Round 4 2008 Match Preview: Bulldogs v Dons

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Thanks for the opportunity to get one of these up. I haven't had a lot of time on my hands, but I've enjoyed coming up with this all the same and hopefully it's not too bad of a read either. it was too long to post in the one, so I've cut it up into two sections.

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Match: Essendon v Western Bulldogs – Telstra Dome – Friday Night

Recent Form: The Bombers were super impressive in Round 1, taking on a former top four side and taking them to the cleaners. Their run through the middle of the ground was pivotal; Houli was fantastic whilst Jetta, Davey & Dempsey provide plenty of pace & good ball use. Geelong gave them a substantial reality check a week later though, outlining that although the Bombers have talent, there’s a long way to go. They bounced back against Carlton , but a few injuries are of some concern. The Bulldogs have started the season in prolific fashion, recording a very impressive victory over The Saints. Two wins against two very good sides is a great start in anyones books.

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Last time they played:
Rd 15 2007 - TD - Saturday night - Western Bulldogs 20.11.131 dftd Essendon 14.14.98

At the time, it appeared an important game. A win for either side would apparently result most likely in a finals birth. Both sides were vying for a spot in the 8, and the match ebbed and flowed in the first half. The Doggies ran away early taking a 4+ goal early lead before surrending it seconds prior to quarter time. Again, in the second quarter The Doggies fired back where the run of Cooney became crucial. Although mistakes were made, the four points for The Dogs were achieved. Little did we all know that Round 15 would be the last victory of 2007, ensuring we miss out of September action.

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Players missing / At the selection table:

Western Bulldogs: Higgins is out for three months, Ray another two away whilst Williams & Everitt are probably still two-three themselves. I suspect all will have to play through the VFL first, anyhow. It was revealed on Monday that Scott West had surgery on his knee, and although only minor, is likely to miss this week’s game. Nathan Eagleton who’s had a two week layoff would have to be an inclusion if so. Callan or Harbrow were in some sort of danger if the side that took on The Saints was fully fit, but they would have to be very, very stiff to miss as both have done pretty well over the last two weeks & one week respectively. All in all, I suspect either no change or Eagleton to come in at Westy’s injury expense.

Essendon: The Bombers have a few injury concerns, although a couple should be still right to play. Hille came back after his injury and should be right. Jetta is certain to miss however, whilst Pevrill would appear likely to be dropped after a poor game. Welsh & Lovett-Murray are possible inclusions, whilst Jason Johnson is another that The Bombers will look at. McVeigh was reported and although I didn’t witness the incident, the word is that he’ll be OK.

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Style of play / team structure’s:

Western Bulldogs – As the football world knows, our style is to run & carry the football with sublime foot & hand skills. This has been clearly on display in the first three rounds of this season, but our style of play is significantly improved from that of 05-07. After bulking up over the summer, we’ve been able to employ a much harder edge to our hard running gameplan. In recent years we’ve really struggled in the contested situations and in this day & age, it doesn’t matter how fast you can run, if you’re pushed off the ball easily you’re basically useless. Trading away McMahon & Power whilst recruiting Welsh & Hudson have been a clear change of direction. Less emphasis has been put on the receivers, and more on players who can find the ball and compete well in contested situations. Both Hudson & Welsh are great at this and have improved our squad remarkably. Hudson has clearly had a positive effect on Minson as both have been instrumental around the stoppages. The work ethic of the entire club has improved dramatically too, as the players are far more willing to work hard both ways rather than just offensively. Therefore, whilst being deadly as ever on the rebound and when we have the football, we’ve been equally good at applying pressure on the opposition and forcing them to play exactly how they don’t want to be. When they have the football, we’ve applied hard tackles that stick – we’ve had numbers around the ball and we’ve made the opposition work endlessly hard to play the type of style they want to. It’s only early but we’ve certainly employed a similar style to that of Geelongs. This is obviously largely due to the increased strength we’ve built up over the summer, and the improved fitness base. Cooney has been brilliant with his work rate, whilst the usual suspects (Cross, West, Boyd) have featured too. Up forward we’ve had plenty of options. Murphy is moving as well as he ever has, and over the last three weeks has been incredibly impressive with his ability to read the play, hold marks and weave in-between opposition players without kicking the ball to nobody. Akermanis has been very handy up forward whilst Welsh & Johnson have worked beautifully in tandem, despite a quiet outing last week against The Saints. Minson has been great at bringing the ball to ground and as evident against The Saints, he doesn’t need to mark everything, but if he brings the ball to his feet 9/10 times then we’re going to score goals. Crumbers such as Aker, Higgins(inj), Gia & Harbrow will be loving the work of Minson. Down back we struggled in Round 1, but have been great in the last two weeks. Morris & Lake have been simply outstanding, both putting a blanket on their opponents including the likes of Riewoldt & Gehrig. Wight deserves credit, too; he’s working hard and although he makes mistakes, he’s doing well enough to keep his spot. After a rough first quarter, he did a fine job on Kosi and the pleasing thing was that Wight made him work defensively – which simply, he wasn’t prepared to do. This is what Wight has to do, and he has been. Every game he’s been sneaking up the ground and managing a couple of shots on goal. Probably should’ve had two more, but he’s doing really well nevertheless in this aspect and needs to continue it. Overall, we’re playing as a team – a good team. Run & carry with our good skills will always still be on display, but our discipline, perseverance, pressure skills & mentality has improved enormously and this is the reason we’ve been so impressive.

