WB Game Day V Fremantle R6 2019

[angelopetraglia]

Bad turnovers are momentum killers. Started this run. One goal up, now two goals down in a heartbeat.

[comrade]

JJ kick out, ffs.

[Eastdog]

Cmon Dogs!

[AndrewP6]

This umpiring is downright suss. That went nowhere near 15 metres.
Lucky to be 10

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

If Freo lose this now.. it would gut them. The 300 game Mundy lift is in full flight now.
Really poor stuff from the Dogs to let them get back on top, given we had owned all of the important stats thus far in the 3rd.

[ledge]

Tsunami on the way.
And as always we get first grab in the middle but the opposition take it away.

[bulldogtragic]

JJ kick out, ffs.

Top of my anchors he will be.

[bulldogtragic]

Wood looks like he was introduced to a football years after Buku Khamis was.

[ledge]

How come we get beaten around the ground with marks one out every time ?

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

We'er the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team.

[ratsmac]

Where the he'll is Bontempelli anyway???

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Lucky that was a free kick against Gowers.... how can he drop a chest mark like that.

[angelopetraglia]

Bont! What yips?

[bulldogtragic]

Bonts just doubled his goals this year! Whoooo!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

If Dunkley doesn't want that shot on goal... he should not be anywhere near the forward line.

Having said that, great time for Bontempelli to remember he's a star!

[Testekill]

What a bunch of crybabies their fans are. Getting a golden ride and then cry when it suddenly doesn't go their way

[Eastdog]

The Bulldog spirit is back!

[merantau]

Well done Bont. Looked like Dunkley's arm was chopped to me.

[bulldogtragic]

Lucky that was a free kick against Gowers.... how can he drop a chest mark like that.

Reminds me of half time kids dropping them like that one.

[bulldogtragic]

I think we can win this. I think we can. I think we can. I think we can.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Reminds me of half time kids dropping them like that one.

I love Billy... when he's good.. but he's been on a flog streak now for a few weeks...

[bulldogtragic]

Football god, where are you?

There you are on Bonts boot outside 50. Thank you and please some more.

[MrMahatma]

I think we can win this. I think we can. I think we can. I think we can.

I'm from the future. We did. 11 points.

[DOG GOD]

Geez I’d love to have a Eddie betts/Charlie Cameron in our fwd line, instead of the treadmill killers in Lloyd, gowers and Dickson .

[Grantysghost]

Bevo looks mad.... Good ! I want to see some Bevo fire it's been brewing in the box for a few weeks. Nice guy has its place, but if he comes down breathing fire in a good way it might be enough to lift the boys over the line. The game is there to win. C'mon dogs !

[bulldogtragic]

I love Billy... when he's good.. but he's been on a flog streak now for a few weeks...

I don't think he's ever had to go back to the VFL for a run and demand re-selection. The first time's a charm.

[merantau]

That was a very strange quarter of football. This is a big opportunity. Let's do it. Could be huge either way. It's that important.

[bornadog]

Tsunami on the way.
And as always we get first grab in the middle but the opposition take it away.

WE are winning centre clearances 10- 6

[Happy Days]

Really feel like we're hanging on by a thread here.

[Grantysghost]

I'm from the future. We did. 11 points.

Just on the phone with tab now, thanks :cool:

[DOG GOD]

That was a very strange quarter of football. This is a big opportunity. Let's do it. Could be huge either way. It's that important.

And 2 quick goals to them could break it wide open. Hope I’m wrong.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Captain obvious I know, but first goal is vital.
If they get it, it feels as if it would be worth 2 or 3.

[whythelongface]

Geez I’d love to have a Eddie betts/Charlie Cameron in our fwd line, instead of the treadmill killers in Lloyd, gowers and Dickson .

Dickson kicked 4 in a prelim and a couple in GF and is a premiership winner. Tell me how many flags Eddie has won? I will take Dickson

[Happy Days]

Captain obvious I know, but first goal is vital.
If they get it, it feels as if it would be worth 2 or 3.

Cheers Bruce

[bornadog]

Mclean didn't touch the ball that quarter, was he on the field?

[SonofScray]

Gowers is awful. Killing us.

[DOG GOD]

Dickson kicked 4 in a prelim and a couple in GF and is a premiership winner. Tell me how many flags Eddie has won? I will take Dickson

I’m talking about now, not the Dickson from 3 years ago.

[Bullies]

Freo have 19 on the ground if you count Gowers

[The Underdog]

Really feel like we're hanging on by a thread here.

Half a thread

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

And there it is... multiple awful mismatches. Daniel on Hogan, Mclean on Taberner.

[angelopetraglia]

We can’t take a contest mark inside 50m to save ourselves?

[comrade]

And there it is... multiple awful mismatches. Daniel on Hogan, Mclean on Taberner.

Easton Wood on anyone.

[kruder]

We cant stick a tackle in the forward line

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

And now Bont caught holding the ball.
I'm calling it. time of death...now

[ledge]

Took them 4 min to win it.

[DOG GOD]

2 quick goals kills it.

[MrMahatma]

And now Bont caught holding the ball.
I'm calling it. time of death...now

BS call. He got hands to it.

[MrMahatma]

Not dead yet. Go dogs. Come on!

[DOG GOD]

Here comes the floodgates

[comrade]

Nice fight Dogs :rolleyes: At least we didn’t have to suffer through a nail biter.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I really hope it isn't going to descend into party trick time now and we get our noses rubbed in it.

[bulldogtragic]

Gowers to Footscray

[MrMahatma]

Bowers is officially no good.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Gowers, back to the 2nds

[angelopetraglia]

Gowers. How?

[ledge]

I have noticed we are playing MC Cartney football , everyone attack the ball so no ones on the outside and when it comes out they are free to run 20 metres clear.

[Topdog]

That handball by Smith there was excellent. Can't believe Gowers missed that

[Happy Days]

Get him off. Forever.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Here we go. This will get out to 10 goals now..
umps are even getting in on the act. No free to Trengove for the block

[comrade]

Weak as piss.

[Topdog]

Ffs now Dickson with the easy miss

[DOG GOD]

Gowers, back to the 2nds

But watch him keep his place cause he “makes a contest”.

[SonofScray]

But watch him keep his place cause he “makes a contest”.
Except he doesn't. A complete liability without the ball. A marginal liability with it.

[MrMahatma]

But watch him keep his place cause he “makes a contest”.

Prob likes a surf too.

[Sedat]

Libba handball give and get was a farking stupid footy. Nobody does pointless possessions better than we do.

[ledge]

Atrocious In the backline , let’s make sure we **** it up in the backline again ! How the hell do we do that every game ??
10 Goal loss coming up

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

It's witches hat's time now..

[Bullies]

Gowers and Dicko have been cooked for weeks. Please no more. You would get more effort putting a dipping bird in the goal square.

[comrade]

Libba handball give and get was a farking stupid footy. Nobody does pointless possessions better than we do.

It’s just a team devoid of confidence and direction. Bevo has got them all mind ****ed.

