Three things I've learned-round 13 v Melbourne.

[Twodogs]

Time to tell us about the three things you have learned today.

[bulldogtragic]

1. I feel genuinely sorry for our forwards. Shithouse commentators are saying they get 70 entries a week and no one in stepping up to kick 3-4 goals a week. We could have the best 6 forwards in the history of the game, and still not kick a winning score. I hope our fans realise it's the entries and not the forwards that are killing us.

1. A. I learned that the Brisbane Lions 2017 version have now scored more than us this year. That dysfunctional team that's won only 2 games has scored more this season than us. If you can't kick it to forwards advantage, if you can't make your entries count, then Boyd, Cloke, Repath, Ablett, Lockett or Coleman won't do a god damn thing.

2. I wasn't sold on top 4. But now with losing over 10% in two weeks, we might be fighting just to make the 8.
3. We need to trade and free agency hunt good ball users. Our lack of foot skills and forward entries aren't being rectified by coaching, so I guess it's the personnel.

[westdog54]

Wow, that was tough to watch.

1. Liam Picked is in serious danger of the game going past him. Was run down way too often for my liking.

2. There are players drinking their own bathwater at the moment and the Bont is leading the charge. Flat out lazy at times.

3. Something was seriously wrong with Easton Wood today. Couldn't catch a cold.

[lemmon]

1. Whatever's going on is endemic. There have always been half excuses behind our losses. Nothing today.

2. I just dont get our structure. Boyd rucks while Rough floats around. We rotate smalls through the key forward posts and play ball winners like Dahl and Libba away from the ball. It all feels way too clever by half

3. Our style stands for nothing at the moment. Our ball use is as bad as it was under B Mac but at least we won the contested footy then. Now we dont win the ball and when we have it, we're stagnant. It's like we need to add contested footy winners AND good users to the mix.

[bulldogtragic]

Wow, that was tough to watch.

1. Liam Picked is in serious danger of the game going past him. Was run down way too often for my liking.

2. There are players drinking their own bathwater at the moment and the Bont is leading the charge. Flat out lazy at times.

3. Something was seriously wrong with Easton Wood today. Couldn't catch a cold.

We just signed him up for 2018 & 2019. I hope there's another explanation for his bad form.

[AndrewP6]

1. If JJ wants 800k a year, as Darryl Kerrigan said, "Tell him he's dreamin'. Not worth half that at the moment.
2. 7th place in 2016 was about where we're at.
3. There are aspects of our game that were poor in 2011 and are still poor.

[westbulldog]

1. Players are not playing for each other nor with any passion, the malaise seems to have coincided with Johannisen's contract demands.
2. Positional insanity by coaching staff playing Hunter on blokes far taller.
3.We are potentially bottom four material this year.

[Twodogs]

1. Whatever's going on is endemic. There have always been half excuses behind our losses. Nothing today.

2. I just dont get our structure. Boyd rucks while Rough floats around. We rotate smalls through the key forward posts and play ball winners like Dahl and Libba away from the ball. It all feels way too clever by half

3. Our style stands for nothing at the moment. Our ball use is as bad as it was under B Mac but at least we won the contested footy then. Now we dont win the ball and when we have it, we're stagnant. It's like we need to add contested footy winners AND good users to the mix.


That's exactly the problem.

[Bulldog4life]

1. The amount of times our players are run down with ball makes me wonder if there is any talk on the field, rather just kick it to me.

2. Melbourne played like Men of Mayhem.

3. Worse game live I have seen under Bevo.

[Remi Moses]

1 To clever by half has been a common theme this season
2. We're not hungry enough and aren't working hard enough
3 starts from the top , we need to park last year . Remove that 2016 premiers sign . The players are daily reminded on what they did .
I emphasise DID.

[mjp]

1. Melbourne are going alright. They still have Gawn and Hogan to come back!
2. If you are going to set up 10m in front of the opposition forwards, well, you had better well win the ball at the contest or at least apply some pretty heavy pressure to the exit kick.
3. Changing strategies and structures based on the score-board is never a great idea. First we get numbers to the contest - that didn't work. Then we equalised on Melbourne's spare. That didn't work. So we went back to play 'A'. Which still didn't work. Put the plan in place for the game and stick too it - make the ball use consistent and predictable to mids and forwards alike. Continually shuffling the deck chairs is not coaching - it is desperation.

[comrade]

1. Honey had a chance to prove he's worth a chance at AFL. He proved he's not close to being up to it.
2. Without a complete buy in of pressure and tenacity at the contest/opposition, we are just a plodding team with mostly sub par skills. Our work rate was our unique advantage and without it we are nothing.
3. Bevo is under pressure for the first time ever and it will be interesting to see how he responds.

