WB Game Day V Melbourne R19 2021

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bloody brilliant win, best for the season.Thought we were cooked and then Bonts took hold.

Yeah I thought we looked tired, and that we were going to get overrun.
Bont.....if he doesn't win the Brownlow, its' officially irrelevant.

[EasternWest]

Also how good is the Dees getting good for literally 5 seconds for the first time in 60 years and trying to throw their weight around. Guess they really took those podcasts that Tom McDonald chucked on in the weights room to heart.

https://i.postimg.cc/DwdM6yj3/tenor.gif (https://postimages.org/)

[Happy Days]

https://i.postimg.cc/DwdM6yj3/tenor.gif (https://postimages.org/)

Hope you know that was posted specifically for you.

[comrade]

Thought Cordy was bloody excellent tonight. Bailey Smith has tuned the corner and then you go up a few flights of stairs and find the Bont. Wow you could feel him lifting early in the last but that goal and kick to hit JUH was the definition of next level.

The Bont and Bevo era could be anything...

Cordy was excellent in general, reckon those sloppy conditions suit his attributes well.

[merantau]

That was a really brave performance - a great team win. JUH kicked a vital goal after a very quiet night - so important for his future. Josh Schache had a very good game, Cordy too. His desperation saved us a few times. The entire defence was epic. They worked really hard and absorbed a lot of pressure. Big shout out to Lachie Hunter. He covered more ground than Ludwig Leichardt but avoided his tragic end so will be available next week. Great game.

I am overjoyed with this performance. We have a terrific group of players led by an inspirational skipper. Go Dogs!

[EasternWest]

Hope you know that was posted specifically for you.

You like me. You really like me.

[EasternWest]

That was a really brave performance - a great team win. JUH kicked a vital goal after a very quiet night - so important for his future. Josh Schache had a very good game, Cordy too. His desperation saved us a few times. The entire defence was epic. They worked really hard and absorbed a lot of pressure. Big shout out to Lachie Hunter. He covered more ground than Ludwig Leichardt but avoided his tragic end so will be available next week. Great game.

I am overjoyed with this performance. We have a terrific group of players led by an inspirational skipper. Go Dogs!

I love this guy. Imagine him and twodogs chatting over a beer. Epic.

[bornadog]

Just love Dunkley

https://twitter.com/westernbulldogs/status/1418910087574396940

[Eastdog]

Great win tonight! We made a good statement. We responded very well throughout the game and overall deserved the win.

[Mantis]

Is it fair to say we were missing 4 of our preferred back 8 once Richards went off? Bloody good effort to hang on from there with a few guys well below their best as well.

Not sure we hung on is the right term given the way we finished off the game, but given the outs and the in game injuries it was some effort.

If we ever get our best team on the park we’re going to take some beating… like we are anyway, but we have more talent in the stands than our challengers and we’re competitive or better than them now.

[jeemak]

I love this guy. Imagine him and twodogs chatting over a beer. Epic.

Absolutely. We should tee it up, sans beer because TD would chin me or you.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I love this guy. Imagine him and twodogs chatting over a beer. Epic.

Yes please. I'd fly down to Melbourne for that.

[Hotdog60]

I just thought I would park this here :D

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7DsurFWEAg6Z1C?format=jpg&name=large

[Grantysghost]

Just love Dunkley

https://twitter.com/westernbulldogs/status/1418910087574396940

I wondered who he had on the phone.

Classic.

[The bulldog tragician]

A very COVID post match moment.
https://i.postimg.cc/QCK9rkym/A8260700-3-DEB-4-DEA-9-D30-D72866304073.jpg (https://postimg.cc/Fkmsycmk)

[Grantysghost]

I just thought I would park this here :D

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7DsurFWEAg6Z1C?format=jpg&name=large

Wowee! Boy oh boy!

[jeemak]

WE. WANT. DOG GOD!!!!!!!

Come back mate, and join in the revelry. We are top of the ladder, get amongst it mate, we want you here!!!!!!! Come on!

[jeemak]

I just thought I would park this here :D

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7DsurFWEAg6Z1C?format=jpg&name=large

I loved how instead of talking about how amazing Cody is they focused on how Max the coffee boy is as a great step ladder.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I loved how instead of talking about how amazing Cody is they focused on how Max the coffee boy is as a great step ladder.

But..but he smashed us in the hit outs????

[dog town]

Not sure we hung on is the right term given the way we finished off the game, but given the outs and the in game injuries it was some effort.

If we ever get our best team on the park we’re going to take some beating… like we are anyway, but we have more talent in the stands than our challengers and we’re competitive or better than them now. I think we finished comfortably and ran some minutes off the clock similar to the port game.

