Game Day Round 18, 2017 - Western Bulldogs V Gold Coast Suns

[Eastdog]

Margin: Dogs by 38 points

First Goal: Redders

Best On Ground: Bont

Go Bulldogs!!

[boydogs]

WB by 24
First Goal Dale
BOG Bonts

[bornadog]

Dogs by 47 points
First Goal: McLean
BOG" The Bont

[AndrewP6]

Dogs by 25
First goal Hunter
BOG Bont

[Twodogs]

Dogs by 19
First goal-Hunter
BOG-(You know it is. It's) Him. Come on Bont, show us why you're the best!

[Bulldog4life]

Dogs by 15
First goal Honeychurch
BOG Libba

[Go_Dogs]

Dogs by 37
First goal Honeychurch
BOG Macrae

[Eastdog]

Hoping Redders can give us more up forward. Was a bit dissapointing last week but really has given something up there to be a bit excited about.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Dogs by 41
First goal B. Dale
BOG M. Wallis

[Eastdog]

BT has got in yet :)

[Eastdog]

Hope it's great game for you boydogs and we get a good comfortable win.

[westbulldog]

Umpires: Hayden*!Gavine*!(14), Chris*!Kamolins*!(19), Nathan*!Williamson*!(22), Emergency: Alex*!Whetton*!(39)

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 30
1st Goal HC
BOG McLean

[Remi Moses]

Dogs by I don't care how much
BOG Bont
1st goal Redpath

[1eyedog]

Just need to keep winning.

Dogs by 13pts
First Goal Wally
Best JMac

[Rocket Science]

Dogs by 11 points with another unhelpful injury.

My cup's half empty.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Dogs by 34 points
First goal: Dale
BOG: Bontempelli

[Eastdog]

Hopefully Norf can beat the Bombers today.

[westdog54]

Thompson out for the Suns with a hamstring injury. Darcy McPherson replacing.

We really have no excuse today.

[Rocket Science]

No long sleeves on Lewy Young.

I hate it.

[bulldogtragic]

Great grab by Young! Not a fluke last week.

[Rocket Science]

Awful AWFUL decision from Suckling.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Dumb football from Suckling.

[lemmon]

Does Suckling even care?

[bulldogtragic]

Does Suckling even care?

No. Not at all.

[Doc26]

Suckling is just woeful but hey Bevo loves him.

[Eastdog]

Leave JJ alone!!

[Rocket Science]

Oh look, they're into JJ. Quelle surprise.

[LostDoggy]

Playing for the season here boys

[Rocket Science]

Liking our contested marking thus far.

[Eastdog]

The breeze is hurting.

[GVGjr]

Does Suckling even care?

Backs himself to get it right next time

[Eastdog]

Frustrating start

[Eastdog]

Poor defending.

[G-Mo77]

Dumb ass defence against a breeze.

[AndrewP6]

Defensively poor, far too easy on the rebound.

[westbulldog]

First goal to Jack Martin was courtesy of Suckling.

[Eastdog]

Dahl gets us started. Goal! Wind playing havoc.

[LostDoggy]

Weve taken more marks inside 50 today than we have in entire games

[Rocket Science]

First goal to Jack Martin was courtesy of Suckling.

Such a momentum killer. Assesses options with the ball half-kicked and his back to the man on the mark, telegraphs exactly where he's going to put it with his eyes, then chips it to an outsized teammate with no jump on his opponent.

Onya Suckers.

[bulldogtragic]

More marks inside 50 already, then we get in most games. Good indicator of a change.

[Eastdog]

Picko!

[LostDoggy]

More marks inside 50 already, then we get in most games. Good indicator of a change.

You trolling me?

Wood up there a good move

[bulldogtragic]

You trolling me?

Wood up there a good move

You trolling me?

Wood up there a good move

[LostDoggy]

You trolling me?

Wood up there a good move

Mind blown!

Young continues to impress

[Webby]

Commentators have repeatedly called Roughead Redpath.

Beginning to grate..

[bulldogtragic]

Mind blown

Young continues to impress

Nearly 30 touches and 12 marks (6 intercept and contested) in 5 quarters.

[AndrewP6]

Pickers a lone hand in forward 50.

[LostDoggy]

Nearly 30 touches and 11 marks (6 intercept and contested) in 5 quarters.


