Our Back line ranked 10th

[GVGjr]

Mick McGuane has ranked our back line 10th in the league. Has he made the right call?

Richmond and Port are the highest rated defensive units then Collingwood and Fremantle

In the brackets it's how many games did the players have in 2021 and their supercoach averages


10. Western Bulldogs (https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/expert-opinion/mick-mcguane/afl-list-analysis-mick-mcguane-rates-every-afl-teams-defence-from-118/news-story/4ca97e84f01d29affe4e04f630cab926)

The top liners: Caleb Daniel (18, 104), Bailey Williams (18, 85), Alex Keath (18, 60), Jason Johannisen (17, 83), Hayden Crozier (15, 78), Zaine Cordy (14, 56), Easton Wood (13, 55)

The top-ups: Louis Butler (2, 51), Taylor Duryea (3, 85), Ryan Gardner (10, 47)

McGuane says: The Bulldogs defence can be dynamic and great to watch, but also frustrating as they can leak easy goals. Jason Johannisen and Caleb Daniel give the team run and carry and clever ball use when the Dogs win the ball back. Some would say with the personnel they have should be higher ranked. Alex Keath as a lockdown defender, had a great year. Zaine Cordy can play a tall role, Easton Wood is their interceptor and aggressive spoiler. Hayden Crozier plays with great courage and Bailey Williams is continually improving. But my biggest concern is, are they consistently good enough at drying up opposition scoring when the ball is in their D50? Does it mean enough to them? Also, if Caleb Daniel gets “sat on” are they a good enough ball using team to go from coast to coast and score? No doubt Luke Beveridge will be looking for the solutions.

[Hotdog60]

10th spot could be a fair assessment as we look good when there is support from up the ground. If the Midfield is having a tough day then I think our defense is more under the pump.
I think we are still missing a tallish monster that can stand body to body with the more stronger forwards of your Hawkins variety.
With the AFL leaning down the zone path it will get harder for the backs as the AFL tries to increase scoring opportunities and it may get back to a more one on one defending and if it does we may need Astro to go back who I think is our best chance of one on one defending.
I think Bevo will back in the centre to win it's position and let the opposition worry more about us than us about them.

[comrade]

As I've said elsewhere, there's no way Crozier, Wood, Cordy and Williams can play together in defence and it still function smoothly.

[dog town]

I think the way we choose to defend as a team and it’s effectiveness will have the biggest impact on our results for 2021. We have lost our defensive identity a little bit and I think some of it personnel. I would love to see the ball locked in our half more often and more scores from turnover but I’m not sure our current team has the personnel to pull that style off.

I think another issue we have is that several players play best as an interceptor but none of them are in the competitions elite in that role. If we decide to free someone up behind the ball you really want them having enormous impact.

[comrade]

I think another issue we have is that several players play best as an interceptor but none of them are in the competitions elite in that role. If we decide to free someone up behind the ball you really want them having enormous impact.

I think Crozier should be earmarked for this role and be freed up as much as possible to intercept as third man in. It means one of Cordy or Wood can't play in the same set up though (neither are in my best 22 tbh).

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I think Crozier should be earmarked for this role and be freed up as much as possible to intercept as third man in. It means one of Cordy or Wood can't play in the same set up though (neither are in my best 22 tbh).

Agree with this.

Cordy, for mine, is pretty lucky we have so few KPD options. He isn't a great athlete, he isn't strong, he isn't quick or skilled - he's done well to last this long as a defender IMO.

We really need to recruit/draft some good defensive types. I liked Cordy as a forward, though opportunity in this area of the ground would be scarce given JUH/Naughton/Bruce.

[Ozza]

I think Crozier should be earmarked for this role and be freed up as much as possible to intercept as third man in. It means one of Cordy or Wood can't play in the same set up though (neither are in my best 22 tbh).

Think Wood plays as a lock down defender next year.

He played some good games on dangerous small/mid forwards this year.

[comrade]

Think Wood plays as a lock down defender next year.

He played some good games on dangerous small/mid forwards this year.

My preferred defensive group is:

Crozier Keath Williams
JJ Gardner Daniel

with Duryea on the bench as another small/mid defender.

[comrade]

Agree with this.

Cordy, for mine, is pretty lucky we have so few KPD options. He isn't a great athlete, he isn't strong, he isn't quick or skilled - he's done well to last this long as a defender IMO.

We really need to recruit/draft some good defensive types. I liked Cordy as a forward, though opportunity in this area of the ground would be scarce given JUH/Naughton/Bruce.

I hope we earmark Bedendo to develop and play the Easton Wood circa 2015/16 role. Definitely has the hops for it.