Essendon – Over the last few seasons, Essendon has been hounded for a serious lack of pace. Over the last two drafts they’ve gone some way to rectifying that. Inclusions of players like Davey, Dempsey, Jetta, Winderlich & co have injected plenty of pace through the midfield and zip up forward. Therefore, The Bombers have somewhat emulated the run & carry gameplan of our 2005 season. It’s only very early days and like us, they’ve had a mixed bag of results. Pretty young side and they’re still developing and learning a new gameplan, so it’s to be expected. Against The Kangaroos they were able to employ their hard running style of play to perfect use. Houli dominated whilst Davey, Jetta & Dempsey got plenty of the ball around the ground. Jay Nash is a nice inclusion for them too, and both Winderlich & Dyson can cover some territory fairly quickly. Up forward they had winners. Lloyd was fantastic and Hille proved to be a good target too. However, the following week Geelong were able to completely shut down their run, out-muscle them with ridiculous ease and absolutely obliterate them on the scoreboard. Familiar results to our gameplan of 05-07, where against bigger & stronger sides, we’d falter – and badly. Against The Blues they were a bit lucky to come away with a win. Fevola dominated with 8 goals up forward whilst Judd returned to terrific form picking up 32 possessions and bagging two majors. Stevens & Murphy were certainly influential too, which would cause concern for The Bombers, as they are priding themselves on their midfield’s ability to run, carry & deliver the footy. Against The Blues, an average side, they struggled to consistently apply this type of style. It’ll be very interesting to watch The Bombers progress over the course of the year, because whilst they have pace, they can be scored heavily against. Michael & Fletcher are good defenders but will probably struggle against the premier forwards. With Lucas going down with a long term injury, it places a massive emphasis on Lloyd to kick 4+ goals a game. With some quality defenders around, that’s not going to be an easy task. Their plan is however to execute their strengths; run in waves, carry the football through handballing & kicking, & spotting up their key forward targets. Playing through the center of the ground is vital, too. On paper it seems simple and effective, but they are a young and fairly inexperienced side. Against bigger bodies and quality opposition, they won’t be given space and they’ll have to work much harder defensively. However, with targets like Lloyd to spot up & Davey at his feet, they’ll still be dangerous at times throughout the year.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Key Match-Ups:

Brad Johnson v Mark McVeigh? – Every week Johnson is included in key match-ups, and although we could focus on others, this player is obviously a champion and is capable of kicking a winning score. McVeigh has got Johnson in the past & done a reasonable job, but it’ll be interesting to see if Knights resorts back to this. McVeigh has spent time further up the ground to impressive effect. He’s been one of their better players and giving him the role to blanket Johnson may do more harm than good. Either way, it’s an important match-up for both clubs.

Adam Cooney v Ricky Dyson? – I suspect Knights will take a different approach to Cooney. The football world is well aware of the start to the year Adam’s made. He’s been extremely influential in all three games and been almost impossible to stop. Essendon don’t have a noted tagger (Watson, maybe?) so I think they’ll give the reigns to one of their younger players. Dyson’s got pace & can hurt you on the rebound, I think The Dons might take this sort of chance. Dyson does play loose though, so it’s hard to gauge. Either way they need to either nullify or expose Cooney – he’s been brilliant – and if they choose to ‘expose’ then perhaps Dyson is their man.

Josh Hill v Nathan Lovett-Murray? – Surely The Dons have to apply some pressure on Hill, because he’s been one of our best players in each of the three games. His ability to work hard, find space, follow up his possessions, take strong marks & kick goals have been a serious feature of our season so far. I suspect the Dons may take a stronger stance, because if they don’t, I can’t see Hill stopping. Lovett-Murray is dangerous on the rebound but enjoys the one-on-one stuff, too. He can play loose at times, but he’s got a hard edge that they might try and unleash on of our kids. This has to be a key match-up because Hill touched up Dal Santo last week and surely the Bombers can’t and won’t allow that again.