The hanging on part probably refers to a 3-4 minute patch in the last where we were labouring in transition. I thought we were out of gas and with 3.5 tall forwards we didn’t have many levers to pull. Scott at half back and Duryea seemingly playing on the highest tall forward we were becoming a little unsettled. Just had to get some territory to settle which we did beautifully.

[comrade]

Will do Comrade.

Come back DOG GOD, didn't mean to lose my cool! Apologies my man.

[The bulldog tragician]

I am so thrilled with this win. Gutsy, brave, against the odds.

I’d like to know how many smothers we had. We were 2016-style with that ability to stifle the ball in close.

Not that we really need a reminder how good Libba is, but I reckon he’d been steaming since he lowered his colours in our earlier match with them.

It was so important not to go into finals without having a win against them. So many things went wrong for us injury-wise but every time they looked dangerous we found a way. And yeah I know Cordy can be, er, frustrating, but with Keath out I reckon he played his heart out.

I’m looking forward to watching it again, as Kayo and the NBN let me down big time with freezes at the wrong moment. A great win, I’m just so proud.

[hujsh]

WE. WANT. DOG GOD!!!!!!!

Come back mate, and join in the revelry. We are top of the ladder, get amongst it mate, we want you here!!!!!!! Come on!


Yep enjoy the win. Skies are blue tonight. I mean not literally. And the world is terrible. But the footy was great and isn't that what matters most?

[bornadog]

I just thought I would park this here :D

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7DsurFWEAg6Z1C?format=jpg&name=large

Max is 208cm - maybe Cody should be at the Olympic high jumps

[jeemak]

I think we finished comfortably and ran some minutes off the clock similar to the port game.

The hanging on part probably refers to a 3-4 minute patch in the last where we were labouring in transition. I thought we were out of gas and with 3.5 tall forwards we didn’t have many levers to pull. Scott at half back and Duryea seemingly playing on the highest tall shower we were becoming a little unsettled. Just had to get some territory to settle which we did beautifully.

Shit, we were one or two clearances and strong transitions in quick time away from being burst open and scored against again. It's why the Tigers love Dusty, it's why we love the Bont/ Jacko. These types of players pull you out of the shit.

[jeemak]

I am so thrilled with this win. Gutsy, brave, against the odds.

I’d like to know how many smothers we had. We were 2016-style with that ability to stifle the ball in close.

Not that we really need a reminder how good Libba is, but I reckon he’d been steaming since he lowered his colours in our earlier match with them.

It was so important not to go into finals without having a win against them. So many things went wrong for us injury-wise but every time they looked dangerous we found a way. And yeah I know Cordy can be, er, frustrating, but with Keath out I reckon he played his heart out.

I’m looking forward to watching it again, as Kayo and the NBN let me down big time with freezes at the wrong moment. A great win, I’m just so proud.

Cracking call on the smothers Trag. I heard around the start of the last we were around 16-18 to six or something similar. We then had a few more to round out the evening.

Whilst we let Oliver off the chain a bit, and Viney got a hold of us from time to time, we were really good in not allowing clean takeaways and smothering was a massive part of that.

[soupman]

Geez that was a tense game to sit through, felt like we were out of legs in the last and then 3 goals later we were on top of the world. A fun kind of tense though, I love watching is when it's tight and our intensity is up, we are so good to watch in traffic even if other aspects of our game can be a bit facepalm worthy.

Weightmans rise from barely in the MC's thoughts to maybe the most exciting player in a team with Naughton and Bont is incredible. That mark was amazing and I am so sad nobody got to witness it live. Has to be played in real time to appreciate it fully, he moved in slow motion up there.

Really pleased for Schache. Am I convinced thats the answer long term? No. But it's a solid start and I am very glad we will be trying to pursue this as atleast it has longevity if it comes off instead of trying to make him a good 5th tall forward.

English did well in the ruck, not in a traditional sense with hitouts and the like but he really limited Gawns impact and was ok around the ground. I was unsold on him as anybody as a ruckman after last year but he has made some real progress this season, I still want a real one though.

[Grantysghost]

I just thought I would park this here :D

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7DsurFWEAg6Z1C?format=jpg&name=large

Weightman mark.

https://www.afl.com.au/video/653408/weightman-climbs-gawn-ladder-to-haul-in-this-ripping-mark?videoId=653408&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1627126179001

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

So how influential was Gawn tonight?
He smashed English in hit outs.
Thought English had moments that mattered more.

[soupman]

Also wtf was with the commentary tonight. I know it's always bad but some of it was downright deplorable. Going on about how Melbourne supporters would be booing about the freekick count, when I thought the umpires were pretty good for the most part (maybe biased i dunno probably not the best place to ask).

[Happy Days]

Dees played the man and really tried to get into us physically. No surprise the free kick count ended up lopsided.