[dog town]

I think Crozier should be earmarked for this role and be freed up as much as possible to intercept as third man in. It means one of Cordy or Wood can't play in the same set up though (neither are in my best 22 tbh). It is a tough one, it’s clearly his best role but not 100% sold its best for the team. In comparison to some of the other great interceptors in the comp it leaves us a bit behind.

We need to work it out, it kick starts our ball movement and allows us spread the field, takes pressure off the other defenders and allows us to control tempo but we don’t have an obvious choice. We can have multiple of course but it would be great to have someone elite.

[Twodogs]

I'm still annoyed that Hamling left. We'd be a lot better defensively and a much more balanced team with him in it. He is pretty much the missing link. He can play as a lockdown defender and outmark tall forwards and keep up with the more mobile midsized forwards.

We should have fought tooth and nail to keep him at the club. I understand that his dad was sick but we could have found a way to work around that.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I'm still annoyed that Hamling left. We'd be a lot better defensively and a much more balanced team with him in it. He is pretty much the missing link. He can play as a lockdown defender and outmark tall forwards and keep up with the more mobile midsized forwards.

We should have fought tooth and nail to keep him at the club. I understand that his dad was sick but we could have found a way to work around that.

Yep - still burns me too. Never thought we tried hard enough to keep him either.

[Danjul]

My preferred defensive group is:

Crozier Keath Williams
JJ Gardner Daniel

with Duryea on the bench as another small/mid defender.
Sorry, but I cannot understand how everyone is selecting Gardner as our key backman.

Young should be put on the backline and left there for at least a dozen games so the others can have time to work with him and develop his natural talent.

For reference (afl’s stats for best 10 games):

Young
disposals 21-10 average 13.6
kicks 12-7 average 9
marks 10-3 av 5.6
handball 11-2 average 5.4
rebounds 8-1 average 3.7

Gardner
disposals 14-5 average 8.2
kicks 9-2 average 4.3
marks 6-1 av 2.9
handball 6-2 average 3.9
rebounds 3-0 average 0.9

Gardner’s career best game followed his worst. And despite being almost double in every category, and being our only body on body backman, Young can’t get a game.

It’s not rocket science, put the best players in their natural position and enjoy the success.

[bornadog]

Sorry, but I cannot understand how everyone is selecting Gardner as our key backman.

Young should be put on the backline and left there for at least a dozen games so the others can have time to work with him and develop his natural talent.

For reference (afl’s stats for best 10 games):

Young
disposals 21-10 average 13.6
kicks 12-7 average 9
marks 10-3 av 5.6
handball 11-2 average 5.4
rebounds 8-1 average 3.7

Gardner
disposals 14-5 average 8.2
kicks 9-2 average 4.3
marks 6-1 av 2.9
handball 6-2 average 3.9
rebounds 3-0 average 0.9

Gardner’s career best game followed his worst. And despite being almost double in every category, and being our only body on body backman, Young can’t get a game.

It’s not rocket science, put the best players in their natural position and enjoy the success.

I agree. Gardner has proven nothing at this stage and is just hanging in there, let alone being the first picked for CHB.

I re-watched some of the elimination final, and was surprised how close the game was, except the last 5 minutes of the third quarter when Saints got a jump. Gardner made a few vital errors costing us goals, and has alot to learn.

I still think Young can make it.

[comrade]

Young and Gardner are interchangeable. Both are timid footballers who are miles off the elite key defenders in the league.

Young might be marginally ahead but it’s negligible.

[Danjul]

Young and Gardner are interchangeable. Both are timid footballers who are miles off the elite key defenders in the league.

Young might be marginally ahead but it’s negligible.

I like Keath, great pickup. He got consecutive 18 games to establish himself, with 16 as his most possessions. Young has had significantly less games but he already has 4 with more possessions than that. Young also had some better games than Hamling when he was with us.

I saw him in a VFL game where he and T Boyd rucked. He held his ground against the opposition better - although I see him as a Specialist backman. If we had played Young on King and Keath further up the ground we would have won that final.

In the first game this year he played on the forward line and the ball rarely got there- only 5 goals and Williams got one of them. Then banished. Like Schache, what he does well isn’t noticed. But make a mistake and he is out. Fortunately we have inferior players to take their places.

[hujsh]

I like Keath, great pickup. He got consecutive 18 games to establish himself, with 16 as his most possessions. Young has had significantly less games but he already has 4 with more possessions than that. Young also had some better games than Hamling when he was with us.

I saw him in a VFL game where he and T Boyd rucked. He held his ground against the opposition better - although I see him as a Specialist backman. If we had played Young on King and Keath further up the ground we would have won that final.

