WB Game Day V Richmond R7 2021

[The Bulldogs Bite]

We were always going to be challenged but that was an insipid quarter under any language. The midfield and their refusal to work has been evident tonight.

We've really allowed Richmond to run and carry the ball through us while not doing it ourselves, instead playing into their hands by playing safe football.

Need a big lift but it's hard to see it from here.

[macca]

So what was the deal with that high contact against West? Just the worst call in the history of the game or nah?

Stinker call . I hate these new rubbish interpretation rules

Richmond are getting awarded dubious free kicks , first 4 frees went to them this 3rd quarter

Just dumb blasting ball out of defense . No setup at all

I have ruled red line through a schache with being out mark twice by Balta. At least bring the ball to the ground .

[whythelongface]

If there is anything positive to come out of the quarter is that we were owned by the Tigers but we are only a goal down
First 10 minutes are vital for us to get the scoreboard ticking over

Despite a 5 goal to 1 qtr we were able to stem the tide late. Hopefully some momentum going into the last. Also knowing we have the best record coming from behind is a positive

[G-Mo77]

If there is anything positive to come out of the quarter is that we were owned by the Tigers but we are only a goal down
First 10 minutes are vital for us to get the scoreboard ticking over

That's it right there. We're a kick away from winning it. The signs aren't good though but it will give us a sign where we're at right now. I still think we've got a bit of a soft underbelly and think we'll crumble I hope they can prove me wrong

[merantau]

We need to start cracking in like they did. I still think we can win this game. It's all about winning the stoppages and getting numbers to thd ball.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

To say Schache and West have really not taken their chances this week is an understatement. Unless there is a big turnaround, I don't think Schache will play another game for us.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Our major weakness is our defence and it has been absolutely exposed by a good side tonight. I don’t care if we’ve conceded the least amount of points. We’ve done it against poorer sides. Good sides pile the pressure on and our poor defence has been exposed and absolutely picked apart. We can’t have Cordy as a main defender. He’s too slow and undersized.

Our depth suddenly doesn’t look so good as all of West, Schache and Hannan have been poor.

Have to remember this side is missing their best player and we’ve still given up a four goal lead in the space of 10minutes. There’s plenty we can learn from this game wether we win or lose but my concern is we don’t have the players on the list to fix the gaping hole down back.

[whythelongface]

Thought we would be too quick for them without Dusty and Prestia but gee a back to the wall Richmond are bloody good. We need to learn big time from this.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Pretty poor quarter from Schache. Out marked twice early then letting Picket beat him at ball Ups. I’m really disappointed in him as he is far better than that and this could be his last chance to prove he can play at this level.

[whythelongface]

It is time for the Bont to step up. This is his quarter

[bulldogsthru&thru]

We have to crumb there ball a lot better. Richmond take every ball from a spoiled marking contest.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

This umpiring is absolutely deplorable.

[Stefcep]

The unp sare pulling free out of their backsides now.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Horrendous from Bruce. We’ve lost all confidence.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

I hate to say it but Bont has been awful tonight. One of the worst games he’s ever played.

[KT31]

It’s in the bag, we are just toying with them now.;)

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Game. Over.

Need to bounce back strongly against the blues.

[G-Mo77]

That'll do it I think. Disappointing end to the streak.

[Grantysghost]

Toying with us now unfortunately. Hope it doesn’t blow out.

[GVGjr]

C'mon Dogs, keep em coming

[KT31]

Just stamp Schache papers now.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

West has been awful.

[chef]

That's embarrassing, got to touch that

[KT31]

Ffs how was that not touched?

[bulldogtragic]

How can no one tough that. Honestly.

[Stefcep]

How can two defenders on the line miss the ball altogether?

[ReLoad]

Cordy can get stuffed

[MrMahatma]

So many players down tonight.

[G-Mo77]

Just stamp Schache papers now.

In hindsight Sweet gets the nod or JUH?

[MrMahatma]

In hindsight Sweet gets the nod or JUH?

He’s not on his own. Bruce has had a mare too! Lots of players just not performing.

[EasternWest]

This game will end a few careers I reckon.

[chef]

Did we drink to much bathwater at half time?

[ReLoad]

This game will end a few careers I reckon.

Sadly it probably needs to. We’ve been wallpapering a lot of cracks.

[whythelongface]

Pretenders that’s what we are

[G-Mo77]

He’s not on his own. Bruce has had a mare too! Lots of players just not performing.

Not saying he is on his own. Nank has been pretty dominant especially after half time. Should Sweet have got that spot.

[whythelongface]

That play sums up our night.

[angelopetraglia]

They have just man handled us after half time. Men against boys. Losing every contest.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Did we drink to much bathwater at half time?

I doubt it, the rot had started during the 2nd quarter.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Its been a very poor half of football. We’re not top 4 material just yet.

[GVGjr]

Disappointing 2nd half but we can play a lot better than what we displayed.
Beaten by a better side on the night so hopefully we can learn from the mistakes.

[G-Mo77]

Did we drink to much bathwater at half time?

No, they're just better than us. That is the level we need to get to, we really folded when the grip was tightened.

[DOG GOD]

Harry Mackay will be rubbing his hands together.

[comrade]

We learnt we’re no where near it right now.

[whythelongface]

Its been a very poor half of football. We’re not top 4 material just yet.

I think we are. Really there are only two contenders. Port and the Tigers. The rest are just pretenders.

[Rocket Science]

Bevo boasting a coupla weeks back that Richmond basically copied his homework to win three flags tastes real good about now.

If Schache, Johannisen or Cordy play again this year I’ll Plough-style spew up.

[DOG GOD]

Can’t win with that many passengers. There’s an obvious gap between VFL and AFL for more than a few of our players. The band aid was well and truly ripped off our defence to show the gaping hole that’s been there festering. We HAVE to get a FB who can play on the bigger types.

[Mutz]

This game will end a few careers I reckon.
Certainly shed light on some players commitment.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Harry Mackay will be rubbing his hands together.

Oh mark it down. With our defence it’d be a failure for him kicking 5.

[Grantysghost]

That’s as flat as I’ve felt after a game for a fair while.

It’s the hope that kills you :cool:

When the Tigers get their game going they almost strangle other teams. Pressure on the ball carrier, incredible position behind the footy and the tsunami going forward.

Our game absolutely disintegrated.

[comrade]

So, about that depth eh?

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Honestly where does West sit? Does he have what it takes?

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

We learnt we’re no where near it right now.

I don't think that's true. We learned in April, where we need to improve. I prefer to look at it as a sting, that shows the whole team and coaches what we need to do play with the big boys, week in week out.

[Stefcep]

Clearly we need another KPD.

The midfield just disappeared after half time. Bont played his worst game I've seen.

West, Shacke, JJ simpply not up to it.

[G-Mo77]

Bevo boasting a coupla weeks back that Richmond basically copied his homework to win three flags tastes real good about now.

If Schache, Johannisen or Cordy play again this year I’ll Plough-style spew up.

Schache over Sweet? Cordy over Young? JJ over McNeil?

[Grantysghost]

And what’s the opposite of chanting Brucey because I wanted to do that for all the second half. That was 2020 Bruce.

[MrMahatma]

So, about that depth eh?

Yep! Names on paper mean nothing.

[DOG GOD]

The problem is the best 2 teams have lynch and Dixon.

[Stefcep]

So in a game like this would Wallis be worse than JJ West and Schache?

[G-Mo77]

So in a game like this would Wallis be worse than JJ West and Schache?

Hannan as well.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

So in a game like this would Wallis be worse than JJ West and Schache?

It's easy in hindsight. I'm not sure that given how hot Richmond's pressure became what Wally would've added to change it.
We choked further up field, in how we promoted the ball. Bombing to four on 1's, shallow entries in the centre, just gave the game to Richmond on their terms.

[macca]

Richmonds mature backline killed us tongiht : astbury, broad, Balta, baker . Mature , stronger and dominated any stoppage. Until last 3 mins , zero entries into our fwd half in 3rd quarter . Only person who presented was naughton
Richmond relentless pressure just all around the ground . Baker and shai were outstanding
nankervis overhauled Martin

A lot of our players had stinkers and as a whole not working hard enough

Tonight was the standard we had to beat . Cannot miss targets or marks
We had to dig in and run over the TOP but they were just too good. Cannot have one minute of lapse with this standard

We were going to lose a game by poor kicking , and tonight was just terrible

I agree that some players probably stamped their times at the dogs tongiht .

I can see why ncNeil and scott are in the team with their fwd pressure

[comrade]

Was nice to see 2020 Bruce rear his head tonight. Some of the those ‘dropped’ marks were amateur level (did he even get a finger to some of them?)

[Grantysghost]

It's easy in hindsight. I'm not sure that given how hot Richmond's pressure became what Wally would've added to change it.
We choked further up field, in how we promoted the ball. Bombing to four on 1's, shallow entries in the centre, just gave the game to Richmond on their terms.

I felt from about half way through the second we lost the ability to transition from defence, always felt like we were half a kick too skinny.

[AshMac]

Reality check tonight. We dominated them for the first quarter and a half and allowed them to steamroll us from half time.

Needed to score more in the first quarter but wouldn’t have been enough, we couldn’t wrestle back momentum. So Many players just disappeared. We learnt a lesson about our depth perhaps not being where we thought it was.

[G-Mo77]

Was nice to see 2020 Bruce rear his head tonight. Some of the those ‘dropped’ marks were amateur level (did he even get a finger to some of them?)

That run under the ball in that last quarter was just awful.

[Stefcep]

It's easy in hindsight. I'm not sure that given how hot Richmond's pressure became what Wally would've added to change it.
We choked further up field, in how we promoted the ball. Bombing to four on 1's, shallow entries in the centre, just gave the game to Richmond on their terms.

I think he has more body strength than all 3 of them and would be better in a marking contest than all 3 of them. I think he has better decision-making skills. And he's a straighter kick. So there's 3 things I can think of he might have added.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I think he has more body strength than all 3 of them and would be better in a marking contest than all 3 of them. I think he has better decision-making skills. And he's a straighter kick. So there's 3 things I can think of he might have added.

I love Wally, but he would have not had a chance to impact the game tonight the way we played up the ground.
And given form, I don't think the match committee erred in selecting Schache or West. Hannan, I thought he couldve done with an extended run in VFL.

[Scraggers]

JJ was played out of position, we needed him in the backline. Schache needs to go, West I would give another game, as too Hannan. The Scott experiment has to be over, as well as Cordy.

As I said before, this loss is solely based on poor selection.

Wallis, Khamis, Garcia, JUH all have to come in.

I’m not flat … I’m angry. I saw this coming as soon as the side was named

[Scraggers]

I love Wally, but he would have not had a chance to impact the game tonight the way we played up the ground.
And given form, I don't think the match committee erred in selecting Schache or West. Hannan, I thought he couldve done with an extended run in VFL.

Wallis is a tougher in and under player than Scott. I would much prefer Wally out there.