[soupman]

Credit to JUH as well for persisting throughout the game. Was really quiet and struggled to have an impact, but really pleasing that he kept presenting right to the end and getting rewarded in the last like that can only reinforce that good behaviour.

[comrade]

So how influential was Gawn tonight?
He smashed English in hit outs.
Thought English had moments that mattered more.

Gawn was v influential in the middle but around the ground, I thought Timmy stuck to his task well. Gawn normally gobbles up marks for fun against us and tonight he only had the 2 which was a massive win. Timmy also had 5 tackles.

If he can work out how to prevent the real monsters from out positioning him and grabbing the ball from the ruck, he may end up a viable #1.

[comrade]

Credit to JUH as well for persisting throughout the game. Was really quiet and struggled to have an impact, but really pleasing that he kept presenting right to the end and getting rewarded in the last like that can only reinforce that good behaviour.

He is lightning on the lead. Absolutely torched Lever.

[soupman]

He is lightning on the lead. Absolutely torched Lever.

It's amazing to see how much separation he gets. It's like when a free kick gets paid and everyone stops except for one guy who is trying to take advantage, but in this case it's just JUH leading.

[jeemak]

Also wtf was with the commentary tonight. I know it's always bad but some of it was downright deplorable. Going on about how Melbourne supporters would be booing about the freekick count, when I thought the umpires were pretty good for the most part (maybe biased i dunno probably not the best place to ask).

The reason why we earn free kicks is because we know how to and we practice it. Bevo said very early on when it became a point of contention around the traps that's what we do. It's just another skill that makes us difficult to play against.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

How awesome is that experience for Marra?
Out of the game for 3Qtrs......yet finds himself pivotal to the final result.
That's gotta be a massive settler for him. He only gets better from here.

[jeemak]

Credit to JUH as well for persisting throughout the game. Was really quiet and struggled to have an impact, but really pleasing that he kept presenting right to the end and getting rewarded in the last like that can only reinforce that good behaviour.


He is lightning on the lead. Absolutely torched Lever.

Again, the Buddy comparisons are a bit lazy with JUH but wow, he is five to ten clear very very quickly just like Buddy used to be. Once he gets confident with his ball handling he'll be out of control.

[Stefcep]

Also wtf was with the commentary tonight. I know it's always bad but some of it was downright deplorable. Going on about how Melbourne supporters would be booing about the freekick count, when I thought the umpires were pretty good for the most part (maybe biased i dunno probably not the best place to ask).

The free-kick count should have been even more lob-sided. There were definatly calls we didn't get and calls they shouldn't have got.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

WE. WANT. DOG GOD!!!!!!!

Come back mate, and join in the revelry. We are top of the ladder, get amongst it mate, we want you here!!!!!!! Come on!

Indeed. We need diversified views here, we know how much you love the Dogs, that's well established.

[kruder]

Also wtf was with the commentary tonight. I know it's always bad but some of it was downright deplorable. Going on about how Melbourne supporters would be booing about the freekick count, when I thought the umpires were pretty good for the most part (maybe biased i dunno probably not the best place to ask).

It was disgraceful. They were banging on about Oliver, they even went boundary side at quarter time and spoke about him again after Caleb had set up our quarter time lead in which we well and truly deserved.

Then BT was stating that Hannan has had a really good year? WTF? They just don't do any analysis on 7 always about the boys club and celebrity.

They also didn't mention when Melbourne was coming that the dogs were down two players and also failed to mention the players we had out which are significant.

[bornadog]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E7D8FsxX0AMvCGp?format=jpg&name=large

[Happy Days]

Ive always thought he’s more Joe Daniher than Buddy, but that level of speed is something neither of them have ever had. And I think Buddy is the best player of all time.

[jeemak]

Weightmans rise from possible bust draft pick to maybe the most exciting player in a team with Naughton and Bont is incredible. That mark was amazing and I am so sad nobody got to witness it live. Has to be played in real time to appreciate it fully, he moved in slow motion up the.

Love your work as always but I don't remember Weightman being considered a bust.......well not reasonably anyway albeit he was probably potted a bit unfairly after a few games last year in a tough time for second tier game quality.

Like we've all got our hobby horses for negativity, I've always been positive about Cody because I understood from the get go that he was never going to fit the mould we thought we needed him to fit.....but he always from day one showed he could add value at the level.

[jeemak]

It was disgraceful. They were banging on about Oliver, they even went boundary side at quarter time and spoke about him again after Caleb had set up our quarter time lead in which we well and truly deserved.

Then BT was stating that Hannan has had a really good year? WTF? They just don't do any analysis on 7 always about the boys club and celebrity.

They also didn't mention when Melbourne was coming that the dogs were down two players and also failed to mention the players we had out which are significant.