[Rocket Science]

Valiant but dumb.

It will forever be our epitaph.

[DOG GOD]

Except he doesn't. A complete liability without the ball. A marginal liability with it.

I know, but do the MC know?

[ledge]

We make their duds look like Brownlow medallist’s

[Eastdog]

Gone now :(

[DOG GOD]

Never gonna win when matera can kick 5. Give me strength

[bulldogtragic]

Why not make it look bad-to-embarrassing in the score books despite a heap of effort?

[Grantysghost]

We pulled the trigger on Naughton to defence and it's not really had an affect. If anything it's been detrimental. I get he wasn't clunking them but he competes , brings the ball to ground and leads well. Think that's my moment of the game . I haven't seen Bevo gesticulate this much in the box before. He's looking frustrated for good reason.

[The Underdog]

We may never score 80 points again

[MrMahatma]

I know, but do the MC know?

They don't care. Clearly the remit is our "brand" is a battler one, so give the battlers a million chances and the high picks get 2 max.

[angelopetraglia]

Matera is a smart footballer. Crafty forward. We don’t have one. We have dumb forwards with zero craft.

[bulldogtragic]

We may never score 80 points again

Sad but true :(

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

It’s just a team devoid of confidence and direction. Bevo has got them all mind ****ed.

C'mon can we just stop with the sharpening the knives on Bevo?

I mean we've got people re-interpreting his words at press conferences, an imbuing them with their meaning of 'what he's really saying' and now we're just straight out saying their poor performance is because 'Bevo has got them all mind ****ed??

I have enjoyed a lot of what you have written over the years comrade.. not that.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

What was Hayes doing... that just encapsulates how stupid our player's have been in executing.. I am very confident he has not been coached to fluff those.

[Sedat]

Dickson awful miss ended up being an 18 poont turnaround in 5 minutes.

It's not about talent, it's about system - our labor-intensive system prevents us from being able to maximize our potential..

Hayes miss just then suma us up.

[AndrewP6]

What was Hayes doing... that just encapsulates how stupid our player's have been in executing.. I am very confident he has not been coached to fluff those.

Clearly thought he had someone on his tail, panicked.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

9.13.... what a sad indictment on this playing group, and our whole team for not getting on top of this long known weakness in our game.

More than anything else, we need to fix our poor forward conversion.

[kruder]

Matera is a smart footballer. Crafty forward. We don’t have one. We have dumb forwards with zero craft.

He wouldn't get a game at our club you need to be able to play multiple positions. Specialists do not exists on our list

[comrade]

C'mon can we just stop with the sharpening the knives on Bevo?

I mean we've got people re-interpreting his words at press conferences, an imbuing them with their meaning of 'what he's really saying' and now we're just straight out saying their poor performance is because 'Bevo has got them all mind ****ed??

I have enjoyed a lot of what you have written over the years comrade.. not that.

Buck stops with Bevo.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Geez Dunkley.

[MrMahatma]

F50 is faulty towers stuff

[DOG GOD]

Daniel has busted his gut. Hat off to him, with 86% disposal and 28 possies.

[kruder]

Our forward line currently is Hayes, Richards, Dunkley, Loyd, Dickson and Smith.

[ledge]

Geez Dunkley.

Again., even I could kick that, the minute we look like we could win we grab defeat out of the hands of victory

[comrade]

If Hayes can’t execute basic kicks, he can’t play.

[angelopetraglia]

Freo 4.1 v Dogs 1.6 in last quarter.

With just a touch more composure we should have won tonight. Even with all our ridiculous skill errors.

[comrade]

Daniel has busted his gut. Hat off to him, with 86% disposal and 28 possies.

He’s been our best player this year by far, IMO.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

If Hayes can’t execute basic kicks, he can’t play.

I agree with that.. and there are a few who fit that bill, that we need to have hard conversations about come season end.

[Sedat]

That last 8 minutes was vintage Dogs. Complete and utter domination but bugger-all scoreboard impact.

[GVGjr]

I'm disappointed but not surprised that we lost and I'm not devastated by it. Losing the last quarter like we did took some shine off some of the positives from the night.

Smith and English continue to impress, Hunter had a very good game and Daniel and Crozier have continued their solid form this season. There were plenty of players not quite on song tonight so from my perspective we have a lot of scope for improvement.

Yes it's frustrating that we aren't playing well but for whatever reason I remain optimistic that we can turn it around

[AndrewP6]

That was a lot closer than I was anticipating.

[Bullies]

We have seen Hayes play in the VFL for the past couple of years. No one picked him up because of his disposal. We get rid of Honeychurch and pick up Hayes. Really.

[Grantysghost]

I feel a little like the askew white king sign behind bevo ATM. Flat, off kilter and slightly bewildered how we kick 9.15 every week.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

The old honourable loss.

How I missed you.

[whythelongface]

I'm disappointed but not surprised that we lost and I'm not devastated by this loss. Losing the last quarter like we did took some shine off some of the positives from the night.

Smith and English continue to impress, Hunter had a very good game and Daniel and Crozier have continued their solid form this season. There were plenty of players not quite on song tonight so from my perspective we have a lot of scope for improvement.

Yes it's frustrating that we aren't playing well but for whatever reason I remain optimistic that we can turn it around

Well said Gary. Totally agree. A lot of positives. Sure there are a lot of skill errors and issues with our forward line but if we can get the likes of Schache and Boyd in form then the future continues to be bright. Bevo has us on the right track.

[Grantysghost]

Get off Mundy FFS!

The lone lap of honour whilst the other team waits....that's as bad as James Hirds ten stop farewell tour.

[angelopetraglia]

The difference in this contest comes down to two factors:

1) They makes us pay with goals from our stupid turnovers. We don’t make them pay when they turn it over.

2) They have smarter forward craft. Walters. Matera. Just make their chances counts. We don’t. We make the easy look hard.

[josie]

Much better then last week’s drivel. Freo’s spread from contested ball and speed impressive.

Liked how we saw game out - looked like we were going to get blown apart lateish in Q3 and also midway through Q4.

What would we get for Dunkley at trade table? I would much rather Maclean in midfield and forward too. Dunkley is a woeful field and goal kick. Dickson looking like game has passed him. Gowers so infuriating.

Close to a breakout game for Tim English. And Caleb Daniel - you are a star and should be leading b&f or perhaps 2nd behind Bont.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

A brave effort given the difference in class and experience. Our forward line regrettably is simply not good enough. Terrific performances by youngsters in English and Smith who played their best games. Daniel and Crozier were superb in defence. The class of Fyfe and Mundy showed the value of on field leadership.

[whythelongface]

The difference in this contest comes down to two factors:

1) They makes us pay with goals from our stupid turnovers. We don’t make them pay when they turn it over.

2) They have smarter forward craft. Walters. Matera. Just make their chances counts. We don’t. We make the easy look hard.

That pretty well sums it up. If we can address these issues then we will become a force. It becomes difficult when we currently don’t have key forwards in form. Even if they make a contest and lock it in this would help. Unfortunately the ball rebounds too quickly.