Robert Murphy v Patty Ryder? – Last time we played, Ryder had a crack at Murph and did alright. Granted, Murph wasn’t anywhere near his best – like he is now. It’s an interesting match-up because although Ryder is much taller, he’s almost as agile as Murph. I’d argue that Murphy still probably has that edge and has the ability to really damage The Bombers, but I feel this is what they’ll go with. Ryder has a long reach and a long kick – it could be useful and damaging against us IF he can get on top of Murph.

Tim Callan v Alwyn Davey? – Important match-up as I feel Davey could be one of the players to cause some serious headaches. He’s got blistering pace and great skills. Applies plenty of defensive pressure & can kick goals. Not too sure we have a suitable match-up for him. Hargrave is an option but I think they might give Callan first crack. Callan played on Aaron Davey a few weeks ago and was serviceable, he did OK, and so it would only make sense to play on Alwyn. IMO Callan shouldn’t/won’t be dropped based on this. Morris will play on Lloyd, Harris probably on the resting ruckman. Hargrave should go to McPhee first up, which leaves Gilbee for Monfries. Therefore, Callan has to be given first shot at Davey. This could be a big win for The Bombers, as he has pace & probably smarts over Callan.

Dale Morris v Matthew Lloyd? – Morris has been in fantastic form in the last two weeks, and Lloyd hasn’t been going too bad either. With both players in good form, it should be an intriguing match-up and certainly one of the most important. Lloyd isn’t as big nor mobile as Riewoldt and this might play to Morris’ advantage, but Lloyd is a seasoned veteran and very quick on the lead & very intelligent at reading the play. The thing about Lloyd is that he can kick goals quickly. In the space of a few minutes, be it through marking or ‘back of the pack’ type stuff, he can score heavily in a relatively short time. Morris can’t afford to play loose or give Lloyd a sniff, as he’s a deadly shot at goal and is never completely out of a game. If Morris limits Lloyd to 3 goals, we should be in a strong position to win the match.

Ben Hudson v Jason Laycock? – This for mine is a fascinating match-up, and purely because of the un-predictability of Laycock. Hudson has been in terrific form and has added a great hardened edge to our midfield this year already. He runs hard to provide an option and repeatedly goes after the footy. He’s certainly a ruckman that can wear down his opponents. Laycock is more of a natural talent. He can leap as well as anyone, he can take a strong mark, he can run around the ground & he can certainly kick goals. Although at the same time, Laycock can virtually be a 19th man for the other side. This is where I suspect Essendon will attempt to gain an advantage. They’ll try to play Laycock in the ruck and make Hudson accountable by sending him up forward. If Jason’s switched on, he could prove to be a handful, but if he isn’t then Hudson could absolutely punish him. It’s a match-up to keep an eye on.

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Player’s under the pump:

Western Bulldogs:

It’s difficult to label any one player under the pump, as they’ve all generally done a pretty good job over the last three weeks. I suppose considering that Westy is out, Boyd will be put under the pump somewhat. Whilst he’s been good, he probably has been in the form of last year. Cross has been great in the last two weeks and you’d suspect he’ll only rise to the challenge. Boyd will be a key; if he can replicate his performances of last year then he’ll be very influential. He’s still been good so far, but will likely need to step it up a notch or two in the absence of West. Addison isn’t under the pump either, but he will be required to play more through the midfield and perhaps at times even in the middle. He’s had two pretty good games and looks to be improving which are fantastic signs, this is another good opportunity and test for him to lift his game up again.

Essendon:

Brent Stanton has had a pretty ordinary start to the year. He was prolific in ’07 and earned the right to wear Hird’s old #5, but three weeks into the new season and he really hasn’t delivered. Even in the Bombers impressive victory over North Melbourne, Stanton couldn’t impose himself on the game and really had little impact. He barely got a sniff against Geelong and even against Carlton, he struggled. He’s one player The Bombers desperately need to stand up and particularly against our midfield. He has the ability to make space, find the ball and use it well. At his best, Stanton is a very dangerous player who finds plenty of the ball. If he’s unable to get into the game, it places a lot of pressure on Lovett, McVeigh & co to run & carry the football. With players like Cooney, Griffen & Akermanis opposing him, Stanton really needs to find his game or otherwise he’ll find himself getting badly burnt.

Another player under the pump has to be Laycock. He’s got fine attributes but he’s been on their list for a few years now. He’s capable of taking strong marks, leaping like ‘Leo Barry’ & kicking goals but thus far he’s struggled to make an impact. He’s still young but he needs to start showing something. The Dons can’t afford Hille to compete against two opposition ruckmen by himself, so it’s pivotal Laycock provides adequate support and makes Hudson & Minson accountable by surging forward and making himself another option – particularly with Lucas out.

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Who will win and why:

The first half should tell quite a lot about how the game’s ultimately going to shape up. I would expect that Essendon will be firing early, with plenty of their run & carry on show. Players like Lovett & Davey will be keen to make an impact early, and this is something we’ve simply got to keep in check. We can’t allow Essendon fast, easy breaks because otherwise we could find ourselves down 5 or 6 goals like last Friday Night. It’s crucial we don’t make that mistake again. If we’re able to draw even or be up by a couple of goals at half time, then I think we should have the cattle to run over them in the second half.

