Game Day - Bulldogs vs Tigers

[GVGjr]

This is the game day thread for todays encounter.

I'll go with Boyd to get the first goal tonight.

[Mantis]

First goal to Welsh..

Can't make it today, but hope for a big win.

[1eyedog]

Mitch Hahn first goal, Dogs by 36 points, Boyd best on ground.

[The Coon Dog]

First goal to Murphy in a 87 point trouncing of the hapless tiggers!

[wimberga]

Gia first goal, dogs by 42 points. with Cooney BOG once again!

[Max469]

Murphy and dogs by 20

[firstdogonthemoon]

Griff

Dogs by 40

Brian gives Jordan a chat with the turf like he did to Browny that time

[Go_Dogs]

Won't be able to see or listen to the game today, but I'll go for Cooney for first goal, Dogs by 50+ points. I'm feeling cocky and confident this morning.

Look forward to reading the reports tomorrow at the office.

[BulldogBelle]

Minson first goal.

Dogs by 15 points.

BOG Hudson.

[Rocket Science]

Sticking to an earlier prediction of a most unsatisfying draw.

Johnno to bag our first major.

[LostDoggy]

Griff for the first major.

Dogs by 136.

[BulldogBelle]

Scott Welsh first goal.

Dogs to win by 29 points.

[Go_Dogs]

Griff for the first major.

Dogs by 136.

Jesus borgy! 136! I hope so :D

[LostDoggy]

Jesus borgy! 136! I hope so :D

quietly confident :D

[westdog54]

Hope all those going along have a good day.

I'll take Cam Wight to kick the first running off Richo on the wing, and the dogs to win by 45.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

It's 3qtr time.... Dogs down by 2 goals, not looking good.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Thud... down to earth in a big way.
Terrible performance, had a chance to stick with the comp leaders and blew it....sort of.
I hate losing to Richmond perhaps more than any team, and when we play as we did in the 2nd half it compounds my frustration.
Stupid Channel 7 had the game on delayed telecast and only showed a disjointed collection of highlights of the 1st, so I don't really know how we played in the 1st half.
But the second half was woeful and seemed to have lots of passengers.
Will be interesting to see how we recover from this next week.
At least we still managed to get 2 points from such a terrible performance.

[LostDoggy]

Sticking to an earlier prediction of a most unsatisfying draw.

Johnno to bag our first major.

:eek:

[whythelongface]

Sticking to an earlier prediction of a most unsatisfying draw.



Can you also tell us this week's lotto numbers?

[Dry Rot]

So much for our better clearance work and superior runners.

Two ordinary displays in a row - we'll need to lift over the next few weeks.

[GVGjr]

Sticking to an earlier prediction of a most unsatisfying draw.

Johnno to bag our first major.

Well done. You would have got great odds for that one.

[LostDoggy]

So much for our better clearance work and superior runners.

Two ordinary displays in a row - we'll need to lift over the next few weeks.

Is it just me, or do we play selfish football?! There were several examples today where the ball was being run through the middle of the ground, with other doggies players flanking the ball carrier, only to be screaming for a handball rather than providing a shepherd. To add to that frustration, the ball carrier would be run down from behind.

[GVGjr]

Is it just me, or do we play selfish football?! There were several examples today where the ball was being run through the middle of the ground, with other doggies players flanking the ball carrier, only to be screaming for a handball rather than providing a shepherd. To add to that frustration, the ball carrier would be run down from behind.

I'm not sure if we played selfish football but some of the decision making wasn't good today.
We got thrashed in the middle in the 3rd quarter which really had us on the back foot.

[LostDoggy]

Uhhhh dear. I just returned from the game

Draws are such a strange feeling. We had all the momentum to kick a winning goal but with 14secs left it was quite impossible - but so was 4 goals in 4 mins :|

Lots of things to blame our loss on - 1 being Welshys 0.5, any other day that woulda been 4.1 or 3.2 at worst. The decision where Richo was paid a mark over the goal line? Total bullsh*t. But we cant focus on one or two things.. we did make a good comeback and took 2 points away from them.

Im happy with the last qtr effort...and overall besides some shocking kicking.