Don't watch the footy shows this week. We'll get kudos for stealing (funnily the words Peter Ryan used in his The Age match report) top spot instead of earning it, and that'll be it. Nothing else will come our way.

[Bulldog4life]

.. this season.

I think a number of Woofers BT judge him too harshly. In my eyes he has had a good season.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Don't watch the footy shows this week. We'll get kudos for stealing (funnily the words Peter Ryan used in his The Age match report) top spot instead of earning it, and that'll be it. Nothing else will come our way.

And yet I think that's a good thing. No one rates us.
I begrudgingly respect that too. We need to just win baby...that's the only thing we all can agree on.

[jeemak]

I think a number of Woofers BT judge him too harshly. In my eyes he has had a good season.

He's been thrown around a bit position and role wise, and he's getting more attention. He's also having to revert to doing more heavy lifting given Dunks and Treloar have been out. However, his overall productivity is better than his career (and his career averages take into account this year as well, remember):

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_player_compare?playerStatus1=A&tid1=8&playerStatus2=A&tid2=8&type=A&pid1=6618&pid2=6618&fid1=S&fid2=C

[soupman]

Love your work as always but I don't remember Weightman being considered a bust.......well not reasonably anyway albeit he was probably potted a bit unfairly after a few games last year in a tough time for second tier game quality.

Like we've all got our hobby horses for negativity, I've always been positive about Cody because I understood from the get go that he was never going to fit the mould we thought we needed him to fit.....but he always from day one showed he could add value at the level.
Yeah my bad. Might of gotten a bit carried away trying to paint the rags to riches narrative.

His rise from contending with the likes of Cavarra for a spot to where he is now is more to my meaning I guess.

[Happy Days]

Some of you and not me were definitely calling him a bust.

Not me though, never even one time and I’d like to see you prove it.

[bornadog]

Some of you and not me were definitely calling him a bust.

Not me though, never even one time and I’d like to see you prove it.

I could do some searching, but can't be bothered :D

[bulldogtragic]

I think a number of Woofers BT judge him too harshly. In my eyes he has had a good season.

I hope he’s getting better. There was a sustained run of poor games that seemed a little glossed over. I wouldn’t say good or bad necessarily, rather not to the standards I thought he could and should be hitting. I don’t know whether Dunks & Treloar in the side is a good thing or bad thing for him and the roles he may play. I guess time will tell.

[Axe Man]

I’ll guarantee during the game we will see all of Brown, McDonald, Jackson, Fritsch, spargo, and Pickett all take one on one marks ;)
Fritsch and McDonald, multiple.

Dear sir, I would to discuss your guarantee..,

[Bulldog4life]

Can't win it without Keath....possibly. But we just beat Melbourne without Keath without being able to plan for it.

Start getting positive, this is *!*!*!*!ing great and we should be lapping it up.

I just read this thread after the game. I need to see a psych.:D

[GVGjr]

Great to see Schache take the challenge on today and he certainly played his part in a fine win

Daniel, Liberatore. Hunter, Dale and Duryea all had good games plus I thought English put in a stellar performance.

[Bulldog4life]

Weightman mark.

https://www.afl.com.au/video/653408/weightman-climbs-gawn-ladder-to-haul-in-this-ripping-mark?videoId=653408&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1627126179001

Rivals Merv Hobb's mark over Melbourne's ruckman Tassie Johnson. I think Cody's wins.

[Bulldog4life]

Indeed. We need diversified views here, we know how much you love the Dogs, that's well established.

But if DG picks Adelaide next week I'll spew up. ;)

[Bulldog4life]

Don't watch the footy shows this week. We'll get kudos for stealing (funnily the words Peter Ryan used in his The Age match report) top spot instead of earning it, and that'll be it. Nothing else will come our way.

Melbourne are just an undisciplined mob.

[Eastdog]

Liked Schache game tonight. Did very well for us behind the ball.

We must keep playing Marra.

[dog town]

Great to see Schache take the challenge on today and he certainly played his part in a fine win

Daniel, Liberatore. Hunter, Dale and Duryea all had good games plus I thought English put in a stellar performance.

A few points on some of those players you mentioned.

Daniel- Bevo just keeps deploying him wherever he thinks the game is up for grabs. Melbourne were on top in the rain when we injected him around the ball in Q1. Was the cleanest player out there immediately. Later on we used him as a sweeper around stoppages and then behind the ball again. Won’t get AA this year but more important and influential to team success.

Hunter- like Daniel he has been playing different roles for the sake of the team. Had we deployed him in his traditional role this year I think it would have been his year for AA. I’m sure he is getting lots of credit internally.

