

Great to see Crammers involved tonight.

[Eastdog]

Picko is just a champion. Good tackle before from Honeychurch. Rorake been involved a fair bit.

[Eastdog]

Great spoil Dale

[comrade]

Adams is playing as if it's his first game.

Of footy.

Ever.

[bulldogtragic]

English may be very, very raw, but I like him even more.

Shithouse game. But who cares as long as we/Bevo get what we/he want from it.

[comrade]

Been a pretty poor 5 quarters of pre-season footy so far.

[Eastdog]

Liking Rorake's contribution

[Twodogs]

Tim English's body positioning is fantastic. When he gets a bit bigger he will be impossible to outmark.

[comrade]

Is anyone else watching Adams and just shaking their head?

[Eastdog]

Tim English's body positioning is fantastic. When he gets a bit bigger he will be impossible to outmark.

Potential to be a great recruit. Will take time but huge upside.

[Eastdog]

Is anyone else watching Adams and just shaking their head?

Yes he has been dissapointing. Can do better and hopefully this is not a sign of the year for him. Dale Morris and Liam Picken even in a pre season game doing those great small things :)

[Twodogs]

Is anyone else watching Adams and just shaking their head?

I can't watch when he goes near the ball.

[Eastdog]

We have to remember once again we have key personnel not playing tonight such as Bonti.

[comrade]

I can't watch when he goes near the ball.

He looks like he's just arrived in the country.

[Eastdog]

We are really going through the motions

[GVGjr]

Gee, we are a mile off the mark. It's somewhat embarrassing

[comrade]

Make that 6 pretty woeful quarters to date.

[chef]

That was pretty painful to watch. But considering how young and inexperienced we've gone in its not surprising.

[bulldogtragic]

Gee, we are a mile off the mark. It's somewhat embarrassing

I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's been poor. Remembering our outs are Bob, Wallis, Bonts, Boyd, Dahl, Hunter, Cloke, Campbell, Libba, Roberts, Roughead and we are blooding 4 first gamers and playing a string of 2016 reserve level players.

[chef]

I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's been poor. Remembering our outs are Bob, Wallis, Bonts, Boyd, Dahl, Hunter, Cloke, Campbell, Libba, Roberts, Roughead and we are blooding 4 first gamers and playing a string of 2016 reserve level players.

Brisbane been training a month longer and are close to full strength too.

[jeemak]

I'm glad I stayed home and made the most of this bbq weather!

It looks as if we've been playing catch up with our training loads, we look tired and flat. I just adore watching us kick forward to a six footer against three opponents for nostalgia's sake!

[bulldogtragic]

Brisbane been training a month longer and are close to full strength too.

They won the preseason comp a few years back. Then we smashed them in round 1. It means very little, but I'm liking watching some kids show some potential.

[lemmon]

Tim English is posing some questions. I don't see him getting in over Campbell but he gives MC a bit of a conundrum no doubt

[bornadog]

I wish I was at home

[comrade]

Tim English the main highlight. Soft hands, good vision and took a nice defensive grab.

McLean has been productive higher up the ground. He played a similar role v Demons so looks like he might be set for midfield minutes this year. Good move.

The less said about Adams and Collins the better. I actually miss the calmness of Roberts.

Tom Boyd's grand final hands have disappeared.

[Remi Moses]

I think I'll save the anghst to the actual season .

[GVGjr]

I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's been poor. Remembering our outs are Bob, Wallis, Bonts, Boyd, Dahl, Hunter, Cloke, Campbell, Libba, Roberts, Roughead and we are blooding 4 first gamers and playing a string of 2016 reserve level players.

We can always find excuses for poor performances and highlight the players we are missing as valid reasons but based on what I'm seeing it's just poor footy. I don't buy the argument that Brisbane have been training a month longer than us either.

I would say you can use some excuses to explain why things aren't quite clicking but I'm not seeing enough to suggest it explains why we are so far off the mark.

What are we seeing that gives us some excitement?

[chef]

They won the preseason comp a few years back. Then we smashed them in round 1. It means very little, but I'm liking watching some kids show some potential.

Yep.

[chef]

What are we seeing that gives us some excitement?

For me kids getting a crack. Its not pretty, but its kind of what i expected.