Nearly 30 touches and 11 marks (6 intercept and contested) in 5 quarters

[bulldogtragic]

Nearly 30 touches and 11 marks (6 intercept and contested) in 5 quarters

I fear he's building me up for a fall. His hands are that good I now expect him, after 5 quarters, to mark everything 50/50 and spoil on the lower percentage contests. Exciting prospect.

[jeemak]

Pickers a lone hand in forward 50.

I've started whipping him these past weeks and he's come good!

Red and Jacko have been good in the air too.

[LostDoggy]

I fear he's building me up for a fall. His hands are that good I now expect him, after 5 quarters, to mark everything 50/50 and spoil on the lower percentage contests. Exciting prospect.

Very young, will have ups and downs. But gee, he looks the goods.

[bulldogtragic]

I've started whipping him these past weeks and he's come good!

Red and Jacko have been good in the air too.

I guess thank you is in order.

[Eastdog]

Picko, Wood, Red, Bont, Dahl been good.

[Eastdog]

Morris injuried.

[AndrewP6]

Moz off clutching his arm. Went straight off after a contest.

[LostDoggy]

If moz has broken his arm hes not showing much pain

[The Underdog]

Dropped our intensity with the wind like we've already done all the hard work.

[GVGjr]

Morris injuried.

It did not look good, I fear this is a bad injury

[GVGjr]

If moz has broken his arm hes not showing much pain

He's a tough fella, hoping for the best.

[bulldogtragic]

Can't buy a free.

[GVGjr]

Dropped our intensity with the wind like we've already done all the hard work.

It often happens, lets hope for a good rally

[bulldogtragic]

Suckling having a mare.

[Eastdog]

Picken been very good. Gets another.

[LostDoggy]

Picken been very good. Gets another.

We should have a sweep, i say 10

[bulldogtragic]

A certain Picken featuring in the career best thread later.

[chef]

Pickens having a lucky days. 2 goals heavily influenced by poor umpiring.

[Rocket Science]

He's a tough fella, hoping for the best.

It's Moz. Just snap the bloody thing off and send him back out there.

[LostDoggy]

He's a tough fella, hoping for the best.

Pound for pound the toughest and most courageous, i am a little biased.

[Eastdog]

Great tackle HC, great running JJ to Dale to finish.

[The Underdog]

Can't buy a free.

Considering Picken's 50 and the one he just got then, let's not begin that. We're on the pro-side of the ledger so far.

[LostDoggy]

That was superb.

Honeychurch has done some outstanding tough things.

[GVGjr]

Great tackle HC, great running JJ to Dale to finish.

His rundown for Kruezer last week and now Lynch this week. A real lack of awareness by Lynch.

[Eastdog]

That was superb.

Honeychurch has done some outstanding tough things.

Sure there has been wine negatives but there is a lot of upside as well. Done some good things.

[LostDoggy]

Sure there has been wine negatives but there is a lot of upside as well. Done some good things.

Hes adjusting to the level and playing to his strengths.

[GVGjr]

This is a real struggle at the moment.

[bulldogtragic]

I love Baileys.

Never thought I'd say that.

[LostDoggy]

This is a real struggle at the moment.

They are very disciplined this qtr

[Eastdog]

Bailey!

[LostDoggy]

I love Baileys.

Never thought I'd say that.

What a kick!

[bulldogtragic]

I love Baileys.

Never thought I'd say that.

More Baileys!

[lemmon]

We're working hard but the skills from both sides are leaving a heap to be desired.

[Eastdog]

20 points Dawyne not 13.

[ledge]

Well halftime and commentators say it's a 13 point lead , the scoreboard says 19 points and my app says 20 points .how hard is it ??
Just for the record it's 20 points.

[The Underdog]

They are very disciplined this qtr

Which is more than you can say for us. That was very poor.

However that tap from Roughy was *!*!*!*!ing genius. 1%er of the week.

[Eastdog]

Decent 1st half. Picko, Dahl, Wood, Dale, Bont been involved. Young and Honeychurch have done some good things.

[GVGjr]

Whats happening with Roughead? Has he had a kick or a mark so far?

Also just 3 goal kickers for us. We need to get more player involved

[Eastdog]

Certainly more room for improvement but I feel we have been the better team so far.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I hope Moz is ok, but it looked like a broken arm or wrist from the footage. Terrible luck.

[LostDoggy]

Liking Honeychurch he has done some good things and getting a little better each week.

Loved Roughy's little tap over the top.

Our ball use is so much better than it has been.