For once, we have a size advantage. The summer break has resulted in a lot of our boys finding strength. Players like Cooney, Griffen, Cross, Boyd, Harbrow, Hahn, Addison, Hudson, Welsh & Callan apply serious defensive pressure and we need these types up and running. We’re a stronger and fitter side compared to previous seasons; this should hold us in good stead against a younger, inexperienced Essendon squad. To date, we’ve shown an impressive appetite for the contested ball – currently leading the way in the competition – and so long as this part of our game is on, we should be able to account for Essendon. We have plenty of options up forward to create headaches. Johnson, Murphy, Akermanis, Gia, Hill & even Minson/Welsh should prove to be a little too hot to handle. Mal Michael will likely go to Minson, which frees up Welsh. It’s going to be hard for Michael to man handle Minson in any case, who has been contesting exceptionally well so far. In the midfield we look dangerous, there’s plenty of run & plenty of pressure. Cooney & Griffen have started in fine form and it’s hard to see Essendon containing either, let alone both. Down back, we look comfortable with Lucas not playing. Hargrave on McPhee is a match-up that should be interesting to observe, whilst Morris usually does OK on Lloyd. Harris & Gilbee are serious worries for Essendon and players we should really take advantage of. Harris doesn’t appear to have a match-up – perhaps the resting ruckman? In which case he should effectively beat, as he’s been in terrific form and rapidly becoming one of the best full back’s in the competition. His ability to read the play and take control of the football off the oppositions F50 entries is extremely valuable, and with Gilbee running around at his feet, it makes for a deadly combination.

The key for The Dogs is to stay in touch early. Lovett & Davey among a few of their other runners are hard to stop with space, but if we’re able to nullify them room to move, we should be able to squeeze their game plan into our hands and play our own fierce running, fierce tackling & hard working team effort style of play. For mine, we have winners right across the ground and after the first three weeks, it’s impossible to tip against us. The pressure skills have been right up and there’s no signs to suggest they’ll fade away at the moment. After last week, we should be fired up to play again – we’re definitely a reinvigorated and talented football side with an obvious focus on making up for last year. At this stage we have the perfect balance of run & carry with tackling and pressuring. The Bombers are too one way at the moment and without Lucas, it’s hard to make a case for them out-playing us on paper. However – paper is one thing and the field is another.

If we play like The Dogs of 08 so far, we should win by 6+ goals. If we don’t, then your guess is as good as mine, but I am pretty confident about this one – the attitude of the group as a whole is much improved, we appear to be a far more mature side with a clear focus in sight. We match them for pace, we beat them for experience, we beat them for options up forward and we certainly beat them for size & appetite for the contest all over the ground. It’s never a certain ‘win’ when you’re a Bulldogs fan, but I expect us to play like a good team should.

Dogs by 36 points.

[1eyedog]

Great write up, better than the sports section of today's paper. Thanks for that. I'm really worried about Lloyd's strength on Morris. Riewoldt is bigger, but Lloyd is much stronger than Riewoldt and Morris may struggle with that. I'd like to see Lake start on him. Don't know if the Dons will rest ruckman either, I reckon Hille and Laycock may rotate off the bench until later in the game, If Laycock eventually goes forward Wight should take him. I think the Dons will start McVeigh in the middle and put Stanton on Johnson (as you mentioned Stanton has been dissapointing in the middle this year). I think Ryder will go to Murph (good call), Michael on Welsh and we might see Fletcher go forward in which case Wight would go to Fletcher. Mcphee has been playing forward lately with some success and I think Morris is the logical match up for him. Time will tell. Thanks again. Dogs by 10 goals.

[GVGjr]

Well done Bulldogs Bite, well thought out and a lot of effort has gone into this which we all appreciate.

The one thing that struck is some of the potential mismatches on height/pace:
Ryder/Murphy and Callan/Davey that could work either way.
Ryder would struggle to match Murphy on the lead but would win most contests in the air and under the pristine conditions of TD, Callan could have a very hard time with Davey.
I know he more than matched Aaron Davey but the conditions were a bit wet and slippery that day which negated AD pace.

Dyson on Cooney is a great one for us which is offset by McVeigh on Johnson.

I think if Minson plays forward then Michael will get that role which would leave Fletcher on Welsh. All critical match-ups for us if we are to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Should be a great contest so I'll go for the Dogs by 24 points.

[Dry Rot]

Great write up, better than the sports section of today's paper.

Agreed, terrific effort and thanks The Bulldogs Bite.

I'd like to see Callan take Davey if only to gauge his ability to play on these kinds of players.

