Three things you've learnt-round 16 v Brisbane 2022

[Twodogs]

Alrighty. Tell us three things you've learnt tonight.

Not two (unless you put a third thing straight after it) but three. Definitely not four*


Things. That you've learnt. Tonight.


*Unless you feel like it of course.

[GVGjr]

Bump

[Bulldog4life]

1. Marra took some good marks but this year his goal kicking hasn't been reliable.

2. Season is not over but just a bit harder for us now.

3. Umpies were very pro Brisbane early on.

[Mutz]

1. Marra gaining confidence and clunking marks is great to see. Now he just needs to kick straight.

2. We are sorely missing Daniel. His ability to read the play and make fast accurate decisions is part of our blueprint and without him the plan falls down. Take out Richards as well and the plan disintegrates.

3. Entry into f50 has gone retro – just so stupid kicking to 1 on 3 (especially when one of them is Harris).

Bonus. Also gone retro is Naughton's goal kicking.

Extra. Gardiner's kicking has improved, actually had some nice kicks to advantage tonight.

[westbulldog]

1. This Club has wasted the best years of Bontempelli, Macrae and Liberatore.
2. Even though undermanned, the backline is a rabble.
3. There is no reason why Jordan Sweet can't stay in the team.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

1. Without English B Smith Duryea Daniel Richards and Bruce we were for the most part non competitive
2. The defence apart from Bailey Dale simply wasn’t good enough
3. The positives were the debut of Bedendo, the improvement in Ugle Hagen and the good efforts of Sweet in the ruck

[AshMac]

1. Good signs of bedendo early - quick, composed, nice goal. Big positive for me from the night

2. Bailey Williams is the most roller coaster form player on our list. The gap between his best and worst is the tower of terror

3. Had flashbacks of the grand final in the final 10 mins last night. We looked absolutely spent and they just did whatever they wanted

[Grantysghost]

1. Pushing back 5 metres off the mark is an abject failure. Why Bevo is so stuck on it is beyond me, I watched him last week prior to the game in deep conversation with one of the umpires and he role played moving back so he's still working it out. We use a high press, and then move back and cede ground it's tactically perplexing. The player with the ball has no pressure on them and watching the Lions pick through our zone last night with 0 reaction tactically left me amazed.
It's also philosophically the antitheses of our club : "cede nullis"!

2. Liberatore should be held in the same regard as Bontempelli. He's getting better. That goal was as good as I've seen from a Bulldog.

3. Moving a forward up to the contest is great if you're happy to be outnumbered when the ball gets down there.

Special mention : Bevo going to the tried and true "I don't know how many players we've played this year" using injuries as a reason year after year is driving me spare.

[AshMac]

1. Pushing back 5 metres off the mark is an abject failure. Why Bevo is so stuck on it is beyond me, I watched him last week prior to the game in deep conversation with one of the umpires and he role played moving back so he's still working it out. We use a high press, and then move back and cede ground it's tactically perplexing. The player with the ball has no pressure on them and watching the Lions pick through our zone last night with 0 reaction tactically left me amazed.

2. Liberatore should be held in the same regard as Bontempelli. He's getting better. That goal was as good as I've seen from a Bulldog.

We did it to Joe danniher (I think 3rd qtr) after the ball was kicked out on the full. Brought him from 55m to about 48m from goal for the kick.

Just makes no sense

[Grantysghost]

We did it to Joe danniher (I think 3rd qtr) after the ball was kicked out on the full. Brought him from 55m to about 48m from goal for the kick.

Just makes no sense

Mind blowing. I think we gave away a 50 doing it too.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

1. Watching the game from behind the goals, it was just so deflating to see the ball carriers deliver the ball to precisely the wrong spots, or picking the wrong target. We are just so shaky with the way we deliver the ball inside 50. There were a couple from Bont that just put Naughton in a no win situation, but there were many other culprits.

2. Jamarra is starting to get what he has to do at this level. He worked real hard off the ball all night, and was also an active voice inside our forward half, organising players around him and adjusting his own position according to what was going on upfield.

3. We're going to have some decent draft capital to play around with this year, as I can't see us making the 8 from here.

[Mantis]

Mind blowing. I think we gave away a 50 doing it too.

Yep, our player was told to stand, but as is the want of our players he tried to push back to be outside the 5 and got pinged.

Both acts are ridiculous.

[Bullies]

1. We can turn it around quickly next year if we get a good run at it and make a few changes to the list. I think Jamarra, Darcy, Bedendo, Jones will all go to the next level quite quickly. At least we know a number of players are not up to it and we can move on - McComb, Schache, Crozier with O'Brien lucky he has 2 years to go as I have no idea what he offers.