There has been a few embarrassing efforts from senior players though

[Eastdog]

Yep.

The 2013 season wasn't a great one for us but that round 1 game was memorable. Brett Goodes played one of his best games.

[Sedat]

Has Sydney ever won a single pre-season match in the last 15 years? I've never been one to take any notice of pre-season results, with the exception of the injury list. I remember a pre-season match in 2006 where Richmond smashed us by 100 points and 2 weeks later we smashed them in Round 1 by 115 points.

[AndrewP6]

I know it's just preseason, I know it's a meaningless game... But they need to give us something to be excited about. This is woeful.

[jeemak]

We can always find excuses for poor performances and highlight the players we are missing as valid reasons but based on what I'm seeing it's just poor footy. I don't buy the argument that Brisbane have been training a month longer than us either.

I would say you can use some excuses to explain why things aren't quite clicking but I'm not seeing enough to suggest it explains why we are so far off the mark.

What are we seeing that gives us some excitement?

I think the training schedules have a massive impact. Not as much as personnel, but still really big.

We have a lot of work to do to get to the level required at round one though. I hope we get it right, the game is too close between teams 1-12 a few off weeks and some bad luck could see us struggling.

[Eastdog]

Here we come!

[GVGjr]

For me kids getting a crack. Its not pretty, but its kind of what i expected.

There has been a few embarrassing efforts from senior players though

Don't we do that anyway? Is there anyone or anything specific you've seen tonight that you think is very encouraging?

To me there are some minor positives so far but I can't write off the way we are playing by what I'm seeing.

Lets hope for a rally.

[jeemak]

11 minutes to go and it looks as if there's been a lift in intensity.

[Eastdog]

11 minutes to go and it looks as if there's been a lift in intensity.

A few super goals and we are back. It is important now that we give a bit of a better account of ourselves.

[Eastdog]

2 good marks from Jongy inside 50

[Eastdog]

Nice goal Lin.

[chef]

Don't we do that anyway? Is there anyone or anything specific you've seen tonight that you think is very encouraging?

To me there are some minor positives so far but I can't write off the way we are playing by what I'm seeing.

Lets hope for a rally.

Yeah we do but not to this extreme. English has got me excited. Smooth mover.

[Flamethrower]

Wake me up in September - just can't get into the football until the games are sudden death - even the H&A games are somewhat pedestrian now.

[Eastdog]

Thoughts on Bailey Dale's game tonight?

Jake gets another. Now go put the foot down.

[Eastdog]

Good comeback as it was a bit worrying earlier on.

[Eastdog]

I hope Rorake is ok

[SonofScray]

Adams isn't showing a great deal. A long way off the form he showed early in his time with us.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

By the look on Roarke's face it would appear serious. Hopefully not another ACL.

[bulldogtragic]

Adams isn't showing a great deal. A long way off the form he showed early in his time with us.

He's firmly playing at Footscray if his first 7 quarters are anything to go by. I really hope for Roarke it's not his ACL.

[Sedat]

By the look on Roarke's face it would appear serious. Hopefully not another ACL.
Same leg as his previous ACL - expecting the worst. Poor kid.

[comrade]

I can't get over how bad Adams has been.

[bulldogtragic]

Same leg as his previous ACL - expecting the worst. Poor kid.

Gut feels the same. After three years on the rookie list now, if it is, best have LARS and hope to get elevated with some late season form.

[Eastdog]

Same leg as his previous ACL - expecting the worst. Poor kid.

Feel sorry for him. Your just getting excited getting back and that happens. Anyway still speculating it might not be serious fingers crossed.

[Sedat]

Is there anything more useless and annoying than a former footballer/boundary rider trying to give some information on an injury? Complete and utter waste of time.

[Eastdog]

Finishing this one off nicely.

[Mantis]

For a skilful player Williams has made some costly mistakes... his kicking inboard has been horrible.

[jeemak]

Is there anything more useless and annoying than a former footballer/boundary rider trying to give some information on an injury? Complete and utter waste of time.

"They're a close side, I'll give them that (reluctantly given the tone)". Twerp still hasn't come to terms that we're premiers. Dermie and Dunstall haven't either.