[Dogs 24/7]

A few random things I would like to add

Wallace did a great job in the coaches box today. I think in all fairness he had the better of Eade.
Minson has gotten significantly better this year but still has a long way to go.
We need Westy back because he would have settled us down when it was needed.
Hill, Harbrow and Addison were just a bit off the boil. Hill has just slowed down in the last two games after his sensational first 3 games of the season and Harbow who is noted for his defensive efforts put in a couple of shockers in the 2 nd quarter. Addison did some courageous things but lacks a bit of class and polish. We have a few to many players that their skill levels aren't clean enough when the pressure is on.
I liked some of Eagletons efforts on Brown. Shaggy turned the ball over to much.
Not sure what to make of Callan. Tough and gets a bit of the footy but turns it over often.

Richardson is a star player and McMahon played a very disciplined game. The Tigers are a very quick team and if they can find a couple of more senior footballers will worry a few sides. They must be encouraged by

[ledge]

Must be the happiest draw i have ever been to.
To me the draw was as good as a win as sides below us still have to win two games to catch us.
Think it would have the negative effect on the tigers because they had it won but lost it, as we had it lost it but fought back.
I dont think we played well, but we still didnt lose, thats the sign of a good side.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Disappointed and somewhat relieved. It's a game that we most certainly should of won, but didn't. Tigers had us on the ropes practically dead & buried deep into the last quarter, but failed to put us away, and we came back. I suppose the two points is justified; at the very least, it's better than a loss but we have to improve significantly to trouble the top four or five sides. I thought Eade was out-coached today, Wallace found winners all over the ground and used Richardson particularly well until the last quarter. Richo looked dangerous up forward and had taken a couple of marks, causing Lake plenty of grief. For some odd reason, Wallace curled the club back into its shell and dropped Richo as a loose man behind the play - it didn't work. He tried to save the game and he lost it - very silly move by Wallace, but aside from that he had the better of Eade. I was very frustrated that Rocket refused to man Richardson up - he spanked us by drifting across our half backline and cutting off passes. Additionally, we played un-accountable football, it looked as though they had three or four loose players in our forward line and there was very little pressure applied. Richmond players had plenty of time and thus were able to spot up leading targets, where our backs consistently played from behind.

If and when Lake doesn't play well, our backline shuts down poorly. Morris was beaten again today, and I thought Hargrave & Callan were very ordinary too. Lake's a good player but we can't expect him to be the saving grace every single time the football is pumped into the oppositions attack. Frustrating all day, especially when we started to get a little run on mid-way through the last quarter only to conceed two goals to blow it out again. We've got a very shaky & an un-reliable backline - desperately needs to be fixed, and that obviously begins with the likes of Williams and/or Everitt returning in the coming weeks. Hargrave has to be moved further up the field IMO, and I don't think Callan's form justifies a game. In the first few games, Hudson was dropping back and helping out - I haven't seen him do that enough in the last two weeks.

Too many missed opportunities too. Welsh kicking 0.5 is very, very bad. Granted a couple of his shots were difficult, but at least two of them should have been goals - they are his bread & butter. Johnson shouldn't of played - he's almost a liability because at the moment he barely chases at all. He dropped a few marks including one dead set sitter and has absolutely no impact on the game at all. Seems to be jogging around doing nothing - he's not fit and he simply shouldn't of played because instead of him being a dangerous forward, ATM he's somebody teams could look to exploit with the opposition player running off him. Hill was really ordinary, he's only a kid but some of his efforts today were not pleasing at all. Missed targets, missed marks, looked lethargic and didn't apply pressure. Harbrow was even worse. Jarrod doesn't look fit, he's easily pushed off the ball, he's lost a yard of pace, he slips over, he can't find the ball & his skills are poor. Definitely will be dropped and needs to find some form before being considered.

The fact that we didn't play accountable football was really hard to watch. Players such as McMahon crumble under pressure, but we failed to place any on him and many of his team mates. They had plenty of free runs out of the backline with next to no pressure being applied from our forwards. At stages, we didn't put our bodies into the contest and looked flat/lacked enthusiasm/hardness. Those first three rounds of football we ran hard, applied plenty of pressure & had numbers at the ball. The last two weeks have been different. We've looked lethargic, we've lacked intensity at stages throughout the games, our skills have been well down & we've lacked numbers at the ball - particularly after we've made a tackle/smother etc.