They look tired and will probably throw everything at us this quarter. We have to just put the clamps on now.

[Go_Dogs]

Good start, our ball use and decision making has looked OK and we seem sharp around the clearance.

Loved the HC tackle, while Bailey Dale and McLean continue to impress.

Is it just me, or has Jacko Macrae got a quicker set of wheels? He's been able to create separation a couple of times with leg speed which isn't a trait I've ever really associated with him.

Hope Moz is ok, he's had more than his share of injuries over the years.

[Eastdog]

Well halftime and commentators say it's a 13 point lead , the scoreboard says 19 points and my app says 20 points .how hard is it ??
Just for the record it's 20 points.

Yeah how hard could it be.

[merantau]

Well that 2nd quarter was very ordinary. Bailey Dale's goal came just in time to salvage something from it. Gold Coast are severely undermanned. We should be able to dominate them but we are just not doing it at the moment. Some of our players look really tired. Let's hope we can turn it around and play some really good clean football in the second half.

[Eastdog]

Need a big 3rd quarter I reckon. Let's put the foot on the accelerator.

[chef]

Very poor quarter. Theyll torch us with the breeze if we serve up that shit again.

[LostDoggy]

I hope Moz is ok, but it looked like a broken arm or wrist from the footage. Terrible luck.

Yep it doesn't look good at all. Easily the toughest bloke going around and probably one of the unluckiest as well. All we can do is hope for the best.

[Murphy'sLore]

Sure there has been wine negatives but there is a lot of upside as well. Done some good things.

There are no wine negatives.

[GVGjr]

Need a big 3rd quarter I reckon. Let's put the foot on the accelerator.

Yep, we need to keep the scoreboard ticking over. 3 goals at least.

[kruder]

Only saw a few mins Bont forward yet no goals?

[Eastdog]

There are no wine negatives.

Omit the wine just negatives :) typing from my iPad.

[hujsh]

Had Honey well and truly written off 1st quarter last week. He's turning me around though

[Eastdog]

Yep, we need to keep the scoreboard ticking over. 3 goals at least.

If we kick the first few we are looking good. The first 3 without them scoring and it's close to 40 points and we just need to keep it going.

[The Underdog]

What are the odds Libba could give us something. 6 possessions and have up on a chase. Suckling has been pretty poor with the ball. On the upside, I've really liked Bailey Williams game, Macrae has been strong and Picko's has really hit some form. JJ starting to show a bit too.

[LostDoggy]

They are some dark clouds.

[GVGjr]

Certainly not the start to the quarter we wanted

[GVGjr]

What are the odds Libba could give us something. 6 possessions and have up on a chase. Suckling has been pretty poor with the ball. On the upside, I've really liked Bailey Williams game, Macrae has been strong and Picko's has really hit some form. JJ starting to show a bit too.


There are a few players that need to lift

[Rocket Science]

Oh JJ.

[LostDoggy]

10-3 up on contested marks. Don't think I've ever seen it like that.

[ledge]

I'm hearing Morris gone to hospital, Biggs has been very solid this qtr

[chef]

My god Bob. That was terrible.

[ledge]

Omg Murphy wtf was that ???

[Rocket Science]

Oh Murph.

[LostDoggy]

Loose.

[always right]

GC are far and away the worst pressuring side in the AFL.....witches hats.

Suckling really annoying me as he continues to go for kicks in dangerous parts of the ground where turnovers are virtually guaranteed goals.

[bulldogtragic]

Bob seems a shadow of himself lately.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Murphy should be dropped, absolutely crap.

[The Underdog]

Jeez. We're just not very good are we?
That was disgraceful by Murph

[LostDoggy]

Crap.

Fight dogs

[Scorlibo]

Sad to see this from Murph

[GVGjr]

We are not far off it and just need to be more precise with our kicks. Have to keep GC in check for the balance of the quarter and find a couple of goal kickers ourselves.

[Rocket Science]

Game, and season basically, unravelling. With a whimper, not a bang.

[G-Mo77]

Meh. It's just not there this season. Just so many poor errors that have plagued us all season. Defence is poor, especially transition, forward line a rabble. No signs of improving.

[LostDoggy]

Honey...

[bulldogtragic]

Great grab. Now to covert.

[LostDoggy]

Doing well to keep it in but cant kick a goal

[LostDoggy]

Heads up woofers

[kruder]

Why the hell are we kicking it to the dead pocket? Gee we are an average footy side this year.