[angelopetraglia]

We lose by 19 points. The kick 4.1 in the last quarter. We kick 1.6

Dunkley misses from practically the goal square. Dicko misses from 30m directly in front. Gowers misses running into an open goal. It just kills you.

[bulldogtragic]

We lose by 19 points. The kick 4.1 in the last quarter. We kick 1.6

Dunkley misses from practically the goal square. Dicko misses from 30m directly in front. Gowers misses running into an open goal. It just kills you.

Nah. What kills me is that it's happened for three seasons now and there's no sign of it changing. Gut punch to the footy soul.

[whythelongface]

A brave effort given the difference in class and experience. Our forward line regrettably is simply not good enough. Terrific performances by youngsters in English and Smith who played their best games. Daniel and Crozier were superb in defence. The class of Fyfe and Mundy showed the value of on field leadership.


Agree. Also thought Cordy was good on Taberner. Mundy and Fyfe were excellent for them. We needed Bont to stand up in the last. For whatever reason he was unable to play a big part.

[Rocket Science]

Running goals from 50 looks our best avenue right now

What other options are there for a team with no forward line?

[Hotdog60]

The Bont must be carrying something or is horribly out of form.

[whythelongface]

Nah. What kills me is that it's happened for three seasons now and there's no sign of it changing. Gut punch to the footy soul.


True. It is not like we can’t address these issues (I know we say this every week). We just always seem rushed and not as clean.

[1eyedog]

If Hayes can’t execute basic kicks, he can’t play.
Scrap half the team then

[angelopetraglia]

The Bont must be carrying something or is horribly out of form.

It looked like he copped a knock against Gold Coast around the middle of the game to his leg and hasn’t been the same since.

[MrMahatma]

We lose by 19 points. The kick 4.1 in the last quarter. We kick 1.6

Dunkley misses from practically the goal square. Dicko misses from 30m directly in front. Gowers misses running into an open goal. It just kills you.

Surely a forward who can't kick at goal is as bad as a defender who can't punch? Or a mid who can't read the tap?

We just let our fwds get away with being bad at their JOB!

Make the tough calls and drop Dunkley and Gowers (at least) this week or p155 off. It's an embarrassment.

[Danjul]

We have seen Hayes play in the VFL for the past couple of years. No one picked him up because of his disposal. We get rid of Honeychurch and pick up Hayes. Really.


I just don’t get why so many single out Hays as the reason we lost. He reads the play well and there’s a few with worse skills.

Richards, Young,
Naughton, Trengove, Gowers were worse than the second gamer.

[angelopetraglia]

What’s the read on Cavarra? Can he bring something as that small forward? I have never seen him play. Is he a smart footballer?

[MrMahatma]

If Hayes can’t execute basic kicks, he can’t play.

He should be the 15th bloke to get dropped. So much rubbish ahead of him.

[merantau]

We will struggle for the rest of the season I fear. The eight is beyond us even at this early stage. We lack size, ability and skill. Endeavour is fine but it doesn't win a lot of games when you have the three millstone I mentioned holding you back.
Gowers - he has flattered to deceive I'm afraid. Tory Dickson has to nail 90% of his opportunities or I'm afraid it's time for him. Young? The judge is still out. Will Hayes - same. The Bont? Trying his guts out but just not getting much support. Dunckley- has not come on as expected. English is doing nicely. Crozier is having a good year. Caleb Daniel - easily our best player. Corey was solid. McLean had some good patches. Mitch was solid for four quarters. Libba would not be satisfied with his game. Richards will be a good player.
Our ball use is terrible, our goal kicking is a disgrace. We have fallen a long way since Oct 1, 2016.

Sorry for the pessimism. I was on top of the world after the Hawthorn win. The joy has been replaced with despair - and so quickly. We need to make changes for sure.

[G-Mo77]

We may never score 80 points again

Baby steps mate. Let's aim to get 70 first.

[1eyedog]

At least Hayes runs and follows up with 2nd and 3rd efforts. There's worse in front of him. Young, Dickson, Dunkley, Gowers for a start.

[angelopetraglia]

We kicked 9 goals in a quarter against Hawthorn.

Since then. We have kicked 9, 9, 7 and 9 goals for the entire game.

[whythelongface]

Did having Trengove in the team help English? I thought English was able to run out the game better and at least had some relief. Trengove didn’t find the footy much but as able to assist in defence. Just not sure how effective he was.

[Sedat]

What’s the read on Cavarra? Can he bring something as that small forward? I have never seen him play. Is he a smart footballer?
There's a spot in our team for a smart, quick small forward who works hard to keep it in our F50. Richmond have about 8 of these types on their list so it would be nice if we had 1.

[Rocket Science]

Dickson only 4 touches, really must lift.

I've held off and held off but now come around to the view it's time to move on. Dicko might be a handy bit-parter on a contender but it's doing nothing for us given our phase of development persisting with him.

Get games into others in the role.

[bornadog]

Did having Trengove in the team help English? I thought English was able to run out the game better and at least had some relief. Trengove didn’t find the footy much but as able to assist in defence. Just not sure how effective he was.

With Trengove and Cordy, their tall forwards were ineffective, so we nullified them. Unfortunately their smalls kicked all the goals.

[whythelongface]

We will struggle for the rest of the season I fear. The eight is beyond us even at this early stage. We lack size, ability and skill. Endeavour is fine but it doesn't win a lot of games when you have the three millstone I mentioned holding you back.
Gowers - he has flattered to deceive I'm afraid. Tory Dickson has to nail 90% of his opportunities or I'm afraid it's time for him. Young? The judge is still out. Will Hayes - same. The Bont? Trying his guts out but just not getting much support. Dunckley- has not come on as expected. English is doing nicely. Crozier is having a good year. Caleb Daniel - easily our best player. Corey was solid. McLean had some good patches. Mitch was solid for four quarters. Libba would not be satisfied with his game. Richards will be a good player.
Our ball use is terrible, our goal kicking is a disgrace. We have fallen a long way since Oct 1, 2016.

Sorry for the pessimism. I was on top of the world after the Hawthorn win. The joy has been replaced with despair - and so quickly. We need to make changes for sure.

I don’t read this as pessimistic more realistic. Pretty good assessment on our current state. We are carrying a few passengers and that really highlights our current predicament. Unfortunately our forward line will continue to struggle until we can get some of our key forwards back into form. Hopefully this can happen but we will struggle to score until then. We also need to continue to work on disposal.

[MrMahatma]

I have 3 daughters, and 2 are old enough to know Daddy love the dogs... so they ask if we won after every match. I bloody need a win soon or they'll loose interest or go for the local mob (Brisbane).

[whythelongface]

With Trengove and Cordy, their tall forwards were ineffective, so we nullified them. Unfortunately their smalls kicked all the goals.


Thanks BAD. That’s the way I saw it as well. Cordy again was good playing on a taller opponent. Trengove seemed to play a negating role as well just wasn’t sure who he was on - he seemed to play on a few opponents.

