Game Day Round 4, 2017 - North Melbourne V Western Bulldogs

[Eastdog]

It's the historic Good Friday match.

Margin: Dogs by 32 points
First Goal: Tom Boyd to get our first and hoping he will have a great game and kick a couple
Best On Ground: JJ will tear it up
Crowd: 44,516 - Im hoping closer to 50K

Go Bulldogs!!

[Go_Dogs]

Dogs by 17
First goal Clay
BOG Bont
Crowd 44,000

[ratsmac]

Dogs by 13 points
First goal - Jong
BOG - Macrae
Crowd- 42,089

[Ozza]

Dogs by 16 points
First Goal - Hunter
BOG - Bont
Crowd - 41,789

[Twodogs]

Dogs by 41
BOG Stringer
FG-Hunter
Crowd-41895

[boydogs]

WB by 55
First Goal Dahlhaus
BOG Hunter
Crowd 43,216

[SlimPickens]

Dogs by 21
BOG: Macrae
Goal: Picken
Crowd: 49,376

[Webby]

Foxtel playing a 2009 clash btwenn is and Norf.

Funny watching a replay of an old game. Higgins, Griffen, Aker, Lake, Ward, Hill, Cooney all making it strangely difficult for me to feel the love!!

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Dogs by 22
BOG - Wood
First Goal - Cloke
Crowd - 48,416

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 38
BOG-Libba
FG-Stringer
Crowd-47,690

[bulldogtragic]

Dogs by 74
FG - Smith (4 goals)
BOG - Wood

[Eastdog]

Dogs by 74
FG - Smith (4 goals)
BOG - Wood

Tipped us by 75 last week and we did not look like winning by 75 so gone with 32 today :) :)

[bornadog]

Dogs by 13

First Goal: Stringer

BOG: Macrae

Crowd 48765

[GVGjr]

Dogs by 18 points

First goal Dunkley
BOG Liberatore
Crowd 42,012

[LostDoggy]

I think we will struggle today, they will play on at all costs and try and run us off our feet....well Scott is silly if he doesn't.

Dogs by 4 points.
B.O.G Clay Smith.
Crowd 44,398
First Goal. Cloke

[AndrewP6]

Dogs by 9 pts
First goal Dahl
BOG- JJ
Crowd 44,942.

[Remi Moses]

Dogs by 15 pts
Bog Libba
1st goal Stringer

[bornadog]

The Bont's shoulders are now massive

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Dogs by 7 points
BOG: Dahlhaus
First goal: Dunkley

[jeemak]

Yep, they're calling what they're not seeing against us now. How the umpire pinged Dahl is beyond me.

[jeemak]

Great finish Jake, electrifying ball movement from half back through the middle.

[bulldogtragic]

Yep, they're calling what they're not seeing against us now. How the umpire pinged Dahl is beyond me.

Beyond a joke now, two sets of rules when we play now.

[jeemak]

Tom Boyd's dropped another sitter, it's almost cost him his head and it's cost us a goal.

We're paying him too much for him to be dropping one or two easy marks a game.

[jeemak]

Beyond a joke now, two sets of rules when we play now.

Our coach should make multiple calls to Schwab over the course of the week, sook about it in the media and generally just carry on until it changes back again.

Great finish from the Bont.

[GVGjr]

Agree with Jeemak regarding Boyd

It's early days but our intensity is better.

[bulldogtragic]

Our coach should make multiple calls to Schwab over the course of the week, sook about it in the media and generally just carry on until it changes back again.

Great finish from the Bont.

Need to. There's no attempt to apply the rules the same way. None.

[bulldogtragic]

Throws, holding the ball, highs. All going one way...

[jeemak]

How can they pay the one against Boyd, but not give a free kick to Macrae at the other end for just the same thing prior to North's last goal?

[bulldogtragic]

How can they pay the one against Boyd, but not give a free kick to Macrae at the other end for just the same thing prior to North's last goal?

Not to mention Thomas dragged Wood to the ground...

[bulldogtragic]

Send Bob to umpires for 'clarification' now.

[jeemak]

Not to mention Thomas dragged Wood to the ground...

And the Cunnington and Ziebell throws..................

I'm starting to feel like a Swans supporter, with the ledger being ten to three.

[bulldogtragic]

And the Cunnington and Ziebell throws..................

I'm starting to feel like a Swans supporter, with the ledger being ten to three.