2. If Dunkley wants the cash then do your best Sam and get a 1st rounder.

3. We missed having Scott on the wing last night as he is one of the few he hits a target with his elite kicking.

[Bulldog4life]

1. Pushing back 5 metres off the mark is an abject failure. Why Bevo is so stuck on it is beyond me, I watched him last week prior to the game in deep conversation with one of the umpires and he role played moving back so he's still working it out. We use a high press, and then move back and cede ground it's tactically perplexing. The player with the ball has no pressure on them and watching the Lions pick through our zone last night with 0 reaction tactically left me amazed.
It's also philosophically the antitheses of our club : "cede nullis"!

2. Liberatore should be held in the same regard as Bontempelli. He's getting better. That goal was as good as I've seen from a Bulldog.

3. Moving a forward up to the contest is great if you're happy to be outnumbered when the ball gets down there.

Special mention : Bevo going to the tried and true "I don't know how many players we've played this year" using injuries as a reason year after year is driving me spare.

I noticed other teams doing this as well in the last few weeks.

[Bulldog4life]

Mind blowing. I think we gave away a 50 doing it too.

In that case the umpire said stand...I heard it...and the player kept walking backwards. 50 every day of the week.

[azabob]

1. We can turn it around quickly next year if we get a good run at it and make a few changes to the list. I think Jamarra, Darcy, Bedendo, Jones will all go to the next level quite quickly. At least we know a number of players are not up to it and we can move on - McComb, Schache, Crozier with O'Brien lucky he has 2 years to go as I have no idea what he offers.

2. If Dunkley wants the cash then do your best Sam and get a 1st rounder.

3. We missed having Scott on the wing last night as he is one of the few he hits a target with his elite kicking.

No offence Bullies, but we've been saying this since 2017.

Nice observation on Scott.

[azabob]

1. I already new the season was cooked back round 6 or 7 but to watch our players ghost us supporters in the second half with Brisbane a man down was just not good enough.

2. JUH has improved each week since his recall to the AFL side. He simply needs to be played week in week out. I wonder if we should play him deep and Naughton as the lead up target?

3. 39% inside 50 efficiency. 41% scoring accuracy, 69% effective disposals. FMD. Are we serious?

[Bullies]

No offence Bullies, but we've been saying this since 2017.

Nice observation on Scott. We made a Grand Final last year so not a bad effort.

It means we don't have to bottom out. You can see Marra coming along nicely. Darcy can go down back and be the intercept player we need. Good for his development as easier to learn down back.

I wasn't keen on Lobbe but if you weigh it up he will take a key defender away from Naughton and can also relieve English in the ruck. This will mean Marra will get the 3rd or 4th defender. Once it clicks with Marra you will find he will go to the next level quite quickly.

[bornadog]

1. Losing three small players in the backline really hurt last night.

2. Everytime the ball is coming into the backline and is in the air, I am not confident we will win it.

3. The forward line would be a bigger mess if Naughton wasn't there.

[Bulldog4life]

1. I already new the season was cooked back round 6 or 7 but to watch our players ghost us supporters in the second half with Brisbane a man down was just not good enough.

2. JUH has improved each week since his recall to the AFL side. He simply needs to be played week in week out. I wonder if we should play him deep and Naughton as the lead up target?

3. 39% inside 50 efficiency. 41% scoring accuracy, 69% effective disposals. FMD. Are we serious?

Agree aza but I wonder why he kicks the ball so high when kicking for goal. Unusual.

[azabob]

Agree aza but I wonder why he kicks the ball so high when kicking for goal. Unusual.

I actually was pondering that myself as I was trying to go to sleep last night! No idea. Maybe our resident goal kicking coach can answer.

[Mantis]

1/ McComb isn’t up to this level. Just gives the ball back to easily. He’s maybe an easy target, but it just sticks out.

2/ Our defenders can’t defend. Obviously missing some personnel, but none of those are particularly great 1:1 defenders either… Doc was, but not on this years form.

3/ Our full ground defence on turnover or from our forward line is as bad as any team in the competition… Bevo says it needs to improve continuously, but it hasn’t. That’s on him to fix! If these players won’t implement the game style he either gets new players or we get a new coach.

[Boots]

1. Marra is becoming super fun to watch, I don't care if he never reaches his "potential" he's just great viewing.

2. Even our players don't think they can win 1:1s. We always over-commit to the ball carrier, that means we don't guard their exits. It's why we can't shut down chains of possession: We go 3:1 on the guy marking, he drops it, and his mate picks it up uncontested while our guys are all still on the ground or out of position from trying to get the outnumber. It's awful to watch and it almost never works. I'd rather they take lower-risk plays, one guy aims to spoil or just prevent a clean mark, and for the 2 freed up to pressure the handball receiver via the contested play that's our trademark. I hate this about our current way of playing more than anything.