I'm still perplexed why we did so badly against them in the pre-season.

[camwoof]

So far this season we are yet to win a toss yet we have won all three games. keep an eye out for that this week.

[Go_Dogs]

Great write up TBB.

The match ups look interesting, it'll be intriguing to see how the Dons respond to our good form to start the year and which players they target as needing to be shut down. Hill will surely face some more pressure this week than he has over the first 3, and the Dons backline looks like it could match up fairly well on a few of our key play makers, such as Welsh, Johnson, Murphy and Minson. We'll need big showings again from the likes of Hahn, Akermanis, Giansiracusa and a few of the other guys who rotate through the forward line.

With Lucas out it really helps us a lot, and may allow us to use Wight in the swingman role that he played last week, drifting forward when he can to help expose the Dons backline a bit more.

I'm going to tip the Dogs by 28 points. (More if we play to our standards we've set this year, less if we aren't quite right).

[Ozza]

I think McVeigh will go to Cooney. he's our in form player, and they'll still want McVeigh in there.

Cooney has a terrific record against the bombers...hopefully they don't put McVeigh on him - I'd still back Jono to get a bit of it anyways - but Cooney running free will be huge for us.

[Sockeye Salmon]

I think McVeigh will go to Cooney. he's our in form player, and they'll still want McVeigh in there.

Cooney has a terrific record against the bombers...hopefully they don't put McVeigh on him - I'd still back Jono to get a bit of it anyways - but Cooney running free will be huge for us.

I think we will never see Cooney without a hard tag ever again.

[Dry Rot]

From what I've seen of the Dons this year (not a lot) they seem a far more dynamic team than under Sheedy, yet with roughly the same personnel (a year younger).

Has the game passed Sheedy by and he shouldn't coach again?

[Bulldog Revolution]

Agreed, terrific effort and thanks The Bulldogs Bite.

I'd like to see Callan take Davey if only to gauge his ability to play on these kinds of players.

I'm still perplexed why we did so badly against them in the pre-season.

From what I have seen this year DR the Essendon game was one where we were completely not switched on - it was a night and day performance compared with everything else we have dished up.

The Callan idea is an interesting one - if he was capable of playing on a player like Davey then it would be a real string to the teams bow

[ledge]

The night game scared me and all that game will do is give Essendon a heap of confidence to beat us. A real test.
Athough Lucas is out, i think Essendon are playing much the same game as us... speed...
Hopefully they are just learning that caper and we have a few years under our belt doing it so maybe that experience will get us through.

[LostDoggy]

Simple - if we don't beat a crap side like essendon then we aren't a contender this season.

[bornadog]

The match ups will be interesting once again.
**Callen has a lack of pace and maybe found out against the likes of Davey.

**Agree that McVeigh will go to Cooney, which means the Dons will have to sort out who goes to Johnno?

**What happens to Flectcher and Mal Michael? I guess Fletcher will go to Big Will and maybe Mal on Johnno.
Fletcher played very well last week and maybe even be used at CHF to try and stretch the backline.

Overall its going to be a fast paced game and we need to get a good start as Essendon won't sit back if they get a good start like St KIlda.

[Mantis]

And I thought I had covered a bit in my preview a few weeks back.... But good stuff TBB.

If we tackle and harass like we did last week we will simply overpower & outmuscle Essendon (It feels strange using those words). In the past we have struggled to back up after good performances, but hopefully things have changed. The coach believes we have a far better resolve this year, games like this week test that resolve. A professional team goes out and wins these games by 6+ goals, and that's what I expect to happen this week.

Really looking forward to seeing if we carry on last's weeks super effort with some more tough and exciting footy... I hate Essendon so lets hope we smash em!!!

[bornadog]

... I hate Essendon so lets hope we smash em!!!

Don't we all.

In my eyes they are the true rival to the Bullies and it goes right back to the days the dogs were formed and Essendon did everything to keep us out of the VFL.

If the AFL was fairdinkum about rivarly, we would play Essendon at the G, not this put on rivalry like last week that only appeases certain people.

[The Underdog]

The match ups will be interesting once again.
**Callen has a lack of pace and maybe found out against the likes of Davey.

**Agree that McVeigh will go to Cooney, which means the Dons will have to sort out who goes to Johnno?

**What happens to Flectcher and Mal Michael? I guess Fletcher will go to Big Will and maybe Mal on Johnno.
Fletcher played very well last week and maybe even be used at CHF to try and stretch the backline.

Overall its going to be a fast paced game and we need to get a good start as Essendon won't sit back if they get a good start like St KIlda.

I think Mal will go to Will. There's not really a natural matchup for Fletcher, but wouldn't be surprised to see him go to Welsh. He loves to run off upfield so whoever has him will have to be wary. Interesting to see who goes to Johnno.