[Hotdog60]

I look at it that Richmond were always going to be tough tonight as they have had a bit of heat put on them.
I think in the end some poor ball skills and fatigue wore us down.
I agree with Cordy and Schache being really poor and should be under the hammer for our next game.
We weren't blown out of the water and I think we just tired in the end and they got more players loose.
I would like to know what Cochin's injury was as he looked okay on the bench and was it a shifty move to get some fresh legs on.

[soupman]

JJ was played out of position, we needed him in the backline. Schache needs to go, West I would give another game, as too Hannan. The Scott experiment has to be over, as well as Cordy.

As I said before, this loss is solely based on poor selection.

Wallis, Khamis, Garcia, JUH all have to come in.


Selection?

Did you miss the whole third quarter where our midfield got slaughtered? We didn't have a touch in our forward HALF for about 20 minutes. That wasn't because we selected Schache over JUH.

This is on our senior group. Richmond turned up the heat and we didn't go with them. Yes we had some players not contribute much, and that did make it harder, but the inability of Bont, Macrae, Smith and Martin to lift and go with them is what cost us big time, coupled with our defence being exposed to quick and meaningful entries to good forwards.

There is no way any of Wallis, Khamis, Garcia or JUH change that result unless they turn out to be some kind fo spiritual leader that can raise the entire side.

[soupman]

Wallis is a tougher in and under player than Scott. I would much prefer Wally out there.

Wallis is also just about our slowest player, bad at covering options and completely reliant on getting his goals in one out marking opportunities that were sorely lacking when it mattered tonight. They play very different roles and Scott is in the side as much for what he does off the ball than what he does when he has it. Wallis was competing for the Schache role.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Wallis is a tougher in and under player than Scott. I would much prefer Wally out there.

Thought Scott was okay tonight. Not sure they're interchangeable.

[merantau]

Well that was a reality check. But let's not forget that it's a game of inches. Who knows what would have happened had Lipinski not hit the post? If Bruce's late snap had been a goal? Sure, I'm an optimist mostly but in the cold light of day it is really obvious that we need a big defender and we don't have the depth we thought we had. They won just about every 50/50 contest and of the "ins" only Lipinski was reasonable. Hannan missed an easy goal, Schache was ineffective. Rhylee West had a couple of chances but didn't grab them. Once again Bont let us down by missing a soda. You just can't do that! We missed English and Dunkley tonight. I am sure we will learn from this defeat.

[Grantysghost]

Selection?

Did you miss the whole third quarter where our midfield got slaughtered? We didn't have a touch in our forward HALF for about 20 minutes. That wasn't because we selected Schache over JUH.

This is on our senior group. Richmond turned up the heat and we didn't go with them. Yes we had some players not contribute much, and that did make it harder, but the inability of Bont, Macrae, Smith and Martin to lift and go with them is what cost us big time, coupled with our defence being exposed to quick and meaningful entries to good forwards.

There is no way any of Wallis, Khamis, Garcia or JUH change that result unless they turn out to be some kind fo spiritual leader that can raise the entire side.

The guys that came in have been performing really well at the lower level too, so the selections were warranted.

[bornadog]

The guys that came in have been performing really well at the lower level too, so the selections were warranted.

I have not been overly impressed with West. He had an average first VFL game and in the second hardly touched it in the first half, and then was moved forward and kicked a couple of good goals.

McSteal should have played tonight, he is quick, applies lot of pressure and is good for at least a goal a game.

[Stefcep]

Selection?

Did you miss the whole third quarter where our midfield got slaughtered? We didn't have a touch in our forward HALF for about 20 minutes. That wasn't because we selected Schache over JUH.

This is on our senior group. Richmond turned up the heat and we didn't go with them. Yes we had some players not contribute much, and that did make it harder, but the inability of Bont, Macrae, Smith and Martin to lift and go with them is what cost us big time, coupled with our defence being exposed to quick and meaningful entries to good forwards.

There is no way any of Wallis, Khamis, Garcia or JUH change that result unless they turn out to be some kind fo spiritual leader that can raise the entire side.

And despite all that there was 22 points in it with so many players down, for a quarter.

You'd think it was a 10 goal loss.

[bornadog]

And despite all that there was 22 points in it with so many players down, for a quarter.

You'd think it was a 10 goal loss.

We still had a chance around the 23 min mark when Lippa ran into an open goal and hit the post - that would have been scores even at that point.

[soupman]

I'm pretty ok with that result. It's disappointing sure, but on a number of fronts we were good, and in other respects i think we can come out of it positively.

Firstly as MJP has said winning 7 in a row is hard. Being "on" for that long is tough, and seeing as we haven't really had much competition in most of those wins we were a lacking a little match fitness in dealing with good opposition when it matters. Only the West Coast game has required us to fight back at any point this season, and while last week was a grind it was more like we eventually just pulled away than had to fight to clinch the win. So thats a good change for us in terms of experience and mindset.

Richmond are a good side (duh), and if they lost would be 3-4. They made good adjustments after halftime and their good players (Shai Bolton wow) really stepped up. We were playing a team that has had more big moments and quality team performances than anyone in the last 5 years, there's no shame in them turning it on and us not being able to go with them.

Having said that it did expose our weaknesses. If our midfield isn't on top our defence is horribly exposed. As we are all aware we are extremely susceptible to getting killed in the air and Lynch played that out tonight. We badly need to get someone to assist Keath and just be able to hold the fort in the air and give our excellent smaller brigade a chance when their talls get ontop. But ultimately if our midfield finds a way to not get slaughtered out of the middle every chance they get then that third quarter is much better for us and gives us a much better chance in a game we very much still could have won with 5 minutes to go.

I'm still pretty optimistic, i think it's a good wake up call for a lot of players and at the very least it gives us something to keep in the back of our minds when we beat up Norf by 24 goals next time. You learn a lot from your losses and this was no where near as bad as virtually any of our losses last year. I just wish Naughton nailed that last shot instead of whatever you call the kick we got.

[Sedat]

Selection?

Did you miss the whole third quarter where our midfield got slaughtered? We didn't have a touch in our forward HALF for about 20 minutes. That wasn't because we selected Schache over JUH.

This is on our senior group. Richmond turned up the heat and we didn't go with them. Yes we had some players not contribute much, and that did make it harder, but the inability of Bont, Macrae, Smith and Martin to lift and go with them is what cost us big time, coupled with our defence being exposed to quick and meaningful entries to good forwards.

There is no way any of Wallis, Khamis, Garcia or JUH change that result unless they turn out to be some kind fo spiritual leader that can raise the entire side.
Missed the game but it sounds like one of those matches where our much vaunted midfield group get slaughtered at the coalface and it exposes our lack of key defensive depth.

Our next opponent has embarrassed us in very similar ways the last couple of years - good test for our maturity next week to see if we are actually a contender this year.

[Scraggers]

Selection?

Did you miss the whole third quarter where our midfield got slaughtered? We didn't have a touch in our forward HALF for about 20 minutes. That wasn't because we selected Schache over JUH.

This is on our senior group. Richmond turned up the heat and we didn't go with them. Yes we had some players not contribute much, and that did make it harder, but the inability of Bont, Macrae, Smith and Martin to lift and go with them is what cost us big time, coupled with our defence being exposed to quick and meaningful entries to good forwards.

There is no way any of Wallis, Khamis, Garcia or JUH change that result unless they turn out to be some kind fo spiritual leader that can raise the entire side.

Did you watch the third quarter? And the fourth quarter?? Schache was brought in to pinch hit in the ruck? What did he do? How many hit outs to advantage? What did he actually contribute? He kicked one goal and did little else … you want to have a go at me, check the stats. Go back and watch the third quarter, tell me his contribution

[jeemak]

It was good to see us get punished properly for not adjusting to the pressure and not holding our structure in the third. Our midfield will get a good talking to and the team as a whole got a stark reminder of what happens when we compress the ground too much one way or the other.

Wasn't at the game so am trying to get my head around how a forward line with Schache, Bruce and Naughton can't bring the ball to ground more often on the outlet, you know, at least get it over the line to force a stoppage or something. It just didn't seem to happen.

Our blue chip midfield received a rude shock today, and like every other pressure game where a malaise has set in previously this one can be largely pinned on them. They need to be better.

And Bont. Champions kick the important ones and the really simple ones alike. Sometimes the really simple ones turn into important ones and your miss at the end of the first half made it just that little bit easier for Richmond to feel like they were right in it with a sniff. Get your shit together and start kicking the goals you should kick.

[bornadog]

Missed the game but it sounds like one of those matches where our much vaunted midfield group get slaughtered at the coalface and it exposes our lack of key defensive depth.

Our next opponent has embarrassed us in very similar ways the last couple of years - good test for our maturity next week to see if we are actually a contender this year.

Our mids were not slaughtered. In the third quarter, Tigers won most of the Centre clearances, but overall for the game CC were even, we won stoppages, overall clearances but they ended up getting on top of the CP. Martin won the Hitouts, but Nankervis was good around the ground. This is where we missed English.

5 min to go there was 5 points in it, but they were more dangerous up forward. Houli with 31 disposals from the backline, drove most of their forward run and set up their forwards.

[Scraggers]

Thought Scott was okay tonight. Not sure they're interchangeable.

Looking for a different role. Scott is an outside small; he has pace and good disposal. Wallis can’t play that game. Wallis can play as a small forward … front and centre. But importantly, he can play as an in-and-under in the guts. Giving Libba a break. A bit of what Dunkley’s role was last week.

I think we have enough “Scotts” in the team, we needed more Libbas

[comrade]

This doesn’t feel like a ‘lose the battle, but win the war’ type of loss. Insert Prestia, Dusty and Lambert in their side and put our missing blokes in ours and we still lose.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

And despite all that there was 22 points in it with so many players down, for a quarter.

You'd think it was a 10 goal loss.

The loss could have been a lot more if Lynch had of kicked straight in the first half. We were badly exposed after half time with just 2 goals to Richmond’s 9. Our forward line apart from Naughton was very poor. Dunkley was a huge loss as we missed his mental toughness in close. Similarly we lacked the marking abilities of English when players like Bruce Cordy Schache and Martin were exposed in that area.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

We looked slow and flat after halftime.

Is it as simple as us being gassed, for whatever reason? We just couldn't run.

We didn't learn anything we didn't already know in that our back half is poor defensively and can be torched if our mids don't win more than their fair share.

This is why I was so gutted with Dunks injury because our clear advantage over every other side has been severely impacted.

[Vred]

Just got back form the game after sitting in the nosebleed section surrounded by Richmond supporters. Thinks to note.
1. Cordy should never get a game with us again, period. Drop him now so we have a list spot free for mid-season draft, I'm sure I could do a better job defending than him.
2. JJ, trade
3. Schache, trade
4. Scott, what the hell is your purpose on our team? I made it a mission to watch him tonight, he is beyond useless, McNeal offers WAY more than this bloke.

These 4 players should never play senior football again. West I can forgive, young, inexperienced at AFL level.