40-12 at the game's end at this rate of umpiring then.

[G-Mo77]

40-12 at the game's end at this rate of umpiring then.

And they're still bronx cheering.

[DOG GOD]

Fumbling, not tackling strong enough, and not working hard enough running into defence.
Their game plan is an almost pagans paddock style...2 easy goals to godly and brown.

The little flicks, taps etc going their way....and ofcourse the umpires.
We can't afford to bomb into our 50 but our skills aren't good enough at the moment to hit a chest target.

[bornadog]

Need to hit a target inside50 instead of just bombing it in

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Boyds marking is a real genuine concern. Simply hasn't improved and they're often very costly

[bulldogtragic]

Can't buy a holding the ball.

[jeemak]

Our mids including Jong and Dahl are doing a lot of work to get the ball moving with their run, but some of the handballing has stifled their efforts.

[bulldogtragic]

Here's hoping we switch on soon.

[GVGjr]

I hope Boyd is OK and it goes without saying we need the next goal

[1eyedog]

Little Boyd having a mare

[lemmon]

Matt Boyd needs a spell in the twos unfortunately

[1eyedog]

So does Suckling

[bulldogtragic]

I'm worried.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Anyone else finally concerned at what we're dishing up?

[G-Mo77]

I called out Suckling last week, everyone else didn't give him a mention. Proof is in the pudding. He's a liability and we're a better team without him.

[jeemak]

I've been concerned each round, but for different reasons over the course thus far.

Tom Boyd's embarrassing effort has cost him an injury and it's left us heavily exposed in the ruck. Campbell's going to get worked over like you wouldn't believe from here on in.

The little man in Suckling's head has started talking negatively after his two HTB against, it's a pity, as he actually started the game with a couple of hard efforts.

It's hard to tell from the couch, but it seems we are really pissing around with the footy when taking it forward.

[kruder]

Geee suckling??? I can't remember a quarter like it. He should donate his match fee to the kids.

[bulldogtragic]

Only 2 goals. Rough end of the umpiring. Tom Boyd with a possible fractured cheekbone. Many not doing simple things right. Not many winners.

Hopefully that's the bad half of this game for us.

[GVGjr]

Anyone else finally concerned at what we're dishing up?

Really poor quarter for us. We can't get a clear run at it and we don't have enough players winning their position.

[G-Mo77]

I've been concerned each round, but for different reasons over the course thus far.

Tom Boyd's embarrassing effort has cost him an injury and it's left us heavily exposed in the ruck. Campbell's going to get worked over like you wouldn't believe from here on in.

The little man in Suckling's head has started talking negatively after his two HTB against, it's a pity, as he actually started the game with a couple of hard efforts.

It's hard to tell from the couch, but it seems we are really pissing around with the footy when taking it forward.

Lairising jeemak. Some of the flicking around is borderline arrogance

[GVGjr]

I called out Suckling last week, everyone else didn't give him a mention. Proof is in the pudding. He's a liability and we're a better team without him.

I've haven't been a fan and I think there is too big of a gap between his best and worst efforts. He tends to look great when we are playing well and pretty bad when we aren't.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

2 goals in a half of footy against a side 0-3 at our home ground.

Our kicking for goal is as poor as it's ever been, we're incredibly fumbly and have zero system moving forward. It's a combination of the forwards not moving and stuffing around with the ball with poor handballs.

Roberts and Adams have held up OK considering

[GVGjr]

Lairising jeemak. Some of the flicking around is borderline arrogance

We are playing like we are 6 goals up and coasting.

[bulldogtragic]

2 goals in a half of footy against a side 0-3 at our home ground.

Our kicking for goal is as poor as it's ever been, we're incredibly fumbly and have zero system moving forward. It's a combination of the forwards not moving and stuffing around with the ball with poor handballs.

Roberts and Adams have held up OK considering

No point recruiting Cloke if you can't consistently hit him up. I feel sorry for him, because some 'fans' will get into him but he's got no say in hitting the scoreboard lately.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

Geee suckling??? I can't remember a quarter like it. He should donate his match fee to the kids.

Both our imports in Suckling and Cloke have been poor. Jong and Dahlhaus are keeping us in the game with many players down. Just two goals in a half of football isn't good enough.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

No point recruiting Cloke if you can't consistently hit him up. I feel sorry for him, because some 'fans' will get into him but he's got no say in hitting the scoreboard lately.

Agreed.

