The stat that's hurting inconsistent Bulldogs

[Axe Man]

The stat that's hurting inconsistent Bulldogs (http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-04-26/the-stat-thats-hurting-inconsistent-bulldogs)
https://s7.postimg.cc/htuiuatij/584512-tlslargelandscape.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge concedes his young side is struggling to find the balance of retaining possession and time to attack.

A manic approach around the contest and putting immense pressure on the opposition were hallmarks of the 2016 premiership triumph, but the Bulldogs of 2018 are employing a less combative method and are mainly looking to retain the ball through uncontested possession.

This season the Dogs sit first in the AFL for uncontested possessions but are last in contested possession and tackling statistics.

While the new style of play has worked well at times for the AFL's youngest team, it fell apart against Fremantle last week, largely due to poor use by foot.

Speaking on Thursday morning, Beveridge said the players were learning to deal with how to navigate their way through different stages of a game.

"We need a happy balance between that uncontested-mark approach and when to go quick, so that's always a challenge for the players to work their way through the game," Beveridge said.

"It's not something that we want to do every week as far as our MO (modus operandi) goes, sometimes it’s adapted and suited to who is in the team and your mobility.

"Hopefully the boys are on top of their game a hell of a lot more than they were last week.

"We had opportunities early in the game last week to put some early pressure on if we used the footy well enough, but the execution of it was a little bit concerning.

"It was a bit of a head-scratcher to see the game unfold like that, but I don't think we could be that bad again."

The Dogs will get an injection of class for Friday night's clash with Carlton at Etihad Stadium, with Lachie Hunter (suspension) and Bailey Williams (ear infection) certainties to return.

Defensive playmaker Hayden Crozier is also available after a round one knee injury, but the former Docker could resume through the VFL.

Asked if he was playing younger players over more experienced ones, Beveridge said the club's long injury list was forcing his hand at the selection table.

Second-year ruckman Tim English has played ahead of premiership big man Jordan Roughead in recent weeks, while exciting draftees Aaron Naughton and Ed Richards have been preferred to flag winners Shane Biggs and Fletcher Roberts in defence.

"We've got no definite intent to play young guys over some of our more experienced," Beveridge said.

"Clay (Smith), Tory (Dickson), 'Picko' (Liam Picken) and all these sorts of mainstays in our team that have got more experience aren't available, so they'll come back into the fold over the next month or two and hopefully put their name up in lights.

"Lachie Hunter and Bailey Williams will definitely come back in, who were probably our two best players over the previous two weeks and we missed them a little bit.

"Hayden Crozier is (also) available, so we'll formalise that today, and there will be a few boys that will make way."

[Twodogs]

Intetesting method. Use an acronym and then add what it means in brackets after! Why not just say modus operandi in the first place?


as far as our MO (modus operandi)

[Ozza]

Intetesting method. Use an acronym and then add what it means in brackets after! Why not just say modus operandi in the first place?

Bevo just said “MO”, and they are quoting him. They have added the meaning in the article.

[Twodogs]

Bevo just said “MO”, and they are quoting him. They have added the meaning in the article.


Cheers. I did wonder if Bevo had said "MO" and then added "modus operandi" himself and they were just quoting him literally. He's tgat kind of guy.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

One of my many questions is this: why did we change our game plan?

Richmond have stuck with their game plan, which was similar to ours, and it continues to pay dividends.

[Mofra]

One of my many questions is this: why did we change our game plan?

Richmond have stuck with their game plan, which was similar to ours, and it continues to pay dividends.
Plan A was used in the first two weeks of the season and clearly wasn't working. The Essendon and Swans games were Plan B (in Bevo's words, Plan B has become Plan A).

I'm happy to have a few different plans we can switch to if things aren't working.

[jeemak]

I think we needed to move away from the reliance on handball we had, teams were onto methods in how to combat it by refusing to crowd the ball carrier and covering receiving options. I'm sure no changes were made to the pressure game, our players ability to stick with it would have been more of an issue. Let's face it, the attitudes of some of our players really stank last year and we paid the price for it. Couple that with injuries not easily covered and we had a year wasted (although we still managed 11 wins).

[bornadog]

I think we needed to move away from the reliance on handball we had, teams were onto methods in how to combat it by refusing to crowd the ball carrier and covering receiving options. I'm sure no changes were made to the pressure game, our players ability to stick with it would have been more of an issue. Let's face it, the attitudes of some of our players really stank last year and we paid the price for it. Couple that with injuries not easily covered and we had a year wasted (although we still managed 11 wins).

The main thing we changed was the team defence as it wasn't working with the inexperience in the backline. We need to stick to the contested footy mantra and make sure it is working, but we are getting smashed in this area.

[Webby]

The key section of this is “the AFL’s youngest team.”

It’s difficult to play pure contested footy week-to-week with young, immature bodies. McCartney did it during a rebuild and the results were some pretty ordinary years. Bevo is trying to blend in some ball retention into our players’ collective skill set, along with retaining our contested stuff.

When you look at our contested beasts of years gone by, you’re replacing grunt like M Boyd, Morris, Picken & Libba with kids like Richards, Dale, Williams and Noughton. Throw in English for Roughy or Minson as well as the C Smith injury and you simply don’t have the required muscle.

Our finals sides of ‘15 & ‘16 had a glut of 19-22 years olds and a glut of 29-32 year olds. As much as we wanted a dynasty, there was always going to be a bit of a missing core of mature bodies.

This hasn’t been helped by the Libba, Smith, Picken & Morris injuries. However the bright side is that Richards, Young, Lipinski, Noughton, Richards and English are an extremely exciting crop. If we can scrape finals this year, it will be an amazing effort from Bevo. Then bring in some exciting times from 2019-22. We really have unearthed some exciting kids.

