Three things you've learned. Round five 2021 v Gold Coast

[Twodogs]

Tell us three things you know now that you didn't know before the game.

[GVGjr]

Bump

[bulldogtragic]

1. We are 6-0 and 178.6%
2. Our mid-late trading is sublime: Duryea, Crozier, Keath, Bruce, (technically) Treloar, Martin, plus Schache and more
3. Libba is still the best one step goal kicker in the entire comp

[Twodogs]

1. We are 6-0 and 178.6%
2. Our mid-late trading is sublime: Duryea, Crozier, Keath, Bruce, (technically) Treloar, Martin, plus Schache and more
3. Libba is still the best one step goal kicker in the entire comp

5-0 but give it a week.

[bulldogtragic]

5-0 but give it a week.

Or 5 weeks and then we’re 10-0

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

1. Bailey Dale has really gone to another level since moving to the back half.
2. Macrae's footskills have also gone to another level. Some of his passes tonight were surgical precision.
3. Sweet has some very good tap work skills. I can't wait to see how he goes later in the year against genuine ruck opposition, when he next gets a chance.

[Twodogs]

Or 5 weeks and then we’re 10-0

Or 5 months and we will be 25-0 with a cup to wave around

[bornadog]

1. We do have the best midfield in the comp
2. We have options in the forward line to kick goals
3. our defense is miserly.

[jeemak]

1. We seem to know what it is to be "on" and not behind the eight ball against both good and bad teams in the first 45 minutes of a game

2. A poor and undermanned side can jolt us back into gear and it's important to us to restore the dominance we claimed. Let's face it GCS were terrible in the first half and allowed us to do what we wanted, so it was good that we took the hit and re-balanced the half time ledger by the time the final siren blew

3. Haven't quite learned it or understood it yet because it's so foreign and discombobulating, but having three very very capable talls in our forward line is something that is achievable and reachable for us, albeit strange since aspiring to having one for so long seemed a luxury we couldn't afford

To the last point, we are five wins and no losses, and having our best start to the season since a very long time ago having eclipsed a start in a year we were a bit stiff to miss out on a grand final birth (2009).......when we didn't have a big tall forward to kick to. A lot of water needs to go under the bridge, but at least if we keep winning games the old "Bulldogs can't win without a key forward" line won't be trotted out.

[AshMac]

1. Was a very frustrating win, never got out of second gear, but still nice to put a team w classy players to the sword by coasting through

2. I’ll need to watch the replay to understand how on earth Jack Macrae got that suns player high in the 3rd quarter

3. 5-0 feels good. Never happened in my lifetime. I want more.

[angelopetraglia]

1. Dew summed it up in his presser when referring to our midfield group. "They are going to be hard to stop. They are going to be hard to stop." The contribution is shared across so many talented players. We don't need any one player to completely dominate ... but inevitably one of them get off the chain and have a big day. Treloar is just some nice cream on top of the cake and is getting better every week too.

2. Naughton is a scary proposition. His ferocity at the contest in both the air and ground is something that I have rarely seen. Combine ferocity and his athleticism and he is going to be hard to stop. I don't think we have seen the best of him yet. He is a freak and worth going to the footy each week alone to watch. Love him.

3. If we are not 100% on our game defensively we can still be picked off easily with short fast kicks that penetrate our zone. Gold Coast made us look silly three times in that third quarter with goals launched from their defensive end which cut through us like a hot knife through butter. Hopefully that was a good reminder.

[comrade]

1. Wood's lack of foot skills really slowed us down at times. He had a few tricky options that a better kick would have bitten off but he couldn't pull the trigger and had to go down the line instead. Must get the ball in Dale's hands as many times as possible, his leg is a weapon.

2. Kicking 16 points is effectively turning the ball over 16 times with the new kick out rules. GC didn't score a single goal from a stoppage, it was all from turn overs or kick outs. We all know our goal kicking conversion has been woeful for years but it's not going to magically improve overnight, so we really need to tweak our defensive set up for kick outs. Especially in that 3rd quarter, GC carved us up at times.

3. Keath is probably the most underrated key defender going around right now.

[bornadog]

3. Keath is probably the most underrated key defender going around right now.

I thought Keath was fantastic yesterday, 20 disposals, 9 marks

[Mantis]

1/ Those who questioned Bont’s ability to cover the ground after a couple of quiet games were way off the mark. He’s moving as well as ever and he has confidence to take opposing players on with his running ability. Whilst Leigh Matthews has some warped opinions when he says of Bont, ‘it’s like a grade 6er playing against grade 4’s’ it’s some praise. Almost 800m gained and 3 goals, massive game.

2/ Bailey Dale is becoming a really important player within the team. His defensive work was very solid... but his kicking is off the charts good.

3/ Jack Macrae needs to put a patent on the little 20m kick on the 45deg angle when going I50... it’s becoming an important part of his ability to influence the scoreboard which was a knock I had on him.

[DOG GOD]

1. This team did what it had to do, but I saw a few lapses I didn’t like.
2. On paper, the team can only get better. I really wanna see what West and Jong (fully fit) can bring to the table. 2 guys who also bring another element to the mid rotations.
3. Williams is a massive cog to this defence. Prayers he’s not out for long.

[GVGjr]

I thought Keath was fantastic yesterday, 20 disposals, 9 marks

It's also what he does with the disposals. He's normally a very composed and accurate kick and he was on the ground the whole playing time.

He's been a great addition for us.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

It's also what he does with the disposals. He's normally a very composed and accurate kick and he was on the ground the whole playing time.

He's been a great addition for us.
Absolute stalwart for us. Honestly he would be one of our most important players, mostly because we have no backup if he gets injured. Losing Naughton would be a massive blow but we at least have Schache who can come in as a serviceable forward. And we know we’re stacked for mids and half backs. But if Keath goes down, who comes in? Cordy. In an already weak backline that’s a scary thought.