[Mofra]

1. We will miss finals on current form
2. Decision making is baffling at times
3. Melbourne wanted it much, much more than we did

[bornadog]

1. When we lose, stay off the match day thread.

2. Teams are now playing like we played last year

3. Lachie Hunter is not a HBF - I know Bevo is trying to get some run from the HBF, but he aint the solution.

[Scorlibo]

2. I just dont get our structure. Boyd rucks while Rough floats around. We rotate smalls through the key forward posts and play ball winners like Dahl and Libba away from the ball. It all feels way too clever by half


I've never been sold on this idea of rotating every player. Someone like Libba has a clear competitive advantage as a stoppage player. You hear opposition players talk about him as one of the best they've played against. He should be attending as many stoppages as possible in my opinion, and that ambition isn't mutually exclusive with developing an outside game! Same goes for Dickson playing through the guts, it's never worked and he's one of the few natural forwards on the list, so just let him hone his forward craft. Player development is about finding the balance between nurturing strengths and improving weaknesses, and at the moment we're clearly trying to do too much of the latter at the expense of the former.

[Ozza]

I've never been sold on this idea of rotating every player. Someone like Libba has a clear competitive advantage as a stoppage player. You hear opposition players talk about him as one of the best they've played against. He should be attending as many stoppages as possible in my opinion, and that ambition isn't mutually exclusive with developing an outside game! Same goes for Dickson playing through the guts, it's never worked and he's one of the few natural forwards on the list, so just let him hone his forward craft. Player development is about finding the balance between nurturing strengths and improving weaknesses, and at the moment we're clearly trying to do too much of the latter at the expense of the former.

Couldn't agree more.

I posted early in the season that I was worried about the amount in which we were throwing players around, and that we were walking a fine line between versatility and unsettling the team. We clearly haven't gotten the balance right - and I believe it has come at the expense of form for a number of players. Jongy has been one of the few who hasn't been thrown around too much - even in the pre-season, Mantis observed that he was in the centre stoppage more than any other player, and guess what - prior to his injury - Jong was our only player who had clearly improved.

Caleb Daniel has recently found a very solid stretch of form, now that he has becoming (what appears to be) exclusively a midfielder. Whereas Libba, Bonti, Hunter and Dahlhaus - seem to get shuffled around several times per quarter.

The balance isn't right.

[bornadog]

Caleb Daniel has recently found a very solid stretch of form, now that he has becoming (what appears to be) exclusively a midfielder. Whereas Libba, Bonti, Hunter and Dahlhaus - seem to get shuffled around several times per quarter.

The balance isn't right.

I only noticed Hunter in the backline. I mentioned in another post, I know Bevo is trying to get some run off the backline, but it is not working with Hunter there.

On another note, are Hunter and Macrae the worst left foot kicks ever.

[Ozza]

I only noticed Hunter in the backline. I mentioned in another post, I know Bevo is trying to get some run off the backline, but it is not working with Hunter there.

On another note, are Hunter and Macrae the worst left foot kicks ever.

Only in the backline yesterday - but has played in all three areas of the ground this season. Not sure it has done him much good - although opposition teams were putting more time into him as a wingman from about round 4-10, limiting his impact at being the link up player.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I've never been sold on this idea of rotating every player. Someone like Libba has a clear competitive advantage as a stoppage player. You hear opposition players talk about him as one of the best they've played against. He should be attending as many stoppages as possible in my opinion, and that ambition isn't mutually exclusive with developing an outside game! Same goes for Dickson playing through the guts, it's never worked and he's one of the few natural forwards on the list, so just let him hone his forward craft. Player development is about finding the balance between nurturing strengths and improving weaknesses, and at the moment we're clearly trying to do too much of the latter at the expense of the former.

Agreed - I hate seeing Libba forward, Dickson/Crameri up the ground etc. It has rarely worked.

Flexibility is important but there's something to be said for being predictable to your own team mates.

What's more is that to have good flexibility you need a good spine for that to rotate around. A spine that isn't thrown around every 5 minutes. Our spine might just be the worst in the league. The result is we have numerous players being thrown around left and right, often having to assume key position status when they simply shouldn't (Stringer, Jong, Picken etc. have all played as a key forward whilst Roberts, Wood, MBoyd, Biggs have all played as a key defender).

[Flamethrower]

It is becoming increasingly clear that what was a strength last year (team flexibility), has quickly become a weakness this year. The great Albert Einstein once said that there is a fine line between genius and insanity, and it appears that our very own genius coach may have ventured too close to this line.

[Sedat]

On another note, are Hunter and Macrae the worst left foot kicks ever.
Clay Smith says hi. Although at least he dobs them when shooting for goal.