Three things you've learned Round Five 2022 v North Melbourne

[Twodogs]

It's Good Friday so tell us three good (or bad) things you've learnt today.

[GVGjr]

Bump

[whythelongface]

1. Our best is fantastic but at the moment we are seeing this is in patches. Hopefully we are building into the season and by the time finals come we start to peak.

2. I don’t mind some of the stuff O’Brien does but he will be frustrating to watch as he does some dumb things - a few today that led to NM goals. Better suited as a third tall.

3. As much as he is maligned Cordy is important for us. I like him forward - he has some smarts and can take a player out of the defensive line to allow more space for Naughton. If he can play some time forward and some time back during a game then I think he adds value. Good work by the selectors.

[bornadog]

1. If only we kicked straight against Carlton and Richmond, the ledger would have looked better.

2. I liked the move of Bont playing forward for a half, it really put a cat amongst the pigeons

3. We must sign English and Baz immediately before they come with big cheques.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

1. These first weeks of the season might be just the experience Jamarra needs right now in his development. It's not just all happening in a whirlwind and he's having to work hard.
The hype of his selection last year is sorta dissipating as is last year's media scrutiny, with silly and shallow comparisons with Buddy, coverage of his personal relationships etc.
If he can keep working hard and find a way to contribute each game, he's going to have a game this year where it all clicks and he gives us a glimpse of his long term potential.

2. 'The excellent flexibility and versatility of Cordy tonight' is a combination of words I'd NEVER have anticipated committing to screen in my life. What a strange and wondrous wold this can be at times.

3. WE still have a frustrating ability to be shaky or flaky for periods quarters, games, or weeks. It boggles the mind? We have so many high quality players on our list, many with unique point of difference attributes. I just don't understand how it is we can just seemingly flick a switch and go from top shelf to outhouse? Given it sends supporters spare, it must be even more frustrating for the players themselves and coaches.

Its got to be between the ears. I hope they find the method of helping the group address it, because the quality of players on our list is the best I've ever seen in my lifetime...Their best is sublime, and is a very attractive mix of hardness, skill and spirit that should see them perennial contenders. But right now as we all painfully know, a bad three minutes from this group can be terminal.

[macca]

1. Cordy get much maligned as not a KPD . Put him forward where he provides a contest bring the ball to ground , blocks and actually takes some marks . There is a place in the team as the multi dimensional swing man . probably keeping Schache out now . Good he kicked a goal
2. Baz and Gardner endurance is phenomenal. baz runs all day and provides always an option for his teammates. WE are starting to see the best of Gardner . His timing and reading of the play is pretty good . If he can intercept more cleanly and keep those kicks to 20 m or less his going to be AA. Great pickup and emerging story for 2022

3. We still have lapses where we let teams have a run on : North kicked 5 in a row in the second and around the 15 m mark in the 3rd we let them kick a few in a row . We need to close this gap and just no ordinary teams like north get a run on .

We should have. Gone hard to get Xerri last yesr . He looks much stronger and presents well , just did not take those marks

[The bulldog tragician]

1. We looked mentally shot last week, out of ideas and so down in confidence, so in that context it was a great win to come out and dominate AND banish the goal kicking demons.

2. Naughton is just such a competitive beast. His tackling and second efforts don’t get noticed as much as the spectacular marks. And in Josh Bruce style he’s just as happy when his team mate goals. legend.

3. Ryan Gardner!!! I couldn’t see it, I wasn’t alone, but isn’t it great to see what confidence can do. He really was cool tonight. I dong panic when he has the ball any more! (This is a lie. But he’s much much better)

(Bonus points for him running all the way down the field to congratulate his former backline mate Cordy when he dobbed a goal.)

[1eyedog]

1. There is no way Weightman doesn't play 200 games for us. Already giving backs the jitters when he's near it. Great young player.

2. O'Brien will be ok, just lost his shape a few times tonight. Best suited as a third tall so is under the pump at the moment. I see some value.

