WB vs North Gameday March 4th Pre-Season 2023

[Eastdog]

Footy is back!

Go Dogs!

Western Bulldogs V North Melbourne - 2023 AFL Pre season Match 1
Date: Saturday 4 March 2023
Time: 1:10pm AEDT
Venue: Ikon Park

[Eastdog]

First official match for season 2023. Hope for a strong showing. Be good to see how we go now against actual opposition.

[Axe Man]

First official match for season 2023. Hope for a strong showing. Be good to see how we go now against actual opposition.

Unfortunately we play North, will have to wait until round 1 for actual opposition.* ;)



*No booking marking this comment for later reference.

[Mofra]

Unfortunately we play North, will have to wait until round 1 for actual opposition.* ;)



*No booking marking this comment for later reference.
North actually have a decent spine so we get to see how our talls go.

Larkey-Comben- McKay-Logue

We're going to lean nothing about our wing/flank situation though.

[bornadog]

Do we pick our strongest team, or does Bevo test a few fringe players?

[Virgin-Dog]

Do we pick our strongest team, or does Bevo test a few fringe players?
Bevo mentioned there's like 18 or so locks in this team already, with the last few spots being up in the air. I'd expect a few fringe guys like Arty Jones, McNeil, Baker, etc. getting a game, and whoever doesn't play well is replaced for round 1 by the "safer" picks like Roarke Smith and Anthony Scott. Otherwise if we're allowed extended benches for the practice match, we'd probably go in with 30 or so players

[azabob]

Footy is back!

Go Dogs!

Easty, my man, day, time, venue?

[Virgin-Dog]

North actually have a decent spine so we get to see how our talls go.

Larkey-Comben- McKay-Logue

We're going to lean nothing about our wing/flank situation though.
I watched every practice match last week. North's defence and midfield are looking strong (relative to last season). Their forward line was utter dogshit for the most part. I think that's going to be an issue for them this year. If our defence doesn't dominate their forwards, then we've not improved as much as some might be thinking

[GVGjr]

Do we pick our strongest team, or does Bevo test a few fringe players?

We need to flag our intentions and play close to our best side but we could hold some players back rather than risk them.

[GVGjr]

I watched every practice match last week. North's defence and midfield are looking strong (relative to last season). Their forward line was utter dogshit for the most part. I think that's going to be an issue for them this year. If our defence doesn't dominate their forwards, then we've not improved as much as some might be thinking

Mick McGuane bascially said that Clarkson thought he could fix the back line and that the midfield could do well with just some tweaks but it would take the better part of the season to get the forward line functioning like it should.

[bornadog]

Bevo mentioned there's like 18 or so locks in this team already, with the last few spots being up in the air. I'd expect a few fringe guys like Arty Jones, McNeil, Baker, etc. getting a game, and whoever doesn't play well is replaced for round 1 by the "safer" picks like Roarke Smith and Anthony Scott. Otherwise if we're allowed extended benches for the practice match, we'd probably go in with 30 or so players

I think there are extended benches, however, in the past Bevo has elected to go in like it was a real match.

[Mantis]

We need to flag our intentions and play close to our best side but we could hold some players back rather than risk them.

Given it's our only hit out against a team that don't fully know what we're trying to do you would hope that all players in line for rd1 would play at least a half.

[GVGjr]

Given it's our only hit out against a team that don't fully know what we're trying to do you would hope that all players in line for rd1 would play at least a half.

Should we go in to the game with 6 on the bench? I can't see us going in to it with much more.

[MrMahatma]

It's not exactly the most "match hardened" we'll ever be for a match against the Dees is it? An intra club and a crack at last year's wooden spooners.

I mean, are we really going to learn much?

[mjp]

I watched every practice match last week.

I'm not sure what made you want to do that but good on you - I for one am seriously impressed.

I watched approx 2 mins of the Lions vs Sydney game and decided I was out at least until the broadcasters sent a second camera to a venue.

[Matjoh]

Based on Bevo saying that they spent a lot of time on forward entry this summer, and some on defense, and me not noticing any improvement in our intra forward entry, I'd be looking for "something" in that regard and then smashing north again.

[Curly5]

Can we make a habit of including the date, time and venue in the heading of each game day thread? It's helpful. Thanks :)

[Eastdog]

Can we make a habit of including the date, time and venue in the heading of each game day thread? It's helpful. Thanks :)

Note taken Curly5 and good idea. Will do that for the next game day threads.

[azabob]

Easty, my man, day, time, venue?


Can we make a habit of including the date, time and venue in the heading of each game day thread? It's helpful. Thanks :)


Note taken Curly5 and good idea. Will do that for the next game day threads.

Curly thanks for also asking for this info.

Easty... I'm only a little bit offended you ignored my request...

[Eastdog]

Curly thanks for also asking for this info.

Easty... I'm only a little bit offended you ignored my request...

Sorry Aza. That was also responding to you as well. I’ll get GVG to change the thread title to include that info.

[bornadog]

Sorry Aza. That was also responding to you as well. I’ll get GVG to change the thread title to include that info.

Suggestion - put all the detail in the OP

[aker39]

VFL are playing at 4.00pm

[Eastdog]

Suggestion - put all the detail in the OP

Yep good suggestion BAD just amended that might be better doing that instead of it all in the title. All info in my opening post.

[bornadog]

VFL are playing at 4.00pm

At the same venue?

[aker39]

At the same venue?

Yes.

[Mantis]

Based on Bevo saying that they spent a lot of time on forward entry this summer, and some on defense, and me not noticing any improvement in our intra forward entry, I'd be looking for "something" in that regard and then smashing north again.





It (forward 50 connections) has been an issue for the entire Bevo tenure… nice to know we’ve acknowledged this and are trying to rectify it, but I’m not expecting a big improvement…. but hope to be surprised.

[MrMahatma]

It (forward 50 connections) has been an issue for the entire Bevo tenure… nice to know we’ve acknowledged this and are trying to rectify it, but I’m not expecting a big improvement…. but hope to be surprised.

A few different personnel in the fwd line, some better skills in the midfield, a new midfield coach.... there's reason for hope!

[Curly5]

Yep good suggestion BAD just amended that might be better doing that instead of it all in the title. All info in my opening post.

But then, people have to go back to the OP for the info, whereas the heading is there on every page (or should be) :)
Sorry to be picky :)

[The Underdog]

Team for tomorrow

WESTERN BULLDOGS

B: H.Crozier 9 L.Jones 19 T.Duryea 15
HB: B.Dale 31 A.Keath 42 E.Richards 20
C: T.McLean 16 T.Liberatore 21 A.Scott 28
HF: B.Smith 6 J.Ugle-Hagan 2 A.Jones 32
F: R.Lobb 7 M.Hannan 29 A.Naughton 33
Foll: T.English 44 J.Macrae 11 M.Bontempelli - C 4
I/C: C.Daniel 35 B.Williams 34 A.Treloar 1 S.Darcy 10 O.Baker 13 J.Bruce 17 B.Khamis 24 C.Weightman 3

Emerg: R.West 14 L.Cleary 36 R.Garcia 38 J.Sweet 41

[The Underdog]

Hannan named at FF in between Naughton and Lobb is mid season MC form. They love a laff

Not a great sign for West.

One Smith , 2 Joneses

[josie]

Hannan at FF between Naughton and Lobb is mid season form.

Not a great sign for West.

One Smith , 2 Joneses

Just do not understand Hannan instead of Garcia or West. Oh well, good luck to Mitch and all the others playing.

[josie]

Excited for Arthur Jones. Shown a lot more in training so hope he can take next step. C’mon Arfer, grab a Round 1 debut.

[Grantysghost]

Hannan was a lock. Had a great pre season.

[Uninformed]

It's not exactly the most "match hardened" we'll ever be for a match against the Dees is it? An intra club and a crack at last year's wooden spooners.

I mean, are we really going to learn much?

Would be interested in your assessment of how the intensity and skills compared to our match sim?

[josie]

Hannan was a lock. Had a great pre season.

I watched a fair bit of Wed morning training. Watched small group kicking/keeping’s off, he missed 2 of his 3 kicks. Small sample I know. Hope he proves he totally wrong. I think there’s more upside to West & Garcia and I think we need to develop these young ones soon.

[The Doctor]

Excited for Arthur Jones. Shown a lot more in training so hope he can take next step. C’mon Arfer, grab a Round 1 debut.

Well done by Arty (Arfer) Jones. Looks like he has jumped the queue ahead of West, McNeil, McComb, Rourke Smith at this early stage. the MC must want to have a closer look at him.

[jeemak]

Easty can you put the entire thread content without spaces/ paragraphs in the title please?

[Sam]

I’m hoping West wasn’t picked because he did have an interrupted pre-season

[Happy Days]

Hannan is fine. We got like 15 cool players now, Hannan is the deal with the devil someone made outside the MCG after the 97 prelim.

[josie]

Hannan is fine. We got like 15 cool players now, Hannan is the deal with the devil someone made outside the MCG after the 97 prelim.

Whatchya smokin’ Happy Days?

[jeemak]

Whatchya smokin’ Happy Days?