About the only one working hard to create space and provide a target though, the rest of the forwards are stagnant. Partly to blame are our half backs and mids who are playing arrogant over possessive football.

Interesting half coming up we need to respond.

[GVGjr]

Both our imports in Suckling and Cloke have been poor. Jong and Dahlhaus are keeping us in the game with many players down. Just two goals in a half of football isn't good enough.

NBP you have pretty much nailed it. While Clokes team mates aren't helping him get into the game he still hasn't been good enough
Suckling needs to lift. Dahlhaus and Jong have been real trying their hardest.

It goes without saying that we need to lift.

[bornadog]

Clay and Libba struggling

[bornadog]

Jong is getting his hands on the ball but puts his team mates under pressure

[bulldogtragic]

Tom Boyd is out. Official.

[LostDoggy]

Agree on Suckling but Cloke has been given no chance

[jeemak]

Murphy's really hurt us with two kicking errors.

It's going to be hard to come back from here.

[bulldogtragic]

This is fast becoming a big, big worry. Big.

[jeemak]

Jake Stringer can get stuffed.

God he makes me angry. More than any other player ever has.

[bulldogtragic]

Hard to watch. We are cooked.

[The Underdog]

We are unbelievably shit

[Sedat]

This is BMac-esque. Comedy festival stuff - should have been a free to Brown in any event.

[bulldogtragic]

Season looking shaky.

GWS, WCE, Rich & Geelong after next week.

*!*!*!*!.

[GVGjr]

Stringer takes that easy mark and it's a very different game. They've kicked 6 goals in a row and we aren't making the most of our chances

[bulldogtragic]

How is that not holding the *!*!*!*!ing ball. For *!*!*!*! *!*!*!*! *!*!*!*!ing sake.

[AndrewP6]

Is it 2012 again? Disgraceful. Norf look like a great team. They're not.

[GVGjr]

Any changes we could make to spark the team up?

[Sedat]

Nice one-percenter by Zaine at half back

[bulldogtragic]

How can we always get holding the ball against and never for?

[jeemak]

Any changes we could make to spark the team up?

We need to change our mindset and become mongrels again. This reminds me of the first time we played them last year. We let them dictate terms to us and be harder than us, we've let that happen again.

JJ and Bont need to give us something. They've been passive all game.

[jeemak]

How can we always get holding the ball against and never for?

It's been complete bullshit.

[Murphy'sLore]

Macrae's doing all right.

[LostDoggy]

Can anybody tell me why Zaine Cordy is in this team?

[Sedat]

Dropped marks in forward 50 are killers

[bulldogtragic]

It's been complete bullshit.

The club needs to get clarification. I can only work out the jumper is the difference.

[bulldogtragic]

What happens when Cloke gets a sniff.

[GVGjr]

A good few minutes get us right back in it. We now have to finish this quarter strongly and not concede ground

[bulldogtragic]

How long can we keep the momentum?

[Murphy'sLore]

Dahl. Always Dahl.

[GVGjr]

It may not be pretty but this is the type of spirit I like to see. Hard not to love the effort displayed this quarter

[1eyedog]

I'm gonna find out where that goal umpire lives

[1eyedog]

Hrovat mouthing off like he's somebody.

[bulldogtragic]

FFS Dunkley. Not learn from last year?

[westbulldog]

Was that touched ? very doubtful, dubious goal umpire call, At the other end Murphy has eyes on the ball.........free to Norf.. dubious call again

[The Bulldogs Bite]

FFS Dunkley. Not learn from last year?

Awful.

[jeemak]

It's a real circus this ruck rule.

Cameron Ling openly barracking positively over a missed goal. He's a real professional.

[1eyedog]

Let's just bank the 4 points.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Need Jong to use his leg speed more, could be the difference.

[bulldogtragic]

It's a real circus this ruck rule.

Cameron Ling openly barracking positively over a missed goal. He's a real professional.

How he has a job is a mystery not even Steven Hawking could solve...

[bulldogtragic]

Need a big effort from Tom Campbell.

[The Underdog]

Jeez, when Libba lifts it makes a huge difference. Dahl remains my favourite player, never stops never stopping

[Sedat]

Our hands are so sloppy and panicky

[1eyedog]

Has the whole team bet on Norf to win this!

[Sedat]

Any chance we can spot up a short target inside 50 instead is that stupid long kick to 3 Norf key defenders time and time again?

