Three things I've learned, edition XIX 2018 v Port Adelaide at Mars stadium in Ballarat

[Twodogs]

Round nineteen already, gosh this season is flying by!

Tell us three things that you've learned today.

[bulldogtragic]

1. If Biggs can't get a game right now then he may as well join the queue of players delisting themselves ASAP including Roberts, Honeychurch and Roughy & Dahl lodging their free agency paperwork.
2. JJ playing at full forward all day. The powers that be at AFEL house will be scrutinising these curious decisions.
3. We will finish 16th and pray that GCS don't take pick 3 free agency compo and demand a trade.
4. Footy was so joyous to watch, even losing. Now it feels like painful punishment. No, or one goal halves of footy are beyond words.

[Greystache]

1. I made a committed effort to try to sit through 4 full quarters of Western Bulldogs footy. I've had 3 cracks and still have 20 minutes to go. I've never seen a worse team to watch.

2. We are worse than under BMac. The disorganization defensively is comical. The forward is the most dysfunctional I've ever seen (including Carlton) and the lack of cohesion makes you wonder if any of the players have ever trained together before.

3. Coaching needs to be under as much scrutiny as the medical department. Heads need to roll in both areas.

[DOG GOD]

1. Something is seriously wrong at this club.
2. Even with 6+ key defenders Dixon still kicked 5...we aren’t anywhere near good enough defensively.
3. Oh what it must be like to have a key fwd you can go to and have great faith in, to take a contested mark...which we don’t have.

[dukedog]

1. We are building a top pick to swap drafting positions.
2. As above
3. In 2 years we are back 2 decades

[Twodogs]

1. Are you really the Kwiky Mart guy?
2. Really?
3. Really?

Thank you, call again.

[Ghost Dog]

Round nineteen already, gosh this season is flying by!

Tell us three things that you've learned today.

just as well! wouldn't want this to drag on too much. Two dogs can you please make the ending on your avatar shorter? takes me three swipes to scroll past it to read posts. cheers !

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

1. Rediculous timing to play at 3.20 pm on a Sunday in woeful conditions with poor lighting.
2. Forward line was non existent without one reliable avenue to goal
3. We badly lack a physical presence against a much bigger Port Adelaide who slaughtered us in the air

[bornadog]

1. Ball movement from one end to another is atrocious.

2. I was right about Adams with my concerns early in his career, but was prepared to give him some slack - his defending the past month has been atrocious and needs a refresh in the VFL as his confidence is now lacking.

3. Too few players do all the work. 11 players recorded 10 disposals or less, compared to only 5 for Port

[Mofra]

1. I have never questioned Morris' place in the side, ever, until today

2. I have never wished we had two Trengove's, ever, until today

3. JJ is generally woeful forward of the ball. He was worse than that today.

[Flamethrower]

1. Mars Stadium, Ballarat is the new Arctic Park - at one stage the wind chill was minus 5 celcius!!!

2. Only saw the 1st 3 quarters, because I forgot the night vision goggles. Apparently our players did too.

3. I am starting to come around on the 17/5 fixture debate, if it means the bottom 6 teams can end their season at round 17. Just let the top 12 play an expanded finals series over the final 2 months.

[Eastdog]

11 players recorded 10 disposals or less, compared to only 5 for Port

That is a concern. Simply not doing enough most of our players so no wonder why we are getting belted.

[Mofra]

That is a concern. Simply not doing enough most of our players so no wonder why we are getting belted.
Honeychurch had one touch in the first half, JJ went without a touch in the 2nd quarter (ditto Roughy IIRC).

Quite a few of our kids hardly got near it - Greene & Richards 5 touches. Tough debut for one, and Richards is crying out for a rest but we have nobody to bring in.

[Eastdog]

Honeychurch had one touch in the first half, JJ went without a touch in the 2nd quarter (ditto Roughy IIRC).

Quite a few of our kids hardly got near it - Greene & Richards 5 touches. Tough debut for one, and Richards is crying out for a rest but we have nobody to bring in.

Injuries the reason there. It seems our luck will never change with this. When was the last time we had a season with only a few injuries?

[Mantis]

1/ In playing 5 key defenders in defence one would hope that they could help out one another in aerial contests, but that must be a hard task.

2/ Mitch Honeychurch is on WR pace for most kicks smothered in a AFL season.

3/ Lachie Hunter had the most irrelevant 35 touch game ever.

[Ozza]

1/ In playing 5 key defenders in defence one would hope that they could help out one another in aerial contests, but that must be a hard task.