[LostDoggy]

Heads up woofers

Agree, need to hold the lead.

[LostDoggy]

Tackle Jack come on dogs. Picken is back baby

[Murphy'sLore]

Love ya work, Picken!

[G-Mo77]

Lovely kick JJ

[LostDoggy]

Picken 5

Suckling atrocious decision

Bailey d nails another

[LostDoggy]

We will open them up now they have fired their best shot.

[bulldogtragic]

I wish Bailey Dale was already signed up. Top priority.

[LostDoggy]

Comedy of errors to end the qtr

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Murphy really isn't good enough to be playing right now.

[G-Mo77]

Held onto that lead. Hopefully we can play the breeze better in the 4th.

[bornadog]

Held onto that lead. Hopefully we can play the breeze better in the 4th.

We have to play the breeze the same way as against it. Find targets and hit them, no bombing long with the wind.

[merantau]

Where would we be without Picken? Wouldn't it be lovely to finish off with a dominant last quarter. Just one quarter of clean ball handling, precise kicking, sharp handballs to advantage, harsh tackling - football with INTENT AND PASSION! C'MON DOGS. LET'S DO IT!

[The Underdog]

Really happy with Biggs game. Been very solid both ways.

[bornadog]

Really happy with Biggs game. Been very solid both ways.

Agree has been good.

[ledge]

Sad about Morris , might be then end of his career, both bones broken.

[LostDoggy]

Sad for the glove

[GVGjr]

Still only 3 goal kickers, we need to find a couple more this quarter

[LostDoggy]

Give it to liam!

[LostDoggy]

How long layoff is Morris looking at? Just sad for him.

[always right]

BOG Shane Biggs.....has been a rock back in defence. Picken having a ball out there. No second game blues for Lewis Young.

Murph has been sad. Suckling a mixed bag as always. Caleb as constructive as ever.

[G-Mo77]

How long layoff is Morris looking at? Just sad for him.

Robotic arm being installed now. Won't miss a game.

[LostDoggy]

BOG Shane Biggs.....has been a rock back in defence. Picken having a ball out there. No second game blues for Lewis Young.

Murph has been sad. Suckling a mixed bag as always. Caleb as constructive as ever.

Daniel has been incredibly consistently good

[Rocket Science]

Lots of little clever things from Young. Smarts up the wazoo. Jeez he looks a goodun'.

[LostDoggy]

Pickoooooooooooo!!!

[bornadog]

PICKEN - you Star

[bulldogtragic]

Picko!

You star!

[Eastdog]

What a game from Liam

[LostDoggy]

Picko!

You star!

Yoh trollling bad now?

[Eastdog]

Bob!

[bulldogtragic]

Yoh trollling bad now?

Apparently!

[The Underdog]

Hey we scored something with 3 numbers in it

[Rocket Science]

Bobby Dazzler

[bulldogtragic]

Players must not like Rocket Eade. How can that much talent lie down this badly...?

[The Underdog]

Jeez, we needed that last quarter

[bulldogtragic]

Good win.

[LostDoggy]

Its good to win a couple and one on the road. Next week is another cut throat final.

[LostDoggy]

54 points 1 down on rotations 3/4 of the day. Good day out with lots of positives including our ball use.

[chef]

Good win in the end. Yay.

[LostDoggy]

Its good to win a couple and one on the road. Next week is another cut throat final.

Recovery is super important this week. Massive massive game next week.

[GVGjr]

Players must not like Rocket Eade. How can that much talent lie down this badly...?

It will take some explaining won't it?
Tough old gig for the coaches and this won't help him getting an extension.

[Go_Dogs]

Solid win in the end.

A few aspects of our game have looked better the last 2 weeks, which is pleasing. Out of form players are getting back to their best and our 1-3 year players continue to look more comfortable and confident.

[merantau]

Well, I got some of my wishes in that last quarter. Very important win for us. Tragic for Moz. Feel very bad for him. Picko was immense. Jack Redpath played a four quarter game. Biggsie was back to his best form - mopping up down back. Honeychurch was in the game from the get go. McLean very good along with Daniel.
Still a long way to go but we are heading in the right direction.

[hujsh]

We will open them up now they have fired their best shot.

Good call and glad someone else was feeling as comfortable as me about the game.

Suns lifted for a bit but it never felt like they were a real threat or that they could maintain their performance beyond a brief period

[Eastdog]

Really solid strong win today. We really picked it up in the final quarter but I thought we were for most of the game the better team.