[whythelongface]

There's a spot in our team for a smart, quick small forward who works hard to keep it in our F50. Richmond have about 8 of these types on their list so it would be nice if we had 1.


Lloyd could play that role if he had support. He did kick two tonight. Agree though we need to find few more. Cavarra, Lipinski and Dale would be the ones that could fit this role.

[bornadog]

Lloyd could play that role if he had support. He did kick two tonight. Agree though we need to find few more. Cavarra, Lipinski and Dale would be the ones that could fit this role.

Cavarra is unknown at this level, but let's hope he comes good. I would bring in Lippa and Dale and drop Dickson and Gowers. Hopefully Schache can also find form.

[The bulldog tragician]

The old honourable loss.

How I missed you.

I’d settle for the return of its flip side... The Ugly Win.

[MrMahatma]

Cavarra is unknown at this level, but let's hope he comes good. I would bring in Lippa and Dale and drop Dickson and Gowers. Hopefully Schache can also find form.

Cavara won't be much. Lippa could be.

Cavara will come in.

[Danjul]

How many goals did we get from a genuine full forward or genuine centre half forward? None! Because we didnÂ’t have them.

Having multiple talls gives multiple targets and splits the defenders. As someone pointed out our forward line was too short - and was easy to spoil and outmark.

It is about time we had a balanced team on the field. That would take a lot of pressure off the smaller forwards.

[MrMahatma]

How many goals did we get from a genuine full forward or genuine centre half forward? None! Because we didnÂ’t have them.

Having multiple talls gives multiple targets and splits the defenders. As someone pointed out our forward line was too short - and was easy to spoil and outmark.

It is about time we had a balanced team on the field. That would take a lot of pressure off the smaller forwards.

Yeah, but Bevo is the messiah and he really likes our assistant coaches. And a flag is good but rookie lists are better.

And you can't win with conventional structures, you need a gimmick.

So... pump up the dance music boys (cause Bevo lets you do that much...) You won't be dancing with any paid up members though.

[whythelongface]

How many goals did we get from a genuine full forward or genuine centre half forward? None! Because we didnÂ’t have them.

Having multiple talls gives multiple targets and splits the defenders. As someone pointed out our forward line was too short - and was easy to spoil and outmark.

It is about time we had a balanced team on the field. That would take a lot of pressure off the smaller forwards.

True but to have a balanced team we need those players to be in form or alternatively do we just play them in the hope that they come good? Ie. bring in both Schache and Boyd for s long spell in the seniors.

[Danjul]

With Trengove and Cordy, their tall forwards were ineffective, so we nullified them. Unfortunately their smalls kicked all the goals.

Jesse Hogan had 17 disposals and 9 marks. If he had kicked better he would have had 5+ goals. Wish we had a forward getting the ball that often.

[1eyedog]

We lowered our eyes better tonight but our disposal efficiency and our mid forwards just weren't up to it. We still plonked it on Gowers' head over and over again so if we want to do this it would be good to have a Schache / Boyd compete with the likes of their Pearce.

[Danjul]

True but to have a balanced team we need those players to be in form or alternatively do we just play them in the hope that they come good? Ie. bring in both Schache and Boyd for s long spell in the seniors.

put Lewis Young or Fletcher Roberts in the forward line. Both would make good targets for the midfielders. Schache makes good leads and gets ignored. Maybe a forward coach who gets the players working together would help too.

[whythelongface]

Yeah, but Bevo is the messiah and he really likes our assistant coaches. And a flag is good but rookie lists are better.

And you can't win with conventional structures, you need a gimmick.

So... pump up the dance music boys (cause Bevo lets you do that much...) You won't be dancing with any paid up members though.


What do you do if you don’t have the players in form to play a conventional structure? You need to seek alternative methods. It hasn’t been a success but what other options are there unless you just play those players that aren’t in form or or are coming back from a long spell in the hope that they can be effective. Bit of a conundrum really. Bevo will get criticised no matter what path he takes. What would you do differently?

[whythelongface]

put Lewis Young or Fletcher Roberts in the forward line. Both would make good targets for the midfielders. Schache makes good leads and gets ignored. Maybe a forward coach who gets the players working together would help too.


But they are not forwards. Why would that suddenly work? We have tried Naughton with some success but the last few weeks he has not hit the scoreboard. I don’t understand how Roberts and Young would be any better. Let’s face it right now we just don’t have the key position players in form up to the standard expected

[bornadog]

Bevo not happy with umpires not picking up on the number of times Naughton and Gowers were held off the ball.

I agree, Hamling wrestled Naughton so many times, especially in the first half

[The bulldog tragician]

Nobody thought we would win tonight, and yet, even blotting out whatever happened in the first three and a half quarters, we still could have won, with 3 dreadful misses. I am heartened that after last week, there was a response from the team. Going to Perth to play a team with good form and honouring its champion... we could have said it’s all too hard. There were multiple points in the match, where our efforts were squandered, that we could have said it’s all too hard. Let’s give some credit for that. Our skill errors are terrible, we all agree. But we are a work in progress, with the premiership players, a bunch of very talented kids, and some players who may not make it but are still (yes, even Billy Gowers) young in football terms, that are being given games because guys like Bailey Dale and Williams and Lachie Young haven’t settled because of injury/form. I’m looking forward to seeing that young brigade push through, they are up and down and inconsistent, but some of our best moments tonight featured Smith and English. If the 3 players mentioned, and T Boyd, Lipinski and Schache come back into form, our future looks dramatically different.

[GVGjr]

Gowers, Dickson and Wood all had just 4 kicks for the game. Dickson was the only one to register a tackle and Wood had just two marks and Gowers couldn't complete a mark for the whole game.

All three should be closely looked at if they should maintain a spot against Richmond

[MrMahatma]

What do you do if you don’t have the players in form to play a conventional structure? You need to seek alternative methods. It hasn’t been a success but what other options are there unless you just play those players that aren’t in form or or are coming back from a long spell in the hope that they can be effective. Bit of a conundrum really. Bevo will get criticised no matter what path he takes. What would you do differently?

I'd play Shache and Lipinski, while preparing Boyd for next week.

We're a joke in F50. Dunkley and Gowers?!! Please!! They can't kick. They shouldn't be in the AFL.

Forget "form". Form you can't touch. Being a rubbish kick... that's impossible to hide and our list shouldn't have players like that on it. The whole club needs to take accountability for our pathetic skills. Too many charity draftings.

[Danjul]

In the last 30 games the Dogs have kicked more than 12 goals twelve times. They have been beaten by 50 or more points on 9 occasions. In most of those games the supporters have not seen anything approaching a conventional team. Look back at the Carlton game, didn’t you see the flogging coming.

[bornadog]

Gowers, Dickson and Wood all had just 4 kicks for the game. Dickson was the only one to register a tackle and Wood had just two marks and Gowers couldn't complete a mark for the whole game.