[jeemak]

For a skilful player Williams has made some costly mistakes... his kicking inboard has been horrible.

This was going to be my next post prior to reading Sedat's!

[GVGjr]

Does the fact that we've finished off the 3rd quarter strongly and have had a lot of the play in the 4th squash the fact that the Lions started training 4 or 5 weeks before us?

[Mantis]

Does the fact that we've finished off the 3rd quarter strongly and have had a lot of the play in the 4th squash the fact that the Lions started training 4 or 5 weeks before us?

We were fresh.

[SonofScray]

Does the fact that we've finished off the 3rd quarter strongly and have had a lot of the play in the 4th squash the fact that the Lions started training 4 or 5 weeks before us?

I don't think so. We've set up a little differently and put more numbers around the ball. Also looked like we had put more of our senior players into roles you'd expect in a match for sheep stations. Didn't feel so much as a lift in effort or a sign of fitness so much as a tactical change.

[jeemak]

Does the fact that we've finished off the 3rd quarter strongly and have had a lot of the play in the 4th squash the fact that the Lions started training 4 or 5 weeks before us?

Not sure. I think the Lions dropped intensity just as we lifted ours, and a fair portion of that is between the ears when you're fatiguing.

[bulldogtragic]

Hamilton looks a fair way back. A part from stealing a dumb (non) advantage from Tom Boyd 35m out, he's not shown me much to believe he's going to make the grade.

Feel for Roarke, it might just be career over.

[Webby]

Let's be honest. We weren't in it to win it tonight. Skeleton side (Rockliffe & Schache aside)?against a close to full strength Brisbane who were determined to have a crack.

Decent signs in second half. Shame about Roarke Smith. Doubts on Hamilton, but "Johnny" English looks a steal.

[comrade]

English has it. Lipinski looked clean at times. McLean is a gun. Lynch could be the best kick in the league when given space. At his worst, Adams is no better than a local grade footballer.

That's my take.

[GVGjr]

Not sure. I think the Lions dropped intensity just as we lifted ours, and a fair portion of that is between the ears when you're fatiguing.

I guess my point was some speculation that wrote off our efforts in the first half because Brisbane had more work into them but to me we it wasn't a case of being underdone physically. We got a lot more of the ball in the 2nd half but we still lacked some composure.

[GVGjr]

Hamilton looks a fair way back. A part from stealing a dumb (non) advantage from Tom Boyd 35m out, he's not shown me much to believe he's going to make the grade.



Tend to agree, I was expecting more from Hamilton. He looks in good condition but just a bit off the pace..

[bornadog]

English has it. Lipinski looked clean at times. McLean is a gun. Lynch could be the best kick in the league when given space. At his worst, Adams is no better than a local grade footballer.

That's my take.
Agree

[Sedat]

I guess my point was some speculation that wrote off our efforts in the first half because Brisbane had more work into them but to me we it wasn't a case of being underdone physically. We got a lot more of the ball in the 2nd half but we still lacked some composure.
Ball handling and disposal skills were awful tonght, but I've never seen a pre-season game that is anything other than scrappy - tonight was no exception.

English, Lipinski and NMM all looked like they weren't far off this level - by contrast Lewis Young looked as raw as sashimi. Lin Jong looks like he has improved his forward craft. Very impressed with Toby McLean in the middle. Clay looked a little heavy and very slow.

Shattered for Roarke - I know we have ample cover in that part of the ground but I really like his athleticism and rate him as a potential player. He was first emergency for the GF let's not forget. Hope it is not what we all expect.

[bulldogtragic]

Call me crazy, many have...

Before the game, Bevo was asked what were we going to do strategically to stay ahead, and he just swatted it away with a nothing answer. Especially with half of our best 22 out tonight, could Bevo just have been rolling with the motions to get time into players and inspect the kids. That is, to play and not reveal any new gameplans or strategies to the opposition analysts?

There didn't seem to be a lot of major coaching moves of any real substance tonight. I recall at a function in 2015 Bevo saying early on when he took over that during games he wouldn't chop and change too much because he wanted to see where players were at and how they would perform when momentum swung against us. Perhaps there's an element of that with a lot of kids and not wanting to show any gameplan changes?

Or not?