Anyway, I have just taken some painkillers and plan to sip some vodka before going to bed, thanks to the over-bearing Richmond guy yelling in my ear for 4 quarters.

FFuuckk

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

This doesn’t feel like a ‘lose the battle, but win the war’ type of loss. Insert Prestia, Dusty and Lambert in their side and put our missing blokes in ours and we still lose.

Don't agree. Dunks, English and Williams out hurt us as much as Richmond's outs.
We're 6-1. Let's revisit if Carlton manage to get hold of us next week.

[soupman]

I think there's a few things to take out of that game individually.

Dale was fantastic, that first half was so good and thought he acquitted himself very well in most defensive contests he was involved in. Wasn't happy with his fresh airy to end the first half but unsure if he could have gotten to it using other means. I was very sceptical on his move to defence but he is such a pleasure to watch now.

Naughton was great. Thank god we keep ignoring the cries to move him to defence because he was our only forward that looked dangerous today. Always a threat and until a certain set shot I thought he looked much more assured when shooting today. His recovery continues to be elite.

Bruce was decent early, but that second half was atrocious. Real 2020 areas. The uncontested mark where he just ran under it was vomit inducing, and the dropped mark on the wing where he cleanly got both hands to it and we were desperate for that bail out mark was crap as well. Him playing high really showed the value of English as that marking option around the ground, we really struggled to find that 5050 mark that English provides 5-6 times a game and Bruce isn't it. Still he has had a pretty good season so I'm not gonna be too harsh on him yet.

West is very frustrating. Does he know that he is the smallest guy out there? Two things he loves doing are trying to power his way through tackles and flying for marks. They are the last two things he should be trying to do. Hunter is a very good example of someone who recognizes he doesn't have the size to burst through tackles and instead tries to use momentum to evade them. West is playing like he is still up against the smaller VFL footballers. Happy to give him another go, he has earnt it and has talent, but not sure he has the pod that guys like McNeill and Scott have for that pacy forward that works up and down the ground.

Schache had a bad night, although tbf he copped shithouse delivery (if any) all night. Way too many of our entries were popped over the top of our forwards to a waiting Grimes or Astbury. Still Schache just struggles to get involved and unlike say Bruce he isn't good enough to rely on a couple of pack marks or physical efforts to compensate for that. For Schache to make it he needs to regularly get involved and amass 6+ score involvements a game. Atm he is lucky to get that many touches. Had some bad moments tonight (the 3 metre turnover kick a lowlight) but I do think it was difficult for him to keep touch. Not too worried though as lets face it, there is no way he gets a game when English returns and JUH will pass him by round 8.

Quite liked Woods game. Was good in the contest and actually pretty constructive with the ball. Probably needed him to be able to come across and help with Lynch and Riewoldt more, but our backline always felt under seige in the second half so not sure if that was his fault or he was just one of the guys trying to hold it all together.

Cordy was poor, but we knew that would be the case. He just can't take on a decent key forward one on one, and especially wit some of the delivery they got. Unfortunately there isn't anybody else on the list thats better. Gardner maybe, but only marginal, and Young I'm very not sold on. This is more of a list management thing, no matter which of these young talls play that role we are going to be discussing their inadequacies.

JJ. Whos' struggled to get going more this year, JJ or North? I love him but he has offered us very little this year. I think Vandermeer takes his spot and instantly contributes more. JJ just struggles to get involved when he isn't behind the ball and he is nowhere near pushing out any of our rebounding defenders. Maybe send him back to the VFL for 3 weeks and see if we can build his confidence back up. When he is on his running creates space but lately it seems like he is incapable of finding it.

Bailey Smith has had a weird season. Was god like against Collingwood and since then has been very inconsistent. I thought he was decent aroudn the ground tonight but really struggled inside the contest, and his handballing again is a very apparent weakness.

Lastly Bont had a poor game. So many poorly executed kicks, the one at the end where he kicked it to the Richmond bloke was terrible. And please can he start kicking those regulation set shots again, they are so important and he just regularly throw them away like they mean nothing.

[comrade]

As much as I don’t like Cordy in the side, how did we allow Lynch so many one on one contests? I can’t remember him getting one last week, yet we served them up on a platter. Our lack of plan B in the 3rd was a real disappointment but maybe we were keeping our powder dry?

[bornadog]

Wasn't at the game so am trying to get my head around how a forward line with Schache, Bruce and Naughton can't bring the ball to ground more often on the outlet, you know, at least get it over the line to force a stoppage or something. It just didn't seem to happen.

The delivery into the forward line was the worst it has been this year, other than a brilliant pass by Hunter, and a another pass to Naughton when he made a great lead.

Bruce and Schache were not always in the forward line at the same time.

[josie]

It is almost like young West was trying to hard. Will be fascinating to see how Bevo responds. Cordy & Schache & JJ - just so ineffective. I was so hoping Schache would show some real intensity tonight. Might have been his last chance in RWB.

Felt we went into our shell a bit when Tigers started getting in top - not making leads. Felt we lacked a bit of leadership tonight. No doubt Bont will learn from this.

And who was on Houli? Felt he was given too much freedom & cut us to pieces.

[soupman]

Did you watch the third quarter? And the fourth quarter?? Schache was brought in to pinch hit in the ruck? What did he do? How many hit outs to advantage? What did he actually contribute? He kicked one goal and did little else … you want to have a go at me, check the stats. Go back and watch the third quarter, tell me his contribution

Schache was bad. I'm fine with that. Who could we have brought in that would have been better? Schache has performed well in that role in the VFL. If we are going to keep him on the list (believe me half my posts on here have been about retaining guys we don't actually want to play) then you play him when his exact role becomes vacant.

He was hardly alone in the third quarter, and considering basically all our stars that weren't furiously kicking the ball out of defence were doing nothing then I'm not sure it's fair to single out our third tall forward/second ruck as a major factor.

[jazzadogs]

The loss could have been a lot more if Lynch had of kicked straight in the first half. We were badly exposed after half time with just 2 goals to Richmond’s 9. Our forward line apart from Naughton was very poor. Dunkley was a huge loss as we missed his mental toughness in close. Similarly we lacked the marking abilities of English when players like Bruce Cordy Schache and Martin were exposed in that area.

The loss could have been exactly the same if Lynch had kicked his and we had kicked ours (Bont, Hannan, West misses).

Dunkley's loss has once again shown us that he is the only midfielder (maybe Libba) who gives a toss about defending. Tigers had scored 3 in a row and killed us out of the middle and we still didn't go man-on-man, letting Bolton run around on his own - to nobody's shock he got the clearance and they went forward again.

Selection didn't kill us, our complete lack of desire to defend as a midfield group killed us. Swapping Cordy for Young, West for Cavarra, Schache for JUH is just shuffling deckchairs (although the ship is still a long way from sinking). Our ability to wrestle back control.

[soupman]

Our mids were not slaughtered. In the third quarter, Tigers won most of the Centre clearances, but overall for the game CC were even, we won stoppages, overall clearances but they ended up getting on top of the CP. Martin won the Hitouts, but Nankervis was good around the ground. This is where we missed English.

5 min to go there was 5 points in it, but they were more dangerous up forward. Houli with 31 disposals from the backline, drove most of their forward run and set up their forwards.

C'mon man we were slaughtered in the third quarter, and that's what won it for Richmond. After that we were just trying to hang in there and give ourselves a shot. If 20 minutes without a touch in your forward half doesn't count as your midfield being slaughtered then we need to start to redefine terms.

[bulldogtragic]

Don't agree. Dunks, English and Williams out hurt us as much as Richmond's outs.
We're 6-1. Let's revisit if Carlton manage to get hold of us next week.

Dunks, English, Williams... And Richards, McLean, VDM, Jong & Gardner if this a fantasy footy hypothetical.

I’d have Gardner over Cordy. VDM over West. English over Schache. Richards over Scott. Dunks over JJ. Williams over Duryea. McLean over Hannan based on fitness.

[bornadog]

C'mon man we were slaughtered in the third quarter, and that's what won it for Richmond. After that we were just trying to hang in there and give ourselves a shot. If 20 minutes without a touch in your forward half doesn't count as your midfield being slaughtered then we need to start to redefine terms.

I am talking overall game.

I said we were beaten in the third quarter out of the centre, an that is where Richmond pulled back their deficit and got on top.

[Rocket Science]

Game. Over.

Need to bounce back strongly against the blues.

Timely reminder they've beaten us the last two times we've faced them by a combined 96 points.

[GVGjr]

Disappointed with the loss but it's far from doom and gloom. There must be a lot we can learn from this loss.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Tonight showed how important Dunkley is to our midfield. He’s basically our only mid who is willing to run both ways. Our midfield needs to become more accountable. The second half tonight looked a lot like 2020.

[soupman]

4. Scott, what the hell is your purpose on our team? I made it a mission to watch him tonight, he is beyond useless, McNeal offers WAY more than this bloke.

Scott had 18 pressure acts, equal second (with Bont) only to Libba (36) for us, and equal 6th for the game. For context the rest of our forwards (Hannan, Bruce, Naughton, Schache, West, JJ) had 43 between them (7ish each). He didn't have great game by any means but kicked a tidy snap goal and wasn't exactly overwhelmed for opportunity in the second half as a forward.


Looking for a different role. Scott is an outside small; he has pace and good disposal. Wallis can’t play that game. Wallis can play as a small forward … front and centre. But importantly, he can play as an in-and-under in the guts. Giving Libba a break. A bit of what Dunkley’s role was last week.


Rightly or wrongly we went with Lipinski as Dunks replacement in tandem with Bailey Smith moving more inside. Lipinski's form has been good and was deserving of that chance. I personally don't rate Wallis as a mid at all, but i can see where you're coming from. Unfortunately Wallis hasn't performed as a mid at AFL level since maybe early 2019, so I can understand the reluctance to pick him for that role based on one half of footy against the Gold Coast reserves.

[jazzadogs]

Tonight showed how important Dunkley is to our midfield. He’s basically our only mid who is willing to run both ways. Our midfield needs to become more accountable. The second half tonight looked a lot like 2020.

It's no coincidence that our best footy of the past three years has been when Dunks is playing full-time mid. We are really going to miss him for the next few months.

[Stefcep]

C'mon man we were slaughtered in the third quarter, and that's what won it for Richmond. After that we were just trying to hang in there and give ourselves a shot. If 20 minutes without a touch in your forward half doesn't count as your midfield being slaughtered then we need to start to redefine terms.

Thats the best 20 minutes Richmond has put together in 5 years. And our worst. And in then end it was 22 points the difference.

That miss by Bont was the most critical miss all season so far. He kicks that and its not just 6 points on the scoreboard, it alters the mentality for them and us.

[bornadog]

Tonight showed how important Dunkley is to our midfield. He’s basically our only mid who is willing to run both ways. Our midfield needs to become more accountable. The second half tonight looked a lot like 2020.

Can't agree when you check the tackle count.

[soupman]

I am talking overall game.

I said we were beaten in the third quarter out of the centre, an that is where Richmond pulled back their deficit and got on top.