In the first game this year he played on the forward line and the ball rarely got there- only 5 goals and Williams got one of them. Then banished. Like Schache, what he does well isn’t noticed. But make a mistake and he is out. Fortunately we have inferior players to take their places.

Okay but... who gives a shit if he then can't defend the players he needs to play on? Daniel, JJ, Crozier and Williams and even Keath to a lesser extent are all able to provide some rebound so what we need is a Key Defender able to defend the TALL forwards. The jury is still entirely out on if he is capable of that.

[Happy Days]

I didn’t really give it enough specific thought at the time (had the red mist at Gardner’s continued selection I believe) but given that we were so intent on playing Keath as a traditional KPD, its even more astonishing to think we didn’t give Young more of a look in as an intercept defender last year, seeing as that’s been his whole game to date.

[Danjul]

Okay but... who gives a shit if he then can't defend the players he needs to play on? Daniel, JJ, Crozier and Williams and even Keath to a lesser extent are all able to provide some rebound so what we need is a Key Defender able to defend the TALL forwards. The jury is still entirely out on if he is capable of that.

Look at the stats below. Young averages more rebounds per game than Keath and Gardner.
Young played well as a tall in both games against GWS at the end of last year. In the first he was one of our better players and in the second it wasn’t his fault that GWS had close to 20 more scoring shots.

Who have we played on talls that has done better? The honest answer is no body. Cordy got games when his opponents were getting heaps of goals week after week in 2019. Gardner gave up a match winning bag against Brisbane this year , over 20% of Hipwood’s goals for the year came from that match. Gardner got selected the next week, and every following match. Yeah, I know he trains well.

[Twodogs]

Yep - still burns me too. Never thought we tried hard enough to keep him either.

He played a finals series where he beat Cyril Rioli, Patton and Buddy Franklin and we gave him up for a pick in the 30s. I will never understand that for as long as I live.

[jeemak]

I didn’t really give it enough specific thought at the time (had the red mist at Gardner’s continued selection I believe) but given that we were so intent on playing Keath as a traditional KPD, its even more astonishing to think we didn’t give Young more of a look in as an intercept defender last year, seeing as that’s been his whole game to date.

Was he even playing as a defender this year in the seconds/ scratch matches? I honestly don't know.

The annoyance at the lack of vision and reporting about specific players was fair this year. I imagine the even balancing of arguments solved versus those created from improved vision would be pretty good, but also think maybe one or two key questions could have been answered with a little bit more effort from the media department and coaching staff combined.

I think Young could definitely be that intercept defender. However, the way footy was played this year I also think he could have had a year that would make many believers (of which I am one) skeptical of his future prospects. We were a rabble defending from the forward line through the middle most of the year when the game wasn't on our terms at least to some extent. Young would have looked *!*!*!*!ing terrible a lot of the time given the way he plays under those circumstances.

Our problems in defence will only get fixed when we stop getting sucked too high and players take some responsibility for the open space behind them.

[boydogs]

Why are we fighting about Gardner when Duryea isn't mentioned? Our best lockdown defender

Relative to other backlines we are better rebounders than defenders, we rely more on midfield pressure than other teams, but I would rank us a little higher

[hujsh]

Look at the stats below. Young averages more rebounds per game than Keath and Gardner.
Young played well as a tall in both games against GWS at the end of last year. In the first he was one of our better players and in the second it wasn’t his fault that GWS had close to 20 more scoring shots.

Once again... who cares? That's not the primary attribute we need to add, it's a bonus.



Who have we played on talls that has done better? The honest answer is no body. Cordy got games when his opponents were getting heaps of goals week after week in 2019. Gardner gave up a match winning bag against Brisbane this year , over 20% of Hipwood’s goals for the year came from that match. Gardner got selected the next week, and every following match. Yeah, I know he trains well.

And what happened in the following matches? He didn't actually do surprisingly well as a lockdown defender did he?

Look I like Young and want him to succeed but I suspect we'd play him if he was ready to do the job we needed. And no the job is not to get possessions.

[Mofra]

Young does intercept ok, but Keath plays the 'intercept tall' role better.
Young's weakness has been his one on one work but he is still 21 and growing into his body. I'd love to see him have a breakout year and become a legitimate AFL KPD but he is still learning the game and IIRC in 2019 at VFL level he played quite a bit of ruck/forward too and did ok.

[bornadog]

Look I like Young and want him to succeed but I suspect we'd play him if he was ready to do the job we needed. And no the job is not to get possessions.

I was told Young didn't train very well in the hub and struggled in the scratch matches.

I hope he can get a good pre-season in him as we know he has some talent and the opening is there if he is able to take it.