All three should be closely looked at if they should maintain a spot against Richmond

Cordy only had 4 kicks

[Danjul]

But they are not forwards. Why would that suddenly work? We have tried Naughton with some success but the last few weeks he has not hit the scoreboard. I don’t understand how Roberts and Young would be any better. Let’s face it right now we just don’t have the key position players in form up to the standard expected


Roberts came to the club as a goal kicker. I saw him kick a goal from inside the centre square at Richmond in a vfl game. The fact is someone doesn’t believe in key position players. Naughton would be kicking goals if he had someone over 185 cm next to him. And so would Gowers.

[whythelongface]

Roberts came to the club as a goal kicker. I saw him kick a goal from inside the centre square at Richmond in a vfl game. The fact is someone doesn’t believe in key position players. Naughton would be kicking goals if he had someone over 185 cm next to him. And so would Gowers.

Obviously he hasn’t shown any ability to be selected as a forward both at VFL or AFL level. If he had shown some form then you would think he would be selected.

As for Gowers and Naughton they are both over 185cm and are playing next to each other. I get what you are saying as Gowers is being used as a KPF when clearly he isn’t and should play the third tall role. Right now we just don’t have the form forwards. In saying that I would like to see Schache, Naughton and Gowers in the forward line together ala Hawthorn, Gold Coast and Collingwood games.

[whythelongface]

I'd play Shache and Lipinski, while preparing Boyd for next week.

We're a joke in F50. Dunkley and Gowers?!! Please!! They can't kick. They shouldn't be in the AFL.

Forget "form". Form you can't touch. Being a rubbish kick... that's impossible to hide and our list shouldn't have players like that on it. The whole club needs to take accountability for our pathetic skills. Too many charity draftings.


You can’t forget form. It is a difficult conundrum. Do you play and continue to play a KPF who is inconsistent in the hope of finding form or do you try and manufacture wins with a makeshift forward line as an interim measure? It nearly worked tonight. Will Schache lose confidence if he is getting smashed in the seniors? Should he not find some form in the seconds? He may have been dropped but not necessarily for his poor performance but more so for his confidence. If a player can find consistent form at a lower level they can bring this confidence into the senior team rather than having their confidence belted by being outperformed in the seniors. Unfortunately we need to be patient and hope that Schache comes good. Agree that Lippa needs to come in.

[whythelongface]

Gowers, Dickson and Wood all had just 4 kicks for the game. Dickson was the only one to register a tackle and Wood had just two marks and Gowers couldn't complete a mark for the whole game.

All three should be closely looked at if they should maintain a spot against Richmond


Thought Wood was ok. Not too worried that he only got 4 kicks. Would rather see home take intercept marks and make effective spoils. To me he is more of a negating defender.

[angelopetraglia]

Thought Wood was ok. Not too worried that he only got 4 kicks. Would rather see home take intercept marks and make effective spoils. To me he is more of a negating defender.

Agree with this. Thought he was more competitive tonight and impacted a number of contests with a big a spoil.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

In the last 30 games the Dogs have kicked more than 12 goals twelve times. They have been beaten by 50 or more points on 9 occasions. In most of those games the supporters have not seen anything approaching a conventional team. Look back at the Carlton game, didn’t you see the flogging coming.

Danjul. I have not agreed with all that you've posted. BUT I LOVE the counterpoint you bring.
So, we got flogged via Carlton (embarrassing) why did we not get reamed by Freo?
Given how we started the 4th, I was sure we were going to be on the end of a typical 10 goal plus WA flogging.

My thoughts are, it wasn't effort that saw fall short. Just skill.
Poor of flagging effort see's us lose by 10 goals.

[Sedat]

My thoughts are, it wasn't effort that saw fall short. Just skill.
Skill hurts us but lack of system hurts us more, which contributes to our skill errors because we expend so many petrol tickets trying to cobble together a semi-decent score.

[Eastdog]

Much better effort tonight compared to what we served up last week. I give us a big chance against the Tigers next week back home at Docklands.

We really need to shake up that forward line. Gowers and Dickson not very good tonight. Schache needs to come back in and we need to try out Lipinski and Greene when he is back from injury.

Lin Jong hopefully will see playing soon.

Our defenders worked hard tonight. Cordy, Crozier, Young and Wood did alright. Naughton didn’t clunk those marks as well tonight but still battling.

Hayes did ok as well.

Bont has been very good this year but was quiet tonight. Kicked a great set shot which is an area he has struggled with. Libba as well could have got into the game more and JJ didn’t have a great one.

What’s required: greater disposal efficiency and accuracy in front of goal.

[GVGjr]

Cordy only had 4 kicks

But he also had as many tackles

The other 3 were passengers on the night. Wood had just two marks. Thats two marks, four kicks and zero tackles from the captain backing up from a poor game last week as well. He's truly lucky that he isn't placed under the same microscope that so many others cop most weeks.

[jeemak]

Kicking the football well has two benefits. The first is it keeps the footy in your hands, the second is it keeps the footy out of the hands of the opposition. It's really that simple, and if you do it quickly enough, you end up in good scoring positions.

Because of our bad kicking (and today, disposal by hand) up the ground we couldn't get into good scoring positions. By the time the footy finally went forward with a chain of lazy or lacklustre disposal efforts we just didn't find ourselves in the right spots to kick goals. Things were rushed, players had too much to deal with when looking for the final connection.

I'm completely disgusted that a player like Ed Richards just can't kick properly anymore, or that Jacko is so much worse than he was in the second half of last year and before that when he actually sliced teams up with some decisive kicking. It's the major part of our game, alongside goal kicking, and we have regressed in each.

I genuinely see what the tactics and strategy around ball movement is. It makes perfect sense in lieu of our personnel, but we haven't equipped our players to execute it given the kicking is so bloody bad.

Kudos for the effort, better teams of ours have performed worse over there, but for Christ's sake, it's just kicking and handballing properly that is stopping us and there's no reason for this to be the case.

[jeemak]

And while I've got your attention (if in fact I do), I'm completely sick and tired of Bevo looking pained and exhausted every single time the cameras pan to him after these bullshit skill errors occur, whether they be by hand or foot.

Stop sugar coating it mate, and actually fix it. If that means all we do at training outside of match review and weights is kicking and hanballing, then so be it. As a supporter I want to see my team execute basic bloody skills. It's actually not too late either, focus in this area will help us so much, just put your pants back on, select a side that can be competitive, review the tapes and practice the skills.

[MrMahatma]

And while I've got your attention (if in fact I do), I'm completely sick and tired of Bevo looking pained and exhausted every single time the cameras pan to him after these bullshit skill errors occur, whether they be by hand or foot.

Stop sugar coating it mate, and actually fix it. If that means all we do at training outside of match review and weights is kicking and hanballing, then so be it. As a supporter I want to see my team execute basic bloody skills. It's actually not too late either, focus in this area will help us so much, just put your pants back on, select a side that can be competitive, review the tapes and practice the skills.