3. Chilli has turned a corner, big time.

[comrade]

1. English is probably going to make it and is going to cost us a fortune to keep him.

2. Ryan Gardner impressed the hell out of me. Made a few mistakes (the dropped mark, got lost out of position and couldn’t help O’Brien in one contest deep, the flubbed a kick after winning a really good defensive contest) but man, he is defending like a demon at the moment. He even has a bit of aggro within him, gave Larkey a nice late clip on the wing I was sitting on. 2022 is shaping up as a weird year for the Dogs but Gardy becoming a genuine AFL KPD would certainly take the edge off.

3. Cordy should never play in defence again and just roll with this forward scrapper/ruck pinch hit thing he’s doing. It’s bizarre, it’s Bevo to a tee but it certainly worked out well last night. Not sure it will against good teams but we’ll see.

[1eyedog]

Gardner is improving week by week but his direct opponent still kicked 4.

[ratsmac]

1. Kicking 8.3 in the opening quarter compared to 2.7 makes the next 3 quarters easier to watch.

2. Tim English could one day win the Brownlow. He really stands out when he plays well. Gee I hope his ambitions are here at the Bulldogs and signs on soon.

3. Cody Weightman is not just a flash in the pan! If he can stay involved like he did against North, kicking bags of 5 won't be a rarity. His pressure yesterday was fantastic and then to still lead up go for his marks and being a presence up forward helped releave pressure on Naughton. It felt like we would score most times going in f50 when other weeks it was quite the opposite. The opposition contributed to that too :)

[westbulldog]

1. Cordy forward provided some contest and aggression and a chop out in the ruck. His stints in the backline should be over.
2. Gardner played an accomplished defenders game and rarely made a mistake.
3. Jack Macrae again in AA form, 10 clearances. He is so committed that he was aggro that medical staff took him off for a concussion check.

[Grantysghost]

1. Cordy forward provided some contest and aggression and a chop out in the ruck. His stints in the backline should be over.
2. Gardner played an accomplished defenders game and rarely made a mistake.
3. Jack Macrae again in AA form, 10 clearances. He is so committed that he was aggro that medical staff took him off for a concussion check.

And hit the scoreboard!

[Bulldog4life]

Gardner is improving week by week but his direct opponent still kicked 4.

At least two goals if I do remember Gardner wasn't on Larkey. But I stand to be corrected if I am wrong.

[Grantysghost]

At least two goals if I do remember Gardner wasn't on Larkey. But I stand to be corrected if I am wrong.

He's not a bad player Larkey. I don't think Ryan was that culpable, as you say maybe not always him and also Larkey goes ok.
One was a footrace for a loose ball he was always going to win, another was a lead deep into the pocket which they almost allow.

[SquirrelGrip]

2. Tim English could one day win the Brownlow. He really stands out when he plays well. Gee I hope his ambitions are here at the Bulldogs and signs on soon.


He could win it this year…

[Bulldog4life]

1. Tim English has improved year on year since we drafted him. I love the way he roves his own tap to boot the ball forward. He is our number one ruckman without a shadow of a doubt. He will continue to get better and better too. Cannot afford to lose him. Signing him is the number one priority for me.

2. Zaine's aggression is important to our forward line. Makes it easier for the other forwards. The goal he kicked was impressive too.

3. After missing a bit of the pre season Cody is back. Love his attack on the ball. You always get 100% from him playing what can be a difficult position.

[Go_Dogs]

1. Cordy as the spare parts utility suddenly has weight. He’ll never be as skilled as Schache, have as big a leap as Gardner or be as athletic as Buku, but he has aggression and based on yesterday, a bit of forward craft if we are able to find him. With Naughts and Marra down there, we have big blokes who hit hard and are putting in defensive efforts.