I feel like we're splitting hairs. Yes technically we weren't "slaughtered" for a whole game, but certainly what lost it for us was that we basically couldn't buy a clearance for the quarter that killed us, and on top of that showed our usual complete inability or unwillingness to stop the opposition from doing so.

[Eastdog]

Disappointed with that tonight but let’s hope we can regroup for next Sunday now against Carlton. First half was fairly decent. Was impressed by our defensive efforts in the 2nd quarter. Bont miss before half time was a big moment in the game. Slot that one through and we are 4 goals up at the main break. 3rd quarter is where we lost it obviously. Could not get it forward and get something happening.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Can't agree when you check the tackle count.

Tackle counts do not imply you run both ways. In fact, a lot of hard running both ways do not even result in tackles. The pressure acts that Dunks applies have so many implications. From stopping clean ball use to limiting metres gained. All without even applying a tackle. You can get a tackle being in the right place at the right time, but gut running to prevent easy disposal doesn’t get registered on the stat sheet. Unfortunately too many of our mids want the cheap ball on the outside and simply wait for someone else to do the hard work. That guy was Libba tonight but he can’t do it all on his own. Bont really needs to stand up as a leader here. Leader of the club and leader of the midfield.

[jazzadogs]

Tackle counts do not imply you run both ways. In fact, a lot of hard running both ways do not even result in tackles. The pressure acts that Dunks applies have so many implications. From stopping clean ball use to limiting metres gained. All without even applying a tackle. You can get a tackle being in the right place at the right time, but gut running to prevent easy disposal doesn’t get registered on the stat sheet.

Leads the competition for smothers and was on record pace for the season. I completely agree that tackle counts don't have anything to do with running both ways - a lot of them come within a contested ball situation, and don't equate to defensive spread.

[Mantis]

So, about that depth eh?

The depth is there, but we’re probably missing 4-6 1st team players (Dunkley, Williams, English, Gardner, VDM) and then another 3-4 who would be next in line (McLean, Richards, Jong, McNeil) which doesn’t help... and there’s being able to play at the AFL level and then being able to play against the best, and a few of our boys who came in cold (there’s quite a gap between GC reserves and Richmond) were shown up tonight.

[The bulldog tragician]

We all thought this would tell us where we are at, we have a partial answer. I think our match next week will tell us more. It’s not a disgrace though deeply disappointing to lose to a backs-against-the wall Richmond. To lose to Carlton would have me questioning whether we have the right stuff.

If I had one of the injured players to have been out there tonight I think it would have been Bailey Williams. He had developed into such a good one on one defender and gets so much penetration in his kicking. I thought we faffed around too much on the backline. The game was still alive half way through the last qtr and we looked completely out of ideas.

While Cordy has copped a lot of deserved flak Duryea had a really terrible night.

And Bont!?! This goal kicking malaise can only be in his head. But for a guy who used to deliver the ball so elegantly to the forwards to deliver like he did tonight...well, it was soul destroying.

I’m not so devastated that they beat us but it worries me that a team that’s won 3 of the last 4 flags looked hungrier than us. We have a way to go. Let’s hope the loss stings and reminds us of where we need to get to.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Interesting presser from Bevo. Seemed very irritated. I think he expected a much, much better performance and that what they did to us last year was mentioned during the week yet basically happened again in the second half.

Few hours removed from the game and I think that was a deflating loss. Outscored by 40+ in the second half with only 14 I50s is bordering on humiliation.

Already some talk about us being overrated / holes in key areas and unfortunately after last night it's hard to argue. Richmond were hungrier and worked harder - why? Why did we constantly allow them overlap handball and space through the middle of the ground moving forward? Why were our mids again embarrassed in that third quarter particularly?

I think it's a sobering loss in that I'm not sure we can contend for the flag. We are missing key players who will return soon and help (English and Williams, maybe VDM based on early season form) but our midfield has come back to the pack with Dunkley going down.

Not often is Bevo THAT narky post a loss, so my reading of it is that he is disappointed in so many of our non contributors. Whilst it's easy to lay blame on Cordy (shouldn't be playing), Schache (probably his last game) and West (Really disappointed in him), our leaders failed the big test which probably hurts more.

[Grantysghost]

It was a battle of two systems, key personnel out of both (Tigers Martin, Prestia, Lambert, Vlaustin) and one, proven to stand up to finals like pressure, did so again in such an overwhelmingly workman like way it was very deflating.

They ground us down and controlled the game from half way through the second, it was a matter of time until it translated on the scoreboard. Longer it goes the bigger the win.
We just didnt seem to have any answers. We just amped up the hot potato handball more which played into their hands.

You can pick out individuals but high level in the battle of the systems ours failed the big pressure test again (thinking previous two finals).
Bright side winning 7 in a row is rarified air, and whilst you can say only one of those sides we played prior is in the 8 (Lions) we looked to have found another gear in some of those matches from previous seasons.
Not the end of the world, they are the bench mark but I hope the things I saw that have bothered me for a few seasons were the exception last night and not the rule.

Plus we have Jamarra :cool

[Go_Dogs]

It’s disappointing when you’re out worked and out hustled, dominated in the air, not as fast covering the ground, lacking the same system to create space, get burnt out the middle by a young group, and have plenty of players below their best / back for the first time and way below the level.

The good news is, for how badly we played and how dominant they were, we didn’t lose by THAT much.

With players back I’m confident we can beat the Tiges.

Big month ahead which will show where we are.

Smith - panic kicks and double/triple grabbing ground balls. Down on confidence.
Cordy - can’t play on big talk forwards. Proven.
Schache - looked overwhelmed. Made some odd decisions - that 5m kick on our forward wing? Bizarre.
West - gave away silly free kicks to further sour a poor and undisciplined performance. Disappointing.
JJ - get him to half back, or get him out of the side.

Match committee - had an opportunity to give Sweet another run. On reflection, an agile Ruck would’ve been the preferred option in tandem with Martin.

Positives - not many, Macrae, Dale, at a pinch Daniel...

Tough day. Let’s bounce back.

[merantau]

I'm pretty ok with that result. It's disappointing sure, but on a number of fronts we were good, and in other respects i think we can come out of it positively.

Firstly as MJP has said winning 7 in a row is hard. Being "on" for that long is tough, and seeing as we haven't really had much competition in most of those wins we were a lacking a little match fitness in dealing with good opposition when it matters. Only the West Coast game has required us to fight back at any point this season, and while last week was a grind it was more like we eventually just pulled away than had to fight to clinch the win. So thats a good change for us in terms of experience and mindset.

Richmond are a good side (duh), and if they lost would be 3-4. They made good adjustments after halftime and their good players (Shai Bolton wow) really stepped up. We were playing a team that has had more big moments and quality team performances than anyone in the last 5 years, there's no shame in them turning it on and us not being able to go with them.

Having said that it did expose our weaknesses. If our midfield isn't on top our defence is horribly exposed. As we are all aware we are extremely susceptible to getting killed in the air and Lynch played that out tonight. We badly need to get someone to assist Keath and just be able to hold the fort in the air and give our excellent smaller brigade a chance when their talls get ontop. But ultimately if our midfield finds a way to not get slaughtered out of the middle every chance they get then that third quarter is much better for us and gives us a much better chance in a game we very much still could have won with 5 minutes to go.

I'm still pretty optimistic, i think it's a good wake up call for a lot of players and at the very least it gives us something to keep in the back of our minds when we beat up Norf by 24 goals next time. You learn a lot from your losses and this was no where near as bad as virtually any of our losses last year. I just wish Naughton nailed that last shot instead of whatever you call the kick we got.

Thanks for the clarity Soupaman. It has always been your default position and I appreciate it because it lifts my spirit after a loss.

[comrade]

When the ball was locked inside our defensive 50 for 20 minutes, it just highlighted we have too many poor ball users in that half of the ground. Wood and Cordy are the obvious ones, but Keath and Crozier are primarily ‘safe’ option kicks. We really lacked the ability and courage to find our way out with precision and it played into the Tigers hands.

[Go_Dogs]

When the ball was locked inside our defensive 50 for 20 minutes, it just highlighted we have too many poor ball users in that half of the ground. Wood and Cordy are the obvious ones, but Keath and Crozier are primarily ‘safe’ option kicks. We really lacked the ability and courage to find our way out with precision and it played into the Tigers hands.

Agree with that. Also system too. And their pressure was very good. It’s where having Tim helps, he’s the most likely to clunk the long kick and hope out of the backline

[GVGjr]

When the ball was locked inside our defensive 50 for 20 minutes, it just highlighted we have too many poor ball users in that half of the ground. Wood and Cordy are the obvious ones, but Keath and Crozier are primarily ‘safe’ option kicks. We really lacked the ability and courage to find our way out with precision and it played into the Tigers hands.

Our skill level was down and I think a lot of that is due to the pressure Richmond applied. This is one of their great strengths.
We had almost identical scoring shots as Richmond so stats wise we looked competitive but they pressured our players more and had Lynch kicked a bit straighter the result could have been closer to a 35 point loss.
Nearly all of their better players on the night were their back man who were organised, efficient and attacking.

If Bevo can get the learning's out of this we will be vastly better prepared for the bigger ground/crowds and the pressure quality oppositions clubs bring.

Next week we've got an opponent that's traditionally been hard for us to beat and a few critical selection decisions to make.
How we bounce back next week will be critical for the season and challenges ahead.

[DOG GOD]

That 3rd quarter was just a complete onslaught of pressure from the Tigers. They looked intense, hungrier, and their tackling pressure was off the charts. We went into our shell, and panicked with the ball. Got killed around the clearances, putting our weak defence under pressure we probably haven’t seen all year.

The hardest win we had this year was against WC and their 3 pronged talls. Unless we get a bonafide KPD “A” grader, we will not be able to combat these teams with the Gorilla forwards in a finals scenario. We can talk up our mids not being defensive enough etc etc, but the reality is, if we falter under pressure then the Richmonds, Ports and Geelongs in particular won’t be scared in playing us in a final.

I predicted Tigers to win by 29 points and Lynch to kick 5. I said he would be the difference, and when you look at what he did to Cordy/Keath he probably should’ve kicked 7.1. Richmond were always going to try to get him one out. They played on quick once the got to 70 out and put their trust in him to outmark his opponent.

Richmond played well structured team football for 2.5 quarters and that was more than enough to dismantle our game plan. Make no mistake, Dunks is a MASSIVE loss, and so was English around the ground.

Media talking us up as Premiership favourite was massively premature. When our mids aren’t on top, we struggle to contain the surge the opposition gets, putting pressure on our Humpty Dumpty backline.

I didn’t expect to beat Richmond, even with their outs. They are well drilled and their players play their roles well. However, lose to Carlton and questions have to asked of our mental strength, and our belief in ourselves.

Let’s see what the MC comes up with. I’ll watch with eager eyes.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

The ones who need to stand up are our mids. They drive this team. Yeah Cordy wasn’t great but he wasn’t terrible and unfortunately what he showed last night is basically what he is. Slow and undersized. I don’t really see how he can get much better. He’s a limited player and the problem is list management rather than individual performances down back.