Picken was excellent - 6 goals, Daniel very good loved that turn he did, Bailey Dale has had a good year and kicked a few goals - particularly like the one where Honeychurch tackled the GC player gave it to Wally then JJ who ran and got it to Dale to finish, JJ has got some spark back and loved some of his run, Biggs very solid, McLean another good game, Bonti hasn't had the best ever year but liked his game tonight - such an important player and a joy watching what he can do each week. Lewis Young and Mitch Honeychurch did a lot of good things. HC I reckon has picked up a bit.

Great to kick 16 goals over 100 points as that is an area we struggle with.

Big game now next week in the local derby (Bulldogs v Bombers) at Etihad and heaps on the line. Need to get the win again.

Cmon Bulldogs!!

[Twodogs]

Next week is going to be huge. Winner makes the finals almost.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Good to get a percentage lift, but given the opposition i am not convinced we're through the slump.
Good to see Picko return to form and Biggs return to last years form.
But still scratchy from Libba and in reality, we still fluffed easy chances, gave away turnovers to readily and we really only belatedly pulled away from a young and depleted Suns team only when they ran out of breath.
Maybe I'm just a curmudgeonly and bitter man, but I'm not brimming with confidence heading into a season defining game against the Bombers on the back of that game.

[ledge]

Very happy with a lot of players tonight they all look on the up .
Reserves looked pretty good today especially down back with Roberts , dad and Boyd.
Morris will probably be swapped with Roberts looking at Essendons tall, unless we send Wood back.

[Eastdog]

Next week is going to be huge. Winner makes the finals almost.

Huge. Will give us the advantage in playing finals again in 2017 to defend our flag if we win.

[LostDoggy]

Good call and glad someone else was feeling as comfortable as me about the game.

Suns lifted for a bit but it never felt like they were a real threat or that they could maintain their performance beyond a brief period

Yea that was the most comfortable I've felt all year during the game. When our ball use is good we are very hard to beat.

[jeemak]

I thought we were much better tonight broadly, some smaller attention to detail issues remained but not to the extent GCS were ever going to get close.

[bornadog]

Yoh trollling bad now?

Great minds think alike.:)

[merantau]

Good to get a percentage lift, but given the opposition i am not convinced we're through the slump.
Good to see Picko return to form and Biggs return to last years form.
But still scratchy from Libba and in reality, we still fluffed easy chances, gave away turnovers to readily and we really only belatedly pulled away from a young and depleted Suns team only when they ran out of breath.
Maybe I'm just a curmudgeonly and bitter man, but I'm not brimming with confidence heading into a season defining game against the Bombers on the back of that game.

I'm in your corner on this one. We beat a depleted outfit when they ran out of gas. They were with us for three quarters - that's a worry.
Our ball use is still very poor. We are missing targets by hand and foot.
Some good signs though with some players getting back in form and continued good showings from several youngsters.
We have finals arriving early this year. The players must know that and be up for it. Drop no game and we are in. Drop one game and we are 50/50, drop two games and we are a snowflakes chance in hell.
Let's go Dogs.

[LostDoggy]

Good to get a percentage lift, but given the opposition i am not convinced we're through the slump.
Good to see Picko return to form and Biggs return to last years form.
But still scratchy from Libba and in reality, we still fluffed easy chances, gave away turnovers to readily and we really only belatedly pulled away from a young and depleted Suns team only when they ran out of breath.
Maybe I'm just a curmudgeonly and bitter man, but I'm not brimming with confidence heading into a season defining game against the Bombers on the back of that game.

Agree GC aren't the best side going around but we don't have our best side running around and to lose Moz relatively early makes it harder again. I thought we were good with the ball considering it was pretty windy and they got most of their goals out the back which kills us most weeks.

Just look at it this way, a trainer sometimes sends a good horse back in class to get a kill for it's confidence. That was ours.

[jeemak]

What was everyone actually expecting? Perfect performance that ended in a 100 point win?

After losing Morris we smashed them in pretty much every area of the ground. We did them by almost ten goals with a man down ffs, and we clearly dominated them.

[bornadog]

What was everyone actually expecting? Perfect performance that ended in a 100 point win?

After losing Morris we smashed them in pretty much every area of the ground. We did them by almost ten goals with a man down ffs, and we clearly dominated them.

I am happy. :D

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

What was everyone actually expecting? Perfect performance that ended in a 100 point win?