Duryea- In all our big wins this year his ability to diffuse dangerous fast plays often on turnover has been invaluable. The reading of cues from the opposition kicker from both he and Williams must be getting worked on at training. Almost playing a turnover-turnover game at times turning dangerous opposition counter attacks into our own.

Dale- Huge difference from his last game against Melbourne. Am I the only one that thinks he has toed every kick he does before it lands safely in his teammates hands? I thought he did some really tough things and was a major headache for them all night.

Libba- did anyone get a feel for how long he spent forward? Was definitely forward for periods.

English- was excellent in some aspects of the game. I’m usually less concerned by hit outs than most but I must say I was concerned by the utter dominance of Gawn. The decision to set up a deeper sweeper at stoppages and sweat on opposition with tackles and smothers was successful. It’s something others have actually done to us successfully. My concern is on a dry day can we afford to be that reactive?

[azabob]

Don't watch the footy shows this week. We'll get kudos for stealing (funnily the words Peter Ryan used in his The Age match report) top spot instead of earning it, and that'll be it. Nothing else will come our way.

I called him out over Twitter for that turn of phrase. Will be interesting if he responds or changes it.

Another Age reporter used the same language last week.

[bulldogtragic]

I called him out over Twitter for that turn of phrase. Will be interesting if he responds or changes it.

Another Age reporter used the same language last week.

Stealing by definition is illegally taking something that doesn’t rightfully belong to you. I’d like to see that justified. Is winning more games mean top spot is not automatic? Are there other factors? What about percentage? Is that subjective now? What about disrespect, is that par for the course?

[Jeanette54]

How good it is to wake up this morning knowing that we won last night.

I just can't resist the happy dance.

This forum has become a part of my footy life. Foxtel for the game and woofers at the intervals, Many thanks to all who contribute to the match day experience. Somehow isolation is easier with you guys out there.

[merantau]

Rivals Merv Hobb's mark over Melbourne's ruckman Tassie Johnson. I think Cody's wins.

Correction: Trevor Johnson, but you're hardly the first to mix them up. And I reckon it was better than Merv's mark. Would have been perfect if the ghost of EJ was in the background, framed by the old stand, looking on.

https://images.app.goo.gl/hCyMY43E2cHoLydt7

[SonofScray]

Terrific result. Think we demonstrated a key element that has us well poised, we can make adjustments. Very few losses this year have felt like they couldn’t be turned around with another crack and last night was affirmation of it.

Exposed the Dees for their pea hearts too I think. They are good, but I don’t think it is in them to scrap through deep waters. That sort of thing is in our veins and whilst we’ve been shaky at the pointy end, the competition for spots seems to be bringing it back to the sursurface.

[dog town]

Looking at the stats between both games they have obliterated us for contested possession. It doesn’t feel like they are beating us for post stoppage ground balls (eye test) so I’m guessing it is skewed by Gawn feeding it down his mids throats?

[Bulldog4life]

Correction: Trevor Johnson, but you're hardly the first to mix them up. And I reckon it was better than Merv's mark. Would have been perfect if the ghost of EJ was in the background, framed by the old stand, looking on.

https://images.app.goo.gl/hCyMY43E2cHoLydt7

Yes you are right merantau always get them mixed up. Tassie was the more high profile I think....could be wrong again ha ha. Cody was higher than Merv so yes Cody's was better for mine.

[The bulldog tragician]

Looking at the stats between both games they have obliterated us for contested possession. It doesn’t feel like they are beating us for post stoppage ground balls (eye test) so I’m guessing it is skewed by Gawn feeding it down his mids throats?

That is definitely a surprising stat as I thought that was an area we excelled. There was a contest in the centre where both Bont and Macrae literally ripped the ball from Dees’ players’ hands. It always felt like we wanted it more which normally goes with contested possessions.

[westbulldog]

Correction: Trevor Johnson, but you're hardly the first to mix them up. And I reckon it was better than Merv's mark. Would have been perfect if the ghost of EJ was in the background, framed by the old stand, looking on.

https://images.app.goo.gl/hCyMY43E2cHoLydt7

I was there as a young boy behind those goals that day Hobbs marked, the 1961 prelim. Before the mark there was a priest in the row of then wooden seats behind me, after the mark he somehow jumped the seats and was in our row. Was it pure Footscray joy or divine intervention ? In those days one could train to Jolimont, walk through the park soaking up the anticipation, buy a ticket and walk in to watch the 3rds, seconds and firsts Grand finals. Now it is travel packages and corporate.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Rivals Merv Hobb's mark over Melbourne's ruckman Tassie Johnson. I think Cody's wins.
Fair call about an iconic Bulldogs mark.
Were you there for Hobbs BFL?
I wasn't but the mark reached my young self through the HS great photo.
It made me proud.