[Stefcep]

Our mids were not slaughtered. In the third quarter, Tigers won most of the Centre clearances, but overall for the game CC were even, we won stoppages, overall clearances but they ended up getting on top of the CP. Martin won the Hitouts, but Nankervis was good around the ground. This is where we missed English.

5 min to go there was 5 points in it, but they were more dangerous up forward. Houli with 31 disposals from the backline, drove most of their forward run and set up their forwards.

Spot on.


We created enough scoring opportunities to win this game. But we as per usual didn't take them. That might not matter when you have 60 Inside 50's with a 15-20% conversion rate, but it does matter when playing the best who won't let us have that many inside 50's.

Off the top of my head :

1. Bonts miss
2. West turning his back on 2 free forwards in the goal square and then not even kicking the distance
3. Naughton's shank
4. Bruce's soccer volley inside the goal square and from almost directly in front.
5. Bruce's around the corner snap from inside 30m
6. Lipiniski's poster.

You can talk about the tackles/kicks/pressure, but they're all just a means to creating goal scoring opportunity, and mean nothing if you don't take them.

[MrMahatma]

Spot on.


We created enough scoring opportunities to win this game. But we as per usual didn't take them. That might not matter when you have 60 Inside 50's with a 15-20% conversion rate, but it does matter when playing the best who won't let us have that many inside 50's.

Off the top of my head :

1. Bonts miss
2. West turning his back on 2 free forwards in the goal square and then not even kicking the distance
3. Naughton's shank
4. Bruce's soccer volley inside the goal square and from almost directly in front.
5. Bruce's around the corner snap from inside 30m
6. Lipiniski's poster.

You can talk about the tackles/kicks/pressure, but they're all just a means to creating goal scoring opportunity, and mean nothing if you don't take them.

Hannan missed a sitter too.

[G-Mo77]

All these small things are brought up when you get beaten as a pretty flimsy excuse on why we lost. Signs were there in the 2nd and the 3rd the floodgates opened up. Our back 6 actually held up well because our mids just let the ball walk out of there.

[Grantysghost]

9.3 to 2.4 after half time and 16-0 inside 50s in the 3rd at one point. It was pretty comprehensive when the game was there to be won.
One thing that stood out was the pace of the Tigers mids. Bolton was easily pulling away from our guys.

[Stefcep]

9.3 to 2.4 after half time and 16-0 inside 50s in the 3rd at one point. It was pretty comprehensive when the game was there to be won.
One thing that stood out was the pace of the Tigers mids. Bolton was easily pulling away from our guys.

The game was still there to be won when Lipinksy hit the post.

[AshMac]

we had them on the ropes for a quarter and a half - total dominance. could have been a 6 goal lead at qtr time. When they stepped up we stepped down and either the moment infront of that big a crowd or the intimidation of playing “the benchmark” was too much.

Never seen smith look that nervous with the ball. Live and learn - real view of our depth.

[DOG GOD]

That 3rd quarter was “deer in the headlights” stuff. Their mids destroyed us and they were able to lock it into their fwd 50 for pretty much the entire quarter. 16-0 inside 50’s at one stage is complete dominance and full on embarrassing.

A lot to be learnt.

We may well be a top 4 team based on year so far, but nowhere near a top of the ladder team.

[Grantysghost]

The game was still there to be won when Lipinksy hit the post.

Agree, it was there to be won the entire game.

[jeemak]

It's a long season. In 2016 we got dismantled by the Cats by 57 points in round 13 at Docklands, thought we could probably put on a good show in the finals after being done them again by 25 points at Kardinia Park and then blitzed the finals to win the flag the hardest of hard ways.

We have some fundamentals to work on, but the experience at the G and in front of a pretty big crowd against the reigning premiers who really needed to win will be invaluable to the journey.

All that and we didn't nearly play as well as we could have, in part because of what the Tigers did to us and how we responded, but largely because we just played badly.

Still really excited about the season.

[1eyedog]

we had them on the ropes for a quarter and a half - total dominance. could have been a 6 goal lead at qtr time. When they stepped up we stepped down and either the moment infront of that big a crowd or the intimidation of playing “the benchmark” was too much.

Never seen smith look that nervous with the ball. Live and learn - real view of our depth.

Not sure about that. The only thing that made us look good at quarter time was their set shot efficiency. Bont's miss at half time hurt badly.

[jeemak]

I think both teams were inefficient, the Tigers just a little more so.

[Happy Days]

Yeah I don't buy that this is the death knell for our season. We were as bad as you wil ever see in that third quarter and deserve heat for it, but there were enough positives in the first half to keep me hopeful.

Comrade's (I think but as if I'd scroll up) point about a lack of good ball users in the back half was really true. Those constant Cordy-Wood-Keath-Wood-Cordy-Contest on the Wing switches were brutal and sucked the air out of our ball movement and killed any chance of building momentum we might have had. Not really sure how to address it other than saying "get the ball to Dale more" but credit to Richmond for forcing our hand with it.

[comrade]

Yeah I don't buy that this is the death knell for our season. We were as bad as you wil ever see in that third quarter and deserve heat for it, but there were enough positives in the first half to keep me hopeful.

Comrade's (I think but as if I'd scroll up) point about a lack of good ball users in the back half was really true. Those constant Cordy-Wood-Keath-Wood-Cordy-Contest on the Wing switches were brutal and sucked the air out of our ball movement and killed any chance of building momentum we might have had. Not really sure how to address it other than saying "get the ball to Dale more" but credit to Richmond for forcing our hand with it.

Williams will help as he a) has the courage to run through the press and b) the ability to execute a difficult kick. Wood, Cordy and to a lesser extent Keath wanted no part in biting off a press busting kick and Richmond just ate it up.

[Testekill]

At this point JJ is a fraud. Pushed out of defence because we can't carry a rebounder that won't crack in and no impact forward of center, we should be looking into shopping him around at the end of the year because he's having no impact and won't exactly get better.
Schache was given a chance and pretty much stamped his papers, a senior player on the fringe needs to offer more and he was a non-entity.
West was selfish and undisciplined, he showed the same selfish play in the VFL game against the Suns. He can play yes but he hurt us really badly last night.


A lot of our leaders let us down out there, only a handful of defenders could hold their heads up high.

[1eyedog]

At this point JJ is a fraud. Pushed out of defence because we can't carry a rebounder that won't crack in and no impact forward of center, we should be looking into shopping him around at the end of the year because he's having no impact and won't exactly get better.
Schache was given a chance and pretty much stamped his papers, a senior player on the fringe needs to offer more and he was a non-entity.
West was selfish and undisciplined, he showed the same selfish play in the VFL game against the Suns. He can play yes but he hurt us really badly last night.


A lot of our leaders let us down out there, only a handful of defenders could hold their heads up high.

Saying what everyone is thinking. JJ is cooked and every club know it.

[jeemak]

The West game irked me quite a bit. Notwithstanding the ridiculous free kick given to Houli that probably rattled him a little bit, as Testekill points out he's got an element of selfishness in the way he plays that doesn't sit well with me.

At his age, talent and position he needs to have a team first mentality. It's literally what every small player who ends up becoming a good player focuses on first and foremost and the rest follows.

[AshMac]

Agree, it was there to be won the entire game.

Bont slotting his set shot, west passing it to one of the two free players in the goal square and naughton slotting easy shots would have made a big difference early

[AshMac]

Not sure about that. The only thing that made us look good at quarter time was their set shot efficiency. Bont's miss at half time hurt badly.

And our set shot efficiency. They were turning the ball over and making mistakes because we had them covered. We were playing our style of football and they couldn’t keep up. Lynch missed one goal he must have kicked - the rest were 40 metres out on an angle

[bornadog]

The West game irked me quite a bit. Notwithstanding the ridiculous free kick given to Houli that probably rattled him a little bit, as Testekill points out he's got an element of selfishness in the way he plays that doesn't sit well with me.

At his age, talent and position he needs to have a team first mentality. It's literally what every small player who ends up becoming a good player focuses on first and foremost and the rest follows.

He gets caught holding the ball a lot trying to do too much. As I said earlier in this thread, I am not convinced he will make it, he has a lot to learn.

I feel a little sorry for Cordy as we have been trying to make him a Key PP for the past 5 years, but he really is only a 3rd tall.

Giving away 7,8 cm to Lynch and other big forwards doesn't help him at all.

What worries me is next week he will probably play on Mckay.

[angelopetraglia]

Tigers were completely smashed by a young Sydney Swans outfit a few weeks ago. One week is a long time in football. Premierships are not won in April. The Tigers have shown this in the last few years. We were not our best last night and didn't stand up when the heat come. We will learn from that. We learnt a lot about a lot of players too. We will be better for that. Hopefully we can bounce back hard.

[DOG GOD]

He gets caught holding the ball a lot trying to do too much. As I said earlier in this thread, I am not convinced he will make it, he has a lot to learn.

I feel a little sorry for Cordy as we have been trying to make him a Key PP for the past 5 years, but he really is only a 3rd tall.

Giving away 7,8 cm to Lynch and other big forwards doesn't help him at all.

What worries me is next week he will probably play on Mckay.

Yep, and they will try to get McKay one out in the goal square like Richmond did with Lynch. It’s ok to say that if our mids win the battle, the ball won’t get down there enough to hurt us, but McKay only needs 5 opportunities to kick 5 on Cordy.
Carlton has been a bogey team, with their lesser mids always breaking even. I’m very interested to see how we handled last night mentally as a team, and I think next week will shape our season depending on what we dish up, as we have some very hard games on the horizon. If we want to be top 4, the likes of Carlton and St.kilda have to be wins.

[G-Mo77]

The West game irked me quite a bit. Notwithstanding the ridiculous free kick given to Houli that probably rattled him a little bit, as Testekill points out he's got an element of selfishness in the way he plays that doesn't sit well with me.

At his age, talent and position he needs to have a team first mentality. It's literally what every small player who ends up becoming a good player focuses on first and foremost and the rest follows.

Agree Jeemak. Trying to do to much maybe? He hasn't played in a fair while, maybe wanted to cement his spot by doing it all which in turn will probably have the opposite effect. I'm sure he'll get shown some of these highlights during the week.

[angelopetraglia]

He gets caught holding the ball a lot trying to do too much. As I said earlier in this thread, I am not convinced he will make it, he has a lot to learn.

I feel a little sorry for Cordy as we have been trying to make him a Key PP for the past 5 years, but he really is only a 3rd tall.

Giving away 7,8 cm to Lynch and other big forwards doesn't help him at all.

What worries me is next week he will probably play on Mckay.

Agree 100% on Cordy. Getting smashed. Wasn't his best night. But he is 193cm and listed at 90kg. Lynch is 200cm and listed at 99kg. 7cm and 10kg is a lot to be giving away. (Gardner is 197cm and 93kg).