After losing Morris we smashed them in pretty much every area of the ground. We did them by almost ten goals with a man down ffs, and we clearly dominated them.

A 4 qtr performance. They outsmarted us in the 2nd and for periods in the 3rd.
We still committed multiple unforced skill errors, bombed it in when they had a spare back and only really put the foot down when as a young inexperienced team does runs out of run.
Don't get me wrong much better we kicked on than had a 20 piint loss. But thats where i reckon we would've been if Gaz had've played.

[jeemak]

Ablett is a 74 point turnaround?

Get real. If that was the case he'd be offered $4m a year to return home.

[bornadog]

A 4 qtr performance. They outsmarted us in the 2nd and for periods in the 3rd.
We still committed multiple unforced skill errors, bombed it in when they had a spare back and only really put the foot down when as a young inexperienced team does runs out of run.
Don't get me wrong much better we kicked on than had a 20 piint loss. But thats where i reckon we would've been if Gaz had've played.

We won by 54 points, we held them to one point in the last, what do you expect.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Ablett is a 74 point turnaround?

Get real. If that was the case he'd be offered $4m a year to return home.

Sorry had brain explosion. Meant 20 point win.
I do think Gaz would've had a big impact. Wouldve changed the complexion of the midfield.
You know what a very good 50 odd point win looks like? The Hawks tonight against Freo. Or Sydneys win tonight against the Saints.

[jeemak]

You managed to watch both at the same time?

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

We won by 54 points, we held them to one point in the last, what do you expect.

They were completely cooked in the last.
I don't know why some are hailing this a great victory? It was a solid win, in the end against a very poor opposition who are down on confidence, had late withdrawals over past couple of days and are very green.
We looked very ordinary, in patches, as we have done all season in every single game. Hardly the sort of performance that would indicate our patchiness is behind us.

Bevo's demeanour throughout the night and in the post game prrsser was not that of a coach brimming with 4 qtrs of data that would tell him we are through the other side of our slump.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

You managed to watch both at the same time?

I flicked across both games throughout the evening.

[Twodogs]

Great minds think alike.:)


And small ones in unison...

[bornadog]

They were completely cooked in the last.
I don't know why some are hailing this a great victory? It was a solid win, in the end against a very poor opposition who are down on confidence, had late withdrawals over past couple of days and are very green.
We looked very ordinary, in patches, as we have done all season in every single game. Hardly the sort of performance that would indicate our patchiness is behind us.

Bevo's demeanour throughout the night and in the post game prrsser was not that of a coach brimming with 4 qtrs of data that would tell him we are through the other side of our slump.

I didn't see anyone saying it was a great victory. 54 Points is a good win and I will take it anytime. Yes lots of mistakes, but that is no different to any game, including the H&A last year.

[jeemak]

And what, in each instance you were surprised by how well Freo and Saints were playing, but doubly or triply surprised by how well Hawthorn and Sydney were respectively?

Nobody is claiming tonight's win as the ultimate for us. Yes we had a couple of down patches through the game but we flogged them convincingly in all relevant areas of the game!

Why do you think they were so cooked in the last by the way?

[macca]

Morris is so tough . Cannot imagine the pain he must be feeling TV showed him getting off the ground quickly and looked so calm . Eade praised him for his mental toughness. Get well soon Morris.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I didn't see anyone saying it was a great victory. 54 Points is a good win and I will take it anytime. Yes lots of mistakes, but that is no different to any game, including the H&A last year.

And i think i said as much when writing it was good to get a percentage boosting win. But trying to add a little more analysis outlined my opinion as to why it didn't necessarily fill me with confidence that we've yet addressed the question mark over where we are at.
I don't quite get the level of agitation, over my opinion to be honest. I made an error in incorrectly typing that had Gaz played we would've lost by 20 points, when I meant to type a 20 point win.

The eventual margin was wonderful. But as we all know scoreline is but one measure. And there are some mitigating factors as to why we skipped away at the end.
We won by less than a kick against Sydney last year for example. That was a great performance, better than what we showed tonight. So its not the case that i was expecting a 100 point margin tonight, just a 4Qtr effort that would serve as evidence we'd turned the corner.
What we got was a solid win, against poor opposition whilst we still exhibited some of the things that have ailed us all season.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

And what, in each instance you were surprised by how well Freo and Saints were playing, but doubly or triply surprised by how well Hawthorn and Sydney were respectively?