[dog town]

That is definitely a surprising stat as I thought that was an area we excelled. There was a contest in the centre where both Bont and Macrae literally ripped the ball from Dees’ players’ hands. It always felt like we wanted it more which normally goes with contested possessions. Contested possessions take in lots of different inputs. Lots of AFL clubs now focus on post stoppage ground balls to measure who is winning those genuine 50/50 balls.

[azabob]

I’d love to see Naughton, Bruce, Hannan, Marra heat maps.

I can’t recall really seeing either of them up on the wings or in defence - which for Naughton and Hannan is very unusual.

I know this was the plan to keep May and Lever accountable, I for one hope we continue to keep a couple of our key forwards inside 50 for the remainder of the season.

Come finals time we will need that get out kick.

[dog town]

I’d love to see Naughton, Bruce, Hannan, Marra heat maps.

I can’t recall really seeing either of them up on the wings or in defence - which for Naughton and Hannan is very unusual.

I know this was the plan to keep May and Lever accountable, I for one hope we continue to keep a couple of our key forwards inside 50 for the remainder of the season.

Come finals time we will need that get out kick. You could see on the side view when we had a slow play free kick in our half or a stoppage they were all pulling deep. They actually were not leading a great deal either at times. It was a clear tactic.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

I think a number of Woofers BT judge him too harshly. In my eyes he has had a good season.
B4L this is WOOF sub script. I have twice looked through several pages to know who you are referring to yet others know. I have to guess Cordy, Hannan but WOOFERS talking about absence of Dunks Treloar affecting Mr X.
Either way I love Cordy and Hannan.
Cordy is limited in talent but an ace at professionalism, fair mongrel and application. Every contest he is the surgeon ready with a scalpel.
Hannan is tough and good in contesting in air and on ground. He knows how to goal.

[Go_Dogs]

You could see on the side view when we had a slow play free kick in our half or a stoppage they were all pulling deep. They actually were not leading a great deal either at times. It was a clear tactic.

What does Melbourne try to do to counter it next time? Switch match ups?

It’s a tough one because if we have the right areas and know we’ve got either 1:1 or 2:2 in those zones deep it makes us more predictable and perhaps then opens up the lowering of the eyes if they have others zoning back to create a mismatch deep rather than guarding space ahead of it.

[dog town]

What does Melbourne try to do to counter it next time? Switch match ups?

It’s a tough one because if we have the right areas and know we’ve got either 1:1 or 2:2 in those zones deep it makes us more predictable and perhaps then opens up the lowering of the eyes if they have others zoning back to create a mismatch deep rather than guarding space ahead of it. They seem pretty happy with the way they defended because we didn’t take marks inside 50 but it stopped them getting out on the rebound. Depends if they are ok with that, they could drop another player back and risk us getting further on top around the ball. It can be a noose around your neck relying on winning it back the way they do there is lots of options to counter it so you need other methods.

Gawn also seemed to take less intercept marks so it was obviously a focus.

[bornadog]

Contested possessions take in lots of different inputs. Lots of AFL clubs now focus on post stoppage ground balls to measure who is winning those genuine 50/50 balls.

Take out Clayton Oliver with his 25 CP and the stats look better ;)

Is Oliver damaging enough?

[Go_Dogs]

They seem pretty happy with the way they defended because we didn’t take marks inside 50 but it stopped them getting out on the rebound. Depends if they are ok with that, they could drop another player back and risk us getting further on top around the ball. It can be a noose around your neck relying on winning it back the way they do there is lots of options to counter it so you need other methods.

Gawn also seemed to take less intercept marks so it was obviously a focus.

Thanks - it’s a good point. If you limit our forward line to lower single digit marks in F50 you probably take that as a coach. Going to be fascinating if we do meet them again this year.

[azabob]

You could see on the side view when we had a slow play free kick in our half or a stoppage they were all pulling deep. They actually were not leading a great deal either at times. It was a clear tactic.

For the remainder of the season do you think we should look to have two stay at home forwards more often than we prior to this week?

[dog town]

For the remainder of the season do you think we should look to have two stay at home forwards more often than we prior to this week?

Hard to tell exactly what’s happening when you’re not there but it actually looked like we were holding more than 2 really deep in those scenarios.

I don’t think we ever plan not to keep a couple of deep options but every game is different. Sometimes players get pulled out of position rounding up or rolling up to spare defenders. Sometimes your forwards lead and don’t get it right. Last night looked like we almost wanted to kick to congestion at times, almost defending with the ball. I doubt that will be every week.

Usually if we have nobody inside 50 it’s on a turnover and your forwards have rolled up to protect the corridor or line up on the 45 kick. I don’t think you can avoid that scenario in modern footy.