In our weakest area of the ground we’re unfortunately having the worst luck with injuries there. Losing Williams will hurt. Just shows how much luck with injuries you need to win it all.

[Mantis]

Absolute stalwart for us. Honestly he would be one of our most important players, mostly because we have no backup if he gets injured. Losing Naughton would be a massive blow but we at least have Schache who can come in as a serviceable forward. And we know we’re stacked for mids and half backs. But if Keath goes down, who comes in? Cordy. In an already weak backline that’s a scary thought.

In our weakest area of the ground we’re unfortunately having the worst luck with injuries there. Losing Williams will hurt. Just shows how much luck with injuries you need to win it all.

If Keath goes down I’m sending Naughton to defence and playing Schache forward.

[Twodogs]

If Keath goes down I’m sending Naughton to defence and playing Schache forward.

Yep for sure.

[azabob]

1. Bailey Dale now needs to take over kick in duties from Caleb Daniel.
2. New rules have pushed Smith and JJ to unfamiliar parts of the ground. JJ needs to learn how to adapt otherwise he won’t be in the team for long
3. Keith, Duryea, Crozier and Wood add a hard defensive edge to our back half which will be needed come September.

[jeemak]

1. Bailey Dale now needs to take over kick in duties from Caleb Daniel.
2. New rules have pushed Smith and JJ to unfamiliar parts of the ground. JJ needs to learn how to adapt otherwise he won’t be in the team for long
3. Keith, Duryea, Crozier and Wood add a hard defensive edge to our back half which will be needed come September.

I'd been critical of Duryea at times in the first few rounds, but overall he's been pretty good. Since coming back into the side I think Wood has been better than solid whilst Keath has been excellent. The coaching staff clearly like Crozier, I'm hoping he can get back to his best particularly with his kicking.

You're right, all of these guys are solid and tough. They're not quite Morris and Boyd level, but there's not a huge gap to bridge and at least there's four of them.

[Vred]

1. We should of been blooding Sweet and English at the same time, It's a shame we're only starting now. Sweet's tap work was excellent.
2. Duryea and Bailey Dale are musts in our back lines, as much as I hate it, as I rate Dale as a forward, his been excellent in his new position
3. Scores against from turn overs is still a weakness for us, needs to be addressed.

[Ozza]

1/ Those who questioned Bont’s ability to cover the ground after a couple of quiet games were way off the mark. He’s moving as well as ever and he has confidence to take opposing players on with his running ability. Whilst Leigh Matthews has some warped opinions when he says of Bont, ‘it’s like a grade 6er playing against grade 4’s’ it’s some praise. Almost 800m gained and 3 goals, massive game.

2/ Bailey Dale is becoming a really important player within the team. His defensive work was very solid... but his kicking is off the charts good.

3/ Jack Macrae needs to put a patent on the little 20m kick on the 45deg angle when going I50... it’s becoming an important part of his ability to influence the scoreboard which was a knock I had on him.

3 goal assists on the weekend - equalling his career high.
Averaging 35.2 disposals per game this year - the most in the league, in a team with several others getting big numbers.
Incredibly over 43% of his career games he has gathered 30+ possessions (suspect it would be higher if not for short quarters last year). I'm loving what Macrae is doing this year. And for him to become our best kick to an inside 50 target, has taken him up another cog.

[AshMac]

1. Dew summed it up in his presser when referring to our midfield group. "They are going to be hard to stop. They are going to be hard to stop."

Love how Dew spoke about us - was so clear he had enormous respect for the way we play footy at the moment.

His opening remarks stuck - to paraphrase, our midfield are big bodies, they hit hard and invite the pressure. Love this!

[1eyedog]

1. We are highly confident of our ability in the middle and winning one on one contests around the ground, particularly under the high going i50. We have attitude and belief and are playing like we know we can beat anyone.

2. Duryea is a better player than I thought. He intercepted wonderfully well in the first half on top of generally making good decisions by foot. Very solid player and best 22 atm.

3. Bailey Dale is a boss. Always liked him but never envisaged him being this effective down back. Has new found courage (stands under high balls) and his kicking skills are as good as you can get.

[whythelongface]

3. Bailey Dale is a boss. Always liked him but never envisaged him being this effective down back. Has new found courage (stands under high balls) and his kicking skills are as good as you can get.

He kicking is off the radar. He is the best kick in the game at the moment 19.1 per cent above AFL average. The next best is 13 per cent

[1eyedog]

He kicking is off the radar. He is the best kick in the game at the moment 19.1 per cent above AFL average. The next best is 13 per cent

Agreed. Was Dale, Daniel, Williams and McLean all drafted in the same year? All were speculative (i.e. outside top 25) and all have turned out to be absolute jets. Highway robbery.

[Ozza]

Agreed. Was Dale, Daniel, Williams and McLean all drafted in the same year? All were speculative (i.e. outside top 25) and all have turned out to be absolute jets. Highway robbery.

Williams was drafted the next year. Lukas Webb was the one taken in back to back picks with Toby,

Good draft though.

[bornadog]

Agreed. Was Dale, Daniel, Williams and McLean all drafted in the same year? All were speculative (i.e. outside top 25) and all have turned out to be absolute jets. Highway robbery.

We have done well to draft kids that can actually kick the ball. (except Mclean).

Long, accurate and seems lots of left footers as well.

[hujsh]

We have done well to draft kids that can actually kick the ball. (except Mclean).

Long, accurate and seems lots of left footers as well.

You think Mclean can't kick well? Not so sure about that I remember him being pretty decent.

[bornadog]

You think Mclean can't kick well? Not so sure about that I remember him being pretty decent.

tends to sky the ball alot