[divvydan]

From presser:

LB: (On Roarke Smith)
We'll be able to confirm it tomorrow but our specialists think it's an ACL. The opposite one to the previous injury.

LB: We don't think Tom Campbell will play round one, so yes Tim is in the mix.

[comrade]

Call me crazy, many have...

Before the game, Bevo was asked what were we going to do strategically to stay ahead, and he just swatted it away with a nothing answer. Especially with half of our best 22 out tonight, could Bevo just have been rolling with the motions to get time into players and inspect the kids. That is, to play and not reveal any new gameplans or strategies to the opposition analysts?

There didn't seem to be a lot of major coaching moves of any real substance tonight. I recall at a function in 2015 Bevo saying early on when he took over that during games he wouldn't chop and change too much because he wanted to see where players were at and how they would perform when momentum swung against us. Perhaps there's an element of that with a lot of kids and not wanting to show any gameplan changes?

Or not?

This version makes me feel better so I'm happy to go along with it.

There was around 13-14 players out tonight, with 5-6 of them some our absolute top tier talent (Bont, JJ, Dahl, Libba, Hunter) so it makes sense to just let the kids play and see what we've got.

[ledge]

Good effort from the kids ,English took my eye , every good in close with hands , a couple of years in the gym and rucking will come .
Honeychurch dissapinted me bit so did a few others ., but our senior players seemed to take over in the third ..
Brisbane will get smashed when the real footy starts if this is anything to go by.
PS how bad was the commentary tonight .. Wrong names and you could swear only one real was playing out there the way they carried on with Brisbane,
Thought the umpiring was disgracefully one sided and I don't Like to say that . But it was !

[jeemak]

I guess my point was some speculation that wrote off our efforts in the first half because Brisbane had more work into them but to me we it wasn't a case of being underdone physically. We got a lot more of the ball in the 2nd half but we still lacked some composure.

I honestly don't think we were capable of keeping up in the first half when the game intensity was higher and everyone was fresh. Like any young side would the Lions died off, at that time we may have copped a rev up at the same time we added some fresh legs.

As a much better coached club over the last two years, a small increase in intensity and effort would have a large payoff to us relative to our competition which has been a rabble for a number of years now.

[Sedat]

What were the rotations tonight? I read somewhere that Gold Coast has 165 rotations in their match last week and we had under 90 in the game against Melbourne.

[Twodogs]

Let's be honest. We weren't in it to win it tonight. Skeleton side (Rockliffe & Schache aside)?against a close to full strength Brisbane who were determined to have a crack.

Decent signs in second half. Shame about Roarke Smith. Doubts on Hamilton, but "Johnny" English looks a steal.

English might get a bit taller too given he's only 18 and is given to growth spurts.

[Webby]

Had a few tonight at the game with a mate who's a big Bayern Munich fan. He lived in Europe for several years.

Anyway, he says that there is a 'guru' German knee surgeon who, when treating 'inoccuous' knee injuries, will 'great' the non-injured knee whilst he's at it. Reason being that the patient is obviously susceptible, so might as well "future proof" them...

Might've been BS, but thought it interesting in light of Clay Smith and co.. And co..

[always right]

Call me crazy, many have...

Before the game, Bevo was asked what were we going to do strategically to stay ahead, and he just swatted it away with a nothing answer. Especially with half of our best 22 out tonight, could Bevo just have been rolling with the motions to get time into players and inspect the kids. That is, to play and not reveal any new gameplans or strategies to the opposition analysts?

There didn't seem to be a lot of major coaching moves of any real substance tonight. I recall at a function in 2015 Bevo saying early on when he took over that during games he wouldn't chop and change too much because he wanted to see where players were at and how they would perform when momentum swung against us. Perhaps there's an element of that with a lot of kids and not wanting to show any gameplan changes?

Or not?

Bevo did exactly what he said he'd do......use the second match to play most of the young blokes and then play our best 22 in the third match.

That was a poor quality game but Brisbane played a smart game style, kicking it short and wide rather than bomb it long where our defence typically zones off and picks off the long ball.