Nobody is claiming tonight's win as the ultimate for us. Yes we had a couple of down patches through the game but we flogged them convincingly in all relevant areas of the game!

Why do you think they were so cooked in the last by the way?

And I'm not asserting that tonight's performance was torpid nor the final margin not good enough. What i did say was that it wasn't a top shelf performance and that many of the things we've struggled with this season were still on display tonight, against a team that is on its haunches, bereft of confidence and about to see its coach moved on at season end.

As for the other games tonight i expected the Saints, whilst up against it against an in form Sydney, would put up resistance commensurate with their , ladder position, aspirations and their desire to get back to the form that saw them best GWS and Richmond. Sydney worked hard all game and didn't give them a sniff.

I also expected Freo on their deck to be more resilient against a Hawks outfit that has been spasmodic and unpredictable execution wise all year. Hawks were outstanding and grew in stature as the game wore on.

Why could we not do similar in the 2nd and first half of the third against an ordinary GC side who are lost right now? Is it too much to expect as reigning premiers with a fight on our hands to make the 8 to pull out a 4 Qtr effort against poor opposition at this stage of the season?

As for why Gold Coast stopped in the last term, they looked out on their feet and are mentally fragile right now given the things that are going to occur at that club come seasons end. They gave their best in the 2nd and 3rd.. and when we pushed back, they folded.

Clearly we are a superior side fitness and talent wise. We should have been for 4 Qtrs. And had Gaz been there, maybe when they got within 1 point of us on the back of 3 quick goals in a row in the 3rd, when we had otherwise looked in ascendancy, they might've grown in stature, and pushed us harder for longer. As it was, they did not have a great deal of onfield leadership to drawn on when we snapped back into gear.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

How classy was Rocket post game, when he's suffered a loss that really does look like it will put yet another nail in his coffin as senior coach, to provide such a glowing assessment to Moz?

"He's as good a player as I have coached."

You could genuinely see the regard he has for Dale and the sincerity in his words, and lets' not forget the calibre of player's Rocket has coached.

Classy stuff from Rocket.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Morris is so tough . Cannot imagine the pain he must be feeling TV showed him getting off the ground quickly and looked so calm . Eade praised him for his mental toughness. Get well soon Morris.

We've undoubtedly seen plenty more players wear our colours, blessed with more talent than Dale. But has there ever been anyone who has worn the red, white and blue that has given more, endured more, and has shown more grit, heart and determination for his team than Dale?
Always the odds stacked against him, even just getting on an AFL list in the first place. Dale always gives more than most are willing or are able, just to find that .0001% more effort that might be the difference.
I admire him so much. And I don't count him out. But also I would not begrudge him if he said, that two broken legs, 1 broken back and a broken arm, and countless other injuries that have not been mentioned are enough.

No one in our club history has earned the right to say enough is enough more than Dale. No one has given more of themselves in our club history in my opinion. Dale Morris is a legend of our club, and deserves more accolades externally than he has been given by the broader AFL community.

He epitomises all that is good about our game from the perspective of desirable traits as a human being displayed through the prism of football. Will, competitiveness, fairness, humility, leadership, and the desire to give their very best always and to rise above adversity and setbacks.
His career is the distillation of all of the traits we wish we could all possess.

[ledge]

I saw him do a left knacker during a VFL game trying to squeeze between the fence and coaches box at the whitten oval last year and he still played the next week.
Was quite funny and he had a good laugh with me when I warned him about it.
I told him theirs a gate two yards down and he was injury prone so don't do it again.
Really relaxed happy person.
Much like Cloke was yesterday. :-)

[Twodogs]

Is that 5 in a row against the Suns now?

[merantau]

Interesting to compare Saturday's line up with our Premiership team.
Out: Hamling, M. Boyd, T. Boyd, T.Dickson, C. Smith, J. Stringer J Dunckley and F Roberts
IN: Bob, B. Dale, J. Redpath, L. Young, B. Williams,
M. Wallis, M. Suckling and M Honeychurch

Quite a different side. Not sure how that compares with Geelong, Adelaide, Sydney etc.

[boydogs]

I'm in your corner on this one. We beat a depleted outfit when they ran out of gas. They were with us for three quarters - that's a worry

Don't forget the strong breeze that Gold Coast had for 2 of the first 3 quarters, and we were still 15 points up at 3/4 time. The wind actually started to die down a bit later in the game so we did well to finish so strongly, with a man down and in warm conditions

[always right]

Personally I wish we played more in Cairns....happy hunting ground.