[Sedat]

Campbell has been really good - some excellent blue collar efforts.

[1eyedog]

Luke Dahlaus 3 votes

[Murphy'sLore]

Dahl. Always Dahl.

[The Underdog]

Easton Wood is miles off his best so far this season

[jeemak]

Campbell has been really good - some excellent blue collar efforts.

Was just about to post the same thing.

[GVGjr]

Campbell has been really good - some excellent blue collar efforts.

He needs to be mentioned.

It's a great contest and we are up for the fight

[bulldogtragic]

Holding the *!*!*!*!ing ball!!!!!!!!

[jeemak]

What do we have to do to get a HTB?

[jeemak]

Great kick from Cloke to find Smith.

Put it into space and made Smith run for it. Pity Smith didn't convert.

[westbulldog]

Umpire 23 is related to Swallow

[bulldogtragic]

What do we have to do to get a HTB?

Nothing, they refuse to pay them our way.

[bulldogtragic]

Great kick from Cloke to find Smith.

Put it into space and made Smith run for it. Pity Smith didn't convert.

Hurt us badly. Not even a score.

[GVGjr]

10 minutes to go have to keep that scoreboard ticking over

[jeemak]

Cunnington is smashing us.

[westbulldog]

How was that centre bounce not a recall ?

[bulldogtragic]

How was that again not holding the *!*!*!*!ing ball.

[jeemak]

Can't believe they still didn't pay a free for HTB just before Stringer pounced on the loose footy.

It's unbelievable.

Come on lads let's kick a few more!

[bulldogtragic]

Cloke not coming back owing to that dog act.

[westbulldog]

Stringer's goal was preceded my ANOTHER non HTB decision

[Murphy'sLore]

Just when you thought we were close to almost kind of safe...

[jeemak]

I would just like to say.......eat a massive one Lindsay Thomas and Brad Scott. Oh, and Scott Thompson.

[GVGjr]

Wow, greatest Good Friday game ever ;)

I'm genuinely drained

Full of admiration on the way our boys gutted it out.

[jeemak]

Well that was a bit of a silly old game.

How many holding the ball free kicks they didn't pay was just unbelievable. Why Libba still thinks he can get away with throwing the ball is beyond me.

Gutsy effort from our boys to get the four points when things just weren't going our way. Really gutsy effort and I'm glad we ruined the day of a considerable amount of Norf fans.

[Murphy'sLore]

Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat... We never looked like winning that. Until we did.

[bulldogtragic]

I would just like to say.......eat a massive one Lindsay Thomas and Brad Scott. Oh, and Scott Thompson.

And the dog that may have cracked Cloke's ribs. Must be weeks suspension.

[jeemak]

And the dog that may have cracked Cloke's ribs. Must be weeks suspension.

Bahahahaha, what are you talking about, it wouldn't have even been paid down field! He won't get a penalty.

[G-Mo77]

Good to get it.

Sometimes it takes an injury to make someone shine and I thought Tom Campbell's 2nd half was excellent. I canned Suckling big-time in the first he stood up when it counted.

Love it that it was Lindsay who cost them in the end. Could not have happened to a nicer bloke

[GVGjr]

Hey....who pinched the get out of jail free card from my monopoly set? :)

Great win. Our players, coaches and fans should be proud of this win.

[bulldogtragic]

Bahahahaha, what are you talking about, it wouldn't have even been paid down field! He won't get a penalty.

It wasn't paid down field... Our guys are primed for serious injury when they're not protected...

[jeemak]

Good to get it.

Sometimes it takes an injury to make someone shine and I thought Tom Campbell's 2nd half was excellent. I canned Suckling big-time in the first he stood up when it counted.

Love it that it was Lindsay who cost them in the end. Could not have happened to a nicer bloke

It would have been completely disgusting for Thomas to be a hero in his 200th. Completely disgusting.

Tom Campbell was such a hard worker and a lot safer than he had been last week. A really good effort he should be proud of, and use to build on.

Middle 25-40 minutes of the game Suckling was terrible, but on the book ends he was really quite good.

[lemmon]

We've escaped again against a team that won't be a threat this year. I'm genuinely worried about GWS in a fortnight.

[bulldogtragic]

It would have been completely disgusting for Thomas to be a hero in his 200th. Completely disgusting.

Tom Campbell was such a hard worker and a lot safer than he had been last week. A really good effort he should be proud of, and use to build on.