Some observations;
- English looks a player but will be smashed physically as he was tonight by Martin. Reckon he will Bly take another 12 months to get a lot stronger. Looks to have powerful legs.
- That was possibly the worst game Easton Wood has played in three years. Misjudged the flight of the ball and dropped so many marks.
- Really liked Stringer's game. Got involved and took them on. Surround him with better players and he will do some damage.
- Toby was creative and worked hard......smart player.
- Crameri looked better when he had a run through the middle.
- Jong was a mixed bag. Butchered the ball early (who didn't?) but helped get us back into game.
- Jury out on Collins (still young) and Adams who might just be our worst player one on one. Some worrying signs with our key defenders....Roberts becomes so important.
- Disappointed in Dale and Williams. Expected more from them.
- Tom Boyd looks the same. Almost marks the ball every time.
- Honeychurch a good VFL player.
- Rourke Smith so unlucky.

[G-Mo77]

What happened to Roarke?

Edit: Son of a..... that sucks!!

[Sedat]

Just on Marcus Adams, didn't he also play like a busted arsehole in every pre-season game last year but then looked like David Dench as soon as Round 1 came along?

[bornadog]

I think I won't be going to these matches again. The last one I went to Libba did his knee, and now Roarke. ( I hope it isn't bad)

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I was disappointed with Webb, Dale, Hamilton, Honeychurch and Adams. This core should be pushing hard for selection but all were awful.

I'm starting to have concerns on Webb. He's not great on the inside - struggles to win the ball in tight with clean and quick hands, he's too slow to cause damage on the outside. His lack of pace means he can't get separation to find space and he's not in the ballpark of a Cross when it comes to endurance running. He's got nice skills but doesn't look a natural forward at all and he's well behind our other half backs. Where does he fit in?

Dale I want to do more. Much, much more. He looks capable but just isn't involved. Big year for him, needs to take strides forward.

Hamilton has put on size but looks a country league player, Adams' form over pre season thus far has been painful to watch.

I'd like to see more from Collins too.

On the plus side, impressed by English - nowhere near ready and yet it is so obvious he's going to be a good player in time. Exciting future ahead. McLean looks set for a big year, Clay started really well, annnnd preseason games are soon to be over. Hallelujah!

[GVGjr]

English might get a bit taller too given he's only 18 and is given to growth spurts.

He was actually 19 when drafted and is a few months older than Kieran Collins who was drafted the season before.
I think I saw an interview with him where he mentioned he might still get a bit taller.

[jeemak]

Hamilton is an interesting one. I had to watch on my phone with the sound down for much of the game. Did he come on after half time? If so, I can understand his struggle. Having been poorly coached personally in the ammos and coming on often once half the game was done and dusted I can attest to it being difficult to do and make and impact.

I was happy to see Jong tidy things up as the game progressed. I don't like him in much the same way I didn't like Picken for a number of years, but if his improvement within games and thereafter improves like the latter then I'll be happy to have him make me look foolish.

After that game I think I need to watch the highlights of our Hawks final.

[divvydan]

Looking at the fantasy scores, Hamilton did score in all four quarters so it seems he was playing the whole time, however, he only played 44% game time so he was being sparingly used. Indeed, Hamilton, Lynch, Young, Lipinski and Mullenger-McHugh all played less than 50% game time so most of the younger players, aside from English (74% TOG) were only partially used.

[Hotdog60]

Thought the umpiring was disgracefully one sided and I don't Like to say that . But it was !
They were very poor and I hope that's not a sign of things to come. Some of their decision making was embarrassing.

[chef]

Just on Marcus Adams, didn't he also play like a busted arsehole in every pre-season game last year but then looked like David Dench as soon as Round 1 came along?

Yep.

[SlimPickens]

Just on Marcus Adams, didn't he also play like a busted arsehole in every pre-season game last year but then looked like David Dench as soon as Round 1 came along?

I hope it rings true again this year as he has looked miles off. There were shades of Talia in his performance last night.

[KT31]

I hope it rings true again this year as he has looked miles off. There were shades of Talia in his performance last night.

Especially the passage of play when he pulled his phone out of his shorts and dialled his brother.:D

[1eyedog]

I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's been poor. Remembering our outs are Bob, Wallis, Bonts, Boyd, Dahl, Hunter, Cloke, Campbell, Libba, Roberts, Roughead and we are blooding 4 first gamers and playing a string of 2016 reserve level players.