Reckon a few of us cut the same tired and frustrated look.

Maybe they should do “goggle box” for doggies fans. Would be interesting viewing.

[G-Mo77]

Reckon a few of us cut the same tired and frustrated look.

Maybe they should do “goggle box” for doggies fans. Would be interesting viewing.

They have to bleep out too much for that.

[Hotdog60]

Do we think we are too hesitant with the ball.
I know there's a time you have to slow things down but during the game and Hunter is a prime example does all the hard running to get the ball but takes a second too long to make a decision.

Just a small sample was he had procession attacking side of centre with a mark. Smith had lead into a hole on the 50 with plenty of space around him and Hunter pauses, waits look inboard then releases to Smith because his free but by this time Freo has him cover by 2 and clear the ball away.

I think the team has become slow by mind making the team slow by foot. Sometimes I wish they take the first option before doesn't become an option.

[GVGjr]

Kicking the football well has two benefits. The first is it keeps the footy in your hands, the second is it keeps the footy out of the hands of the opposition. It's really that simple, and if you do it quickly enough, you end up in good scoring positions.

Because of our bad kicking (and today, disposal by hand) up the ground we couldn't get into good scoring positions. By the time the footy finally went forward with a chain of lazy or lacklustre disposal efforts we just didn't find ourselves in the right spots to kick goals. Things were rushed, players had too much to deal with when looking for the final connection.

I'm completely disgusted that a player like Ed Richards just can't kick properly anymore, or that Jacko is so much worse than he was in the second half of last year and before that when he actually sliced teams up with some decisive kicking. It's the major part of our game, alongside goal kicking, and we have regressed in each.

I genuinely see what the tactics and strategy around ball movement is. It makes perfect sense in lieu of our personnel, but we haven't equipped our players to execute it given the kicking is so bloody bad.

Kudos for the effort, better teams of ours have performed worse over there, but for Christ's sake, it's just kicking and handballing properly that is stopping us and there's no reason for this to be the case.

It's really disappointing and frustrating that our overall skill level has deteriorated and of course our goal kicking isn't anywhere near good enough. When Bevo first arrived he was going to get the team focused on two things.
1) Moving the ball quickly - which he was able to achieve and
2) Improving our kicking skills especially on the opposite foot. The nice way to say it is that it's still very much a work in progress.

Now there has been a significant changeover of personnel since he has arrived but it's particularly concerning when we see players like Richards that has quickly gone from being a good kick to one that isn't no anywhere near as effective. Cordy was a decent kick a couple of years back and has now somehow become a player who struggles to hit targets by often kicking it softly turning what should be an easy mark to something that now has to be picked up on the half volley. As you have pointed out Macrae hasn't had the same effect this year although that and his constant baulking at taking goal kicking shots are the primary reasons so many people don't regard him as truly elite and then you can add the likes of Dunkley, Hunter and McLean and dare I say Bontempelli that aren't effective kicks as they should be. Dickson is no longer the dead-eye shot for goal he once was and Hayes and Wood just aren't good kicks. We certainly have more than our share of challenges at the moment.

I have no idea why the basics of the game have become difficult for elite athletes but some clubs are better at it and maybe there is a lesson to be learned.

[GVGjr]

Do we think we are too hesitant with the ball.
I know there's a time you have to slow things down but during the game and Hunter is a prime example does all the hard running to get the ball but takes a second too long to make a decision.

Just a small sample was he had procession attacking side of centre with a mark. Smith had lead into a hole on the 50 with plenty of space around him and Hunter pauses, waits look inboard then releases to Smith because his free but by this time Freo has him cover by 2 and clear the ball away.

I think the team has become slow by mind making the team slow by foot. Sometimes I wish they take the first option before doesn't become an option.

It's a good point you highlight and perhaps we are looking at the safe option rather than the open man that requires the player to hit the longer target.

[GVGjr]

Just had a quick look at Wood's output so far this season

He's had just 41 kicks in 6 games (close enough to 7 kicks per game)
Just 7 tackles in the 6 games
Marks 25 or just over 4 per game

I know he's never been a great accumulator of possessions as he is averaging just 14 per game but he's not adding much to us at the moment.

[DOG GOD]

Do we think we are too hesitant with the ball.
I know there's a time you have to slow things down but during the game and Hunter is a prime example does all the hard running to get the ball but takes a second too long to make a decision.

Exactly, and other than Hunters lack lustre disposal, my other gripe on him is that he rarely runs in a direct line after getting the ball. Most times he will stop, turn a full 360 and then just bomb it long.

[DOG GOD]

Just had a quick look at Wood's output so far this season

He's had just 41 kicks in 6 games (close enough to 7 kicks per game)
Just 7 tackles in the 6 games
Marks 25 or just over 4 per game

I know he's never been a great accumulator of possessions as he is averaging just 14 per game but he's not adding much to us at the moment.


And the problem with all that Is that he’s the capt. undroppable.

[comrade]

Exactly, and other than Hunters lack lustre disposal, my other gripe on him is that he rarely runs in a direct line after getting the ball. Most times he will stop, turn a full 360 and then just bomb it long.

It’s because he’s fairly slow so he needs to pivot to give himself space. It’s become so habitual he does this even when under implied pressure. Because he muffs even straight forward drop punts and tends to kick them shallow he has a preference for kicking around himself where he can generate a little more power (and less accuracy but this doesn’t seem to bother him).

Macrae has similar tendencies, though he lacks Hunter’s agility to pivot and cut the angles so he now tends to go to ground like Daniel Cross used to do.

Having our two biggest ball winners with such huge deficiencies is a big reason we a) can’t score and b) get torched on turnovers.

[bornadog]

One thing we haven't discussed is who was playing on Matera? 5 goals from him killed us.

[Danjul]

Just had a quick look at Wood's output so far this season

He's had just 41 kicks in 6 games (close enough to 7 kicks per game)
Just 7 tackles in the 6 games
Marks 25 or just over 4 per game

I know he's never been a great accumulator of possessions as he is averaging just 14 per game but he's not adding much to us at the moment.

At the moment his main role seems to be punching the ball away from the opposition talls. This is preventing ground level contributions.

[Danjul]

Sorry that I cannot acknowledge the comment but someone here described the most serious weakness the team continually displays. It is SOFT kicking.

Many of the field kicks are what would be described as a lob in tennis. The ball goes up and slowly comes back down, allowing time for the intended receiver to be covered. It also leads to poor accuracy, many 30 metre passes missing the target by 10+ metres.

Last night the Dockers were kicking 40 metres into a teammateÂ’s hands. The ball moved quickly at little more than head height . This is what got them into a winning position.

[The bulldog tragician]

Sorry that I cannot acknowledge the comment but someone here described the most serious weakness the team continually displays. It is SOFT kicking.

Many of the field kicks are what would be described as a lob in tennis. The ball goes up and slowly comes back down, allowing time for the intended receiver to be covered. It also leads to poor accuracy, many 30 metre passes missing the target by 10+ metres.