HD seems like hecould use a higher quotient of tobacco in his mix bowl sometimes, but in this instance I think he's talking sense.

Hannan when fit is useful as a runner, in the air and defencively. I wouldn't pay huge credence to how we've been named, it's likely he'll roam up the ground, do what he can to spread the defence and get in the way until the cavalry arrives to help lock it in.

As for the deal with the Devil, something happened after '97 or '09 that saw us paid back in full plus interest for the '16 finals. The best four and most perfect consecutive games in the history of the sport had to come at a price. And if that price is Mitch Hannan then we got off lightly and possibly have amounts payable to reconcile in our future!

[jeemak]

Team for tomorrow

WESTERN BULLDOGS

B: H.Crozier 9 L.Jones 19 T.Duryea 15
HB: B.Dale 31 A.Keath 42 E.Richards 20
C: T.McLean 16 T.Liberatore 21 A.Scott 28
HF: B.Smith 6 J.Ugle-Hagan 2 A.Jones 32
F: R.Lobb 7 M.Hannan 29 A.Naughton 33
Foll: T.English 44 J.Macrae 11 M.Bontempelli - C 4
I/C: C.Daniel 35 B.Williams 34 A.Treloar 1 S.Darcy 10 O.Baker 13 J.Bruce 17 B.Khamis 24 C.Weightman 3

Emerg: R.West 14 L.Cleary 36 R.Garcia 38 J.Sweet 41

I've been on the Crozier still having life in his career wagon for a couple of years now. I'm not sure how I feel about Crozier still having life in his career but we'll find out I guess. If it means our midfield balance includes Daniel then I'm happy to see how it goes as a variation from the bigger bodied Dunkley who was a terrible user by foot but a weapon in the contest (for some reason someone wanted to trade him ages ago, madness). We can always put Daniel back in defence and roll others through there.

McLean and Scott on the wings seems workmanlike, and not in the way Lachie was workmanlike with his running. To me there's two guys who are wanting to grind out a result for their own careers and the team, who are both neat with disposal as well even if not as prolific with their ball gathering as Hunter was.

Outside of that this looks like a bit of a reward for effort/ performance side, rather than a dress rehearsal side in a lot of ways. Beyond the backline that is (Gardner missing notwithstanding), which looks like how we might want to line up round one.

It's great seeing Arty with some reward/ encouragement after a solid preseason, and Bruce getting a run after putting his hand up to help himself and the team with a role change that looks to be developing.

You don't know until you get to see it in practice, but our depth all of a sudden feels much better and more mature when you have JJ, McNeil (condolences GG), Garcia, West, Cleary, Vandermeer, McComb, Bedendo and R. Smith for whatever reason not fitting into a 26 man squad that looks OK or ready to have a crack.

North by 43 points. :)

[The Underdog]

Feel like I should point out as he’s been brought up a couple of times that Roarke Smith has a plantar fascia and will miss the start of the season. Not being overlooked on form.
Although he may have been, you know he’ll be in the 22 by finals though ;)

[Go_Dogs]

Somewhat surprised for me:

Jones - legit chance yo forward now? Good on him
Crozier - didn’t think he’d be in. Almost a lock now
Williams - hasn’t nailed a first choice wing spot. Scott has.
Hannan - versatility is king. Looking forward to him finally showing his wares / full potential

[Go_Dogs]

I've been on the Crozier still having life in his career wagon for a couple of years now. I'm not sure how I feel about Crozier still having life in his career but we'll find out I guess. If it means our midfield balance includes Daniel then I'm happy to see how it goes as a variation from the bigger bodied Dunkley who was a terrible user by foot but a weapon in the contest (for some reason someone wanted to trade him ages ago, madness). We can always put Daniel back in defence and roll others through there.

McLean and Scott on the wings seems workmanlike, and not in the way Lachie was workmanlike with his running. To me there's two guys who are wanting to grind out a result for their own careers and the team, who are both neat with disposal as well even if not as prolific with their ball gathering as Hunter was.

Outside of that this looks like a bit of a reward for effort/ performance side, rather than a dress rehearsal side in a lot of ways. Beyond the backline that is (Gardner missing notwithstanding), which looks like how we might want to line up round one.

It's great seeing Arty with some reward/ encouragement after a solid preseason, and Bruce getting a run after putting his hand up to help himself and the team with a role change that looks to be developing.

You don't know until you get to see it in practice, but our depth all of a sudden feels much better and more mature when you have JJ, McNeil (condolences GG), Garcia, West, Cleary, Vandermeer, McComb, Bedendo and R. Smith for whatever reason not fitting into a 26 man squad that looks OK or ready to have a crack.

North by 43 points. :)

I wonder if with Gardner out it’s now a Bruce v Darce for a spot.
Hannan v Buku
Williams v Baker

A few to be solved for.

[Mofra]

Just do not understand Hannan instead of Garcia or West. Oh well, good luck to Mitch and all the others playing.
Hannan's been impressive going by the PS reports. He's a versatile type and a senior body, he should be playing

He'd beat most 4th defenders in the air

[Mofra]

I wonder if with Gardner out it’s now a Bruce v Darce for a spot.
Hannan v Buku
Williams v Baker

A few to be solved for.
Well, if our 3rd has to intercept.... Crozier? He's named on the paddock

[GVGjr]

Well, if our 3rd has to intercept.... Crozier? He's named on the paddock

Perhaps we also see Crozier as a good option to play on Fritsch.

[Go_Dogs]

Well, if our 3rd has to intercept.... Crozier? He's named on the paddock

I suppose it depends on roles. keath intercept, Bruce lockdown? Im not sure. Lots of questions. Maybe some answers today but suspect more questions!!

[Go_Dogs]

Perhaps we also see Crozier as a good option to play on Fritsch.

Gives us some flexibility defensively annd a running option, and I think means Daniel is a midfielder for 70% of game time.

[Bulldog Legend]

Just do not understand Hannan instead of Garcia or West. Oh well, good luck to Mitch and all the others playing.
Pace and closing speed
West is great when the ball is in his area but not so much when it’s not. He did travel to the USA with Bont for some specialist running training but got some niggles in the pre season.
As a forward you need to be able to run hard defensively or the rebounds will kill our defence as it did last year
Hannan is no champion but he is a disciplined footballer who does what is asked and can run hard at pace

[Bulldog Legend]

Hannan's been impressive going by the PS reports. He's a versatile type and a senior body, he should be playing

He'd beat most 4th defenders in the air
Injuries has been his issue I really hope he can be injury free

[HOSE B ROMERO]

I watched every practice match last week. North's defence and midfield are looking strong (relative to last season). Their forward line was utter dogshit for the most part. I think that's going to be an issue for them this year. If our defence doesn't dominate their forwards, then we've not improved as much as some might be thinking

I swear i have never seen or heard that sentence in my lifetime. Who are you Virgin-Dog?

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Well done by Arty (Arfer) Jones. Looks like he has jumped the queue ahead of West, McNeil, McComb, Rourke Smith at this early stage. the MC must want to have a closer look at him.

Hope Arfer makes the most of it. Having locker buddies such as Dale and Naughton would be inspirational. Especially playing close to Naughts and being a fellow WA boy.

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Perhaps we also see Crozier as a good option to play on Fritsch.

That would be a big challenge for Croz. Hopefully he can resurrect his career as it looked to be on a downward trend to me.

[aker39]

Beautiful day to watch football, not so sure about playing in 30 degree.1178

[GVGjr]

It's a great day to watch footy. Looking forward to it.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Looking forward to seeing the likes of Jones X2, JUH and Darcy.

[angelopetraglia]

Pressure inside our F50 so far has been very good.

[chef]

In the car to Torquay, is there any radio coverage?

[whythelongface]

Loving Liam Jones already. So exciting

[MrMahatma]

Injury to Doc feels like a MJP “you’re the coach” scenario!

[GVGjr]

Loving Liam Jones already. So exciting

Yep, he's looking strong. Duryea off with an injured neck

[Grantysghost]

Scott looks very good.

[angelopetraglia]

Liam Jones best on by a mile so far

[Grantysghost]

Defence the opposite early, take time to gel.

[GVGjr]

Scott looks very good.

He's doing well. Had to work hard for that goal

[angelopetraglia]

If Darcy gets in front, gee whiz, almost impossible to stop.

[Mofra]

Loved Lobb's contest just then, knew he had no chance but used his body against two defenders.

[Grantysghost]

Bruce - > Larkey
Keath - > Zurhaar
Jones getting the resting small Cunnington atm

[Mofra]

Darcy's managed to get ball to boot after picking it up twice, really quickly. Far quicker than a 209+cm guy should. It's a fantastic trick for a big guy

[Grantysghost]

Anyone else think Curtis for North is a ripper.

Looks a player.

[Mofra]

Bailey Smith has improved his defensive game about 0.1%

[Mofra]

Anyone else think Curtis for North is a ripper.

Looks a player.
I remember thinking he's pretty close to Rozee in his u18 year. Couldn't believe he slid in the draft.

[angelopetraglia]

Cunnington is a very good footballer. They are a five goal better team with him in the team.