[soupman]

Was he even playing as a defender this year in the seconds/ scratch matches? I honestly don't know.



Well he started the year getting switched forward for no reason and then was played as one in the debacle that was round 1. After that who knows because apparently nobody at the club was attending our scratch matches.


Our backline is weak because it's full of a bunch of guys who are not good one on one and a bunch of guys that are kind of jack of all trades master of none.

Keath, Duryea and maybe Daniel are the only regulars back there who win more contests than they're expected to, and none of them are posting Dale Morris type levels. Crozier has his moments but because of the way he attacks the ball is very much an all or nothing proposition, Wood is ok at it but struggles against anyone bigger, Cordy is a terrible one on one defender and was literally the worst in the comp at it in 2019, which is amazing because if he isn't winning contests why is he playing, Gardner tries and is ok but got beaten up by Eric Hipwood the notoriously skinny forward, Williams is great with ball in hand and can take a mark but is terrible at defending anything at ground level.

Add that to the fact that half those guys offer very little else: Crozier, Keath and Wood are all former good intercept defenders that don't intercept anymore, Gardner is more mobile than most full backs but for what gain and aside from 20m inboard kicks on his trusty left foot Cordy is hardly a distribution king. I think you could argue only Daniel and Williams atm are offering more than expected.

No wonder our backline is mediocre.

[Happy Days]

Was he even playing as a defender this year in the seconds/ scratch matches? I honestly don't know.

The annoyance at the lack of vision and reporting about specific players was fair this year. I imagine the even balancing of arguments solved versus those created from improved vision would be pretty good, but also think maybe one or two key questions could have been answered with a little bit more effort from the media department and coaching staff combined.

I think Young could definitely be that intercept defender. However, the way footy was played this year I also think he could have had a year that would make many believers (of which I am one) skeptical of his future prospects. We were a rabble defending from the forward line through the middle most of the year when the game wasn't on our terms at least to some extent. Young would have looked *!*!*!*!ing terrible a lot of the time given the way he plays under those circumstances.

Our problems in defence will only get fixed when we stop getting sucked too high and players take some responsibility for the open space behind them.

My main issue with Young on available vision is his tendency to play too far in front at all costs in order to intercept. It's not really reading the play as much as it is guessing that the position will give him a chance to intercept, and has lead to him getting dunked on many times. He hasn't really proven his one on one ability at any stage either.

However, if the space was opened up for him to wholly intercept by Keath and (for arguments sake let's say) Cordy playing wholly defensively, then who knows maybe it gets better. Would have been nice to, you know, find out in some of those dead games in the middle of the year or even if someone could've pointed an iPhone at a scratch match for 10 minutes instead of tweeting at Stevo.

[Happy Days]

I also could not agree more with our pitiful defending from the forward line. Good thing we addressed it in the trade period by bringing in another small forward who thinks he's Tony Modra (or maybe Allen Jakovich based on those recent training pics).

[westbulldog]

2020 was the perfect opportunity to select and test Young and Sweet but Bevo/MC were too stubborn/plain stupid imo, yet we continued to select Bruce and Gardner

[Danjul]

Our problems in defence will only get fixed when we stop getting sucked too high and players take some responsibility for the open space behind them.

This has obviously been part of our game plan for the last 6 years. When it happens it costs us dearly.

Who can forget Adelaide gaining the lead in the 2015 final.

Ball went over the back to Tex Walker who was unmanned. He took a couple of bounces from defence and kicked to the only player ahead of him, Eddy Betts, who kicked an easy goal. Out we go in week one.

This has been replayed hundreds of times in the last 6 years. The opposition gets such easy goals. They probably build part of their game plan against us based on it happening.

[dog town]

This has obviously been part of our game plan for the last 6 years. When it happens it costs us dearly.

Who can forget Adelaide gaining the lead in the 2015 final.

Ball went over the back to Tex Walker who was unmanned. He took a couple of bounces from defence and kicked to the only player ahead of him, Eddy Betts, who kicked an easy goal. Out we go in week one.

This has been replayed hundreds of times in the last 6 years. The opposition gets such easy goals. They probably build part of their game plan against us based on it happening. Let’s not forget the part where it was largely responsible for winning us a flag.

It needs some tweaking mainly due to the change in personnel we have had since 2016. I would find it difficult to criticise the general method given the success of other clubs and ourselves. We just need to do it better and more consistently.

[jeemak]

It's definitely not our plan to get sucked up too high and scored against easily because of it. Yes, it happens to us more than it should but it's been openly acknowledged by the coach and players that it is a problem.

Getting the balance right isn't as easy as it looks.