Middle 25-40 minutes of the game Suckling was terrible, but on the book ends he was really quite good.

Good contested Mark at the end, and great finish to get us the win. He took his moment, and thank God he did.

[chef]

Never in doubt hey;)

Type of game the old Bulldogs would have lost. Different breed these boys.

[bornadog]

Hey....who pinched the get out of jail free card from my monopoly set? :)

Great win. Our players, coaches and fans should be proud of this win.

gutsy win with lots of players down. I was like you exhausted at the end of the game

clay was woeful tonight and should never have been picked

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Macrae, Dahlaus and Bontempelli gutsy efforts to get us over the line. Critical to win the close ones. Lots of mistakes, easy chest marks dropped from taking focus off the ball onto the chest or hands.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

gutsy win with lots of players down. I was like you exhausted at the end of the game

clay was woeful tonight and should never have been picked

Strange comment - most agreed he should have been and unless you said otherwise, stating after the fact with the benefit of hindsight is a bit rich.

Having said that, certainly agree Clay was poor but hoping he'll improve, given he hasn't played a game since JLT.

[lemmon]

gutsy win with lots of players down. I was like you exhausted at the end of the game

clay was woeful tonight and should never have been picked

15 tackles, 6 more than any other Dog, including one that got us the win was enough for me. He came in and did what we needed

[Debw]

clay was woeful tonight and should never have been picked[/QUOTE]

Did alot off the ball & 13 tackles says 'woeful' is a bit harsh.

[jeemak]

gutsy win with lots of players down. I was like you exhausted at the end of the game

clay was woeful tonight and should never have been picked

Tough first night back. 15 tackles though, so still contributed.

[Sedat]

Some real grit and heart in the 2nd half. We are nowhere near our best but we toughed it out.

[jeemak]

Some real grit and heart in the 2nd half. We are nowhere near our best but we toughed it out.

If we win next week we get to 4-1 without firing a shot. It's what good teams do.

[Sedat]

We've escaped again against a team that won't be a threat this year. I'm genuinely worried about GWS in a fortnight.
I'm more worried about making sure we are switched on for Brisbane next week.

[LostDoggy]

Liked Clay's tackling resulting in our pressure in our forward line being better than it has been.

[GVGjr]

gutsy win with lots of players down. I was like you exhausted at the end of the game

clay was woeful tonight and should never have been picked

I think everything points to the fact we shouldn't have won the game but in the end just enough players stepped up when it counted.

We aren't anywhere near the standard of last year and I still don't think we have the right mix with our selection but the boys gutted out a spirited win.

[Rocket Science]

I would just like to say.......eat a massive one Lindsay Thomas and Brad Scott. Oh, and Scott Thompson.

Indeed. And you too Firrito.

Yes he's retired but still.

[jeemak]

I think everything points to the fact we shouldn't have won the game but in the end just enough players stepped up when it counted.

We aren't anywhere near the standard of last year and I still don't think we have the right mix with our selection but the boys gutted out a spirited win.

We broke even on clearances, did them on the outside, lost contested possessions, tackled more, had more scoring shots and more entries. We were well within our rights to win the game.

[Rocket Science]

And the dog that may have cracked Cloke's ribs. Must be weeks suspension.

Yep, trademark toughness from Ziebell, shirt-fronting a bloke mid-kicking motion. Hard man.

[AndrewP6]

Has Smith been training? He looked slow and unsure for much of that game. 15 tackles surprises me.

[bornadog]

Strange comment - most agreed he should have been and unless you said otherwise, stating after the fact with the benefit of hindsight is a bit rich.

Having said that, certainly agree Clay was poor but hoping he'll improve, given he hasn't played a game since JLT.

Not hindsight for me. (go back and see my early comments from the start of the season)

He was terrible in the pre-season games and didn't deserve his spot. Anyway, hopefully he will get into the swing of things next week.

[Dry Rot]

Anyone else notice we seem to be deliberately using fewer interchanges than our opponents?

75 vs North 89, despite we were a man down for 3 quarters.

[GVGjr]

I'm more worried about making sure we are switched on for Brisbane next week.

They are young and quick and we will certainly need to be switched on.

[jazzadogs]

I really enjoyed Toby McLean through the midfield. Attended some centre bounces in the last quarter, had 27 touches at 85% efficiency. Great run and carry at times, and his skills were needed.

As a side, I heard we went at 80% disposal efficiency in the second half. Not sure what North's was, but that's what won us the match.