Lots of improvement, still. The pleasing thing was that we found a way to claw our way back into the game when we looked completely shot. Murphy was really clever & Minson was fantastic. Aker & Cross were both pretty good whilst I thought Addison did OK too. Cooney & Griffen were very patchy - did some nice things, but certainly not enough. Boyd was good in the contested situation but made some dreadful errors through poor decision making & poor execution. All in all I hope they learn a lot from this game. Perhaps we underestimated our opponents, because a lot of players were searching for easy footballs today and expecting to run down the wings and hit up passes. We showed good resolve and pulled a draw out of a loss, so in that sense two points is something to be happy about because we looked destined for our first loss.

[hujsh]

So much for our better clearance work and superior runners.

Two ordinary displays in a row - we'll need to lift over the next few weeks.

We'd won most of the clearances at half time. Didn't see the stat after that.

[hujsh]

Well at least we can say we're unbeaten.

Minson should write a biography 'slowly but surely' because that's the way he's progressing a a key forward. Hasn't kicked a bag, but gets closer each week.

Murph seemed to lift late in that last quarter getting involved in 2 of those last 3 goals.

I only really liked Addison when he crashed into McMahon. Harbrow and Hill aren't in great form either which both could give reasons for.

Welsh was strange today. Please don't be another Rawlings

[LostDoggy]

Well at least we can say we're unbeaten.

Minson should write a biography 'slowly but surely' because that's the way he's progressing a a key forward. Hasn't kicked a bag, but gets closer each week.

Murph seemed to lift late in that last quarter getting involved in 2 of those last 3 goals.

I only really liked Addison when he crashed into McMahon. Harbrow and Hill aren't in great form either which both could give reasons for.

Welsh was strange today. Please don't be another Rawlings

I wouldn't be worried about that happening. Welsh is a proven forward. Rawlings had one good year at FF and everyone decided he was a champion FF. Welshy simply had a shocker, which happens.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Another thing;

Can't afford to play Wight, Addison & Callan in the same side. We've got a lack of pace & ordinary disposal all over the ground. The backline is hell bent on Gilbee finding a target because Lake & Hargrave are inconsistent with their passes whilst Morris & Callan make too many errors. Need to find another skillful option because ATM we're turning the ball over and giving away far too many goals. Addison's flexibility is handy so for mine he gets the nod over Callan. He's improved his disposal and is finding the ball more regularly. Callan is tough but he turns the ball over far too often, having courage isn't enough. Wight will probably be dropped in the coming weeks for one of Williams/Skipper/Everitt.

Morris - Lake - Everitt
Gilbee - Williams - ???

At least with the above, we've got two quality ball users. Williams isn't too bad either, but I'm not sure who could fill the last position. Hargrave is too costly for mine and needs to be moved up the field whilst I have explained the reasons for Callan above. Obviously having Everitt & Williams injured has been out of our control, but we need to tighten up & find some better disposal.

Harbrow & Hill were both disappointing too - they lacked pace, applied no pressure & had ordinary disposal. One of them will have to be dropped, most likely Harbrow, who's looked oridnary in the last two weeks.

Getting back Ray & a couple of the other boys is a real plus because we badly need some more run & carry, amongst some better disposal. It's a real shame Higgins is injured because that's a real quality of his.

[GVGjr]

Another thing;

Can't afford to play Wight, Addison & Callan in the same side. We've got a lack of pace & ordinary disposal all over the ground. The backline is hell bent on Gilbee finding a target because Lake & Hargrave are inconsistent with their passes whilst Morris & Callan make too many errors. Need to find another skillful option because ATM we're turning the ball over and giving away far too many goals. Addison's flexibility is handy so for mine he gets the nod over Callan. He's improved his disposal and is finding the ball more regularly. Callan is tough but he turns the ball over far too often, having courage isn't enough. Wight will probably be dropped in the coming weeks for one of Williams/Skipper/Everitt.



In an ideal scenario none of these guys would be in the starting 18 let alone all on the ground at the same time. There is some good qualities with all these guys but I can see where you are coming from.
For the foreseeable future I think they will all be maintained in the squad but we either have to work around some of the deficiencies or get them to improve in those area's.