Last night the Dockers were kicking 40 metres into a teammateÂ’s hands. The ball moved quickly at little more than head height . This is what got them into a winning position.

This is right. The kicks hang endlessly in the air. A defenders dream. At one point though Bont kicked an absolutely lethal bullet. It was such a surprise that our forwards dropped it.

[Danjul]

Other comments refer to the pivot when someone gets the ball. A lot of that is related to the emphasis on using handball to carry the ball forward. Instead of looking for a player in a hole 50 metres ahead they look back for someone running past. They also do this when they have a mark or free kick.

So many do it that it must be an instruction. They are a different team when they cut the handball by 30%

[Grantysghost]

Few bagging Hunter but i thought he had a really good game, just looked at his possession map he was pretty effective for us.

939

Click on the image to get a better look

[Torpedo]

FFS I am so sick of watching professional footballers fail at the basic skill of dropping a ball onto their feet and delivering it to where they wish it to land. Kicking technique just shouldn't be that hard to rectify. It certainly shouldn't be a work in progress after 3 preseasons where Bevo ordained it a priority. Goal kicking, in particular, can be improved by breaking the process into simple components and developing a routine.

Preamble: Firstly, Try not to take a shot right on/beyond your limit for distance and preferably well in from the boundary line. Don't turn your back on play, in case a better option presents itself and Know where the mark is. Stay Calm and Focused.

1) Compose yourself. Walk back the predetermined number of steps you have developed for your run up. You have 30 seconds to take responsibility, assess the situation and mentally prepare to kick for goal.
2)Adjust your laser to allow for wind depending on conditions. This should be the aim of the pregame goal kicking period.
3) Gather momentum, rhythm and balance with a decent length run up.
4) At the top of your runup, try to creep a metre or two if on an angle; face the goals straight on and commence your run, straight at the goals and aim for a position deep in the crowd preferably in second tier.
5) Maintain momentum, Drop the ball straight over the kicking leg and don't lean back.
6) Kick through the ball with a straight leg (as if it were a field kick along the boundary).
7) Maintain a "taut instep" as Bruce Andrews always insisted, back in the 60s.

Things to undo:
Don't run in an arc and try to swing the leg around to get beyond your normal distance unless you are Matthew Suckling.
Don't try to lob the ball just over the line.
Don't go with the fancy kick if the simple kick will do unless you decide on a place kick. Perhaps its time to bring it back.
Never get too close to the man on the mark

Do we have an active kicking coach like Adam Yze who was with Hawks in their glory years? He was part time then full time and the team was known as the best kicking team in the afl. If not, why not? Or at least someone who can impart a simple routine that can basically be learnt by rote. And get the psychs onto it, if deemed necessary. This long term butchering is slowly but surely turning me off the game. I see it as on par with A League soccer passing compared to the EPL standard. It undoes any hope of winning against good teams, we battle against poorer teams, we just can't bring scoreboard pressure, it wears out the team mentally and physically, makes supporters disinterested and won't help attract new supporters when we perform at that level, on the few occasions we get to exhibit our brand on national tv.

[mjp]

put Lewis Young or Fletcher Roberts in the forward line. Both would make good targets for the midfielders. Schache makes good leads and gets ignored. Maybe a forward coach who gets the players working together would help too.

Just to be clear up front, this is not a comment to Danjul - it is a comment about the ‘play him there’ sentiment that pops up on here...

Everyone should 100% suggest things like this. But if you do, you then cannot complain about players being used in 1 role in the
VFL and another in the AFL. I don’t mind the suggestion with Roberts in particular - he clearly is not getting a game down back so we may as well try and get something for our $300k per year investment - but we can’t then complain about the use of Webb/Lippa etc at afl vs vfl level.

[Sedat]

We almost always handball backwards whenever we win possession of the ball. The Libba give and get across half back in the last qtr was a classic example of how useless this tactic is and how counter-productive it is to scoring.

[Rocket Science]

Few bagging Hunter but i thought he had a really good game, just looked at his possession map he was pretty effective for us.

939

Click on the image to get a better look

Hunter goes all day and finds plenty of it. *Big tick*

Half of Hunter's disposals are hopeful lollipops that advantage noone wearing the same colours. *Big frown*

They're killers precisely because he finds so much of the footy.

[Grantysghost]

Hunter goes all day and finds plenty of it. *Big tick*

Half of Hunter's disposals are hopeful lollipops that advantage noone wearing the same colours. *Big frown*

They're killers precisely because he finds so much of the footy.

Yeah I get that argument, it's frustrating when kicks don't go to the advantage of our side, it happens far too often. It seems some of our guys just don't have that inate ability unfortunately to know how to put it to advantage. But you can only work with what you've got and he's one of our best players at the moment in my opinion; we just need some others with skill to compliment him. Too many same same types. Young West today looked composed and Smith has it in bucket loads; quick of mind and body.
I don't read anything too much into fantasy football rubbish but the AFL player ratings are quite interesting and he was best on ground out of both sides in those.
I got my call re JJ wrong during the match. Thought he was finding something but alas he is really struggling.

[The bulldog tragician]

It’s confidence too. I imagine it was very hard to be daring and creative from half back when on several occasions our playmaker JJ was flat footed and hesitant. Running in waves, with overlap, is all about having a strong sense of where your team mate will be, and faith that if you’re running hard he will be too.

For all the times last night I groaned at Hunter’s disposal, there were others I admired his bravery. He was questioned about that last week, and to my mind he showed tons of it last night.

[Danjul]

It’s confidence too. I imagine it was very hard to be daring and creative from half back when on several occasions our playmaker JJ was flat footed and hesitant. Running in waves, with overlap, is all about having a strong sense of where your team mate will be, and faith that if you’re running hard he will be too.

For all the times last night I groaned at Hunter’s disposal, there were others I admired his bravery. He was questioned about that last week, and to my mind he showed tons of it last night.

So why isn’t someone teaching him how to improve his kicking by 10%?

a little further and a little straighter and a little quicker would mean a lot better.

[bornadog]

We can all blame coaches about skills and kicking, etc, but at the end of the day, it is up to the player to execute correctly.

These guys are full time elite athletes, paid the big bucks who train almost every day. You don't think they practise their skills, their kicking - of course they do. You can't blame the coach or coaches, it is a player responsibilty.

[comrade]

We can all blame coaches about skills and kicking, etc, but at the end of the day, it is up to the player to execute correctly.

These guys are full time elite athletes, paid the big bucks who train almost every day. You don't think they practise their skills, their kicking - of course they do. You can't blame the coach or coaches, it is a player responsibilty.

And who keeps picking the players that make the same mistakes?

[mjp]

Preamble: Firstly, Try not to take a shot right on/beyond your limit for distance and preferably well in from the boundary line. Don't turn your back on play, in case a better option presents itself and Know where the mark is. Stay Calm and Focused.