[angelopetraglia]

West needs a run of games to adjust to the pace and intensity of AFL football. It's difficult to judge wherever he can make it playing one week in, another week out. I will reserve my judgement.

[comrade]

West needs a run of games to adjust to the pace and intensity of AFL football. It's difficult to judge wherever he can make it playing one week in, another week out. I will reserve my judgement.

Yeah, agreed. Last night was a stinker but it wasn’t a lack of effort, rather a lack of composure that can only be improved with more experience. Give him at least one more week to atone and reassess from there.

[Grantysghost]

Inspired Richmond second-half surge shows Tigers' classic gameplan still works, leaves questions for Western Bulldogs
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-01/bulldogs-tigers-have-afls-first-sliding-doors-moment-of-2021/100109048

Reasonable analysis of the game. Tigers pushing numbers up to the stoppage to stop the handball game.

[FrediKanoute]

West needs a run of games to adjust to the pace and intensity of AFL football. It's difficult to judge wherever he can make it playing one week in, another week out. I will reserve my judgement.

I think this is a fair call on all the guys who were brought in. No surprise that Lippa was the only one to have an impact.

[FrediKanoute]

Late to the analysis as I spent yesterday wandering around legoland with the phone radio tuned to MMM/ABC/SEN/3AW - I changed it around a lot). Kind of surreal to be on the otherwise of the world at a major attraction and still get to hear the game live.

First things first, Richmond are a good team. Though I don't think the best team that we will face in 2021. The are though a very good team and have a number of gears that they can go through; a way of changing things up when things aren't working.

We were due a loss. That's a bit simplistic, but we had so many players playing out of their skin, it seemed to me that we were due a down game where there were too many passengers. Last week it seemed that that is where it may be headed, but then we found space and time in the last and blew the GIants away. This week we couldn't, despite lifting in the last and probably being on top for the first 10 mins or so. The Bruce miss off the ground we the nail.

Why were so many players down? Credit has to go to Richmond for applying pressure and getting numbers to the contest, but equally I think we also need to achnowledge that too many of our players did no win their position, Focus has been placed on West/Schache/JJ who clearly had poor games from an output level, but Bevo's presser today suggested the culprits were much wider. I don't think out mids worked hard enough for each other. Dunks missing was big today and give he will be out of a few weeks we need to find a solution. It seemed too often that rather than the waves and clusters we were used to during the first 6 weeks, today we were relying on individual brilliance.

Couple of disappointing things:

1) Hunter's disposal - a number of times he chose the wrong option needs to be better than that as a senior player, but wasn't today;

2) Treloar - just didn't seem to be in the game today. Stat's may indicate he got enough of the ball but he wasn't overly effective;

3) Schache - got to halve contests. Two balls went to him in the 3rd, before Richmond got their run on and Balta was able to intercept. Has to halve contests otherwise nhe is a liability in the forward line.

[GVGjr]

We had 4 players come into the side for the game against Richmond: Josh Schache, Mitch Hannan, Patrick Lipinski and Rhylee West.
How did you rate their performance? Who gets another chance against Carlton?

[EasternWest]

We had 4 players come into the side for the game against Richmond: Josh Schache, Mitch Hannan, Patrick Lipinski and Rhylee West.
How did you rate their performance? Who gets another chance against Carlton?

Lipinski definite.

Hannan and West should probably get a few games to settle. I thought Hannan was ok but needs to get involved more. West was terrible with worrying signs, but I'm hopeful those signs were a symptom of trying too hard.

Schache is finished.

[bornadog]

Lipinski definite.

Hannan and West should probably get a few games to settle. I thought Hannan was ok but needs to get involved more. West was terrible with worrying signs, but I'm hopeful those signs were a symptom of trying too hard.

Schache is finished.

agree.

I am not sold on West, but give him another game and see how he goes.

[DOG GOD]

We had 4 players come into the side for the game against Richmond: Josh Schache, Mitch Hannan, Patrick Lipinski and Rhylee West.
How did you rate their performance? Who gets another chance against Carlton?

Lipinski stays.
West, maybe 1 more week, but I’m worried he won’t make it.
Hannan, I was not an advocate of, and seems VFL player for mine.
Schache has proved he doesn’t have the intensity of an AFL footballer. It’s over

[Grantysghost]

We had 4 players come into the side for the game against Richmond: Josh Schache, Mitch Hannan, Patrick Lipinski and Rhylee West.
How did you rate their performance? Who gets another chance against Carlton?

Lipinski was ok, what he lacks in leg speed he makes up for with quick disposal. I didn't love his game but he has an assuredness with the ball in hand I find comforting.

Of the others. All non contributors really on the night.

West was very poor seems to play with a slight entitlement but maybe I'm over analysing him and it's just how he presents with inexperience.
I'm not sure what his best position is? He looks to have a very shallow kick, and doesn't have lightning speed so small forward doesn't seem natural.
He seems a smart player, but jury is out so far for me.

Hannan just looked like a guy who hadn't played at the level for a while. He's shown he's capable and I think he can add to the side so I'm ok with his senior retention for now. He does seem very straight line but has great pressure and a decent aerial game.

Schache. I want to say something good. But he looked so out of his depth. Granted it was some A grade opposition but that moment on the wing where he telegraphed the kick for what seemed like an eternity, only for the option to dry up, and subsequently turned it over was almost enough for me.
I want to give him another chance, he has looked better at the VFL level and appears to be a confidence player, however his goose might be cooked.

[Hotdog60]

Lipinski did enough and will be unlucky to get dropped.
West could more of a chip off the old block and his best position could be libba's and in time this is where he will end up if can can stay on the list.
Hannan looks like he may offer something forward of the ball but could have been a little under done on Friday and should build from there.
Schache has failed at his opportunities when he has been given them. Could one of those players that needs time in the seniors to grow into the role his given but reality is can a team afford to carry someone that has minimal effect for a number of games.
I think he's gone if not at seasons end at least in 2022.

As a side note it was great to see Dale launch one up the middle from the kick out. Quite often I see a players making space in the centre of the ground for the kick outs and the person kicking either doesn't look there or is more intent to go to the flanks and the safety of the boundary line or the taller options.
I wish players would trust themselves and if the quick kick up the guts to a player in the clear is on take it.

[DOG GOD]

Lipinski did enough and will be unlucky to get dropped.
West could more of a chip off the old block and his best position could be libba's and in time this is where he will end up if can can stay on the list.
Hannan looks like he may offer something forward of the ball but could have been a little under done on Friday and should build from there.
Schache has failed at his opportunities when he has been given them. Could one of those players that needs time in the seniors to grow into the role his given but reality is can a team afford to carry someone that has minimal effect for a number of games.
I think he's gone if not at seasons end at least in 2022.

As a side note it was great to see Dale launch one up the middle from the kick out. Quite often I see a players making space in the centre of the ground for the kick outs and the person kicking either doesn't look there or is more intent to go to the flanks and the safety of the boundary line or the taller options.
I wish players would trust themselves and if the quick kick up the guts to a player in the clear is on take it.

Totally agree with what you say about the kick outs Hotdog60. Dale had the nous and the balls to make that play and he nailed it. He should be kicking out all the time. It boggles me why so many teams don’t try this play more often, instead heading to the boundary with a pack, including the oppositions ruckman.

[kruder]

I had a good level 2 view Friday night my second game of the year live and its just amazing at how well Bailey Dale has slotted into the backline. Absolute natural, he knows when to leave his opponent and help and and when to stay and defend and obviously his kicking is a real weapon. Well done to Bevo and the coaches for finding him a role, he is always a player that has had AFL attributes its amazing at what continuity can do for a player.

While we are on the backline, I think Crozier Duryea and occasional Wood(thought he was solid again) were poor in coming across and helping out Cordy an Keath in the air. We also switched the ball numerous times with Cordy being the outlet kick and we all know how that will end, I just think in general including the first half outside of Dale we were just not adventurous enough with ball in hand.

Bailey Smith is out of form , he looks a little lost on the Wing but defensively he is a liability atm. He needs to go back and look at the vision at his first year without the football he was very aggressive with his tackle pressure he has fallen off a cliff with it. Good players still need to tackle/apply pressure Bailey, just ask Richmond...

Westy just do the bloody basics mate. Keep it simple. Hollywood is in LA. Lets give him another game after a stern chat.

Stef Martin and the midfield(bar Libba) were poor all night IMO there is no doubt the second half rot started with them.

Do we have a soft underbelly? Time will tell, but I just didn't see enough players in the second half wanting to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. We have all discussed our gritty hero's from 16 many times, this is a more talented group but do we have enough grit?

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Spot on.


We created enough scoring opportunities to win this game. But we as per usual didn't take them. That might not matter when you have 60 Inside 50's with a 15-20% conversion rate, but it does matter when playing the best who won't let us have that many inside 50's.

Off the top of my head :

1. Bonts miss
2. West turning his back on 2 free forwards in the goal square and then not even kicking the distance
3. Naughton's shank
4. Bruce's soccer volley inside the goal square and from almost directly in front.
5. Bruce's around the corner snap from inside 30m
6. Lipiniski's poster.

You can talk about the tackles/kicks/pressure, but they're all just a means to creating goal scoring opportunity, and mean nothing if you don't take them.

Richmond missed a few too. It’s not like they were accurate and we weren’t. We let them line up in numbers at the centre square and peppered inside 50 constantly for almost all the second half. It’s exactly what they want to do.

[comrade]

Richmond missed a few too. It’s not like they were accurate and we weren’t. We let them line up in numbers at the centre square and peppered inside 50 constantly for almost all the second half. It’s exactly what they want to do.

Bevo has mentioned previously about the danger of repeat stoppages inside defensive 50. When you don’t have height and marking ability in your defence, you just invite the pressure when the other side is on top. We were desperate for someone to clunk a mark back there but just didn’t have the cattle.

[DOG GOD]

Bevo has mentioned previously about the danger of repeat stoppages inside defensive 50. When you don’t have height and marking ability in your defence, you just invite the pressure when the other side is on top. We were desperate for someone to clunk a mark back there but just didn’t have the cattle.

At one stage it was 16-0 inside 50’s in that 3rd qtr, so why wasn’t Naughton pushed down there to give us an Avenue of someone who could take a contested mark?

[comrade]

At one stage it was 16-0 inside 50’s in that 3rd qtr, so why wasn’t Naughton pushed down there to give us an Avenue of someone who could take a contested mark?

It’s a good question. Would have been the perfect time to swing him back and shore things up a little.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

At one stage it was 16-0 inside 50’s in that 3rd qtr, so why wasn’t Naughton pushed down there to give us an Avenue of someone who could take a contested mark?

Yeah we should have adjusted and played tempo footy a bit. Having Schache and Bruce up forward is enough to allow Naughton to play in defence. The ball wasn’t going down our end anyway.

[jeemak]

But Naughton can't kick to himself and we were getting absolutely spanked on the outlet in lieu of our forwards not holding space and competing.

It's a dilemma we probably wrestled with, and perhaps it would have been the right move just to hold onto the ball.