[Grantysghost]

I remember thinking he's pretty close to Rozee in his u18 year. Couldn't believe he slid in the draft.

Oozes talent and smarts.

[Mofra]

Baker's just played himself into the round 1 team

[whythelongface]

Thoughts on Baker? Looks ok to me. Early days but good signs.

[GVGjr]

Thoughts on Baker? Looks ok to me. Early days but good signs.

He's going to be a decent player for us. Off to a good start today.

[Go_Dogs]

Promising signs.

A few putting in more effort than others on the defensive transition.

Liam Jones on fire.

Keath definitely noticeably slimmer.

Lobb a bit of a nearly qtr.

Darce, Naughts, Marra some good involvements and efforts at ground level.

Hannan unsighted?

[Grantysghost]

Yep Baker been very good.

Noticed something late in the term.

Dale was in trouble and instinctivley went to the left wing with his dump kick.

We had overloaded it with a few players I think Baker marked it.

Interesting to see if it's a tactic.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Interesting quarter.

Some good signs - forwards have looked dangerous and have not got in each other's way. Backs have defended well, and the combination of Jones and Keath has looked really solid. Jones has been brilliant.

Unfortunately, our mids are still all or nothing. Continually get burned on the rebound or from stoppage and that then makes the job of the backs almost impossible at times. Not great viewing. Their positioning at times is absolutely horrible, little to no defensive coverage. Typically you don't worry given its a preseason game but this is an issue which has cost us big for multiple seasons, including a Grand Final/flag.

Baker has looked good and got involved, Darcys talent is obvious and I thought Marras work rate and little efforts were great.

[Go_Dogs]

Yep Baker been very good.

Noticed something late in the term.

Dale was in trouble and instincevly went to the left wing with his dump kick.

We had overloaded it with a few players I think Baker marked it.

Interesting to see if it's a tactic.

Thought the same. Field kick to position.

[Rocket Science]

Wishing harm on opponents is a bit crap but if granted three wishes I'd happily expend one of them on a gruesome injury to Jack Ziebell.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Duryea and Richards out would be catastrophic for Round 1. Hope both are OK.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Wishing harm on opponents is a bit crap but if granted three wishes I'd happily expend one of them on a gruesome injury to Jack Ziebell.

Yep - absolute sniper faux tough guy. He's rubbish.

[GVGjr]

Hannan wasn't in the side today.
Richards off the ground with a thing injury

[Grantysghost]

Macrae resting deep forward? Maybe Mcdonald is tagging him and they're trying to break it.

[angelopetraglia]

Liam Jones. 9 touches. 5 marks. 4 intercepts.

First quarter ��

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Work experience kids at Fox footy?

[angelopetraglia]

Work experience kids at Fox footy?

Yep. We missed a Bulldogs goal!

[Grantysghost]

Macrae resting deep forward? Maybe Mcdonald is tagging him and they're trying to break it.

Bont is there now, we are rotating a mid through the goal square.

[angelopetraglia]

What happened to Richards?

[kruder]

What happened to Richards?

looked like a corky to me

[kruder]

Baker's kicking going to be real talking point this year, good to see him involved though.

Still think our defensive set up around the ball is a little questionable, it does help having Liam Jones in your backline though!

Can we find some consistent smalls to complement the height in the the forward line? A big key to this year, the talls all look a threat. Its going to be exciting top watch that's for sure.

[Grantysghost]

West on. Playing high forward.

[GVGjr]

Is Dale becoming to focused on low flat and precise kicks with little margin of error?

[Grantysghost]

Bont is there now, we are rotating a mid through the goal square.

Now Treloar. Interesting.

[bornadog]

too many easy goals for north

[bornadog]

I really like Scott

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Scott and Baker locks for R1.

[Mofra]

Scott and Baker locks for R1.
Scott was likley to get in before this game, Baker had the jury out but he demands a spot now

[Grantysghost]

Look at all these tall people in the forward line.

Truly remarkable times.

https://i.postimg.cc/MH5QhQ9y/PXL-20230304-032251645.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[The Bulldogs Bite]

That was a big quarter. We are going to destroy some teams in a quarter of footy this year. Will be fun to watch.

Arty Jones hasn't been huge but I've liked his positioning and movement. If we're to play 3-4 talls in R1, he must be strongly considered if JJ isn't right to go.

Can Lobb, Naughty, Marra and Darcy work? I'm not convinced but it's fun to trial and speculate.

[Grantysghost]

Scott was likley to get in before this game, Baker had the jury out but he demands a spot now

Baker is way better than I thought.

Melbourne have been pumping up Lachie at every turn, maybe they should've looked closer to home.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Baker is way better than I thought.

Melbourne have been pumping up Lachie at every turn, maybe they should've looked closer to home.

Need to see how he works back defensively, but offensively he's been better than I thought he would be. Early days but he's run hard to provide an option, has shown composure and used the ball pretty well.

[mjp]

Baker is way better than I thought.



He's a nice player.

Melbourne lost a fair bit of talent this off-season. Bedford the best of them (Giants got him) but Baker and Weideman are talented...I don't think Weideman will ever 'quite' get there but was as good an option as Schache.

They lost Jackson as well BUT I guess Grundy is more aligned (age wise) with Petracca and Oliver etc so will (in theory) be able to carry them when Gawn is done in a couple...

[Mofra]

He's a nice player.

Melbourne lost a fair bit of talent this off-season. Bedford the best of them (Giants got him) but Baker and Weideman are talented...I don't think Weideman will ever 'quite' get there but was as good an option as Schache.

They lost Jackson as well BUT I guess Grundy is more aligned (age wise) with Petracca and Oliver etc so will (in theory) be able to carry them when Gawn is done in a couple...
Lachie Hunter with his head screwed on right is their best pick up. Huge tank so suits the MCG.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet our 4-tall forwardline is trialed with a view to playing Melbourne. Petty's a very good 3rd defender (and their tallest), May & Lever are quality but not tall for defenders. Who goes with Jamarra? Arty (or someone else) sits on Salem and we're doing ok in that part of the ground.

[Grantysghost]

He's a nice player.

Melbourne lost a fair bit of talent this off-season. Bedford the best of them (Giants got him) but Baker and Weideman are talented...I don't think Weideman will ever 'quite' get there but was as good an option as Schache.

They lost Jackson as well BUT I guess Grundy is more aligned (age wise) with Petracca and Oliver etc so will (in theory) be able to carry them when Gawn is done in a couple...

I like that he holds his width very well, isn't getting sucked off his line.

We seem to know where he will be.

[The Underdog]

Baker's kicking going to be real talking point this year, good to see him involved though.

Still think our defensive set up around the ball is a little questionable, it does help having Liam Jones in your backline though!

Can we find some consistent smalls to complement the height in the the forward line? A big key to this year, the talls all look a threat. Its going to be exciting top watch that's for sure.

Are you worried about Baker’s kicking? It has looked fine so far. A couple of nice hit ups to leads. He’s not Doug Hawkins but he’s better than I expected.

[kruder]

Love how the tall forward line allows English set up defensive side when we push forward.

[Grantysghost]

Liam Jones mein gott.

He's making my weekend rosy.

[bornadog]

Too bad we are playing North Duds. Hard to assess how we will shape up this year

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Love how the tall forward line allows English set up defensive side when we push forward.

Good point.

We know Naughty is a beast at ground level, Marra is showing good signs in this area and I've been impressed by Darcy's efforts.

It might just be worth a gamble. English a kick behind play is important, and if they get through him to then have Jones and Keath is really solid.

[Scraggers]

Just turned on to watch the third quarter. Super impressed with Liam Jones. Hope he can continue like this for the majority of the season. Can someone tell me what happened to Richards?

[bornadog]

Just turned on to watch the third quarter. Super impressed with Liam Jones. Hope he can continue like this for the majority of the season. Can someone tell me what happened to Richards?

Corky

[bornadog]

Is Stevenson the biggest bust trade ever

[bornadog]

Dumb footy by Bruce

[GVGjr]

You have to wonder if Bruce can learn his lesson. Somehow managed to panic under no pressure.

[GVGjr]

Now one of our best decision makers gets it all wrong.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Irrespective of the level of the opposition today, I've really liked what I've seen.
There is a real versatile look to the side.
Jamarra really looks like he's going to reap the rewards of a strong pre-season. He looks really mobile.
Darcy looks to have a real tall utility role across each of the lines potentially.
Lobb whilst not standing out today, looks like he is going to free English up.
English looks stronger as well
Naughton's goalkicking action looks to have undergone some renovation work.
Bontempelli just looks like he's going to go full Beast Mode this year.

The four tall forward may not work all the time, but it may not have to be employed, and yet all four could still play in the same team. I think Darcy and Lobb's ability to play multiple positions, and potentially Bruce as well, means they don't all have to play at the same end of the ground.

I was not expecting Oscar Baker to be as effective as he was. He could be a very unlikely yet important inclusion. Similarly my expectations for Liam Jones wasn't super high. But wow, he looks super fit, and could be extremely influential if he remains healthy.

[GVGjr]

A decent hit out but some injury concerns but that tends to happen.