3. I didn't learn anything else - the rest is stuff I already knew. Too many behinds, no forward line chemistry, no connection between midfield and forward line, we seem incapable of playing four quarters... God we've been a deeply insipid team all year.

[Bullies]

Agree aza but I wonder why he kicks the ball so high when kicking for goal. Unusual. Maybe it is part of our goal kicking problem in general. We have no one who is teaching the guys the art of the ball drop and goal kicking. if we do they are not very good at their job.

[soupman]

1. Pushing back 5 metres off the mark is an abject failure. Why Bevo is so stuck on it is beyond me, I watched him last week prior to the game in deep conversation with one of the umpires and he role played moving back so he's still working it out. We use a high press, and then move back and cede ground it's tactically perplexing. The player with the ball has no pressure on them and watching the Lions pick through our zone last night with 0 reaction tactically left me amazed.


his frequently gets brought up here but I really don't think it's an issue. Inside of 55m sure (which happened once) but generally I think it has a few benefits. Typically when the opposition takes a mark against us they either opt to slow chip heir way through us to try and pick apart the zone or if they are on the fast break they will go quickly. In the latter example we can't get back quickly enough to make any difference from the stand rule so it's irrelevant, but in the former I think it generally works at zero cost.

If they are slow chipping it an extra 5m is nothing, especially because they never advance into it. Meanwhile we get someone on the mark (ideally Weightman/JJ/Scott) who is now part of the zone but still ostensibly on the mark. They can now cover that space within 15m in front of the kicker, and when our zone is working this is usually where the opposition tries to play the ball until they go long down the line.

Do I think it's game breaking or a great tactic? No, but I think it isn't the liability it is made out to be.


In that case the umpire said stand...I heard it...and the player kept walking backwards. 50 every day of the week.

That one was bullshit and something we have been done for a few times this season. Our player was already in motion as he reversed and the umpire yelled stand then pinged him for a movement he had already committed to and is permitted. If the player is already in motion then the umpire should give them the leeway to continue with that instead of pinging them for not immediately doing the opposite to their intended action, it isn't like it had any consequence on anything. Tbf the umpires usually are good at this, but the occasional bad decision in this regard really looks shithouse.

[DOG GOD]

1. Losing three small players in the backline really hurt last night.

2. Everytime the ball is coming into the backline and is in the air, I am not confident we will win it.

3. The forward line would be a bigger mess if Naughton wasn't there.

1. We need Daniel in defence, even if it is to just right the sinking ship on occasion.

2. Our defence continues to be our Achilles heel, and for mine we need THREE KPD’s of quality. (Keath is past it)

3. Our fwd line will remain dysfunctional as long as we don’t have 2-3 TRUE forwards in our F50.(thinking likes of Mihocek, Gunston etc).

[The Bulldogs Bite]

his frequently gets brought up here but I really don't think it's an issue. Inside of 55m sure (which happened once) but generally I think it has a few benefits. Typically when the opposition takes a mark against us they either opt to slow chip heir way through us to try and pick apart the zone or if they are on the fast break they will go quickly. In the latter example we can't get back quickly enough to make any difference from the stand rule so it's irrelevant, but in the former I think it generally works at zero cost.

If they are slow chipping it an extra 5m is nothing, especially because they never advance into it. Meanwhile we get someone on the mark (ideally Weightman/JJ/Scott) who is now part of the zone but still ostensibly on the mark. They can now cover that space within 15m in front of the kicker, and when our zone is working this is usually where the opposition tries to play the ball until they go long down the line.

The problem is football is still largely a territory based game. We concede territory which especially makes it difficult to actually win the ball back until it's kicked long. We probably do it to try and support our weak defence, but ironically, it isn't a tactic anyone could say is actually working.

The first chip might only be 15m but it's too easy for opposition to work the ball to the wing or their half forward line. Good sides, especially, find it easy to pick us apart (see Brisbane, Geelong in recent weeks). We don't concede as many 'over the back goals', but that's about the only benefit.

As a former player who relied on my skill level, I would love nothing more than for the opposition to walk back 5m off the mark. It allows me more time and space to assess options and it still doesn't stop me running on an arc to gain an extra 5m. All it does is place the man standing off the mark in no mans land - unable to apply pressure to the kicker, too shallow to provide any coverage in a zone.

It's a rubbish tactic IMO.

[bornadog]

it still doesn't stop me running on an arc to gain an extra 5m.

Watch carefully, no one runs on an arc in that situation and rarely takes advantage of the 5m.

I think nothing worst than having to stand like a statue and the player just strolls around you and you can't tackle or do a thing.

The stand rule is just a big joke and just another rule ruining football.

[boydogs]

They don’t call play on quickly enough so it’s better to be 5m back but mobile. Also prevents 50’s from moving when standing