[jeemak]

B4L this is WOOF sub script. I have twice looked through several pages to know who you are referring to yet others know. I have to guess Cordy, Hannan but WOOFERS talking about absence of Dunks Treloar affecting Mr X.
Either way I love Cordy and Hannan.
Cordy is limited in talent but an ace at professionalism, fair mongrel and application. Every contest he is the surgeon ready with a scalpel.
Hannan is tough and good in contesting in air and on ground. He knows how to goal.

It's Baz he's referring to.

[Stefcep]

What does Melbourne try to do to counter it next time? Switch match ups?

It’s a tough one because if we have the right areas and know we’ve got either 1:1 or 2:2 in those zones deep it makes us more predictable and perhaps then opens up the lowering of the eyes if they have others zoning back to create a mismatch deep rather than guarding space ahead of it.

Petition the AFL to change the rules in some way?

[Bulldog4life]

I was there as a young boy behind those goals that day Hobbs marked, the 1961 prelim. Before the mark there was a priest in the row of then wooden seats behind me, after the mark he somehow jumped the seats and was in our row. Was it pure Footscray joy or divine intervention ? In those days one could train to Jolimont, walk through the park soaking up the anticipation, buy a ticket and walk in to watch the 3rds, seconds and firsts Grand finals. Now it is travel packages and corporate.

Me too, Got to go to the 1961 Grand Final too. We fell into the finals in 4th position....only top 4 played finals in those years...only 2 points in front of 5th and 6th teams. Had to stand all day watching the 3 matches. You had to get there early to get a good position as I was only ten at the time. In a good position at half time 8 points up. Wasn't to be.

[Bulldog4life]

B4L this is WOOF sub script. I have twice looked through several pages to know who you are referring to yet others know. I have to guess Cordy, Hannan but WOOFERS talking about absence of Dunks Treloar affecting Mr X.
Either way I love Cordy and Hannan.
Cordy is limited in talent but an ace at professionalism, fair mongrel and application. Every contest he is the surgeon ready with a scalpel.
Hannan is tough and good in contesting in air and on ground. He knows how to goal.

As others have said BID I was referring to Baz.

[Grantysghost]

Sometimes art empowers us and projects a gleeful gaze into the tapestry of time.

This image, simply entitled "apprendisti", is a standard bearer for the form.

https://i.postimg.cc/BQmKv8nf/Screenshot-20210726-122449-Chrome.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[comrade]

Sometimes art empowers us and projects a gleeful gaze into the tapestry of time.

This image, simply entitled "apprendisti", is a standard bearer for the form.

https://i.postimg.cc/BQmKv8nf/Screenshot-20210726-122449-Chrome.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

No surprises Libba, Baz and Garcia were first in.

[Grantysghost]

No surprises Libba, Baz and Garcia were first in.

Going to be fun watching Libba's apprentices for the foreseeable future.

[bornadog]

No surprises Libba, Baz and Garcia were first in.

The new three amigos (yes Baza la linka )

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Garcia's enjoyable to watch, just needs to keep building on experience so that he makes more good decisions than bad ones. Some of his handballs can be costly, but I don't think it's a composure thing because a number of times he buys himself time and hits a target by foot under pressure.

I wish Garcia was at game 50 or so - think he could be a bit of an energising wrecking ball once he gets experience. Strikes me as a player built for finals.

[merantau]

Garcia's enjoyable to watch, just needs to keep building on experience so that he makes more good decisions than bad ones. Some of his handballs can be costly, but I don't think it's a composure thing because a number of times he buys himself time and hits a target by foot under pressure.

I wish Garcia was at game 50 or so - think he could be a bit of an energising wrecking ball once he gets experience. Strikes me as a player built for finals.

Indeed, he has had a very good start to his career.

[merantau]

Baz has certainly got his mojo back at the pointy end of the year. Good sign for September.

[comrade]

I wish Garcia was at game 50 or so - think he could be a bit of an energising wrecking ball once he gets experience. Strikes me as a player built for finals.

Imagine us in 2 years. Bont and Macrae not even 29, Timmy at 25. Naughts and Baz bigger and stronger, Marra with 2 more preseasons, Garcia etc.

[azabob]

Garcia's enjoyable to watch, just needs to keep building on experience so that he makes more good decisions than bad ones. Some of his handballs can be costly, but I don't think it's a composure thing because a number of times he buys himself time and hits a target by foot under pressure.

I wish Garcia was at game 50 or so - think he could be a bit of an energising wrecking ball once he gets experience. Strikes me as a player built for finals.

Also fingers crossed VDM gets his body right as he and Garcia will make an amazing double act when swapping between midfield and forward.