Another thing;

Can't afford to play Wight, Addison & Callan in the same side. We've got a lack of pace & ordinary disposal all over the ground. The backline is hell bent on Gilbee finding a target because Lake & Hargrave are inconsistent with their passes whilst Morris & Callan make too many errors. Need to find another skillful option because ATM we're turning the ball over and giving away far too many goals. Addison's flexibility is handy so for mine he gets the nod over Callan. He's improved his disposal and is finding the ball more regularly. Callan is tough but he turns the ball over far too often, having courage isn't enough. Wight will probably be dropped in the coming weeks for one of Williams/Skipper/Everitt.

Morris - Lake - Everitt
Gilbee - Williams - ???

At least with the above, we've got two quality ball users. Williams isn't too bad either, but I'm not sure who could fill the last position. Hargrave is too costly for mine and needs to be moved up the field whilst I have explained the reasons for Callan above. Obviously having Everitt & Williams injured has been out of our control, but we need to tighten up & find some better disposal.



Everitt is a quality user of the ball but it might be expecting too much from him to play as the 3rd tall defender for an extended period. Even Williams probably can't be asked to play an extended run as the CHB. For the time being we will continue to mix and match some of the other players like Hargrave, Wight and maybe McDougall as tall defensive options.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

In an ideal scenario none of these guys would be in the starting 18 let alone all on the ground at the same time. There is some good qualities with all these guys but I can see where you are coming from.
For the foreseeable future I think they will all be maintained in the squad but we either have to work around some of the deficiencies or get them to improve in those area's.

At least one of them have to be dropped, though. Realistically we've only got one good user of the football in the backline and a couple through the midfield. Addison is a player that is improving so I would stick with him & get him to work hard on his disposal, but with Callan & Wight - they've been in the system for a while with little to no improvement.


Everitt is a quality user of the ball but it might be expecting too much from him to play as the 3rd tall defender for an extended period. Even Williams probably can't be asked to play an extended run as the CHB. For the time being we will continue to mix and match some of the other players like Hargrave, Wight and maybe McDougall as tall defensive options.

Hargrave will probably play back for the rest of his career - and although I don't agree with it - I can see why. I agree regarding Everitt/Williams but perhaps that's the problem. We're very cautious with our players and therefore they all seem to take longer to develop than the likes of Hawthorn & co. As it stands we're giving up an incredible amount of goals, even against lower ranked sides. How can it possibly get worse? Wouldn't it be better to play both Everitt & Williams in these positions considering they're young, talented & key players for the next 8-10 years? At times, they might well be given a bit of a walk around the park, but at least with these players we're developing them so as in the near future, we're much better prepared. I don't like knocking our players, but Wight, Callan, Hargrave & McDougall aren't going to be our next top defenders or key players. Giving Everitt & Williams this type of responsibility may not reap rewards straight away, but it certainly would fast track them rather than 'babying' them through their first few years.

I suppose my point is that we're currently one of the worst sides in the league at defending, so putting trust in our future 'star' backmen surely is a more worthy cause than investing in 'plug holes' that aren't even close to working. That doesn't mean Hargrave won't take one of their opposition players if Everitt/Williams are struggling, but it means these two will be given bigger jobs to start with, baring in mind that it'll hold our defence in good stead as soon as 2009 and obviously, beyond.

[G-Mo77]

I was pretty disappointed today, happy with stealing 2 points but did we really deserve it after falling over for the entire 2nd half. Did we?

All that stood out to me is that Richmond wanted the ball a lot more than we did and most of the time we were not prepared to get our hands dirty. I don't know how to feel about today, I feel like it was a loss and I left feeling pretty angry about the performance. In some stages I felt like it was 2007 again and I do not want those bad habits creeping back in but then again are they? Last year we would have lost. As you can tell, pretty mixed emotions from this side.

In regards to Welsh he really only missed 1 gimme, the rest were on bad angles. I'm not concerned about it becoming a problem.

[GVGjr]

I suppose my point is that we're currently one of the worst sides in the league at defending, so putting trust in our future 'star' backmen surely is a more worthy cause than investing in 'plug holes' that aren't even close to working. That doesn't mean Hargrave won't take one of their opposition players if Everitt/Williams are struggling, but it means these two will be given bigger jobs to start with, baring in mind that it'll hold our defence in good stead as soon as 2009 and obviously, beyond.