Bont, Libba, Macrae, Jones and quite a few others all performed well.
Expected a bit more from Lobb and English today and Bruce has a tendency to undo some good with just poor decision making.

Darcy and Ugle-Hagan look like they could rip a game apart.

[bornadog]

Last quarter we took the foot off the peddle but in 30 degree heat you can understand why as it is a practise match

[GVGjr]

Irrespective of the level of the opposition today, I've really liked what I've seen.


It's a hit out and we got the work into the players that we needed to. Many of our players got a lot of game time so I'd expect the coaches will be happy enough with our effort.

There were some terrific passages of play and we should focus on that.

[LifeLongBulldog]

Very promising signs from Arthur Jones today. Do we think it is enough to keep him in the side when Cody Weightmam is fit?

[bornadog]

Very promising signs from Arthur Jones today. Do we think it is enough to keep him in the side when Cody Weightmam is fit?

I thought Weightman was going to play but looks like they wanted to give him more time. I would love to see Arty debut.

[chef]

Scores?

[GVGjr]

Very promising signs from Arthur Jones today. Do we think it is enough to keep him in the side when Cody Weightmam is fit?

He's really started to show some positive signs on the training track in the last 6 weeks which is encouraging. He's also played both in the forward and back lines. Weightman will be fine and JJ could be ready to go as well so there is some competition.

[GVGjr]

Scores?

58 point win. 22 - 11 to 13 - 7

[SlimPickens]

My take-

Thought the tall forward structure worked well, matched with a resting mid and two genuine forwards. You got 10 goals out of the tall forward mix with Weightman missing. I liked that English was able to rest on the bench at times and not forward. I suspect he will run a lot of ruckman off their legs this year so those rests are going to be important. Arty Jones is a lock for round one. Defensive pressure and Speed was impressive, hit the scoreboard with smart positioning. Loved what he brought to the side. At times Lobb or Darcy or Jammara were matched up on blokes who were under 190cms. Once they play a bit of footy together the opposition coaches are going to have nightmares

Bruce isn’t best 22 but a solid enough back up if needed. Expect Gardner, Keath and Jones to play a lot of footy together this year.
Loved the midfield rotation of Macarena, Bont, Libba, Smith and Treloar. Destroyed a poor opponent all day.


Norf are poo and in for a long year.

[SonofScray]

Promising signs overall.

I thought we looked far and away the better organised and classier side than an absolutely awful, yet typically petulant and cowardly North. The hit out doesn’t give us a full sense of where we are at, but it is still a bit out against opposition and we’ve put some miles into the legs of our boys and sharpened up the bodies ready for some real contests.

Bont looks unencumbered, moving well and ready to perform at his level and perhaps beyond what we’ve seen from him to this point in his career. It could be your first time watching Aussie Rules and you’d pick him out as the stud, no doubt in my mind.

Arthur Jones I think brought something to the table that fits nice in a land of giants should we go with all those talls up front. I’ve seen enough across the intro club and here, debuts R1.

JUH and Darcy should have us all licking our lips. Marra looks every bit the star forward the way he moves and competes in the air and ground level. Darcy can give us something we need at either end.

Undefeated season. Flag.

2023 is going to be the greatest year in footy and we are going to have front row seats.

[jeemak]

That was relatively successful. Beat up on opposition we should have, which is good, but probably not thoroughly tested which is a shame.

I guess I have a question mark on our back six in lieu of Richards and Doc going down so early in the piece. Hopefully Richards is right to go for R1 if it's just a corked thigh, any update on how serious Doc's was? I didn't see it.

Possibly another question I have is how the skills stand up against bigger bodies and more pressure. We'll get our hands on it enough, the question is whether we can execute under the pressure of a Geelong or Melbourne.

Baker gave us a different dynamic on the wing. He seems a genuine fit for that position, holds his width and runs hard. Much better this week than last, and has attributes to work with. Lobb had a few looks and kicked a great goal out of the ruck, though at 30 I reckon he's experienced enough to take the run from a practice match having hoped to get through it unscathed. Will be better for the run but still might take some time to get into the groove having only trained with us for one preseason. Jones was outstanding and I have to pinch myself a little when I attempt to intellectualise him being our saviour in the backline at 32 after a year out of the game due to being a vaccination refuser. But that's the world we live in, in 2023!

The midfield looked good, but like TBB said still prone to some overly optimistic positioning at stoppages from what I could tell from the coverage. They did really put the foot down and dominate stoppages/ the contest in the third, however. Losing Dunkley is a shame, and we'll see how that pans out over the journey, though I think we're still pretty strong.

Love the forward mix, hopefully the additional height will mean we're a bit less prone to getting burned on the intercept. All of our talls are dangerous in their own way, but I'm still not expecting huge amounts from Darcy or JUH who will find it harder than they did today against better defences. Happy for Arty, hopefully he gets some confidence out of today and use it as a spur to improve his productivity at the lower level.

[bornadog]

Happy for Arty, hopefully he gets some confidence out of today and use it as a spur to improve his productivity at the lower level.

Is he a smokey to play round 1?

[jeemak]

Is he a smokey to play round 1?

He's probably better than being a smokey, given Weightman may need a couple of runs before he appears this year.

Just heard Doc has been cleared of structural damage so is a chance.

[Jez1]

Liked the look of Arty, expect he plays round 1 especially with weightman and JJ not a 100 percent.

[josie]

I left VFL match at half time. Roos were pummelling us. Some of this had to do with our shortage of talls (presumably because of extended bench in seniors match). Roos looked slick apart from missing some gettable goals in first quarter. Sweet competes hard, Garcia ok without being great. Cleary or JJ (who was doing a lot of kick outs) I think was best on ground for us. Luke Cleary is super composed & good disposal. If he was a bit more solidly built I think he’d be good at afl level. JJ moved well and kicked well, however I suspect he might be carrying a smidge of extra weight which will likely go once he is match fit. His important leadership was evident even though Roos dominating us pretty much everywhere and when they got their running game going they were leaving us behind.

Gallagher did a few nice things and he looks like a tough nut plus can really give the ball a roost. I couldn’t see Clarke out there.

[JanLorMill]

Practice match. Happy it’s over, would have been better with a few less injuries. Only saw parts of the first half but we could do with some more good small backs and forwards

[Bigdog]

Clarke, Bendendo, Buss, Weightman and Gardiner were all sitting with each other during the afl game so I presumed he wouldn’t play.

One player I didn’t notice was Hannan.

[jeemak]

Clarke, Bendendo, Buss, Weightman and Gardiner were all sitting with each other during the afl game so I presumed he wouldn’t play.

One player I didn’t notice was Hannan.

I don't think Hannan played in the end.

[bornadog]

Practice match. Happy it’s over, would have been better with a few less injuries. Only saw parts of the first half but we could do with some more good small backs and forwards

Doc and Crozier cleared of major injuries.

[Jedwardo123]

Missed today as was pretty busy finishing making my kung-fu movie and my time machine needed a wash but did we sag off or run back from the mark at all?

[Mofra]

Missed today as was pretty busy finishing making my kung-fu movie and my time machine needed a wash but did we sag off or run back from the mark at all?
Deep in our forwardline our forwards did to try and cut off the switch kick.
Otherwise, we were on the mark.

[jeemak]

Missed today as was pretty busy finishing making my kung-fu movie and my time machine needed a wash but did we sag off or run back from the mark at all?

:D

That's a solid excuse!

There was a mix of sagging off and standing, but I'm not sure if the latter was due to a lack of awareness resulting from heat fatigue (which crept into the game) or was a genuine tactic as I only noticed it late.

Be prepared for us to avoid standing the mark. I reckon with the new attention being paid to players creeping over and the confusion between a fake and not a fake and players moving off the mark there's going to be some costly fifties paid this year making standing the mark riskier than it was last year. Gotta justify the four umpires somehow!

[jeemak]

Deep in our forwardline our forwards did to try and cut off the switch kick.
Otherwise, we were on the mark.

Ha - I mustn't have been paying attention because I thought I saw sagging but you're more observant than I most of the time!

[Eastdog]

Missed the game as I was celebrating my birthday. Might watch the replay. Thanks for the reports. Lots of positives out of today which is great but now looking at the real stuff in 12 days.

[Grantysghost]

Missed the game as I was celebrating my birthday. Might watch the replay. Thanks for the reports. Lots of positives out of today which is great but now looking at the real stuff in 12 days.
Happy Birthday Easty.

[josie]

Happy Birthday Easty.

Seconded. Hope it was a lovely day for you Easty.

[Jeanette54]

I might just be hard to please, but on too many occasions North were able to carry the ball (after a turnover) without pressure, and the ball still gets out the back leading to easy scoring opportunities. To be fair the defense was effected by the early loss of two first choice players (Doc & Ed), but it still brings back memories of easy joe the goose goals costing us matches.

Speaking of defense, Liam Jones was magnificent, and Alex Keath is finding his old form, which made him such a good defender. Josh Bruce was a bit of a mixed bad in the backline but looks to be staring to settle in there.

[jeemak]

Missed the game as I was celebrating my birthday. Might watch the replay. Thanks for the reports. Lots of positives out of today which is great but now looking at the real stuff in 12 days.