[merantau]

I had a bad feeling from the moment I switched the TV on and saw The Bont miss that set shot in the 1st Qtr.

And the last quarter? Here's a selection of what came out of my mouth:
- Jesus, I hate games like this!
- I'm dying a thousand deaths here!
- I can't take this!
- We've played shit, but North sre playing shitter!
- No one deserves to win, but if we lose this effing game I'll go spare!
"STRINGERRRRRR!!!!"
- Lock it in for Chrissake!"
- Oh, Noooo!
- "YEESSSSSSS!!!!!"

We won despite everything and a few blokes really stood up in the second half. Dahl was epic and Tom Campbell really stood up in the 2nd half. But the daddy of them all was Murf - especially at the end. His cool head in the heat of battle was Antarctic. Go Dogs!

[bornadog]

I really enjoyed Toby McLean through the midfield. Attended some centre bounces in the last quarter, had 27 touches at 85% efficiency. Great run and carry at times, and his skills were needed.

As a side, I heard we went at 80% disposal efficiency in the second half. Not sure what North's was, but that's what won us the match.

The only blight on disposals was the 17 we kicked.

[bulldogtragic]

I had a bad feeling from the moment I switched the TV on and saw The Bont miss that set shot in the 1st Qtr.

And the last quarter? Here's a selection of what came out of my mouth:
- Jesus, I hate games like this!
- I'm dying a thousand deaths here!
- I can't take this!
- We've played shit, but North sre playing shitter!
- No one deserves to win, but if we lose this effing game I'll go spare!
"STRINGERRRRRR!!!!"
- Lock it in for Chrissake!"
- Oh, Noooo!
- "YEESSSSSSS!!!!!"

We won despite everything and a few blokes really stood up in the second half. Dahl was epic and Tom Campbell really stood up in the 2nd half. But the daddy of them all was Murf - especially at the end. His cool head in the heat of battle was Antarctic. Go Dogs!

Did Jesus have anything to say back? I hear he's pretty busy this time of the year.

[bornadog]

Did Jesus have anything to say back? I hear he's pretty busy this time of the year.

But like Jesus we rose to the occasion. :)

[jazzadogs]

Did Jesus have anything to say back? I hear he's pretty busy this time of the year.

He thought the umps were crucifying us.




I'll show myself out.

[merantau]

Wins like this really bond team mates. There were so many desperate efforts in that last quarter. We have some very courageous, willing workers in our side. It wasn't pretty but it was big-hearted, stirring stuff. Proud of the boys for hanging tough.

[bornadog]

Wins like this really bond team mates. There were so many desperate efforts in that last quarter. We have some very courageous, willing workers in our side. It wasn't pretty but it was big-hearted, stirring stuff. Proud of the boys for hanging tough.

It was a tough last 5 minutes players from both sides were spent.

[aker39]

To me the difference was Tom Campbell. He was fantastic in the 2nd half.

[bulldogtragic]

He thought the umps were crucifying us.




I'll show myself out.

He'd know...

[kruder]

Well done to suckling for impacting the second half after what was one of the worst quarters I've seen in a long time.

[Sedat]

Well done to suckling for impacting the second half after what was one of the worst quarters I've seen in a long time.
His 2nd half was fantastic at both ends. Testament to his ability to shut out mistakes and focus on what he could control ie: the next contest.

[bulldogtragic]

His 2nd half was fantastic at both ends. Testament to his ability to shut out mistakes and focus on what he could control ie: the next contest.

I'm not sure many would put cash punting on Suckers to take a contested I50 Mark, then kicking the clutch goal in a three point win. But he did. And that's where I tend to focus under Bevo era, that is, when any player has a key moment to capitalise do they take it? Irrespective of who they are, or the sort of game they've had. Be it a key defensive spoil, a crucial contest, a good mark or hitting the scoreboard. I think Suckers tends to stand up in the crucial times. He's got a gap between good and bad, but does he stand up when he's needed to as a senior players. I tend to think he does for the most part.

[kruder]

What are peoples thoughts on Easton Woods start to the year? Obviously he had a delayed pre season and you can say a lot of our players have been below their best but I think he has been really poor and well below his All Australian best. I just cant recall too many intercept marks this year at all?