2. While there has been plenty of doom and gloom re Libba, it’s been far worse (and more founded) re Wally. He was really good yesterday with his defensive work and positioning (4 tackles inside f50 and 4 score involvements). He needs to do it against a better side, but he’s a good sub and earned his keep yesterday. It may not be over…

3. McNeil and hopefully soon enough to a lesser extent Scott, will continue to live on the edges of selection. While they don’t fill the stat sheet, but they’re important players. Quick enough to corral and close down space, apply pressure, and handy when they contribute scoreboard wise too. It’s hard to say they’d have made a difference in Sept 21, but I hope they’re there come finals 22.

[Happy Days]

1. Whenever you’re half paying attention and a horrific mistake is made, you better believe when they show the replay it’s Tim O’Brien’s fault. Happy to be proven wrong as usual but his recruitment feels like a personal attack on me.

2. Winning. Better than losing?

3. When you get Lachie Young on Bontempelli deep forward you kick it to that match up every Van Damne time. Can’t believe another team is giving him games but sure glad it’s not us.

[DOG GOD]

1. As well as Gardner looked, he still has the jitters around the ball. Sometimes he just seems a bit uncertain whether to punch or too mark. I feel he needs to get it into his head that if he is with his direct tall opponent, then he punches 100% of the time, and if he’s with a smaller opponent, then he tries to mark the ball.

2. Baz is one of the hardest runners in the AFL.

3. I really like the 1%’ers that Cordy provided yesterday. He kept involved in the play, even if that meant no possessions. His hardness alone will keep Schache in the VFL.

[ratsmac]

1. Whenever you’re half paying attention and a horrific mistake is made, you better believe when they show the replay it’s Tim O’Brien’s fault. Happy to be proven wrong as usual but his recruitment feels like a personal attack on me.

2. Winning. Better than losing?

3. When you get Lachie Young on Bontempelli deep forward you kick it to that match up every Van Damne time. Can’t believe another team is giving him games but sure glad it’s not us.


O,Brien was doing my head in yesterday. Everything he seemed to touched turned to shite

[merantau]

1. We play better when Libba spends more time at the coal face.
2. Naughton and Marra get in each other's way too much
3. Cody should not be flying for marks when the big blokes are in the area.

[bornadog]

O,Brien was doing my head in yesterday. Everything he seemed to touched turned to shite

I re-watched the game (except 2nd quarter), so his errors must have mainly been then. I know the pass to Williams was a shocker.

[Bulldog Joe]

At least two goals if I do remember Gardner wasn't on Larkey. But I stand to be corrected if I am wrong.

Actually only the mark in the last quarter where Larkey led back to the goals was the only time he goaled directly opposed to Gardner. Ryan was too busy then trying to get back to Larkey rather than watching the ball. O'Brien should have come over the top to spoil on that occassion.

The las one Gards had been upfield trying to negate Ziebull with Cordy responsible for Larkey.

The other 2 were both opposed to O'Brien.

Gardner also spent a lot of time on Goldstein and was able to spoil successfully.

[Bulldog Joe]

1. Whenever you’re half paying attention and a horrific mistake is made, you better believe when they show the replay it’s Tim O’Brien’s fault. Happy to be proven wrong as usual but his recruitment feels like a personal attack on me.

2. Winning. Better than losing?

3. When you get Lachie Young on Bontempelli deep forward you kick it to that match up every Van Damne time. Can’t believe another team is giving him games but sure glad it’s not us.

Clearly the football club as a whole knew they needed a new whipping boy for the fans.

[Bullies]

O,Brien was doing my head in yesterday. Everything he seemed to touched turned to shite
Not sure why people are surprised with O'Brien. He wasn't a regular in the Hawks team and one of the reasons for this was his poor disposal and his turnovers. Some people give Cordy a hard time for his decision making under pressure well enjoy the ride with O'Brien.

