Hotdog60
30-08-2019, 09:49 AM
Premiership star Jason Johannisen has declared Giants Stadium holds no fear for the Western Bulldogs, and has urged supporters to again make the trip north to help spark more success.
The Bulldogs emerged victorious over Greater Western Sydney on their home patch a fortnight ago and will look to reprise that performance when the clubs clash in an elimination final on Saturday week.
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.214%2C$multiply_1%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C $x_0%2C$y_13/t_crop_custom/w_800/q_86%2Cf_auto/c8593402e0784d96abf2ada720f0314c2f41ff81
They already had happy memories of the venue, having claimed an epic one-goal win over the Giants there in the 2016 preliminary final – one of the matches of the decade. Bus-loads of supporters made the trip north on that day, while Johannisen said the support was obvious even a fortnight ago.
The dashing half-back expects that support to continue when the Dogs return to the finals for the first time since they enjoyed their breakthrough premiership.
"A lot of our fans get to go up there and support us. It doesn't feel as hostile as maybe some other grounds, especially like Perth. The home fans are so huge over there. It feels very hostile. Our fans make the effort to get up there [Sydney] and support us, which is huge," he said on Thursday.
If omens mean anything, the Dogs finished the home-and-away campaign in seventh spot – as they did in '16 when they created history. They have also been on a tear, winning eight of their 11 matches since the mid-season bye, but Norm Smith medallist Johannisen knows that now counts for little.
"We have seen over the last couple of years of finals, you just have to make it and anything can happen. The regular season from now on is out the window and we just have to focus on winning four games. That's the bottom line," he said.
"We just want to play our best footy and we think we are capable of it."
Johannisen began the season slowly because of an ankle injury in February. He missed the opening three rounds, had 25 touches upon his return against Collingwood, and has since been a consistent performer, averaging 22 disposals per game – including a career-high 5.5 score assists.
It's not a memory he wants to reprise but his first three matches this season were defeats. Indeed, he enjoyed only two wins – impressive ones at that, against Richmond and the Brisbane Lions – from his first eight games heading into the mid-season break. That left the Bulldogs with only four wins from 11 matches, and languishing in 14th spot, their season appearing all but done.
However, their campaign changed dramatically after the bye, coming after Marcus Bontempelli had stressed to his teammates the need to mentally and physically refresh and not think the season was lost. Johannisen said coach Luke Beveridge had also been proactive.
"Obviously, in the bye, Bevo's mindset was to freshen up when we are coming back, we are doing a lot of work, especially with our ball movement. That has probably been the biggest turnaround. We are using the ball a lot better which makes us defend less, so if you are scoring more and defending less, it's a good recipe to win," he said.
Skipper Easton Wood has spoken of a better "connection" between the midfielders and forwards, and that has allowed the Bulldogs to emerge as a major threat inside 50.
That they have booted more than 100 points in four of their past five matches – having only twice done so in their previous 17 matches – means they have the all-around game to cause finals havoc.
"It's always nice to have that momentum, especially leading into the back half of the year, going into finals. We are gelling well as a team. When we play a good, consistent brand of footy, we are going to be hard to beat," Johannisen said.
LINK (https://www.smh.com.au/sport/afl/no-fear-bulldogs-ready-to-be-road-warriors-20190829-p52m0z.html)
The Bulldogs emerged victorious over Greater Western Sydney on their home patch a fortnight ago and will look to reprise that performance when the clubs clash in an elimination final on Saturday week.
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.214%2C$multiply_1%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C $x_0%2C$y_13/t_crop_custom/w_800/q_86%2Cf_auto/c8593402e0784d96abf2ada720f0314c2f41ff81
They already had happy memories of the venue, having claimed an epic one-goal win over the Giants there in the 2016 preliminary final – one of the matches of the decade. Bus-loads of supporters made the trip north on that day, while Johannisen said the support was obvious even a fortnight ago.
The dashing half-back expects that support to continue when the Dogs return to the finals for the first time since they enjoyed their breakthrough premiership.
"A lot of our fans get to go up there and support us. It doesn't feel as hostile as maybe some other grounds, especially like Perth. The home fans are so huge over there. It feels very hostile. Our fans make the effort to get up there [Sydney] and support us, which is huge," he said on Thursday.
If omens mean anything, the Dogs finished the home-and-away campaign in seventh spot – as they did in '16 when they created history. They have also been on a tear, winning eight of their 11 matches since the mid-season bye, but Norm Smith medallist Johannisen knows that now counts for little.
"We have seen over the last couple of years of finals, you just have to make it and anything can happen. The regular season from now on is out the window and we just have to focus on winning four games. That's the bottom line," he said.
"We just want to play our best footy and we think we are capable of it."
Johannisen began the season slowly because of an ankle injury in February. He missed the opening three rounds, had 25 touches upon his return against Collingwood, and has since been a consistent performer, averaging 22 disposals per game – including a career-high 5.5 score assists.
It's not a memory he wants to reprise but his first three matches this season were defeats. Indeed, he enjoyed only two wins – impressive ones at that, against Richmond and the Brisbane Lions – from his first eight games heading into the mid-season break. That left the Bulldogs with only four wins from 11 matches, and languishing in 14th spot, their season appearing all but done.
However, their campaign changed dramatically after the bye, coming after Marcus Bontempelli had stressed to his teammates the need to mentally and physically refresh and not think the season was lost. Johannisen said coach Luke Beveridge had also been proactive.
"Obviously, in the bye, Bevo's mindset was to freshen up when we are coming back, we are doing a lot of work, especially with our ball movement. That has probably been the biggest turnaround. We are using the ball a lot better which makes us defend less, so if you are scoring more and defending less, it's a good recipe to win," he said.
Skipper Easton Wood has spoken of a better "connection" between the midfielders and forwards, and that has allowed the Bulldogs to emerge as a major threat inside 50.
That they have booted more than 100 points in four of their past five matches – having only twice done so in their previous 17 matches – means they have the all-around game to cause finals havoc.
"It's always nice to have that momentum, especially leading into the back half of the year, going into finals. We are gelling well as a team. When we play a good, consistent brand of footy, we are going to be hard to beat," Johannisen said.
LINK (https://www.smh.com.au/sport/afl/no-fear-bulldogs-ready-to-be-road-warriors-20190829-p52m0z.html)