The Davey one is interesting, really quick forwards have often given us trouble (his brother the prime example), although Morris may get him

[bornadog]

I think Mal will go to Will.

Interesting that Mal is only 190 cm, Of course he can play tall. Lets hope Will continues to be a big headache up forward.

[Topdog]

Great write up, better than the sports section of today's paper. Thanks for that.

Agreed, great write up.

I'm not too sure of the Callan on Davey match up. Having said that I can't think of anyone else to put on him/

Hill on L-M would be a great match up to see.

I tend to agree about the ruck match up being ultra important. Laycock or Hille usually have a cracker of a game against so it will be vital for Hudson to step up.

Overall though based on what we have done so far this season and from what I have seen of Essendon I am tipping us by 52 points.

[BulldogBelle]

The Bulldogs Bite - what more can I say what a great summary/analysis you have put up - well done! :)

Cooney vs McVeigh is one I would like to see - that would be an awesome match-up.

This game will have plenty, battle of of the midfields I reckon. Hopefully ours can continue on its merry way and pick up where they left off when the siren went last Friday night.

[Sockeye Salmon]

The match ups will be interesting once again.
**Callen has a lack of pace and maybe found out against the likes of Davey.

**Agree that McVeigh will go to Cooney, which means the Dons will have to sort out who goes to Johnno?

**What happens to Flectcher and Mal Michael? I guess Fletcher will go to Big Will and maybe Mal on Johnno.
Fletcher played very well last week and maybe even be used at CHF to try and stretch the backline.

Overall its going to be a fast paced game and we need to get a good start as Essendon won't sit back if they get a good start like St KIlda.

In our dreams.

Mal has just about the worst endurance in the AFL. Fev ran him up to the wing and back and Mal was stuffed. Mal would dead set collapse and die if he had to try to run with Johnno.

Mal will take Will, lock it in.
Fletcher will take Welsh.
McVeigh will take Cooney.
Johnno will kick a bagfull.

[LostDoggy]

The only way Essendon could win this is if the get the umpiring of the NAB cup game back.

[Mantis]

The only way Essendon could win this is if the get the umpiring of the NAB cup game back.

Not quite ern, but I see where you are coming from. If we sit back as we have in the past we will have a fight on our hands.

Let's hope last weeks game has been replayed to the players over and over again, like it has in my house and that it has sunk in that when our pressure skills are up and we fight hard to win the contested ball we are a pretty good side.

Let's hope we see performances like that on a consistent basis.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Yep fine post TBB

I see Harris getting the job on Lloyd and Harris should be right for this challenge after 3 matches post his hip injury. I could see Morris locking horns with a McPhee across half forward and making his night hell.

Cooney is working so hard without it and in packs that I dont think McVeigh is going to seriously trouble him.

Is my least favourite player in the league Andrew Welsh going to be right? They might be tempted to try him on Johnson

Am I right in thinking Fletcher has been spending time across half forward?

[BulldogBelle]

Essendon beating us in that pre-season game scared the pants off most of us. The players said that they were surprised by Essendon's intensity. Although we are now well aware just how intense Essendon can be - will we learn by it? We haven't in the past, hope we do now.

Another great post, I read every word. It must have taken you ages to write it all up. You must have conducted hours of research.

Please limit the size of your paragraphs to between 4 and 7 lines. A paragraph any more than 7 lines will turn people off, they won't read it. Your work was so good it all deserves to be read. Single sentence paragraphs are OK.

[Mantis]

Please limit the size of your paragraphs to between 4 and 7 lines. A paragraph any more than 7 lines will turn people off, they won't read it. Your work was so good it all deserves to be read. Single sentence paragraphs are OK.

Are you an English teacher or just anal?

[LostDoggy]

So far this season we are yet to win a toss yet we have won all three games. keep an eye out for that this week.


I think the other team have kicked the first goal of the game as well, so ill be hoping essendon kick the first goal.

Great write up as well, was an awesome read.

[dog town]

In some ways its a bigger game than last week. We are the hunted now and they will be right up for it. Were we faking it last week? To do what we did last week consistently you really have to enjoy the physical aspect of the game. Time will tell how serious we are about it. One game means pretty much nothing at the moment. We beat Geelong for contested ball in Round 1 last year from memory and look how we ran out the season. IMO each game until we are beaten gets more and more important. Now is the time to set our season right up.

The bombers will be a bit of a wierd side for us to play. If they have a style that is like anyone in paticular I would probably liken it most closely to West Coast of 2005/2006. They certainly dont have the physical force or hardened pro's that West Coast had but they are just handball happy through the middle of the ground. They will work the ball forward through constant movement and handball. They are not even afraid to handball to a guy standing still with his back to goal and then going back past him for the quick one-two. I suppose its a mixture of the West Coast/Bulldogs/Geelong style that has crept into the game. Emphasis on sweeping the ball forward with run and carry more than anything. I was amazed at how they consciously over used the handball against us in the NAB cup. I would think quite a few occasions will arise on friday night where we might be better off sitting off our opponents and boxing them in rather than over committing for the tackle. If they get that flow going it might be quite difficult to stop so hopefully we can slow them down a bit.