That's half a team. No Dahl, Hunter, Bont and Libba really is the difference in terms of what end the ball ends up going.

[bulldogtragic]

That's half a team. No Dahl, Hunter, Bont and Libba really is the difference in terms of what end the ball ends up going.

And Cordy, Biggs & Dickson. That's 14 players arguably in our best 22 who didn't play. When our best 22 play, and play the brand of footy that they do, I have no doubt at all about what they will doing in 2017. Winning.

[bornadog]

The Big Boys Club

* I expressed my concerns on Adams after the first JLT and wasn't overly impressed with him last year (except for a couple of games).

* Collins has trimmed down quiet a bit and starting to lose puppy fat. Still very young very raw and still lots of hope he will make it.

* English was very good for such a young guy. I was sitting near the interchage bench so got a good look at these guys. My wife remarked how thick his legs were and he just needs to build up his upper body. I think we have a very good player in the making.

* Lewis Young - don't think he was on the ground alot. Like Collins, he is very young and just 18 years old for the whole year. Turns 19 in December.

* Tom Boyd - did some nice things and building up for round 1, but we will need a bigger showing next week.

I agree with TBB comments above on the 3rd year players - very disappointing, although Webb and Honeychurch played better in the last quarter. They need to show why they should be picked in the best 22 and these JLT games is their chance.

[Topdog]

I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's been poor. Remembering our outs are Bob, Wallis, Bonts, Boyd, Dahl, Hunter, Cloke, Campbell, Libba, Roberts, Roughead and we are blooding 4 first gamers and playing a string of 2016 reserve level players.

Pretty much our entire midfield.

[Cyberdoggie]

I thought we played at an average intensity and it looked like we just wanted to have a run.

Still, given the opportunity for some of the fringe players I really didn't see much there other than Lin Jong having a real crack.

In particular I thought Webb, Honey, Dale and Hamilton really aren't up to the standard as they have major weaknesses in their games.

Webb has a great kick but since trying to be more of an in and under midfielder he handballs everything, lacks speed and aggression and doesn't really impact the game. You hardly notice him out there.

Honey seems to be a small forward who has trouble kicking goals and his skills aren't quite top notch. Love his pressure when he applies it but what else has he got?

Dale even more so than Webb is the invisible man. Only bobs up when there is an easy handball over the top in the goal square. Doesn't really present around the ground. I get that he started with a very light frame, and he's still not big but he's put enough on now to start using his body more and getting into contests. Time to start showing something.

Hamilton, see above. Probably still smaller than Dale but needs to show improvement. There has been very little improvement from both Hamilton and Dale since they were drafted.

[Twodogs]

He was quiet overall but I thought Collins had a couple of good moments. A mark deep in defence where he owned the drop zone and kept his eye on the ball and his hands in position was one. I can't remember the other but I can remember thinking "Good boy Dad"

[Bulldog4life]

Not the only one I was disappointed with but Bailey Williams seemed to turn it over nearly every time he got it. Loved the way Johnny English fought hard and got the hard ball after the ruck contest. His kicking and hands are so clean too. A great prospect.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Not the only one I was disappointed with but Bailey Williams seemed to turn it over nearly every time he got it. Loved the way Johnny English fought hard and got the hard ball after the ruck contest. His kicking and hands are so clean too. A great prospect.

I'm calling English the new incarnation of your avatar, John Schultz...(even if John is not dead yet and could live for decades yet), just in rough appearance or is there more to it? Scott Wynd too, both Brownlow medalists of course, no pressure Tim.

[Bulldog4life]

I'm calling English the new incarnation of your avatar, John Schultz...(even if John is not dead yet and could live for decades yet), just in rough appearance or is there more to it? Scott Wynd too, both Brownlow medalists of course, no pressure Tim.

Yes BID there is a resemblance to Schultzy. Let us hope he can be as good as him too.

[Twodogs]

Hopefully Tim gets to play in a lot of Bulldog premierships, and gets to accept lots of cups rather than present the next one (long) after a long and distinguished career.

[Daughter of the West]

Especially the passage of play when he pulled his phone out of his shorts and dialled his brother.:D

I snorted out loud at work at that comment, well played KT31, well played.