I tend to agree but I think it's hard for any coach trying to get wins because of the impact on memberships to look at the bigger picture. If we were 2 wins and 3 losses he might bite the bullet and stick with the potential champs but I suspect that he won't rock the boat too quickly until the others are ready to go.

[alwaysadog]

Don't disagree with the general line being expresssed except that my emphasis would need to include the fact that we were never in front in the hard ball gets area and we were beaten out of the centre for part of the second 1/4 and most of the 3rd ... and when we did have the ball we didn't hit our targets. Whereas the Tiges always had someone running into space and their ball use was most impressive.

In a lot of ways they took us on at our own game and nearly got away with it.

I hope this was just a down day and a better reality check than last week when we were able to power away at the end. Too much waiting for someone else to do the hard stuff methinks, and so we spent a good part of the game laying tackles after the ball had gone or just futilely chasing tail. Reactive rather than proactive.

Still if somone had told me we'd be 4 1/2 out of the first 5, I'd have booked him/her a psychiatric assessment. A good start to the year but old problems are still all too apparent.

[LostDoggy]

Our last two weeks we have played teams that we are superior to, we have been out played.. and the other side has won the ball more often.
Lucky to get a win and a draw in both weeks.

Good Sign, we have actually been able to preform without having a tone load more of the ball then the other side.. which in the past few years.. to win we had to get 100 more possies.

Shit day, Minson only good sign today.

[Rocket Science]

Well done. You would have got great odds for that one.

Believe me, after that spectacle I take no pleasure in being correct.

Anything short of a comfortable win is detestable against that mob. We made out like bandits stealing two points from that outing. We were too content to sit off them for much of the arvo, and we all witnessed the result...A better quality outfit who can use the ball more efficiently would have flogged us.

Our teamwide unwillingness to apply the sort of defensive pressure we were newly lauded for a fortnight back killed us today. When only a few of the 22 are diligent in their chasing and tackling we're on a hiding to nothing, regardless of the opponent. It's a crucial requirement if we're to be taken seriously as a high calibre team and the sort of task that needs to be adhered to by everyone to be effective, not the same half a dozen blokes.

Bigger picture I suppose...We're bound to have the odd shocker along the journey, just a pity it had to be against them...18 points from a possible 20 five rounds in is hardly something to be scoffed at, and we've gotten there in spite of a number of injuries and while not always playing champagne footy.

The Eagles are facing serious scrutiny right now...whatever short-term form slump they're in, they're a proud, accomplished and well coached team and will be stung hard by another week of needling.

We'll need to seriously lift to get a result next weekend.

[bornadog]

Some general Observations:

- Gilbee, Griffen well down, Gilbee lucky to get three goals, but gave very little run out of the backline and only had 10 posessions. Thats two bad weeks in a row for him. Griffen didn't touch the ball in the first quarter.

- very little contribution from Hill and Harbrow - basically carried them all day.

- Johnno injured in the last quarter.

- Great last quarter by the dogs after allowing Richmond to control the third quarter.

- The misses by Welsh seem to effect his confidence.

- Troy Simmonds the dominant ruckman, Hudson was beaten,

- We did win the centre clearances, but they beat us in the hard ball gets.

- Gia kicked a great goal in the second quarter and Richo marked it over the line and pretended it was in front and the umpire believed him - that was a disgrace and cost us that goal plus they ran it down and got a goal.

[hujsh]

Interesting point on the radio, Schultz walked through the points when taking the kickout without kicking it. That's a ball up. Did it help or hinder us?

EDIT: My bad, hadn't read the umpiring question thread yet

[dog town]

Absolutely horrified that people are talking about dropping Callan. We had 7 guys who didn't even have 10 disposals. They are the reason we struggled against a side that were prepared to take us on and came to play. I would blame those 7 players and a couple who had just over 10 touches before I blame the bloke who had over 15 and continues to treat his body like some sort of missile. Callan has his limitations but what he brings to the table far out weighs the negatives based on his season to date. He leaves his man to help out other defenders and most importantly takes marks off opposition kicks. That is one of the most important areas of the game these days and it is no surprise he has brought that over from Geeliong who were amazing at it last year.