I wouldn't be suprised if Knights whacked Fletcher or Ryder forward. They missed Lucas immensely over the last 2 weeks. He might just back a couple of his kids on our smaller forwards and try to hurt us up our end.

McVeigh will go to Cooney or perhaps even Griffen IMO. Dont like McVeigh for some reason but he has actually turned into a player who is bordering on elite right now. Would be a great result for us if he went to Johnson as it takes him out of the action and we showed last week that we have other avenues to goal.

Laycock (and Hille if he gets up) may well be dangerous for them. It is the first time that Hudson and Minson have come up against anyone who will push forward pretty hard. Interesting to see how they handle it.

[The Underdog]

Does anyone see a matchup for Wight? Maybe Hille/Laycock if they go forward.

[GVGjr]

Does anyone see a matchup for Wight? Maybe Hille/Laycock if they go forward.

About the only one that make sense unless the Bombers decide to try Ryder up there.

[The Underdog]

About the only one that make sense unless the Bombers decide to try Ryder up there.

Yeah I wonder if Wight might spend a bit more time forward as he did pre-season. I'm not sure that's what they'll want to do but he's a bit nowhere otherwise.

[Mantis]

Yeah I wonder if Wight might spend a bit more time forward as he did pre-season. I'm not sure that's what they'll want to do but he's a bit nowhere otherwise.

One good thing about Wight is that he can play on a few different types so he might pick up someone like Lovett- Murray or even McPhee, but I think Hille and Laycock will spend a fair bit of time up forward.

[The Underdog]

One good thing about Wight is that he can play on a few different types so he might pick up someone like Lovett- Murray or even McPhee, but I think Hille and Laycock will spend a fair bit of time up forward.

Yeah I agree, especially with Hille who murdered us in the NAB Cup. I could almost see him taking McPhee (who I don't rate) and Morris taking a smaller quicker player like Lovett or Davey along with Callan.

[Go_Dogs]

I'm starting to get a bit nervous about this one. We SHOULD win, but we need our intensity and pressure skills to be at there peak.

As Underdog mentioned, I quite like the idea of Wight spending a bit more time forward this week, if there isn't a good match up down back. I thought he showed a bit when he went forward, and if he can kick a bit straighter and finish with a few goals that would be an excellent result.

[bornadog]

I'm starting to get a bit nervous about this one. We SHOULD win, but we need our intensity and pressure skills to be at there peak.

As Underdog mentioned, I quite like the idea of Wight spending a bit more time forward this week, if there isn't a good match up down back. I thought he showed a bit when he went forward, and if he can kick a bit straighter and finish with a few goals that would be an excellent result.

I am with you Griffen#16, Essendon are going to run run run, so we need to put the pressure on and make them turn it over. We cannot give them a head start in the first quarter. I think in the past we were worried about their height, now we are concerned about their runners. Pressure Pressure Pressure is what we must apply.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I posted this over on BF's "Face Off" thread, and thought I might as well put it on this one too. I was replying to a post made by an Essendon supporter.

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Griffen had an awesome game last week and although he was damaging I don't think we should (or will) tag him, hes not that consistent yet compared to a number of others and I would be prepared to run the risk he wont play the same game twice in a row.

If I was Essendon, I'd agree with this. At this stage we have a few others that could prove more damaging. It provides another good opportunity for Griffen to really start impacting on games though because although he's a very good player, he's likely not to get tagged at the moment.


West leaves a big hole and really, the two Dog's midfielders that concern me are Cooney and Cross. I would play Watson on Cooney and McVeigh on Cross and prey to God they can hold them freeing up Stanton and Lovett to hopefully run amok.

Shooting yourself in the foot with this, IMO. Cooney would absolutely towel up Watson with his pace. Watson works hard, but there's no way he'll keep up with Cooney who has blistering pace & a newfound hard workrate. McVeigh would be a better match-up, unless you roll the dice and attempt to gain an advantage by playing McVeigh on Cross. I doubt that would work in your favour though as Cross is ruthless in the contest & simply runs all day and to the right spots, every time. It'd be an interesting and different match-up, but I don't think The Dons will try this.


I am confident out back line can hold the Dogs forwards and our forward line can produce with the right delivery but the midfield is where we will either be competitive or get embarrassed.. St.Kilda style.. If we allow the Dogs to annihilate us at the stoppages, we will get absolutely creamed..