[Ozza]

Personally I wish we played more in Cairns....happy hunting ground.

Jack Macrae would agree....he's stacking up a monster record at the ground! He even took a pack mark yesterday!!

[Twodogs]

Jack Macrae would agree....he's stacking up a monster record at the ground! He even took a pack mark yesterday!!

Hopefully the Cairns Cassowaries never enter the AFL. Jack would be the first player they target.

[jeemak]

Hi YHF - apologies for my late late and shortened responses to your posts, I'm at Hotham with the Outlaws and partner, meaningful WOOF posts are hard to construct..........

[soupman]

Hi YHF - apologies for my late late and shortened responses to your posts, I'm at Hotham with the Outlaws and partner, meaningful WOOF posts are hard to construct..........

Since when was that a requirement?

[1eyedog]

They were completely cooked in the last.
I don't know why some are hailing this a great victory? It was a solid win, in the end against a very poor opposition who are down on confidence, had late withdrawals over past couple of days and are very green.
We looked very ordinary, in patches, as we have done all season in every single game. Hardly the sort of performance that would indicate our patchiness is behind us.

Bevo's demeanour throughout the night and in the post game prrsser was not that of a coach brimming with 4 qtrs of data that would tell him we are through the other side of our slump.

You aren't giving us enough credit and have been hitting the red wine too hard. We have NO fowardline. Don't worry about Ablett and May we killed them essentially with a makeshift forward line AGAIN.
Heading into the year we had the mouth watering prospect of a killer forward line labeled the third best in the comp at the start of the year behind GWS and the Crows. Yet, none of;

F: Dickson Boyd Stringer
HF: Crameri Cloke Dunkley

played last night. We are frankly lucky to kick a score. In a tight even year with a heavy emphasis on defence any win is a sensational win. Testament to our mids rolling forward and thank the Bulldog gods for Liam Picken and the improvement of Dale.

The missing piece is Stringer. We need to cover him for another fortnight and need him to find his best upon his return otherwise we may just miss out.

[always right]

You aren't giving us enough credit. We have NO fowardline. Don't worry about Ablett and May we killed them essentially with a makeshift forward line AGAIN.
Heading into the year we had the mouth watering prospect of a killer forward line labeled the third best in the comp at the start of the year behind GWS and the Crows. Yet, no of;

F: Dickson Boyd Stringer
HF: Crameri Cloke Dunkley

played last night. We are lucky to kick a score last night. Testament to our mids rolling forward and thank the Bulldog gods for Liam Picken and the improvement of Dale.

Great point.....and you forgot Clay Smith.

[1eyedog]

Great point.....and you forgot Clay Smith.

Included Dunks as an afterthought.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Great win. More so the timing of it and the margin, away from home with very different conditions to Etihad and a first time forward line and short backline and Dale Morris going down. We had to win like that to have a hope of making the finals and defend our premiership and we did it against our season's form. We will need every ounce of confidence its given us.
Essendon must now have suspicion that they may encounter more than they had hoped.

[craigsahibee]

A 4 qtr performance. They outsmarted us in the 2nd and for periods in the 3rd.
We still committed multiple unforced skill errors, bombed it in when they had a spare back and only really put the foot down when as a young inexperienced team does runs out of run.
Don't get me wrong much better we kicked on than had a 20 piint loss. But thats where i reckon we would've been if Gaz had've played.

In my experience, a 20 pint loss is still a bloody good night. ;)

[Twodogs]

Great win. More so the timing of it and the margin, away from home with very different conditions to Etihad and a first time forward line and short backline and Dale Morris going down. We had to win like that to have a hope of making the finals and defend our premiership and we did it against our season's form. We will need every ounce of confidence its given us.
Essendon must now have suspicion that they may encounter more than they had hoped.

Essendon will be arching a collective eyebrow and thinking "ahhhh shit, they are back and they are in a bad mood"


In my experience, a 20 pint loss is still a bloody good night. ;)

Especially by the time you are spelling pint with two 'i's in it.:cool:

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Essendon will be arching a collective eyebrow and thinking "ahhhh shit, they are back and they are in a bad mood"



Especially by the time you are spelling pint with two 'i's in it.:cool:

HEY!:p

[Twodogs]

HEY!:p


Heh!

Just to flesh the post out I will say that I saw a man on a documentary about George Reeves last night and his name was Don Essen.