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View Full Version : Dees, dogs both finals bound in 2018: Cooney



Bulldog4life
16-02-2018, 06:15 PM
2008 Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney believes both Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs will finish inside the top eight this season.

Both sides endured disappointing 2017 campaigns, with the Dogs becoming the first reigning premier to not play finals in eight years and the Demons missing out on their first top eight finish since 2006 by only 0.5 per cent.

However Cooney says that both sides will learn harsh lessons from last year which will guide them towards a return to finals football in 2018.

“I think both these teams make the finals, the Dogs and the Dees,” he told SEN Afternoons.

Speaking on his former side first, Cooney believes the Dogs have the talent and the age profile to compete in September and right the wrongs of their “horrific” 2017.

“The premiership hangover was in full effect last season…the majority of that premiership side dropped off,” he said.

“They would have learned a lot about themselves and about the group last season. They went back to earth with a thud. Most of that group will be humbled.

“They’re a young team that won it before their peak. They missed a huge opportunity last year to go back to back. If that mental state was right, I think they could have won the premiership again last year.

“They should breeze into the eight with the list they have got and the young talent coming through.”

As for Melbourne, the former midfielder says the huge disappointment from the end to their promising 2017 campaign will push them to greater heights this year.

“They missed the finals by 0.5 of a per cent last year and butchered their final round. That would have stung and burned in the off-season,” said Cooney.

“They had some good wins interstate, which is a sign of maturity amongst the group, and they have improved year-on-year over the last four years.

“Jake Lever comes into the side which allows Tom McDonald to play more forward alongside Jesse Hogan. I think those two could pair up really well. We saw what Tom McDonald could do as a forward.

“They’ve got Sam Frost back with Oscar McDonald, they can be their key posts down back with Jake Lever intercepting. You’ve got Michael Hibberd down there and Neville Jetta who takes care of the small forwards. They look really solid across all facets of the ground.”

Cooney has given the Demons the slight nod over the Dogs in terms of finishing position this year, believing the Dogs’ off-field issues are still the big question mark hanging over his former side.

“Just comparing the lists and the burn Melbourne would have had pre-season, I think Melbourne marginally finish ahead of the Dogs this year. I think the Dees are ready,” he said.

“The biggest question with the Western Bulldogs is what is happening off the field. Luke Beveridge is a coach that probably gives them more trust and leeway than any other coach in the AFL, and there is no doubt there was a group of players last year that betrayed that trust and freedom that Luke Beveridge gave them.

“They did drop their standards off the field last year, a group of the Western Bulldogs players, and that filtered through to the playing group overall.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/02/16/dees-dogs-both-finals-bound-in-2018-cooney/

Rocket Science
16-02-2018, 07:55 PM
Wonderful, Cooney's kiss of death.

Scraggers
16-02-2018, 08:57 PM
Wonderful, Cooney's kiss of death.

I met up with him probably forty-five minutes before the Elimination final against the Eagles in 2016. (got a player edition jumper signed by the whole team from him). He certainly gave his Kiss-Of-Death to me there. He asked me if I thought the Bulldogs had a chance of beating the Eagles, and I said it was the toughest road trip in the game, and we were too under-done with too many players coming back from injury. So I thought we would get beaten comprehensively.

He said to me then, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the end of this game. You watch, the Bulldogs will shake a few trees this final series.

If that was his Kiss-Of-Death, I'll take it :)

AndrewP6
16-02-2018, 10:04 PM
I'm a Coons fan, but him talking about a team's off field issues...

The guy who went for a ride on an Esky lid...

Twodogs
16-02-2018, 10:49 PM
I'm happy to hear a good assessment from anyone at the moment. I'm happy to read anything and I can't not like the Coon Dog. He provided some hope and a reason to go to the footy in some dark, dark days. He sugned a couple of contracts early where he showed a lot more faith in the club than we probably deserved at the time.

And the injury that hampered him (hobbled him really) for the rest of his career happened a fortnight before he won the Brownlow. That knee injury robbed us of a superstar. I wonder if there would have been a different outcome in 2098-10 if we had a fit and firing Cooney rampaging through the middle. At his best Adam was a match winner who could dominate whole patches of games-remember that patch in the Brisbane game where Minson was punching the ball out if ruck contests so Cooney could run onto the ball and then motor away from the contest.

But the injury just hobbled him post 2007.

GVGjr
16-02-2018, 11:11 PM
I'm a Coons fan, but him talking about a team's off field issues...

The guy who went for a ride on an Esky lid...

I don't rate him as a media performer but I guess he's a likeable enough guy who is a touch immature. We are probably never going to see a really strong article from him.
Re the esky lid, most on here at the time thought it was an acceptable act despite him having a bung knee.