Happy birthday mate, how old are you now buddy?

[jeemak]

I might just be hard to please, but on too many occasions North were able to carry the ball (after a turnover) without pressure, and the ball still gets out the back leading to easy scoring opportunities. To be fair the defense was effected by the early loss of two first choice players (Doc & Ed), but it still brings back memories of easy joe the goose goals costing us matches.

Speaking of defense, Liam Jones was magnificent, and Alex Keath is finding his old form, which made him such a good defender. Josh Bruce was a bit of a mixed bad in the backline but looks to be staring to settle in there.

Is that just how our system gets scored against though, and we have to deal with it in hoping our system gets us enough opportunities to score more than the opposition?

I'm not saying I like it, but it might be a case of better the devil you know than the angel you don't in that if we structured/ played differently we don't score as much and open up other ways to get scored against.

Also, does it get easier to stop that from happening if the game is played more in the middle of the ground rather than being played closer to our goals which will be the case against sides that can counter our dominance in getting it forward and locking it in?

Team defence was a massive area of concern in 2022, but it was good in 2021 and the difference is mostly between the ears of the players. It's the biggest watch out for the start of the season against good teams.

[aker39]

One thing I noticed is that Daniel Cross is the Hawthorn runner. I'd love to have him back at the club one day.

[Eastdog]

Happy birthday mate, how old are you now buddy?

34 years old.

[jeemak]

34 years old.

Where have the years gone you old fart!

Almost the best years to be alive Easty, 32-34 are great times!

[jeemak]

One thing I noticed is that Daniel Cross is the Hawthorn runner. I'd love to have him back at the club one day.

Why and in what capacity?

Here's his professional experience (that needs updating, possibly unless you meant Norf instead of Hawthorn?) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-cross-2b50a61b9/details/experience/

What would he bring to the table for us that we don't already/ mightn't already have?

He's a much admired player of ours, and I understand why in terms of his dedication to improvement, courage, use by hand and accumulation skills. Though I don't understand how his post career exploits make him a standout candidate for recruitment.

Sorry if the above seems like an attack, though it's a bit of a trigger point for me because I reckon if you asked who of Gia, Crossy or Morris our supporters would love to have back at the club the latter two would rank in front of Gia because of the way they played and their perceived strengths. And I don't get it.

And sorry again if you have personal or other experiences/ insights with Cross post his footy career that I don't know about as well. And tripple sorry if this seems overly harsh, it's not meant to be.

[kruder]

For a number 1 pick, Marra is such an unselfish player really like his attitude always keen to celebrate teammates success and get people into the game. The kid has improved lengths off a spell there is no doubt about it.

Rapt for Anthony Scott, there is a role for him on the wing this year and he performed exactly how you should in a preseason game when you're on the periphery. If he keeps going like that, will be a best 22 lock this year.

Im still concerned about our ability of our mids to stop a run on, there were stages in the first half Norrrff walked through us too easily. One things for sure we will get an early audit against the Dees, will be interesting to see how the mids respond.

[jeemak]

For a number 1 pick, Marra is such an unselfish player really like his attitude always keen to celebrate teammates success and get people into the game. The kid has improved lengths off a spell there is no doubt about it.

Rapt for Anthony Scott, there is a role for him on the wing this year and he performed exactly how you should in a preseason game when you're on the periphery. If he keeps going like that, will be a best 22 lock this year.

Im still concerned about our ability of our mids to stop a run on, there were stages in the first half Norrrff walked through us too easily. One things for sure we will get an early audit against the Dees, will be interesting to see how the mids respond.

JUH's attitude is fantastic, and even when the media were into us for not playing him everything he did in the main was great. Him addressing the apparent want to leave for more opportunity leading into his debut was class, and his visible want to keep improving himself and how it shows on the field is just as good.

Johnathan Brown on the commentary today went into the typical "it's been a long time coming" spiel and then checked himself noting talls take longer to develop. I'm not really sure what someone like him wants from Jamarra.

Here's a comparison of JUH and Brown for shits and giggles:

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_player_compare?playerStatus1=A&tid1=8&playerStatus2=I&tid2=20&type=A&pid1=6734&pid2=403&fid1=O&fid2=O

Brown was a ready made brute when he started and was ten KGs heavier than JUH at the same age, but an inch or so shorter. He had Lynch and Bradshaw playing with him amongst a few others to take the pressure off. JUH has had Naughton to date, but I think with Lobb coming in Marra's life will get a bit easier and his numbers will improve.

Scott is super neat and seems like a pro who is in great shape and able to play a few roles. Agree he put his hand up as a lock for R1 today.

[hujsh]

Missed the game as I was celebrating my birthday. Might watch the replay. Thanks for the reports. Lots of positives out of today which is great but now looking at the real stuff in 12 days.

We share a birthday Easty

[hujsh]

Aside from the last quarter I think one of the more encouraging aspects from today's match is it seemed to me that when the opposition got a bit of momentum our defense was better able to soak up that pressure until we could bounce back (as often happens against us). Losing all of Richards, Doc and Crozier (who looked good maybe the old dog has some kick in him yet) I'm not surprised this didn't last the whole game but with Jones back, Keath looking fit and Richards to return we might just be in a position to intercept for once.

Bruce wasn't bad either but my god... is his disposal in defence WORSE than Gardner's was initially?

[jeemak]

We share a birthday Easty

Happy birthday mate!

[dog town]

JUH's attitude is fantastic, and even when the media were into us for not playing him everything he did in the main was great. Him addressing the apparent want to leave for more opportunity leading into his debut was class, and his visible want to keep improving himself and how it shows on the field is just as good.

Johnathan Brown on the commentary today went into the typical "it's been a long time coming" spiel and then checked himself noting talls take longer to develop. I'm not really sure what someone like him wants from Jamarra.

Here's a comparison of JUH and Brown for shits and giggles:

https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_player_compare?playerStatus1=A&tid1=8&playerStatus2=I&tid2=20&type=A&pid1=6734&pid2=403&fid1=O&fid2=O

Brown was a ready made brute when he started and was ten KGs heavier than JUH at the same age, but an inch or so shorter. He had Lynch and Bradshaw playing with him amongst a few others to take the pressure off. JUH has had Naughton to date, but I think with Lobb coming in Marra's life will get a bit easier and his numbers will improve.

Scott is super neat and seems like a pro who is in great shape and able to play a few roles. Agree he put his hand up as a lock for R1 today.

Jamarra and Darcy are both tracking very well in terms of age versus production. Even if they both drop away this year we shouldn’t have too many concerns on their rate of development.

A mate said to me the other day he is worried about us because Bevo can’t settle Darcy and Jamarra down into roles. I can’t think of too many times the fortunes of 2nd-3rd year talls dictate a clubs fortunes.

[dog town]

Couple of things I picked up through the stats for the round

- 2nd most tackles inside 50 for the round behind Essendon who played in a wind tunnel.
- 3rd most intercept possessions for the round again behind the two teams at the wind tunnel.

[jeemak]

Jamarra and Darcy are both tracking very well in terms of age versus production. Even if they both drop away this year we shouldn’t have too many concerns on their rate of development.

A mate said to me the other day he is worried about us because Bevo can’t settle Darcy and Jamarra down into roles. I can’t think of too many times the fortunes of 2nd-3rd year talls dictate a clubs fortunes.

Our season stands up on the success of our recruits and our rebalancing of the side to accommodate them, and how we cover the losses of Dunks and Hunter. With JUH and Darcy I want to see improvement and some value - over the course of the year no matter how the side tracks.

[Bulldog Legend]

Darcy's managed to get ball to boot after picking it up twice, really quickly. Far quicker than a 209+cm guy should. It's a fantastic trick for a big guy
Yep all our big talks are pretty mobile which will help us play them all

[Bulldog Legend]

Thoughts on Baker? Looks ok to me. Early days but good signs.
I reckon he will be a good pickup considering we got him for nothing and his extra pace is what we need
We just have to temper our expectations

[Bulldog Legend]

Very promising signs from Arthur Jones today. Do we think it is enough to keep him in the side when Cody Weightmam is fit?
He will go close and no doubt will play sometime this season

[Bulldog Legend]

For a number 1 pick, Marra is such an unselfish player really like his attitude always keen to celebrate teammates success and get people into the game. The kid has improved lengths off a spell there is no doubt about it.

Rapt for Anthony Scott, there is a role for him on the wing this year and he performed exactly how you should in a preseason game when you're on the periphery. If he keeps going like that, will be a best 22 lock this year.

Im still concerned about our ability of our mids to stop a run on, there were stages in the first half Norrrff walked through us too easily. One things for sure we will get an early audit against the Dees, will be interesting to see how the mids respond.

I reckon we need to credit Bevo and the club for the way the have handled Marra. Taught him the right way from the start and he needs credit for taking it all on board

[hujsh]

I know we’re top heavy but I feel like our side is immediately better balanced than last year with the bookends settling at both ends of the ground and a clear midfield quintuple who can all impact without having to try and turn themselves into a forward. These are the guys we want to have the ball and frankly I can live with Baker having a few less kicks than Hunter would have if it means Bont, Macrae, Treloar, Libba or B.Smith is getting it instead. Each of those names can either break the line with pace or use the ball better than Hunter.