He might not have been in our best yesterday but I thought he was brilliant in the two weeks prior to that. I only ask that he is judged on performance and people do not take into account the fact that he is a recycled player. If he was straight out of the VFL I suspect many would be raving about him.


On to the game

I knew the tigers would be up for this game. A season defining game for them really. If they didn't turn up to play yesterday then they were finished. It was one of those strange games where whichever team had the momentum would score heavily for a brief period then the momentum would swing. Reminded me a bit of Jade Rawlings first game against West Coast if anyone remembers it.

We were good in the stoppages again but maybe not as good in the contested situations around the ground.

We were shown up for running options. Gilbee, Griffen, Eagleton, Hill and Harbrow all had howlers in terms of handball recieves, uncontested possesion, play ons and the like which would explain why the only time we looked dangerous is when we had alot of stoppages. We just didn't go with them over the ground which is a little bitof a concern. Richmond do have a pretty quick side though.

I actually thought our defence was poor at the actual defending side of the game. The ball came in pretty quickly but coughing up 130 points is still not good enough.

[Mantis]

On to the game

I knew the tigers would be up for this game. A season defining game for them really. If they didn't turn up to play yesterday then they were finished. It was one of those strange games where whichever team had the momentum would score heavily for a brief period then the momentum would swing. Reminded me a bit of Jade Rawlings first game against West Coast if anyone remembers it.

We were good in the stoppages again but maybe not as good in the contested situations around the ground.

We were shown up for running options. Gilbee, Griffen, Eagleton, Hill and Harbrow all had howlers in terms of handball recieves, uncontested possesion, play ons and the like which would explain why the only time we looked dangerous is when we had alot of stoppages. We just didn't go with them over the ground which is a little bitof a concern. Richmond do have a pretty quick side though.

I actually thought our defence was poor at the actual defending side of the game. The ball came in pretty quickly but coughing up 130 points is still not good enough.

Agree with your thoughts on our ball carriers which you have expanded on in your recent thread...

Regarding our defence, for too long our defenders haven't on a consistent basis been able to beat there opponent in a one on one contest. We are pinning an improvement in this area on 2 kids who have played about 20 games between them, go figure??

[LostDoggy]

Whilst I accept that turnovers were costly and we did not get run from some of our back half, I think we are a being just a little unfair on our backline. Some of the problem stemmed from Richmond's ability to use pace from a contested situation in our forward line to race the ball to a forward. Nothing anyone can do about that. I notice that while our defensive pressure was quite good at times in our forward line, it seemed to me that when the Tigers won the footy from a contest of players, we had no-one behind the play to stop them running away from us. Was this because we don't watch where our opponent is, or that we all go for the ball? I thought Essendon tried the same tactic, which was to get the ball out and then outsprint us up the ground. Unless everybody plays to a plan of cutting angles, knowing how to be defensive in relation to an opposition player in contested situations, who goes in, who stays out, where do you go into, where do you stay out, who fills the holes on the way back etc, then we are going to continue to have many goals scored against us.

Maybe our back half has one too many non contact running players and one short of a tougher, mobile tall. We need a Leo Barry or Adam Goodes type player. Watching the Swans game at the weekend (on TV), I couldn't help but feel we would really struggle to score enough against them. They just close space so well and put so much pressure on the ball carrier. They all seem to know their role and what to do in order to smother a game.

Inside outside players abound at Geelong. Strength and speed combined. I fear that we still have one or the other in a few of our players and when they struggle to get their hands on the ball enough to show that speed, then we will play like we did this weekend and be a threat to none of the top bracket.

My guess is we are lacking a good CHB and cannot expect Williams to excel in that job so early in his career.

I remain concerned, more than anything, about how we have played one woeful quarter in almost every game this year. It surely is a mid field problem where suddenly we lose the centre clearances. It must be coming clearer to the heirachy as to why this is happening. Why does it happen that our midfield work can drop so alarmingly in the space of 30 minutes? Do we not have a solution?

None of this is to say that the defensive side of our game hasn't improved. It certainly has. We are much more determined and stronger than last year such that our contested footy is so much more enjoyable to watch. But we seem unable to apply it for a whole game. Or we leave it to too few.