When our 22 year olds from 2019 are 25-30, they’ll be supported by some bloody good 21-25 year olds. I actually think the future is extremely bright. Albeit the coming months are not so much.. However we’re on the right track.

[Mofra]

I think we needed to move away from the reliance on handball we had, teams were onto methods in how to combat it by refusing to crowd the ball carrier and covering receiving options. I'm sure no changes were made to the pressure game, our players ability to stick with it would have been more of an issue. Let's face it, the attitudes of some of our players really stank last year and we paid the price for it. Couple that with injuries not easily covered and we had a year wasted (although we still managed 11 wins).
The danger with this is that we're woeful by foot (by AFL standards) so would be playing into the hands of the opposition as turnovers are now the greatest source of scoring for almost all teams.

Handball-club worked because we were elite by hand and got the jump on every other team in the AFL as the emphasis going into 2016 was kicking (Hawks had spent years drafting elite left footers so control by foot was the existing way to play).
Our weaknesses were ruckwork (hidden by using the third man up) and kicking under pressure (hidden by spreading the ball by hand until we could kick by less pressure and with positional changes).

I'm wondering where the next "revolution" comes from. Richmond invented the forward-half swarm of one tall in the forwardline and a bunch of smalls who were elite at pressuring the defenders which was the next revolution after handball club.

Whichever coach works out the next revolution in tactics will likely take home the cup.

[Greystache]

The danger with this is that we're woeful by foot (by AFL standards) so would be playing into the hands of the opposition as turnovers are now the greatest source of scoring for almost all teams.

Handball-club worked because we were elite by hand and got the jump on every other team in the AFL as the emphasis going into 2016 was kicking (Hawks had spent years drafting elite left footers so control by foot was the existing way to play).
Our weaknesses were ruckwork (hidden by using the third man up) and kicking under pressure (hidden by spreading the ball by hand until we could kick by less pressure and with positional changes).

I'm wondering where the next "revolution" comes from. Richmond invented the forward-half swarm of one tall in the forwardline and a bunch of smalls who were elite at pressuring the defenders which was the next revolution after handball club.

Whichever coach works out the next revolution in tactics will likely take home the cup.

Did they? They just copied what we did and applied it effectively like we did the year before.

We played Cordy as a defensive tall, and Boyd for limited minutes forward, then relied on Dickson, Smith, and Picken to kick our goals while everyone brought the men of mayhem pressure in the forward line. We lead the league for forward 50m tackles and pressured defenders into bombing the ball out of defence to create repeat inside 50s. Their midfield was required to chip in with goals just like ours was.

[Sedat]

Very interesting article (something I don't get to say often). We've clearly moved away from 'handball club' and 'men of mayhem' (with no success to date it must be said) but I didn't realise the extent that we have completely torn down and remodeled our game style from what it was only 27 games ago.

It's a ballsy move by Bevo and the MC if indeed they have decided to fly in the face of the conventional wisdom of the rest of the competition.

[Sedat]

Our finals sides of ‘15 & ‘16 had a glut of 19-22 years olds and a glut of 29-32 year olds.
The mid-age part of our list is currently shallow because the players drafted around 2006-10, who would now be in that sweet spot age profile, just aren't there. We were knee deep in contending mode at the time without access to top end draft picks, and what high picks we had we fluffed (Everitt, Cordy, Howard). The only top end pick we nailed in that time was Callan Ward.

[Twodogs]

Did they? They just copied what we did and applied it effectively like we did the year before.

We played Cordy as a defensive tall, and Boyd for limited minutes forward, then relied on Dickson, Smith, and Picken to kick our goals while everyone brought the men of mayhem pressure in the forward line. We lead the league for forward 50m tackles and pressured defenders into bombing the ball out of defence to create repeat inside 50s. Their midfield was required to chip in with goals just like ours was.

And Jake the one eyed trouser Snake. He might have had a quiet year but he still won our goal kicking.

[bornadog]

It's a ballsy move by Bevo and the MC if indeed they have decided to fly in the face of the conventional wisdom of the rest of the competition.

With the inexperience in the side, perhaps he needed to change the game plan to suit the players he has at his disposal.

[Webby]

The mid-age part of our list is currently shallow because the players drafted around 2006-10, who would now be in that sweet spot age profile, just aren't there. We were knee deep in contending mode at the time without access to top end draft picks, and what high picks we had we fluffed (Everitt, Cordy, Howard). The only top end pick we nailed in that time was Callan Ward.

That is correct. With this phenomenon in play, it makes sense that we wouldn’t have the traditional big ‘window.’ It’s going to be a pair of smaller windows. But I will say that the second window will be bigger... and hopefully, better.

They’re some pretty good kids!

[Greystache]

And Jake the one eyed trouser Snake. He might have had a quiet year but he still won our goal kicking.

I genuinely forgot about him! I was more thinking finals anyway and while he was on the field I wouldn't really say he played. He did have a good 15 minutes in the second final however.

[Webby]

Yep, Jake, although a spud of a bloke, was a handful, a mature body, and a presence. A better player today than Schache. However Schache’s an investment in a somewhat brighter future than what Jake probably has in store.

However, today, Jake for Schache is a step backwards for us.

Here’s hoping Schache has his head screwed on and will do whatever it takes to reach his potential. Let’s hope he catches a case of the Dale Morrises..

[hujsh]

I genuinely forgot about him! I was more thinking finals anyway and while he was on the field I wouldn't really say he played. He did have a good 15 minutes in the second final however.

If you're thinking post 2015 Jake is very forgettable (on-field at least) which is amazing given his talent.