[Bulldog Legend]

Jamarra and Darcy are both tracking very well in terms of age versus production. Even if they both drop away this year we shouldn’t have too many concerns on their rate of development.

A mate said to me the other day he is worried about us because Bevo can’t settle Darcy and Jamarra down into roles. I can’t think of too many times the fortunes of 2nd-3rd year talls dictate a clubs fortunes.
I think you need to tell your mate to shut up and enjoy the ride

[Grantysghost]

We share a birthday Easty

Happy birthday Hujsh!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

My takeaways from yesterday.

* Bontempelli, if he remains healthy, looks set to go to another level again. He is at the absolute physical peak of his powers and quite frankly looks set to ignite.
* Jamarra's tank has grown. He looks an absolute predator roaming up and through the forward fifty.
*Baker and Scott can effectively cover Hunter.
* Jones just looks like a very smart acquisition. My expectations weren't great. Based on yesterday, Jones is primed for a huge year. He immediately makes Keath better, and when Gardner comes back, Bruce is going to have to really fight hard for a spot.
* Darcy, Naughton and Lobb plus JUH and English, gosh I hope we can make it work. I suspect we can given they've all got unique skills sets that enable them to potentially perform multiple roles depending on the situation. But it might require some major tweaks to the game plan from Bevo and co. I'd be interested in the views of the more football tactically proficient amongst us here to set out how it might be able to work!

Absolutely pumped that we've got a super tough looking opening 6 week start to the fixture. We're going to really see just what this group is capable of achieving. I'm hoping that the personnel movements over the end of last season have prompted some very robust conversations amongst the players and coaching group.

The look of resolve from Bontempelli, Libba, Smith and Macrae yesterday gives me an impression that they've processed some truth's over the summer. I am looking forward to seeing what that translates to on field. The opening 6 weeks will be potentially very revealing.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I also thought Crozier looked to be moving as well as I've seen him for a couple of years. It would be a bonus for us to have him performing back at the level he exhibited two years ago.

[josie]

My takeaways from yesterday.

* Bontempelli, if he remains healthy, looks set to go to another level again. He is at the absolute physical peak of his powers and quite frankly looks set to ignite.
* Jamarra's tank has grown. He looks an absolute predator roaming up and through the forward fifty.
*Baker and Scott can effectively cover Hunter.
* Jones just looks like a very smart acquisition. My expectations weren't great. Based on yesterday, Jones is primed for a huge year. He immediately makes Keath better, and when Gardner comes back, Bruce is going to have to really fight hard for a spot.
* Darcy, Naughton and Lobb plus JUH and English, gosh I hope we can make it work. I suspect we can given they've all got unique skills sets that enable them to potentially perform multiple roles depending on the situation. But it might require some major tweaks to the game plan from Bevo and co. I'd be interested in the views of the more football tactically proficient amongst us here to set out how it might be able to work!

Absolutely pumped that we've got a super tough looking opening 6 week start to the fixture. We're going to really see just what this group is capable of achieving. I'm hoping that the personnel movements over the end of last season have prompted some very robust conversations amongst the players and coaching group.

The look of resolve from Bontempelli, Libba, Smith and Macrae yesterday gives me an impression that they've processed some truth's over the summer. I am looking forward to seeing what that translates to on field. The opening 6 weeks will be potentially very revealing.

Excellent post YHF. I thought Libba was also at peak of his powers yesterday. I cannot think of anyone current or past that is as good an extractor and as clever and quick thinking as he is. Can kick a goal from outside or close to 50 mark as well. Staggeringly good. Westy Sr was pretty damn good and Libba is in a class of his own. So good to hear he is mentoring Garcia. Hope he does same with Westy Jr.

[The Underdog]

For a number 1 pick, Marra is such an unselfish player really like his attitude always keen to celebrate teammates success and get people into the game. The kid has improved lengths off a spell there is no doubt about it.

Rapt for Anthony Scott, there is a role for him on the wing this year and he performed exactly how you should in a preseason game when you're on the periphery. If he keeps going like that, will be a best 22 lock this year.

Im still concerned about our ability of our mids to stop a run on, there were stages in the first half Norrrff walked through us too easily. One things for sure we will get an early audit against the Dees, will be interesting to see how the mids respond.

I think if we have some concerns around anything yesterday it was that the losing the centre bounce hit outs and the opposition rolling out the front of the contest thing popped it’s head up quite a bit. Hopefully we’re keeping a bit back for round one.
Also to allow North 57 inside 50’s in a game where we smashed them on the scoreboard isn’t a sustainable path against better teams.

Not being negative, it was a solid run out and aside from the 3 injuries to the same position there was a lot to like, but these are the things that still look like they need some work.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Excellent post YHF. I thought Libba was also at peak of his powers yesterday. I cannot think of anyone current or past that is as good an extractor and as clever and quick thinking as he is. Can kick a goal from outside or close to 50 mark as well. Staggeringly good. Westy Sr was pretty damn good and Libba is in a class of his own. So good to hear he is mentoring Garcia. Hope he does same with Westy Jr.

Agree Josie, this ain't the year Libba power's show sign of waning.

I really think young Westy can increasingly play some inside mid minutes this year, as well as up forward. He is very strong for his size, and he looks to have some elite awareness skills too.

[josie]

Agree Josie, this ain't the year Libba power's show sign of waning.

I really think young Westy can increasingly play some inside mid minutes this year, as well as up forward. He is very strong for his size, and he looks to have some elite awareness skills too.

I just hope coaches do as you suggest. If he then doesn’t make the grade then we won’t be left wondering what if. He was so elite at VFL level in midfield, I’m still optimistic he will make it if given enough opportunities.

[bornadog]

I think if we have some concerns around anything yesterday it was that the losing the centre bounce hit outs and the opposition rolling out the front of the contest thing popped it’s head up quite a bit. Hopefully we’re keeping a bit back for round one.
Also to allow North 57 inside 50’s in a game where we smashed them on the scoreboard isn’t a sustainable path against better teams.

Not being negative, it was a solid run out and aside from the 3 injuries to the same position there was a lot to like, but these are the things that still look like they need some work.

We smashed them in the centre clearances, but agree the inside 50s for them were too high.

[bornadog]

We share a birthday Easty

Are you 34 years old too.

Hope you and Easty had a great day

[Eastdog]

We share a birthday Easty

Happy birthday hujsh for yesterday.

[Bigdog]

Despite the tall forward line, I thought our forward pressure was pretty good. JUH and Naughton are great pressure footballers for their size. Lobb is also very good for his height. Even Darcy is better than expected.

[hujsh]

Are you 34 years old too.

Hope you and Easty had a great day

Nah 31. Back in 2007 I'd have been 15 logging onto WOOF in IT classes at school instead of doing the actual work

[GVGjr]

Despite the tall forward line, I thought our forward pressure was pretty good. JUH and Naughton are great pressure footballers for their size. Lobb is also very good for his height. Even Darcy is better than expected.

Encouraging wasn't it? Perhaps a more organised back line might have done better against us but some good signs.

[azabob]

Although it only lasted one quarter; I thought it was extremely telling that the match committee went with older experienced heads in our defensive 50. Jones, Keath, Duyrea, Crozier, Daniel, Dale and Richards. Even bringing Bruce on rather than pushing Darcy back.

Our set up also indicated perhaps we are willing to sacrifice run and focus more on 1 on 1 defending.

Hard to tell from just one quarter but I will watch this with interest as we get into the season proper.

[aker39]

Why and in what capacity?

Here's his professional experience (that needs updating, possibly unless you meant Norf instead of Hawthorn?) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-cross-2b50a61b9/details/experience/

What would he bring to the table for us that we don't already/ mightn't already have?

He's a much admired player of ours, and I understand why in terms of his dedication to improvement, courage, use by hand and accumulation skills. Though I don't understand how his post career exploits make him a standout candidate for recruitment.

Sorry if the above seems like an attack, though it's a bit of a trigger point for me because I reckon if you asked who of Gia, Crossy or Morris our supporters would love to have back at the club the latter two would rank in front of Gia because of the way they played and their perceived strengths. And I don't get it.

And sorry again if you have personal or other experiences/ insights with Cross post his footy career that I don't know about as well. And tripple sorry if this seems overly harsh, it's not meant to be.

Yes, I meant North. I saw him standing next to Clarko, which is why I typed Hawthorn.

This article when he was appointed at Nth Melbourne talks about some of his skills, which I'm sure we could put to good use.

https://www.nmfc.com.au/news/1023844/cross-high-performance-passion

[dog town]

A few rambling thoughts on yesterdays game and what it means for the weeks ahead.

Observations

1 – I thought the 3 tall defenders plus Crozier impacted our ability to move the footy. At half time the inside 50s were basically level and very few of these were due to ball movement from North they were almost all either generated from stoppage and mostly repeat entries due to us giving the ball back. Bruce, Keath, Jones and Crozier are all slow hand to foot and none of them are going to bite off a risky kick.
I have separate concerns on Bruce which I will cover later but especially in the first half I thought we were getting held up when we won it back too often. Kicking down the line or just straight to the opposition isn’t something we want to repeat in round1. Hold off full judgement until we see Duryea, Daniel, Richards and Dale all out there together more often but we couldn’t find a mark, handball receive or an angled kick early.