[Grantysghost]

Naughton is our gun tall forward, I really can't entertain any notion of removing him from that position.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Naughton is our gun tall forward, I really can't entertain any notion of removing him from that position.

Only as a temporary means to stem the flow. I think it has merit at times, but especially Friday night when we were absolutely dominated for 10-15 minutes. At the end of the day it just speaks to how weak our defence is regarding talls.

[DOG GOD]

Naughton is our gun tall forward, I really can't entertain any notion of removing him from that position.

It’s unfortunate that Naughton is our best fwd AND our best back, and I think when we are being completely dominated, and unable to get it into our fwd half of the ground, then there’s no issue in sending Naughton back, especially in the absence of English.

[chef]

Naughton is our gun tall forward, I really can't entertain any notion of removing him from that position.

Hes the new Chris Grant, we need 2 of him.

[Grantysghost]

Fair enough re Naughton; all the memories I have of him dominating are up forward.

I don't recall his defensive work as well.

[bornadog]

Fair enough re Naughton; all the memories I have of him dominating are up forward.

I don't recall his defensive work as well.

You never move an ace FF.

[Hotdog60]

He's the only one of our forwards that has repeated efforts

[Bjorn A'Dog]

Fair enough re Naughton; all the memories I have of him dominating are up forward.

I don't recall his defensive work as well.
He was our best tall defender even at a young age but he can impact games more as a key forward. He is a very smart player as well but unfortunately he kicks for goals like a defender more times than not. How good was he on Friday night with the way he timed his leading? Naughton really demands the ball from our midfield like very few other players do.

[The Underdog]

Just managed to watch the game after working all weekend. A couple of observations (and no I haven’t read the whole thread so guarantee I’ll cover some points that have already been discussed)

*the half time score flattered us, Tiges missed some sitters and the margin was a bit false from that end.
*on the other hand I don’t think we’re far off. I think it’s great to experience pressure like that in a regular season game. We were still a chance up until the Lipinski miss. If we tidy up some disposal we could have had a real crack
*probably wasn’t the ideal team to play 3 guys who hadn’t played seniors this year. West was disappointing but I think there’s too much value there to write off. Thought Hannan was underdone. I’d really like to see Schache get one more extended run but he just doesn’t grab his chances.
*thought Cordy was ok, but that 2nd key defender post is a real problem for us regardless of who is there.
*Bruce really lost the plot after he got sucked into some wrestle in the 3rd. Was completely ineffective from there out.
*Jack Riewoldt is a very talented player, but god does he ever stop sooking at the umpires?

[Grantysghost]

Bruce really lost the plot after he got sucked into some wrestle in the 3rd. Was completely ineffective from there out.

It was Grimes. I thought the same it really put him off his game, seemed to ruffle his feathers. I thought he'd handle it better.

[comrade]

Bruce looked like he was waiting to get crunched and it caused him to completely mis time (to be very generous) his marking attempts after he got in that scuffle. He’s a hard player to support at times.

[jeemak]

I finally watched the presser, and if you haven't seen the full version get onto it, as it was a cracker.

I love that a journo actually arrived not knowing that Jamarra was emergency, admitted to it, then admitted not watching last week's presser and got a complete bake for asking whether Jamarra was close to selection.

And the finish was even better, pretty much wrapping it up because talking about the man on the mark rule and twenty metre kicking was a useless conversation.

Gold.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I finally watched the presser, and if you haven't seen the full version get onto it, as it was a cracker.

I love that a journo actually arrived not knowing that Jamarra was emergency, admitted to it, then admitted not watching last week's presser and got a complete bake for asking whether Jamarra was close to selection.

And the finish was even better, pretty much wrapping it up because talking about the man on the mark rule and twenty metre kicking was a useless conversation.

Gold.

One of Bevo's finest.

In the 'message to the members' video, it's pretty clear Bevo was irritated at our performance. Interested to see how we respond v Carlton.

[Vred]

One of Bevo's finest.

In the 'message to the members' video, it's pretty clear Bevo was irritated at our performance. Interested to see how we respond v Carlton.

This game has danger written all over it.

[jeemak]

This game has danger written all over it.

Every game that we play against a middling Melbourne based side has danger written all over it.

This one has a particular note about it for both clubs. Carlton is pretty much where it should be in the win/ loss column but has been getting beaten up over it, and we're a touch ahead and the whole competition is waiting for us to fall a bit and step into line. And guess what, the latter might happen and if it does we'll be written off by folks here and those in the media but we shouldn't be.

It's a long season, and there's literally only one very bad team in it with every other team problematic as a minimum on its day. I've heard scribes lamenting the lack of really good teams this year.......which is a strange thing to do this early (in fact I was reading it after round four or five, which is crazy) but it just isn't true. All of the top four from last year are in the hunt, all of the next four are in the hunt, and all of the four after that are in the hunt after seven rounds. This year is going to prove to be about as tight as it gets.

[mjp]

I finally watched the presser, and if you haven't seen the full version get onto it, as it was a cracker.

I love that a journo actually arrived not knowing that Jamarra was emergency, admitted to it, then admitted not watching last week's presser and got a complete bake for asking whether Jamarra was close to selection.

And the finish was even better, pretty much wrapping it up because talking about the man on the mark rule and twenty metre kicking was a useless conversation.

Gold.

I love Bevo but I don't think this kind of stuff does us any favours as a club still searching for a major sponsor.

As for the journo, I doubt he wanted to ask the question - 100-1 his editor had told him he had to ask about JUH...given he was being told to ask a question, he therefore prob didn't do too much looking into the situation (which makes sense to me).

As for the 20-metre stuff/man-on-the-mark stuff...Bevo regularly buys into these debates so why would he be surprised to be asked to get involved again?

I don't know. I thought it was petty and made us seem like sore losers.

[comrade]

I love Bevo but I don't think this kind of stuff does us any favours as a club still searching for a major sponsor.

As for the journo, I doubt he wanted to ask the question - 100-1 his editor had told him he had to ask about JUH...given he was being told to ask a question, he therefore prob didn't do too much looking into the situation (which makes sense to me).

As for the 20-metre stuff/man-on-the-mark stuff...Bevo regularly buys into these debates so why would he be surprised to be asked to get involved again?

I don't know. I thought it was petty and made us seem like sore losers.

The journo shouldn’t be excused for not doing a sliver of research before asking his one question at the press conference. ‘My boss told me to’ is not an excuse and serves him right for being made to look like a dill.

[Mantis]

Coaches votes

Richmond v Western Bulldogs

10 Shai Bolton (RICH)
7 Tom J Lynch (RICH)
5 Nathan Broad (RICH)
4 Bachar Houli (RICH)
2 Noah Balta (RICH)
1 Trent Cotchin (RICH)
1 Bailey Dale (WB)

[comrade]

Coaches votes

Richmond v Western Bulldogs

10 Shai Bolton (RICH)
7 Tom J Lynch (RICH)
5 Nathan Broad (RICH)
4 Bachar Houli (RICH)
2 Noah Balta (RICH)
1 Trent Cotchin (RICH)
1 Bailey Dale (WB)

About right. Tigers had the best 5 players on the ground and we were still in the game late.

[Grantysghost]

Ha so that's 3 and 4 for Lynch? Ah Bevo.

[Axe Man]

Ha so that's 3 and 4 for Lynch? Ah Bevo.

The strangest part is one coach gave Houli a 4 and the other left him out entirely.

[Grantysghost]

The strangest part is one coach gave Houli a 4 and the other left him out entirely.

That is odd. Maybe Dimma loved Broad's game more.

[jeemak]

I love Bevo but I don't think this kind of stuff does us any favours as a club still searching for a major sponsor.

As for the journo, I doubt he wanted to ask the question - 100-1 his editor had told him he had to ask about JUH...given he was being told to ask a question, he therefore prob didn't do too much looking into the situation (which makes sense to me).

As for the 20-metre stuff/man-on-the-mark stuff...Bevo regularly buys into these debates so why would he be surprised to be asked to get involved again?

I don't know. I thought it was petty and made us seem like sore losers.

Understand that view, though I think it's incumbent on journalists to do a bit of research before putting questions to a coach. Given it was a Friday night game, and the biggest game of the round an in depth review of the team sheet wouldn't have been too difficult. And if you're going to ask a specific question about a specific player seeing how that player is going isn't too much to ask.

With respect to the twenty metre/ man on the mark, it was clear all that was happening was journos trying to get a sound bite after the question had already been answered.

As for questions about the game itself I thought he looked a bit defencive and bristly about questions surrounding our key defenders and didn't handle that well.

[Grantysghost]

Understand that view, though I think it's incumbent on journalists to do a bit of research before putting questions to a coach. Given it was a Friday night game, and the biggest game of the round an in depth review of the team sheet wouldn't have been too difficult. And if you're going to ask a specific question about a specific player seeing how that player is going isn't too much to ask.

With respect to the twenty metre/ man on the mark, it was clear all that was happening was journos trying to get a sound bite after the question had already been answered.

As for questions about the game itself I thought he looked a bit defencive and bristly about questions surrounding our key defenders and didn't handle that well.

Felt like he had no answers in a way. So went on the counter attack.

[comrade]

Felt like he had no answers in a way. So went on the counter attack.

‘Mate, do you really think I WANT to play Zaine Cordy?’

[Grantysghost]

‘Mate, do you really think I WANT to play Zaine Cordy?’

Bevo :

https://media.giphy.com/media/pPhyAv5t9V8djyRFJH/giphy.gif

[GVGjr]

I love Bevo but I don't think this kind of stuff does us any favours as a club still searching for a major sponsor.

As for the journo, I doubt he wanted to ask the question - 100-1 his editor had told him he had to ask about JUH...given he was being told to ask a question, he therefore prob didn't do too much looking into the situation (which makes sense to me).

As for the 20-metre stuff/man-on-the-mark stuff...Bevo regularly buys into these debates so why would he be surprised to be asked to get involved again?

I don't know. I thought it was petty and made us seem like sore losers.

I guess the question I had was if we would have been abrupt if we had won? I suspect not.
While on occasions some journo's need a tune up I don't think we won this one.

[jeemak]

Just watched the third quarter and I think we'll be fine.

Nothing that happened to us on the night isn't fixable. As bad as Schache was he's never going to be out-marked like that again, Adam Treloar isn't going to cough the ball up into the corridor like he did. West will never be penalised for taking the ball and brushing a player's head in the process.

With the limited opportunities we had in the quarter we broke Richmond down comprehensively.

We were down and got punished and that's fair enough. I feel a lot better having watched the replay because we were shit and the Tigers were about as good as they could be.

[jeemak]

Alex Keath is also responsible for much of the shit Cordy is being blamed for..........from what I can tell this time around.

[jeemak]

Having watched the last quarter, we're fine and we're better than Richmond if we put it together.

[bornadog]

Having watched the last quarter, we're fine and we're better than Richmond if we put it together.

I have said it before you do some fine work at 3am.