[Sedat]

What are peoples thoughts on Easton Woods start to the year? Obviously he had a delayed pre season and you can say a lot of our players have been below their best but I think he has been really poor and well below his All Australian best. I just cant recall too many intercept marks this year at all?
Had major ankle surgery in the off season and frankly it is showing. He is miles off his AA form - hopefully he can work his way into the season because we are badly missing his ability to intercept mark and rebound from D50.

[jeemak]

I thought he was cool with the footy under pressure tonight, which was a good sign. Agree he doesn't seem to be ready to really jump at it yet, he'll turn it around.

[always right]

Anyone think Picken should have been rested today? He looked way off the pace and lacked his normal desparation.

[1eyedog]

Thought Picko was fantastic tonight. 25 disposals 6 odd tackles and should have had a goal. Very solid night.

[jeemak]

Picko had a funny night, he took some time to get into things but got better as the game wore on.

Not sure if he should have played. The following week after a decent knock is always tough, but you have to leave it up to the medicos to provide the ultimate advice.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

What are peoples thoughts on Easton Woods start to the year? Obviously he had a delayed pre season and you can say a lot of our players have been below their best but I think he has been really poor and well below his All Australian best. I just cant recall too many intercept marks this year at all?

Mentioned similar words tonight.

Hopefully he's OK - at the moment he looks to be struggling.

[Ozza]

Anyone else notice we seem to be deliberately using fewer interchanges than our opponents?

75 vs North 89, despite we were a man down for 3 quarters.

Our seats were behind/above the interchange tonight - and I'm not sure we had much of a choice on the interchange at times.
Apart from Boyd, and then Cloke late doors - Adams had some problems and Dunkley spent some chunks off the ground getting work on his legs.

Having the interchange in view - does make you focus on it a bit - so I was pretty nervous when North started to get away from us early in the last quarter, and we have Wood, Bonti and Libba all off the ground at the same time - for around 6-7 minutes!

[always right]

Thought Picko was fantastic tonight. 25 disposals 6 odd tackles and should have had a goal. Very solid night.

Stats don't tell all the story. Thought he lacked his usual influence.

[Eastdog]

The first Good Friday match in AFL/VFL history and we get the historic first win so happy with that.

With the game I feel we are certainly not playing to our full potential and more like currently going through the motions grinding out results.

Disappointing at one stage trailing them by nearly 5 goals but happy that we came back hard and had a decent last quarter to get that win unlike what we did last week.

Suckling was important tonight and I liked how Dahlhaus went and Stringer did some important things.

Bob as well did good and Im hoping for a big 300th next week. Picko as well - he is tough after last week and thought he was quite good.

[GVGjr]

Stats don't tell all the story. Thought he lacked his usual influence.

I thought he was very quiet early on but got better as the game wore on but yes he didn't have his normal influence.

[Eastdog]

Loved when Libba marked it inside 50 in the final term and get us a vitally important goal.

We need to reduce our turnovers.

[Twodogs]

Dropped marks in forward 50 are killers


The one Tom Boyd dropped almost killed him.


I really enjoyed Toby McLean through the midfield. Attended some centre bounces in the last quarter, had 27 touches at 85% efficiency. Great run and carry at times, and his skills were needed.

As a side, I heard we went at 80% disposal efficiency in the second half. Not sure what North's was, but that's what won us the match.

That's great efficiency for Toby. 24 (or 23) effective touches is very impressive.

[Sedat]

The one Tom Boyd dropped almost killed him.
Stringer dropped about 4 puds inside forward 50 and Dahl also dropped a 'mark' when Picko got him in the clear with a handball about 30m out. We made ourselves work so much harder for our goals because we dropped what should have been so many gilt-edged easy ones.

[jeemak]

It's why I have an issue with the concept of us being behind it all day.

[ledge]

Great gutsy win , we played a team with very good talls today and we had only one for 90% of the day.
All They had to do was put it up high and we had no hope, don't underestimate what we did today with what we had , Roughead and Morris are huge losses.
Campbell is extremely slow but took on a massive task today.
Cloke might not seem to do much at times but keep in mind he will always get the big backman, if blokes like stringer kick goals it's Because Cloke has managed to drag that big backman away or up the ground.
Extremely happy we got this win with what we had out there today and what was missing.

[G-Mo77]

One thing again which hurt us was rebound defence. I think we're getting caught to far up the ground when we're pressing. There were some really cheap goals leaked out the back last night when we were out of position.

[SquirrelGrip]

One thing again which hurt us was rebound defence. I think we're getting caught to far up the ground when we're pressing. There were some really cheap goals leaked out the back last night when we were out of position.