2 – Team defence continuing with the back shoulder approach when they are setting up behind the ball.

3- Saw some commentary that North were moving the ball end to end too easily against us which I didn’t think rang true. When I am reviewing games as a coach I like breaking down oppo scores by sources or taking it even further and breaking down the inside 50 sources. In the first half they only took the ball from back 50 to their forward 50 on 4 occasions, that means there wasn’t an opposition disposal or stoppage. I think 1 was from a shallow entry mis-kick which left us exposed, 1 was a kick in where they won a hard ball and scrambled it to space but on all 4 occasions we had opportunities to break it up eg: missed tackle (Darcy), poor commitment to an intercept (Marra), ground ball 1 on 1 (Daniel). That is a pretty good sign in terms of team defence but I think we will see it tested further in the coming weeks, the point is yesterday the transition defensive work was fine most of the 50s came from turnovers or stoppage losses.

4- Our ball use and decisions on how we move the ball will impact how we defend more than ever. I suspect that is what the insiders refer to when they reference the work done on how we bring the ball inside 50…it isn’t rolling the ball to mids and having them kick daisy cutters at the forwards.

5- 16 tackles inside 50 is outstanding but we are kicking to contests and getting numbers. The test of whether we are too big will come when the ball is open play and we need to close space or push up the ground to cover angles. Another thing on the size of our team is that for all the talk Melbourne are going with a very similar set up to us particularly if Fritsch plays.

6- Does the ball bounce on its point or really high at that ground? I always thought this when we played at Optus Oval for years, seems to be more goals from bad bounces or good bounces than anywhere else.

7- Too many easy goals deep need to kill the ball and spoil it aggressively and forward. Can think of a couple that got over the back as well as one on the goal line that should have been punched through. Particularly important with the size/mobility of our deep defenders.

8- Missed Hunter and his ability to create an exit kick option.

Bruce- Besides the obvious ball use issues I am concerned by how much he is using his hands as a defender on players who are not established. He took the 3rd most intercepts so he did a heap right but it really concerns me that he could give away critical free kicks and easy goals on turnover. If there is a positive I think he will be back somewhere near his best if we ever flick him forward again.

McLean- Not a winger and would play inside mid (his best spot) for most teams but won’t at the moment. If he plays at the moment it has to be as a high half forward which is where we settled him after half time with much better results. Disappointed for Toby because he was absolutely outstanding in match sim as a mid. Seemed gassed on the wing without the stop start stoppage nature of being inside.

Jones- I actually thought his kicking was ok but if you were any of our smalls you would be sweeping around for the handball more often wouldn’t you. We should be able to score off intercept at times not just kick it back where it came from.

English- Looked a bit lazy I thought at times. Didn’t take enough care with the ball and fumbled a few times.

Jamarra- Last two games have been a big improvement on the match sim month he had. Really getting involved and importantly has hung onto a couple of contested marks in each game. Urgently needs to improve his field kicking (what are you watching David King?) and start giving first option but a very good game. If he can get contest to contest the way he is and win the odd one on one as well it makes a huge difference to our balance.

Daniel- Has he lost a yard? Did some clever things definitely missed him early and I suspect he came on late because we were reshuffling plans after Duryea went down.

Darcy- Need him to pop up with a few contested marks a game inside 50 to justify what we are doing. How long before defenders are trying to put a block on him instead of Naughton?

Scott- Has hit scoreboard from the wing all summer and that continued.

Smith- How important is this guy given our lack of outside run? Looked a different game for us whenever he burst into space.

Crozier- I don’t think anyone who has ever criticised Crozier had any lack of respect for his efforts. Been brave, good organiser and seems a very good teammate. The issue has been that his strengths were actually becoming a weakness but I just have so much respect for the way he is applying himself to a new role at the moment. As MJP has mentioned a few times the ball tends to stop when it gets to him in transition (left sided, high kicking arc, slow hand to foot) but he is defending much better at the moment. He is still using his courage and athleticism but he is doing it within parameters that makes it effective to the team and also defending his direct opponent. Did try and take off with the ball a few times so that was a good sign as well. I really hope he can make it back into our mix by playing his role because he works hard and there is a spot for his size and shape.

[Go_Dogs]

Thanks for sharing DT.

On Smith - I had a few reservations on his defensive transition workrate. I suspect it’s because he’s gassed after pushing forward so hard and we are comfortable for him to be burnt on a turnover.

On Darcy - he’s got the hands to get those contested marks. If he starts attracting the block, Naughton is going to take mark of the year in the middle of some huge pack.

Does Hannan come into the frame to potentially play the Crozier role down back?

[DISHLICKERS]

We looked more of a football team yesterday than we have in sometime and a side that will provide a real challenge for opposition sides as a result of having Naughton, JUH, Darcy, Lobb, Jones, Keath and English playing.

All of the above players seemed to provide the team with a better structure and therefore cohesion.

PS Geez Libba is some player what a GUN.

[ledge]

I’m a bit wary of practice games as they are a little bruise free. The last quarter we dropped some marks and they ran away without pressure . A combination of relaxing a little I would think and not going in 100%
But all in all the forwards worked well . Jones in the back line reads the ball exceptionally well and don’t under estimate Larkey . The only downside of Jones is his kicks seem to hang in the air a little.
Extremely impressed with Jamarra, his tank his ball skills with ground balls. Much like the Bont. Darcy will be a superstar. Scott was extremely good and Baker was better than I thought . Melbourne will be an interesting gauge in round 1

[Jasper]

We looked more of a football team yesterday than we have in sometime and a side that will provide a real challenge for opposition sides as a result of having Naughton, JUH, Darcy, Lobb, Jones, Keath and English playing.

All of the above players seemed to provide the team with a better structure and therefore cohesion.

PS Geez Libba is some player what a GUN.

Libba was superb yesterday and must be ready for a big season. Agree about the structure of the team the pieces are starting to click together.

[Jasper]

Thank you Dog Town, WOOF has many fine contributors and I take the time to thoroughly read your posts.

[Jasper]

Despite the tall forward line, I thought our forward pressure was pretty good. JUH and Naughton are great pressure footballers for their size. Lobb is also very good for his height. Even Darcy is better than expected.

Great point Big Dog. The pressure applied by the forwards stood out.

[ledge]

Can someone tell Kelli Underwood Skinner reserve isn’t anywhere near Spotswood, neither is Ballarat. I also watched a practice match a couple of weeks ago and West played in it so I am not sure about his interrupted pre season.
Do the commentators do any research or just make it up as they go along ?

[GVGjr]

Can someone tell Kelli Underwood Skinner reserve isn’t anywhere near Spotswood, neither is Ballarat. I also watched a practice match a couple of weeks ago and West played in it so I am not sure about his interrupted pre season.
Do the commentators do any research or just make it up as they go along ?

I haven't watched a replay of the game and therefor Underwoods comments but West has had a few interruptions this preseason. I've seen him training with the other players on the restricted work loads.

[soupman]

Can someone tell Kelli Underwood Skinner reserve isn’t anywhere near Spotswood, neither is Ballarat. I also watched a practice match a couple of weeks ago and West played in it so I am not sure about his interrupted pre season.
Do the commentators do any research or just make it up as they go along ?

Oh man i nearly forgot how much better soccer commentary is. Not only getting stuff like the above wrong, but the usual AFL need to talk like they're mates about irrelevant stuff, one tangent being talking about an area being Brown or Matthews territory and going to visit. Can they just STFU and professionally call the game like basically every single other sport?

[Grantysghost]

Oh man i nearly forgot how much better soccer commentary is. Not only getting stuff like the above wrong, but the usual AFL need to talk like they're mates about irrelevant stuff, one tangent being talking about an area being Brown or Matthews territory and going to visit. Can they just STFU and professionally call the game like basically every single other sport?

Jonathan Brown epitomises the demographic they're aiming for.

[ledge]

I haven't watched a replay of the game and therefor Underwoods comments but West has had a few interruptions this preseason. I've seen him training with the other players on the restricted work loads.

Wait until Darcy takes a mark and kicks a goal and she remarks it bounced through when it clearly went through on the full and its first bounce was over the line.
I’m not sure what Wests interruption/injury was then but he was terrible at the open day game at Skinner even the players were screaming at him . Don’t get me wrong I like him but he definitely made some selfish decisions that day.

[Uninformed]

A few rambling thoughts on yesterdays game and what it means for the weeks ahead.

Observations

1 – I thought the 3 tall defenders plus Crozier impacted our ability to move the footy. At half time the inside 50s were basically level and very few of these were due to ball movement from North they were almost all either generated from stoppage and mostly repeat entries due to us giving the ball back. Bruce, Keath, Jones and Crozier are all slow hand to foot and none of them are going to bite off a risky kick.
I have separate concerns on Bruce which I will cover later but especially in the first half I thought we were getting held up when we won it back too often. Kicking down the line or just straight to the opposition isn’t something we want to repeat in round1. Hold off full judgement until we see Duryea, Daniel, Richards and Dale all out there together more often but we couldn’t find a mark, handball receive or an angled kick early.