[bornadog]

Coaches Votes

Melbourne v Western Bulldogs

9 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
8 Caleb Daniel (WB)
7 Clayton Oliver (MELB)
3 Jack Macrae (WB)
2 Lachie Hunter (WB)
1 Bailey Smith (WB)

LEADERBOARD
94 Marcus Bontempelli WB
92 Clayton Oliver MELB
85 Touk Miller GCFC
83 Samuel Walsh CARL
83 Ollie Wines PORT

[Bulldog Joe]

Coaches Votes

Melbourne v Western Bulldogs

9 Marcus Bontempelli (WB)
8 Caleb Daniel (WB)
7 Clayton Oliver (MELB)
3 Jack Macrae (WB)
2 Lachie Hunter (WB)
1 Bailey Smith (WB)

LEADERBOARD
94 Marcus Bontempelli WB
92 Clayton Oliver MELB
85 Touk Miller GCFC
83 Samuel Walsh CARL
83 Ollie Wines PORT

So one coach
Bont 5
Oliver 4
Caleb 3
Hunter 2
Macrae 1

Other
Caleb 5
Bont 4
Oliver 3
Macrae 2
Smith 1

Macrae, Smith and Hunter could be interchanged.

[bulldogtragic]

Schache robbed again!

[The Underdog]

Schache robbed again!

When has he been robbed before? :)

[Dry Rot]

How did Schache go in the ruck vs Gawn? Is he better than say Bruce or Young in this role?

[hujsh]

How did Schache go in the ruck vs Gawn? Is he better than say Bruce or Young in this role?


I don't believe he really competed against Gawn. Think he pretty much only went in with the other Melbourne ruck

[GVGjr]

I don't believe he really competed against Gawn. Think he pretty much only went in with the other Melbourne ruck

I think he went up against on a couple of occasions but yes it was more against Jackson.

[jeemak]

Just watching the replay now, and only a few minutes in and BT is really on my nerves.

Talking about Jacko's 5K possessions to date, and he emphasised how all the others before him were tagged and how upset Diesel would be about being eclipsed.

Yet back in the day you and your team mates could clip the taggers properly to make them stop, but team defence wasn't a thing and it was see ball get ball at stoppages by and large.

Just be happy for us you fat *!*!*!*!.

[soupman]

Just watching the replay now, and only a few minutes in and BT is really on my nerves.

Talking about Jacko's 5K possessions to date, and he emphasised how all the others before him were tagged and how upset Diesel would be about being eclipsed.

Yet back in the day you and your team mates could clip the taggers properly to make them stop, but team defence wasn't a thing and it was see ball get ball at stoppages by and large.

Just be happy for us you fat *!*!*!*!.

Yeah I remember that and thought it was pretty poor commentary. I mean the guys just made a pretty huge accomplishment and the first thing you do is try to diminish it? Weird.

[mjp]

Talking about Jacko's 5K possessions to date, and he emphasised how all the others before him were tagged and how upset Diesel would be about being eclipsed.

Yet back in the day you and your team mates could clip the taggers properly to make them stop, but team defence wasn't a thing and it was see ball get ball at stoppages by and large.


Whenever you are comparing players from different eras you are really setting yourself up for a failure. I loved the footy from 'my era' (basically the 1990's) and will always hold that as the gold standard - but there is amazing stuff going on right now and the best teams from 'my era' would be bottom of the ladder if a time capsule dropped them off to play games in AFL 2021. Of course, the 'well, they would play differently, train differently and ultimately be successful' argument is always thrown up (and it might very well be true) but ultimately we will never ever know for sure.

I am pretty happy to celebrate the efforts of Jacko and all of our other amazing players today - equally I think back to the performances and (particularly) head over the ball in the face of genuine physical danger from the 'olden days' and marvel at those players.

BT is commentary by personality these days. My daughter (23) loves him. Me (49) hates him. My 2x boys (19 + 14) - well, I'm just happy every time they watch the footy for long enough (more than a quarter) to be annoyed by the commentators...the pull of YouTube is generally WAY to much for those two to watch an entire game of footy (both play).

[Axe Man]

Just watching the replay now, and only a few minutes in and BT is really on my nerves.

bulldogtragic does commentary? How to I activate this feature?

[bulldogtragic]

bulldogtragic does commentary? How to I activate this feature?

All you, or anyone else, has to do is PM me your credit card details. I just need your card number, expiry, name and CCV. Also your credit limit. After receiving this you will get access all my premium content, my commentary of all games and the exclusive member only details of how to win a huge international lottery, guaranteed.

[1eyedog]

It's pretty clear we need to start a WOOF channel with a number of us rotating on the couch calling games live.

[Axe Man]

All you, or anyone else, has to do is PM me your credit card details. I just need your card number, expiry, name and CCV. Also your credit limit. After receiving this you will get access all my premium content, my commentary of all games and the exclusive member only details of how to win a huge international lottery, guaranteed.

Details sent my sweet Nigerian Prince.