They played most of the 2nd quarter with 7 or 8 in defence (playing five forwards and one wing) and we matched them up. Once started two wings and six forwards, that's when we took control with less opportunity for them to run off half back.

[Go_Dogs]

Strange comment - most agreed he should have been and unless you said otherwise, stating after the fact with the benefit of hindsight is a bit rich.

Having said that, certainly agree Clay was poor but hoping he'll improve, given he hasn't played a game since JLT.

Wasn't Clay's best game, but 15 tackles talks to his defensive work around the contest which became important given we weren't doing so well in winning the ball ourselves.

Dahlhaus was huge and I thought a number of players who had down nights all had moments where they impacted the outcome.

Conversion remains an issue as does our ball movement in the forward half. If we can't get the ball in JJ's hands, we look slow in transition.

[Twodogs]

Wasn't Clay's best game, but 15 tackles talks to his defensive work around the contest which became important given we weren't doing so well in winning the ball ourselves.

Dahlhaus was huge and I thought a number of players who had down nights all had moments where they impacted the outcome.

Conversion remains an issue as does our ball movement in the forward half. If we can't get the ball in JJ's hands, we look slow in transition.

We need Murph back to full confidence dancing around opposition players and sending the ball forward.

[merantau]

I thought Murph was very good in the second half and sparked is up a bit. He was really cool at the end too. Looks like the onjuries are on our back again. Crameri only played a half in the VFL, Cloke 4-6, (Ziebell, slap over the wrist with a wet tram ticket, if anything), Tom Boyd - who knows, Morris - weeks away, ditto Dicko.
Time to dig deep (again!).

[Twodogs]

Looking back that was a really good win to bank no matter how we got the points. We might have played badly at times and could have played better for most of the game but 3 and 1 is looking a lot better than 2 and 2 by the day.

We have to improve on a lot of fronts and invent solutions to a few problems we don't have tradional fixes for (running out of ruckmen for instance) but getting over the line in games like Friday night will be gold toward the end of the season.

Just as long as we don't let it mask what needs improving in the team.

[The bulldog tragician]

One thing again which hurt us was rebound defence. I think we're getting caught to far up the ground when we're pressing. There were some really cheap goals leaked out the back last night when we were out of position.

That used to happen to us a lot in 2015 too. I'm not sure why it's resurfaced as a problem - coaching, the way we implement it or whether other sides are more prepared or have ways of countering it - the long kick out from defence and a kind of pagans paddock set perhaps?

[jeemak]

During a client meeting this week a Norf supporter who attended the game immediately lambasted our preferential treatment from the umpires, and singled out the Cloke free kick in the square given when "he didn't have anyone within three metres of him".

His view was we continue to receive the rub from the umpires.

I asked him about the non-downfield to Cloke, and the interpretation of holding the ball that seems to have changed since John Longmire complained and was basically met with a blank face.

Given he was a client I didn't rub his face in anything a supporter whose club is on the way down after a failed climb didn't already have smeared all over it. I just thought it was interesting how differently a game of footy can be viewed.

[Greystache]

During a client meeting this week a Norf supporter who attended the game immediately lambasted our preferential treatment from the umpires, and singled out the Cloke free kick in the square given when "he didn't have anyone within three metres of him".

His view was we continue to receive the rub from the umpires.

I asked him about the non-downfield to Cloke, and the interpretation of holding the ball that seems to have changed since John Longmire complained and was basically met with a blank face.

Given he was a client I didn't rub his face in anything a supporter whose club is on the way down after a failed climb didn't already have smeared all over it. I just thought it was interesting how differently a game of footy can be viewed.

It might've been worth pointing out Norf kicked the ball out on the full 8 times vs our 2. Which means in play free kicks favoured them 19 to 7. Perhaps also that we've only won the free kick count once in four games.

[jeemak]

It might've been worth pointing out Norf kicked the ball out on the full 8 times vs our 2. Which means in play free kicks favoured them 19 to 7. Perhaps also that we've only won the free kick count once in four games.

I'd have just been met with the same blank face.

Nobody's interested in detail mate. Parroting base statistics is footy discussion these days, it's interesting that one can now only discuss football in a reasonable and informed way with a limited number of trusted people. The average Joe you come across is generally a convert to the lazy stuff and isn't worth talking to on matters that may paint their preferred team in a non-positive light.