[AshMac]

1. Amazing what goal kicking looks like when you have natural forwards kicking early

2. Lids firmly on - I’d like to see some of that run and carry against good teams. We melt like butter when teams play an extra man behind the ball and close off our options. Not enough for me yet as North were like a poor VFL team outside their 5 goal burst

3. I had serious doubts about English at the start of the season but I couldn’t be happier to eat humble pie. Would put him in the top spot for re-signing now

[macca]

Not sure why people are surprised with O'Brien. He wasn't a regular in the Hawks team and one of the reasons for this was his poor disposal and his turnovers. Some people give Cordy a hard time for his decision making under pressure well enjoy the ride with O'Brien.

They tried him back but he was no good and could not kick

They put in forward and that showed enough to get some clubs interested

Yeah , he can take a mark but the rest of his game needs to improve . I am sceptical of when Hawks let go of players, as they are pretty good in their list managerment , even their older players . From observation the players they delist they don’t have very long careers after exception to Kennedy and McGlynn( list was too good at the time)

I hope he makes it ( like to all our players ) but I have my doubts .
He could become like Duryea , who had deficiencies in his game when he arrived .

Please prove me wrong .

[Grantysghost]

1. Amazing what goal kicking looks like when you have natural forwards kicking early

2. Lids firmly on - I’d like to see some of that run and carry against good teams. We melt like butter when teams play an extra man behind the ball and close off our options. Not enough for me yet as North were like a poor VFL team outside their 5 goal burst

3. I had serious doubts about English at the start of the season but I couldn’t be happier to eat humble pie. Would put him in the top spot for re-signing now

Point 2 is spot on.

We had so much space there was no pressure on the ball carrier through half back/middle.

North were very bad. But a win's a win.

[macca]

1. Cordy as the spare parts utility suddenly has weight. He’ll never be as skilled as Schache, have as big a leap as Gardner or be as athletic as Buku, but he has aggression and based on yesterday, a bit of forward craft if we are able to find him. With Naughts and Marra down there, we have big blokes who hit hard and are putting in defensive efforts.

2. While there has been plenty of doom and gloom re Libba, it’s been far worse (and more founded) re Wally. He was really good yesterday with his defensive work and positioning (4 tackles inside f50 and 4 score involvements). He needs to do it against a better side, but he’s a good sub and earned his keep yesterday. It may not be over…

3. McNeil and hopefully soon enough to a lesser extent Scott, will continue to live on the edges of selection. While they don’t fill the stat sheet, but they’re important players. Quick enough to corral and close down space, apply pressure, and handy when they contribute scoreboard wise too. It’s hard to say they’d have made a difference in Sept 21, but I hope they’re there come finals 22.

I like Scott and McNeil determination and their path to afl is a great story . They are there in the right spots , it’s their execution and disposal need to improve . The fact that McNeil got a shot at goal in the 4th quarter shows the team trusts him in the fwd line. I want to see both get more chances on the link chain . lead harder and they will get more marks . Their tackling pressure is tops


I like Scott’s steely determination , you can see it in his eyes . His effort to punch the ball in last quarter against Larkey was commendable ( TOB should have come in for the chop out )

The whole fwd line need to function better . naughton and JUH are getting into each other’s way for Marks . Why is Cody flying for Marks when both of them are as well ? Not enough crumbing at the base of the pack . Hunter’s s goals was a good example
JUH work rate needs to lift , when he improved that in the second half , the defenders were chasing him

Wallis could just be the ideal medical sub . Fresh legs to bring in the game and experienced enough to play the half forward role. Would like to see more games in Wallis but his limitations in his speed , have others ahead of him

[1eyedog]

1. Whenever you’re half paying attention and a horrific mistake is made, you better believe when they show the replay it’s Tim O’Brien’s fault. Happy to be proven wrong as usual but his recruitment feels like a personal attack on me.

2. Winning. Better than losing?

3. When you get Lachie Young on Bontempelli deep forward you kick it to that match up every Van Damne time. Can’t believe another team is giving him games but sure glad it’s not us.

I thought Young on Weightman worked really well for them after quarter time.

[boydogs]

I thought Young on Weightman worked really well for them after quarter time.

That's more a slight on Atu that had him in the first than anything else