2 – Team defence continuing with the back shoulder approach when they are setting up behind the ball.

3- Saw some commentary that North were moving the ball end to end too easily against us which I didn’t think rang true. When I am reviewing games as a coach I like breaking down oppo scores by sources or taking it even further and breaking down the inside 50 sources. In the first half they only took the ball from back 50 to their forward 50 on 4 occasions, that means there wasn’t an opposition disposal or stoppage. I think 1 was from a shallow entry mis-kick which left us exposed, 1 was a kick in where they won a hard ball and scrambled it to space but on all 4 occasions we had opportunities to break it up eg: missed tackle (Darcy), poor commitment to an intercept (Marra), ground ball 1 on 1 (Daniel). That is a pretty good sign in terms of team defence but I think we will see it tested further in the coming weeks, the point is yesterday the transition defensive work was fine most of the 50s came from turnovers or stoppage losses.

4- Our ball use and decisions on how we move the ball will impact how we defend more than ever. I suspect that is what the insiders refer to when they reference the work done on how we bring the ball inside 50…it isn’t rolling the ball to mids and having them kick daisy cutters at the forwards.

5- 16 tackles inside 50 is outstanding but we are kicking to contests and getting numbers. The test of whether we are too big will come when the ball is open play and we need to close space or push up the ground to cover angles. Another thing on the size of our team is that for all the talk Melbourne are going with a very similar set up to us particularly if Fritsch plays.

6- Does the ball bounce on its point or really high at that ground? I always thought this when we played at Optus Oval for years, seems to be more goals from bad bounces or good bounces than anywhere else.

7- Too many easy goals deep need to kill the ball and spoil it aggressively and forward. Can think of a couple that got over the back as well as one on the goal line that should have been punched through. Particularly important with the size/mobility of our deep defenders.

8- Missed Hunter and his ability to create an exit kick option.

Bruce- Besides the obvious ball use issues I am concerned by how much he is using his hands as a defender on players who are not established. He took the 3rd most intercepts so he did a heap right but it really concerns me that he could give away critical free kicks and easy goals on turnover. If there is a positive I think he will be back somewhere near his best if we ever flick him forward again.

McLean- Not a winger and would play inside mid (his best spot) for most teams but won’t at the moment. If he plays at the moment it has to be as a high half forward which is where we settled him after half time with much better results. Disappointed for Toby because he was absolutely outstanding in match sim as a mid. Seemed gassed on the wing without the stop start stoppage nature of being inside.

Jones- I actually thought his kicking was ok but if you were any of our smalls you would be sweeping around for the handball more often wouldn’t you. We should be able to score off intercept at times not just kick it back where it came from.

English- Looked a bit lazy I thought at times. Didn’t take enough care with the ball and fumbled a few times.

Jamarra- Last two games have been a big improvement on the match sim month he had. Really getting involved and importantly has hung onto a couple of contested marks in each game. Urgently needs to improve his field kicking (what are you watching David King?) and start giving first option but a very good game. If he can get contest to contest the way he is and win the odd one on one as well it makes a huge difference to our balance.

Daniel- Has he lost a yard? Did some clever things definitely missed him early and I suspect he came on late because we were reshuffling plans after Duryea went down.

Darcy- Need him to pop up with a few contested marks a game inside 50 to justify what we are doing. How long before defenders are trying to put a block on him instead of Naughton?

Scott- Has hit scoreboard from the wing all summer and that continued.

Smith- How important is this guy given our lack of outside run? Looked a different game for us whenever he burst into space.

Crozier- I don’t think anyone who has ever criticised Crozier had any lack of respect for his efforts. Been brave, good organiser and seems a very good teammate. The issue has been that his strengths were actually becoming a weakness but I just have so much respect for the way he is applying himself to a new role at the moment. As MJP has mentioned a few times the ball tends to stop when it gets to him in transition (left sided, high kicking arc, slow hand to foot) but he is defending much better at the moment. He is still using his courage and athleticism but he is doing it within parameters that makes it effective to the team and also defending his direct opponent. Did try and take off with the ball a few times so that was a good sign as well. I really hope he can make it back into our mix by playing his role because he works hard and there is a spot for his size and shape.

Really interesting assessment thank you. How did you apprise Treloar's influence. Seemed to have a bit of the Baz with his speed and some good defensive efforts do you think?

[Bigdog]

Appreciate the detailed commentary - and agree with the bulk.

However I actually thought Jones’ field kicking was good. I think his field kicking has improved out of site since he last played for the club.

[Boots]

Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who's been providing detailed analysis of preseason in this and other threads. I've had nothing to contribute but it's helped me get in the mood for footy this year and I appreciate it!

[Dazza]

Very good hit out against North. The 4 pronged forward line looks like it might work, Liam Jones looked great and a clear B.O.G, Scott, Baker and A.Jones have put their hands up for a round 1 selection.

Only negatives for mine was the form of Maclean and West. Was hoping to see more from them.

[ledge]

Very good hit out against North. The 4 pronged forward line looks like it might work, Liam Jones looked great and a clear B.O.G, Scott, Baker and A.Jones have put their hands up for a round 1 selection.

Only negatives for mine was the form of Maclean and West. Was hoping to see more from them.

It just proves that these footy things like dream team are against the backman , Jones didn’t even score 100 but others got over 100 and he was well better than them .

[hujsh]

Very good hit out against North. The 4 pronged forward line looks like it might work, Liam Jones looked great and a clear B.O.G, Scott, Baker and A.Jones have put their hands up for a round 1 selection.

Only negatives for mine was the form of Maclean and West. Was hoping to see more from them.

It sounds like he has had good form over the pre-season so I wouldn't stress. Given his role in the main team we have to accept he won't always be dominant on the stats sheet (they can't all have 30 touches) and TBH if he can do a defensive job instead on occasion I'd be fine with that.

[Curly5]

Encouraging wasn't it? Perhaps a more organised back line might have done better against us but some good signs.

And Melbourne have just that. I'm optimistic for the season but this game just might bring us back down to earth. Only too happy to eat my words if we win! :D

[Curly5]

Can someone tell Kelli Underwood Skinner reserve isn’t anywhere near Spotswood, neither is Ballarat. I also watched a practice match a couple of weeks ago and West played in it so I am not sure about his interrupted pre season.
Do the commentators do any research or just make it up as they go along ?

They remember reading something somewhere sometime :D

[doggies ftw]

And Melbourne have just that. I'm optimistic for the season but this game just might bring us back down to earth. Only too happy to eat my words if we win! :D

I think this is the most well set up team we’ve had in years to counter the Demons strengths. Multiple dangerous talls forward of the ball which will make May, Petty & Lever accountable. If Lever thinks he can sag off his direct opponent to chop out the other two we’ll make him pay. They’ve got a great midfield and ruck setup of course but if anyone can go with them it’s us, have to be on our game in the middle though or we know what can happen.

Melbourne tend to have a more methodical approach to transition, I think we can still be found out with speed on the rebound but this isn’t how they usually like to play. Usually they can cut us up quite easily going forward as their methodical approach can pick apart our zone - I think with the way we look like setting up, ie less aggressive on the zone, defensive line holding position rather than coming so far forward etc, we’ll be better matched to counter pressure their transition. Considering man for man their tall forwards are pretty average.

It’s definitely going to be a huge challenge and obviously a far cry from the weekend, but I think this game is going to be a grind and if our midfield holds up their end and matches Melbourne, I think our forward line will be way too potent for them. We have a lot more goals in us all going well. Pumped for it!

[Mofra]

Jonathan Brown epitomises the demographic they're aiming for.
As much as he oversells his 'lad' staff sometimes, Brown actually knew a bit about our fringe types showing he does at least a bit of research before jumping on the mic

[derb]

Wish we had this version of Jones 7 years ago!!!

[derb]

Is there a thread for the Footscray game?

[bornadog]

Is there a thread for the Footscray game?

I can start one if we can get some contributions. Didn't see any reports on the game

[azabob]

Wish we had this version of Jones 7 years ago!!!

We might have, had we tried him down back.

[bornadog]

Is there a thread for the Footscray game?

Link is here (https://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?23268-Preseason-Footscray-2023&p=829357#post829357)

[bornadog]

We might have, had we tried him down back.

We lost him because he didn't want to play under Macca

[hujsh]

We lost him because he didn't want to play under Macca

It's funny how Jones we so quickly a bust at Carlton initially that people have retconned it as us giving up on him and trading him off instead of him being a player we definitely wanted to keep even if he still was only sporadically good at that stage.

[bornadog]

It's funny how Jones we so quickly a bust at Carlton initially that people have retconned it as us giving up on him and trading him off instead of him being a player we definitely wanted to keep even if he still was only sporadically good at that stage.

Maybe Macca said, You are playing Fullback next year :D I know he told Lake he would never play FB again.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

We lost him because he didn't want to play under Macca

Which was understandable given the treatment.