[LostDoggy]

Absolutely horrified that people are talking about dropping Callan. We had 7 guys who didn't even have 10 disposals. They are the reason we struggled against a side that were prepared to take us on and came to play. I would blame those 7 players and a couple who had just over 10 touches before I blame the bloke who had over 15 and continues to treat his body like some sort of missile. Callan has his limitations but what he brings to the table far out weighs the negatives based on his season to date. He leaves his man to help out other defenders and most importantly takes marks off opposition kicks. That is one of the most important areas of the game these days and it is no surprise he has brought that over from Geeliong who were amazing at it last year.

He might not have been in our best yesterday but I thought he was brilliant in the two weeks prior to that. I only ask that he is judged on performance and people do not take into account the fact that he is a recycled player. If he was straight out of the VFL I suspect many would be raving about him.


I couldn't agree with you more Dogtown. I have been very impressed with Callan as he has added another tough dimension to our side and I would suspect that Rocket is delighted with his toughness.

Interestingly, Addison also adds plenty of toughness to the team as well and if he can just get some consistency into his game he will be a big asset. Not every player need to have the silky skills of a Murph, Coon or Griff as we need the other elements as well.

[bornadog]

I remain concerned, more than anything, about how we have played one woeful quarter in almost every game this year. It surely is a mid field problem where suddenly we lose the centre clearances. It must be coming clearer to the heirachy as to why this is happening. Why does it happen that our midfield work can drop so alarmingly in the space of 30 minutes? Do we not have a solution? .

Eade has decided that its time for the likes of Cooney, Griffen, Cross to take over the midfield. These guys are still young and learning the ropes and need to find consistency and the ability to shake off tags. Griffen didn't even touch the ball in the first quarter. Boyd seemed to be the lone hand in getting posessions but was under a lot of pressure from the Richmond runners and consequently turned it over a few times.

We need a couple more younger guys to step up as well and help in the midfield rotations. Not sure who, as the next bunch are all around 18,19 years old, ie Harbrow, Stack, Lynch, Callan, Wood, etc.

West will make a difference when he returns and Ray has to step up this year as well.

[alwaysadog]

Whilst I accept that turnovers were costly and we did not get run from some of our back half, I think we are a being just a little unfair on our backline. Some of the problem stemmed from Richmond's ability to use pace from a contested situation in our forward line to race the ball to a forward. Nothing anyone can do about that. I notice that while our defensive pressure was quite good at times in our forward line, it seemed to me that when the Tigers won the footy from a contest of players, we had no-one behind the play to stop them running away from us. Was this because we don't watch where our opponent is, or that we all go for the ball? I thought Essendon tried the same tactic, which was to get the ball out and then outsprint us up the ground. Unless everybody plays to a plan of cutting angles, knowing how to be defensive in relation to an opposition player in contested situations, who goes in, who stays out, where do you go into, where do you stay out, who fills the holes on the way back etc, then we are going to continue to have many goals scored against us.

Maybe our back half has one too many non contact running players and one short of a tougher, mobile tall. We need a Leo Barry or Adam Goodes type player. Watching the Swans game at the weekend (on TV), I couldn't help but feel we would really struggle to score enough against them. They just close space so well and put so much pressure on the ball carrier. They all seem to know their role and what to do in order to smother a game.

Inside outside players abound at Geelong. Strength and speed combined. I fear that we still have one or the other in a few of our players and when they struggle to get their hands on the ball enough to show that speed, then we will play like we did this weekend and be a threat to none of the top bracket.

My guess is we are lacking a good CHB and cannot expect Williams to excel in that job so early in his career.

I remain concerned, more than anything, about how we have played one woeful quarter in almost every game this year. It surely is a mid field problem where suddenly we lose the centre clearances. It must be coming clearer to the heirachy as to why this is happening. Why does it happen that our midfield work can drop so alarmingly in the space of 30 minutes? Do we not have a solution?

None of this is to say that the defensive side of our game hasn't improved. It certainly has. We are much more determined and stronger than last year such that our contested footy is so much more enjoyable to watch. But we seem unable to apply it for a whole game. Or we leave it to too few.

Excellent post metal, I think the conclusion to draw is that while we have improved we are still a work in progress and some way off being a top side, and others know this.