I find it hard to go back and watch those two quarters.

[Mantis]

Alex Keath is also responsible for much of the shit Cordy is being blamed for..........from what I can tell this time around.

So I’ve just watched the first half again and Keath must do all his bad work in the 2nd half because it’s all on Zaine thus far.

Time to take a few deep breaths before I hit the play button!

[bulldogtragic]

So I’ve just watched the first half again and Keath must do all his bad work in the 2nd half because it’s all on Zaine thus far.

Time to take a few deep breaths before I hit the play button!

You’re a braver man than I. I can’t bear to watch that third quarter. Beyond everyone panicking, I’d be interested to know what else the replay exposes that we might have missed live.

[Mantis]

You’re a braver man than I. I can’t bear to watch that third quarter. Beyond everyone panicking, I’d be interested to know what else the replay exposes that we might have missed live.

It’s how you learn.

1st goal - Bailey Dale not strong in a spoil contest with Baker. No body contact, Baker recovers well and spots up Riewoldt leading in front of Cordy who trails a couple of metres behind.

2nd goal - Cordy under minimal pressure kicks it out on the full to Wood who is in the clear. Ball goes in deep and from the next stoppage Treloar dump kicks it back into the middle, like the worst possible spot! Baker ends up with it and kicks long to Lynch in the square who outpoints Keath.

3rd goal - Lipinski not strong in centre clearance when he has the front spot. Ball goes long into Richmond’s F50 for a stoppage. At stoppage Lipinski gets caught ball watching or is just slow to react and his opponent (Graham) gets the ball and snaps a goal.

Every time we win possession in the back half it’s just dump kicked out... just a lack of composure. The free kick to Houli was complete BS. Zaine & Keath had no body contact on their opponents and Lynch takes an easy mark to kick their 4th of the qtr.

[Mantis]

It’s how you learn.

1st goal - Bailey Dale not strong in a spoil contest with Baker. No body contact, Baker recovers well and spots up Riewoldt leading in front of Cordy who trails a couple of metres behind.

2nd goal - Cordy under minimal pressure kicks it out on the full to Wood who is in the clear. Ball goes in deep and from the next stoppage Treloar dump kicks it back into the middle, like the worst possible spot! Baker ends up with it and kicks long to Lynch in the square who outpoints Keath.

3rd goal - Lipinski not strong in centre clearance when he has the front spot. Ball goes long into Richmond’s F50 for a stoppage. At stoppage Lipinski gets caught ball watching or is just slow to react and his opponent (Graham) gets the ball and snaps a goal.

Every time we win possession in the back half it’s just dump kicked out... just a lack of composure. The free kick to Houli was complete BS. Zaine & Keath had no body contact on their opponents and Lynch takes an easy mark to kick their 4th of the qtr.

Lipinski has had a horrible quarter... like shocking.

5th goal - Lynch out points Cordy (ridiculously easily) to take a mark on the 50m line and slots.

[bulldogtragic]

Lipinski has had a horrible quarter... like shocking.

5th goal - Lynch out points Cordy (ridiculously easily) to take a mark on the 50m line and slots.

Thanks Mantis. Re Lippa, out worked, lapse of concentration or other?

Makes one wonder what Young isn’t doing to get dropped?

[Mantis]

Lipinski has had a horrible quarter... like shocking.

5th goal - Lynch out points Cordy (ridiculously easily) to take a mark on the 50m line and slots.

We lose so many 1 on 1 marking contests for the qtr... so many. We couldn’t halve them... it kills us in the pursuit of field position and time that Richmond don’t have the ball.

The Bruce miss at the end of the qtr was big... might have been a free, but you don’t miss them from 5m out.

Onto the last!

[Mantis]

Thanks Mantis. Re Lippa, out worked, lapse of concentration or other?

Makes one wonder what Young isn’t doing to get dropped?

Not careful with the ball, not hard enough in the contest, lack of concentration, and he’s not quick so can’t make ground when behind... it’s clear why he is in and out so often.

[Mantis]

The replay re-affirms that Crozier needs a spell.. isn’t effecting contests in the air and his kicking is poor at best.

Stef Martin looks every bit a 35yo war horse... not great signs when it’s rd7.

[Ozza]

The replay re-affirms that Crozier needs a spell.. isn’t effecting contests in the air and his kicking is poor at best.

Stef Martin looks every bit a 35yo war horse... not great signs when it’s rd7.

I would have said it 5 times during the match, that Stef was really struggling against Nank, and giving us nothing in that third quarter in particular.

Agree on Croze too....would be the one that makes way for Buku if its up to me.

[bulldogtragic]

Was Croz almost always long kick down the line to a contest? From what I’ve seen this year he seems a lot more ‘hammer’ than ‘scalpel’.

[Mantis]

Just to top Zaine’s night off we have him go up in a boundary line ball throw in (why?) against Lynch, Lynch takes front spot, collects the ball after Zaine almost falls over, handballs it to Bolton and it’s game over.

[bulldogtragic]

Just to top Zaine’s night off we have him go up in a boundary line ball throw in (why?) against Lynch, Lynch takes front spot, collects the ball after Zaine almost falls over, handballs it to Bolton and it’s game over.

Is it his fault or the MC?

Having a year off has given me the benefit of fresh eyes. I’m lost for words on him, and I’ve been a fan since watching as a 16yo. But if last Friday is a reflection on where he is at, it’s time to play Young and see exactly what we have. At a minimum, I’d expect Young to rush the goal that went through at shin level in the last.

[Mantis]

Is it his fault or the MC?



In terms of the contest or his form?

For the contest - in the proceeding bit of play Martin is about 60m from goal as the ball goes I50 where Bolton goes for a hanger and the ball spills out of bounds.

Martin must go off, he was labouring in the play previously so must have. Keath goes back to the square to guard no one and is in no men’s land when Bolton kicks the goal so Zaine is left to the ruck contest and it goes pear shaped.

In terms of MC I can’t answer that. Young is clearly on the nose because it’s hard to see on form how Zaine is front of him, but it’s Bevo’s call and it’s his ass on the line if he makes the wrong call. He’s clearly doing a great job given our performances, but there’s some strange decisions being made... well strange to me anyway.

[bornadog]

Thanks for the analyses Mantis.

Based on your comments, Lippa should be dropped as should Cordy.

[Mantis]

Thanks for the analyses Mantis.

Based on your comments, Lippa should be dropped as should Cordy.

He was poor... I'm not sure how many CB's Lippa attended for the night, but he didn't attend anymore after the Graham goal when he lost the contest in the centre and then his man kicked the goal at the next piece of play... he has some poor moments when moved to other roles for the remainder of the match too.

Without looking all that closely you would look at his game and think he was serviceable given he had 23 touches, but not much came of his touches and he had lots of poor moments when around the ball.

He's clearly too good for the VFL given he excels when he plays there, but I'm not sure what role he plays for us given the deficiencies in his game... which come to the fore against the good teams.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

He was poor... I'm not sure how many CB's Lippa attended for the night, but he didn't attend anymore after the Graham goal when he lost the contest in the centre and then his man kicked the goal at the next piece of play... he has some poor moments when moved to other roles for the remainder of the match too.

Without looking all that closely you would look at his game and think he was serviceable given he had 23 touches, but not much came of his touches and he had lots of poor moments when around the ball.

He's clearly too good for the VFL given he excels when he plays there, but I'm not sure what role he plays for us given the deficiencies in his game... which come to the fore against the good teams.

I'm a bit worried about Lippa.

As you said, clearly too good for VFL. Head and shoulders above it. But he's really struggling to transition into becoming a good AFL player. That CB v Graham was poor and I remember saying "Why is Lipinski in the middle!?" and I get with Dunkley out he may need to take his turn, but his game isn't good enough for that. He was swiftly taken out after that but it was costly.

The last quarter contest v Balta on the wing when Keath did all the hard work was bad too and it really highlighted how slow he is.

At AFL level, if you're not able to win your own ball consistently you need a bit of speed and skill. Lippa has the skill but his lack of ball winning ability coupled with his lack of pace means he's often found out.

[Mofra]

I would have said it 5 times during the match, that Stef was really struggling against Nank, and giving us nothing in that third quarter in particular.

Agree on Croze too....would be the one that makes way for Buku if its up to me.
He was fit all pre-season to help English and Sweet, and had played a handful of games already. For mine he's already paid off.
If he was to be rested every 2-3 weeks it wouldn't be a concern one bit - Sweet has shown he can compete.

[Happy Days]

He was fit all pre-season to help English and Sweet, and had played a handful of games already. For mine he's already paid off.
If he was to be rested every 2-3 weeks it wouldn't be a concern one bit - Sweet has shown he can compete.

Plus he was required to shoulder a far heavier burden, which was fully not part of the plan. Stef’s been pretty solid and it’s not like Nank is a complete spud or anything.

[Mantis]

He was fit all pre-season to help English and Sweet, and had played a handful of games already. For mine he's already paid off.
If he was to be rested every 2-3 weeks it wouldn't be a concern one bit - Sweet has shown he can compete.

But has he?

He played one game against a team which didn't have a recognised ruckman and was only on the ground 63% of the time. Sure he did well when he was on, but it really was a free ride.

I would like to see him have a run against a more competent opponent before we think he is capable of filling the role.

[1eyedog]

But has he?

He played one game against a team which didn't have a recognised ruckman and was only on the ground 63% of the time. Sure he did well when he was on, but it really was a free ride.

I would like to see him have a run against a more competent opponent before we think he is capable of filling the role.

I actually thought he had very little impact outside of ruck contests. Eight touches and two marks for the game tells the story.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

But has he?

He played one game against a team which didn't have a recognised ruckman and was only on the ground 63% of the time. Sure he did well when he was on, but it really was a free ride.

I would like to see him have a run against a more competent opponent before we think he is capable of filling the role.

I'm also pretty sure during that game he had the second lowest time spent on ground. Not sure if that is referencing his fitness capabilities at present, but if not then it indicates that the club didn't want to expose him too much to other roles outside of specific scenarios.

Edit: Third lowest, with 64% time on ground, behind an injured Bailey Williams and his replacement Cavarra.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

The key with resting Martin and playing Sweet is timing.

It shouldn't be done against quality opposition teams.

We can do it against North (Goldstein is good but North aren't), Gold Coast, Essendon, Hawthorn, and maybe Collingwood (Grundy is good, Pies are struggling).

We need to manage Stef, especially heading into finals.

If Sweet can play 4-5 games it gives us a much better idea of where he's at and if he's worth keeping.

[GVGjr]

The key with resting Martin and playing Sweet is timing.

It shouldn't be done against quality opposition teams.

We can do it against North (Goldstein is good but North aren't), Gold Coast, Essendon, Hawthorn, and maybe Collingwood (Grundy is good, Pies are struggling).

We need to manage Stef, especially heading into finals.

If Sweet can play 4-5 games it gives us a much better idea of where he's at and if he's worth keeping.

Good observations, we have to help Martin and pick our moments to bring Sweet back in.