1) Compose yourself. Walk back the predetermined number of steps you have developed for your run up. You have 30 seconds to take responsibility, assess the situation and mentally prepare to kick for goal.
2)Adjust your laser to allow for wind depending on conditions. This should be the aim of the pregame goal kicking period.
3) Gather momentum, rhythm and balance with a decent length run up.
4) At the top of your runup, try to creep a metre or two if on an angle; face the goals straight on and commence your run, straight at the goals and aim for a position deep in the crowd preferably in second tier.
5) Maintain momentum, Drop the ball straight over the kicking leg and don't lean back.
6) Kick through the ball with a straight leg (as if it were a field kick along the boundary).
7) Maintain a "taut instep" as Bruce Andrews always insisted, back in the 60s.

Things to undo:
Don't run in an arc and try to swing the leg around to get beyond your normal distance unless you are Matthew Suckling.
Don't try to lob the ball just over the line.
Don't go with the fancy kick if the simple kick will do unless you decide on a place kick. Perhaps its time to bring it back.
Never get too close to the man on the mark



There is a lot of truth in here.

I am curious as to why you think we aren't coaching them? The mechanics of the process are listed above...the dynamics are what matter though.

[GVGjr]

We can all blame coaches about skills and kicking, etc, but at the end of the day, it is up to the player to execute correctly.

These guys are full time elite athletes, paid the big bucks who train almost every day. You don't think they practise their skills, their kicking - of course they do. You can't blame the coach or coaches, it is a player responsibilty.

If the teachers aren't getting results for the class surely the message they are delivering isn't working?
We have a dedicated recruitment process in place and in the main short term contracts to make assessments on if players are up to the required level so if players don't measure up we can move them on quickly enough. The fact that we haven't been overly aggressive with changing the list (although last year wasn't too bad) means we have faith that the playing group will improve. I'm not sure you can say it's not the coaches responsibility because they're ultimately measured on how the team performs. If players aren't measuring up why are they being selected and in a lot of cases maintained on the playing list past their initial contract period?

[bornadog]

If the teachers aren't getting results for the class surely the message they are delivering isn't working?
We have a dedicated recruitment process in place and in the main short term contracts to make assessments on if players are up to the required level so if players don't measure up we can move them on quickly enough. The fact that we haven't been overly aggressive with changing the list (although last year wasn't too bad) means we have faith that the playing group will improve. I'm not sure you can say it's not the coaches responsibility because they're ultimately measured on how the team performs. If players aren't measuring up why are they being selected and in a lot of cases maintained on the playing list past their initial contract period?

Out of 44 current players, including rookies, we have 28 new players since Bevo started, ie 64%, I think we are turning over players.

No we haven't it's been a patient approach. Many players are maintained a year or two longer without a lot of results. Even if you believe we have been proactive how does it explain the skill level over the last 2 and a bit seasons? Who are the big improvers?

We have basically tried to address it via trading for the likes if Suckling, Duryea and Crozier

[bornadog]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5Nz0XGUYAAls3E.jpg

[FrediKanoute]

Late commenting on this game because of other commitments. To me this was a much better performance than last week and on par with what we have dished up against Swans, Hawks, Suns and the Pies. Our commitment to the ball and each other was great. We had Freo under pressure and forced errors and turnovers. That says to me that we could have and probably should have won the game. We let ourselves down with poor kicking for goal, especially in the last quarter.

Gowers was again poor. We criticise Stringer for looking for cheapies out the back, the 2019 edition of Gowers is a Stringer clone. He played on Pearce and should have been leading far and wide to get him out of the danger zone, instead too often Gowers is tussling or flying from behind to get the ball. Not good enough. Then when he gets the chance to put some scoreboard pressure, too often as he has done all year, he lets the team down with his finishing.

Dicko is cooked. Its a shame because he has great goal sense and an amazing ability to create enough space to get a shot away, but he seems to have lost that yard of pace and can't shake the opposition. Worse, he is missing those clutch goals we have relied on for so long. If this is another development year then I would prefer Greene (when not injured), Cavarra or Lippa in the team.

We can hand wring and blame the coach and call for his head, but the reality is we are not too far away and Richmond this week are definitely gettable. Need to play with the same level of commitment and intensity and we can beat them.

[merantau]

Late commenting on this game because of other commitments. To me this was a much better performance than last week and on par with what we have dished up against Swans, Hawks, Suns and the Pies. Our commitment to the ball and each other was great. We had Freo under pressure and forced errors and turnovers. That says to me that we could have and probably should have won the game. We let ourselves down with poor kicking for goal, especially in the last quarter.

Gowers was again poor. We criticise Stringer for looking for cheapies out the back, the 2019 edition of Gowers is a Stringer clone. He played on Pearce and should have been leading far and wide to get him out of the danger zone, instead too often Gowers is tussling or flying from behind to get the ball. Not good enough. Then when he gets the chance to put some scoreboard pressure, too often as he has done all year, he lets the team down with his finishing.

Dicko is cooked. Its a shame because he has great goal sense and an amazing ability to create enough space to get a shot away, but he seems to have lost that yard of pace and can't shake the opposition. Worse, he is missing those clutch goals we have relied on for so long. If this is another development year then I would prefer Greene (when not injured), Cavarra or Lippa in the team.

We can hand wring and blame the coach and call for his head, but the reality is we are not too far away and Richmond this week are definitely gettable. Need to play with the same level of commitment and intensity and we can beat them.

Thanks Freddie. I needed that. Go Dogs!

[bornadog]

Thanks Freddie. I needed that. Go Dogs!

Ditto, and well summed up.

Gowers needs to be dropped to send him a message that he is not a walk up start.

[soupman]

Gowers continues to amaze. In a season where his form has been poor to ordinary this was finally a game where he consistently got his hand to the ball first, but unfortunately he had heaps of marks where he got a clean grab at them initially but dropped them. If he holds everything he should've on Saturday he would have had about 7 contested marks to his name all resulting in (unpredictable) set shots. Instead he drops every single one of them and stuff up when he gets the ball in general play meaning he has a shocker.

I am inclined to drop him like everyone else, but at the same time he remains our only aerial threat not in the backline aside from Naughton whos output has been non existent for weeks now. Aside from Schache who is not really an aerial threat at all we have nobody else of a similiar type to bring in for him. I'd probably still drop him, but I think despite his woeful game he wasn't far off having a really good game, which I guess is classic Gowers. Even when he is good, he's bad, but also when he is bad, he is so close to being good. I guess thats the lot of a forward, even the quietest games can be rescued with two good things and Gowers is certainly capable of producing two good things a game.

Dickson is the other obvious one. To me he has really bulked up these last two years and everytime I see him play he reminds of a pacy key forward. No real amazing agility or ability to extricate himself from tight situations anymore, but good on the lead and bigger than everyone else. It is so very frustrating that Greene is injured because of all the young guys not playing I think he is best equipped to give us something we need and is the perfect direct swap for a cooked Dickson.

[Eastdog]

Good post Fredi.

[angelopetraglia]

Both the coaches gave Hunter the 5 votes. It’s rare to see a player in the losing team get the perfect 10.