I agree with your second part of your statement, particularly as we're leading contested possessions in the competition at the moment, so our midfield has become far more complete than it has been in recent years where we've been 'one way'. However, I think you might be underestimating our forward line a little bit. Although you have Michael & Fletcher, neither will man handle Minson and we proved last week against quality opposition that Welsh doesn't need to kick goals for us to win. Johnson was quiet too, but I sincerely doubt you'll be able to smother all three of them let alone tame Murphy, Gia & Akermanis who have all been very influential.

Against The Crows backline, arguably the first or second best defence in the league, we booted 19 or so goals. If Essendon have to rely on their backline to cover us, you won't get near us. The Dons need to use their pace through the middle of the ground and particularly up forward if they're to win. This is where the likes of Davey, Lovett & Houli among a few others are vital. If you're able to restrict the use of ball down to our forwards and supply the likes of Lloyd, Laycock/Hille with the opportunity to either mark it or bring it to ground for the surplus amount of fast crumbers, then you're a good chance to come away with a win.


As for Murphy.. Ryder would be the best option.. Fletch has the closing speed and hight to compete with Jonno and Mal should be a good body on body match for Hahn.

Agree that Ryder will probably goto Murph. Should be an interesting match-up, both quality players and move well.

I doubt Fletcher will play on Johnson though. Who goes to Minson? The Dons will probably try and exploit Minson by encouraging Fletcher to run off him. Minson may have Fletcher for strength, but if Fletcher can use his long reach to spoil the ball he'll beat Minson around the ground. Good opportunity for The Dons to hurt us on the rebound. Fletcher plays a little loose and against Johnson he'll be murdered for this. The Dons surely wouldn't run this risk.

I doubt Michael will go to Hahn too, as Michael prefers to stick relatively close to goal. Hahn can play as a bit of a crash & bash CHF, but he plays around HF and leads out to around the 60m at times. Michael has the strength to go with Hahn no doubt, but he doesn't have the motor. If Mitch plays at FF, then it might be a different story, but he's not needed there as Minson/Welsh/Johnson share the role. IMO Michael will likely play on Welsh, as Scotty sticks fairly close to goal too most of the time.

All in all, it should be a good game to watch with plenty of match-ups to watch out for. Contrasting styles of play so it'll be great to see how the game pans out, particularly in the second half.

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Probably the thing I most wanted to point out that I didn't in fact alert to in my original post in this thread was Fletcher and his ability to exploit Minson. is it something we should be concerned about should Essendon pull this move out of the bag? I suppose what you drum into The Dogs is that is Fletcher wants to play loose on Minson and run forward, then we've got to spot Big Will up and make Dustin accountable.

Thoughts on all of the above?

[Mantis]

Probably the thing I most wanted to point out that I didn't in fact alert to in my original post in this thread was Fletcher and his ability to exploit Minson. is it something we should be concerned about should Essendon pull this move out of the bag? I suppose what you drum into The Dogs is that is Fletcher wants to play loose on Minson and run forward, then we've got to spot Big Will up and make Dustin accountable.

Thoughts on all of the above?

I would think Mal will pick up Minson when he was up there. If Mal goes to Hahn then Mitch would have a bit to much aerobic ability for him. If he didn't he would be able to drag Michael away from the action which would be a win for us.

Fletcher is a concern, but only if we allow him to be. The pressure our forwards applied to Fisher and Gram last week on the whole was very good. A repeat performance will go along way towards a comfortable victory.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I would think Mal will pick up Minson when he was up there. If Mal goes to Hahn then Mitch would have a bit to much aerobic ability for him. If he didn't he would be able to drag Michael away from the action which would be a win for us.

Fletcher is a concern, but only if we allow him to be. The pressure our forwards applied to Fisher and Gram last week on the whole was very good. A repeat performance will go along way towards a comfortable victory.

Yeah, my first thoughts are that Michael will go to Minson - that's the logical explanation, but if The Dons want to somehow gain an advantage then perhaps it's getting Fletcher to use his long reach to spoil Minson, and run off.

Michael would then move to Welsh who for the most part stays around the 10-40m area. I guess the alternative to that is making Welsh push up and play from 30m-70m. Thus, whoever plays on Michael drags him out & runs him around.

It's just another idea to consider. I think we have the significant upper hand in matches & versatility though, so we should be able to take control of things IMO.

[Mantis]

The general feeling now is this is our game to lose.

With Lucas and Lloyd out our supposedly biggest threat's (tall forwards) shouldn't be a problem.

Literally I hope that we smash the bejesus out of them. At every chance we should be bumping and tackling with a real ferocity. Let's take the sting out of there young legs because out-running us seems there only hope now.

I hope to see our bigger bodies ( Cooney, Hahn, Boyd, Cross, Hudson, etc... We have a few now) driving there running players into the ground, sticking there knees into there thighs and generally roughing them up. Let's get physical with a team and man-handle them like Sydney and Adelaide have done to us and other teams in the past.