2/ Mitch Honeychurch is on WR pace for most kicks smothered in a AFL season.

3/ Lachie Hunter had the most irrelevant 35 touch game ever.

Haha - I think I yelled something along those lines at the TV in the third quarter.

Also agree on Lachie's game. Thought he was ordinary.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

1/ In playing 5 key defenders in defence one would hope that they could help out one another in aerial contests, but that must be a hard task.

2/ Mitch Honeychurch is on WR pace for most kicks smothered in a AFL season.

3/ Lachie Hunter had the most irrelevant 35 touch game ever.

I'd like to add that we have no players who understand not only how to take a mark, but how to launch themselves to take a mark. They seem to think that once the ball has been kicked in the air, you have to watch the opposition either mark it or spoil themselves before being able to get the ball

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Haha - I think I yelled something along those lines at the TV in the third quarter.

Also agree on Lachie's game. Thought he was ordinary.

I had zero faith on anything effective coming from any of his possessions. And sure enough nothing effective ever did eventuate

[bulldogtragic]

I had zero faith on anything effective coming from any of his possessions. And sure enough nothing effective ever did eventuate

I asked this question on this point a while back. He’s been poor with the footy all year. Either he won’t change or the coaches aren’t developing this side of his game? Which one is it and what needs to happen to player/coach?

[Rocket Science]

Agreed given Hunter's now one of our prime movers he simply must extract better value from his touches, but I'm confident a big part of his stop-prop-and dish back habit is looking upfield and seeing mismatches or tumbleweeds.

[jeemak]

I can appreciate why Hunter stops and props, and then goes backwards with hands. What I can't get my head around is why he (and others) think they can snap the ball around a corner with more penetration and accuracy than they would get with a drop punt. Newsflash, it can't be done, it never could be - so stop *!*!*!*!ing doing it.

Crozier had two shots at goal from 40-45m out heading to the left of screen yesterday, which he willingly decided to snap rather than drop punt with very ordinary penetration and accuracy.

My question is, who is allowing this constant bullshit to become so prevalent in the way we use the football? It's getting worse, it's almost like we're not being coached in how to kick a bloody football.

[bornadog]

Agreed given Hunter's now one of our prime movers he simply must extract better value from his touches, but I'm confident a big part of his stop-prop-and dish back habit is looking upfield and seeing mismatches or tumbleweeds.

you can see the look on his face when he looks up, and there is no one there.

[bornadog]

My question is, who is allowing this constant bullshit to become so prevalent in the way we use the football? It's getting worse, it's almost like we're not being coached in how to kick a bloody football.

Should professional footballers be coached how to kick a ball? Surely they are the elite playing at AFL level and that is just a basic. :)

[Sedat]

Either he won’t change or the coaches aren’t developing this side of his game?
Just unlucky. It will sort itself out.

[GVGjr]

Agreed given Hunter's now one of our prime movers he simply must extract better value from his touches, but I'm confident a big part of his stop-prop-and dish back habit is looking upfield and seeing mismatches or tumbleweeds.

There is a bit to that but he does appear to be hesitant. He might be playing exactly to what the coaches are expecting of him and that could be to not kick the ball to contests.

[merantau]

Hunter cops a lot of flak but at least he can get the ball which is more than can be said for some of our players at the moment. I can't remember a season when we've had so many goalless quarters and super low scores. I am seriously over this year. Only thing to cheer about was the win over Geelong. Season 2019 - come on down. I've put the cue in the rack re my expectations for the remainder of the year. We might beat Carlton but that's it. I'm gutted at what has happened these last two years. We've gone from truffles to tripe in two years. Injuries have killed us. But there's more that's gone wrong. Players have stagnated or gone backwards. The game plan is non-existent and the players lack the fitness needed to pressure the opposition into mistakes.
Oh, and we can't mark or kick the ball.
Apart from that we're travelling ok. We've just been a bit unlucky for two years. Rant over.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

Should professional footballers be coached how to kick a ball? Surely they are the elite playing at AFL level and that is just a basic. :)

Follow Clarkson’s theory would help. The first requirement when recruiting players is they need to be able to dispose of the ball correctly. It isn’t rocket science. If they are not taught it at junior level then very few are capable of changing bad habits at senior level.

[Twodogs]

Follow Clarkson’s theory would help. The first requirement when recruiting players is they need to be able to dispose of the ball correctly. It isn’t rocket science. If they are not taught it at junior level then very few are capable of changing bad habits at senior level.

Agreed. We can't afford to recruit any more players that are iffy by foot.