Bulldogs V Cats - Round 4 (Gather Round), 6/4/24 Adelaide Oval 8:10pm AEST

[westbulldog]

Imo Stengle marked that 4 rows back in the stands.

[hujsh]

Weightman has really kept himself in the game with his tackling. Good to see him with a couple goals as a reward

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Some really great fight being shown by the guys tonight so far.

[bornadog]

How is that not a free against Stewart from dropping it?
More bullshit umpiring

[azabob]

Just got home. Do I watch or is it going to be one of those keep it close but lose?

Go to bed mate.

[bornadog]

Go to bed mate.

Aza, we will win :)

[Grantysghost]

Caleb off Macrae on make it so.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I'd sub Daniel and drop him.

Nowhere near what we need from a senior premiership player.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Daniel having a mare.

[jeemak]

I really hate Dempsey in the face.

[hujsh]

What are we going to do with Daniel?

Deserves a thread

[jazzadogs]

Imo Stengle marked that 4 rows back in the stands.

Nah nah the standard definition camera from 12 metres away showed a single frame which was conclusive.

With that vision, it was always being paid a mark...but geez the technology stinks.

[Grantysghost]

Aza, we will win :)

We are hanging in there.

How flat is the crowd. Theatre goers.

[hujsh]

I really hate Dempsey in the face.

Who says there's not quality in the gameday thread. Post of the year so far

[bornadog]

We are hanging in there.

How flat is the crowd. Theatre goers.
No atmosphere

[Sedat]

Junk clearance by Treloar.

[jeemak]

Falling over again.

[bornadog]

Junk clearance by Treloar.
I hate when he does that

[jeemak]

****en Treloar not sprinting to put pressure on the kicker.

****.

[hujsh]

No rush Treloar. Take your time

[Mantis]

Daniel and Treloar just jogging back on transition, again. It just kills us.

[angelopetraglia]

How?s the push on Naughton? Not only a free kick, bloody dangerous. Hoe do four umpires miss that?

How?????

[Sedat]

Miers personifies Geelong - just make the right decisions and executes with a minimum of fuss

[azabob]

Comedy of errors from our three key forwards and then Geelong walk it down the ground for a goal.

[Grantysghost]

Junk clearance by Treloar.
I nearly threw the remote.

Bevo must want to scream at these blokes sometimes.

We play an extra so chain it out hands yeah? No lets dump kick it to the spot where we have removed a player!

Khaaaan.

[Mantis]

Just sub yourself out Caleb.

[comrade]

Daniel is stinking it up.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Caleb so wasteful

[hujsh]

Good option Daniel

[ledge]

We can’t get the goal to get within 3 they just kick away again , they have our measure.

[hujsh]

Need more from English. Would like to see some run from Bramble. Been quiet after a good couple weeks

[Mantis]

Why does every loose ball just fall in their laps?

[Sedat]

I hate when he does that
We have an out-number at stoppage, so it is incumbent on our mids to use the spare and move it by hand. Hack kick clearances to their spare defender are total junk

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I can't stand VDM.

[angelopetraglia]

VDM.

Athlete. But gee whiz he is a dumb footballer.

[hujsh]

Vanders such a good opportunity missed...

[Mantis]

**** you Lathiam.

[angelopetraglia]

VDM. No words. No words.

[jazzadogs]

The possibilities Laith to stuff that up were endless.

I had settled on "stumble forward while trying to pick up the ball" so that was actually one of the more boring options.

[hujsh]

Why were 2 forward alone on Dureya?

[Bumper Bulldogs]

That?s our life as bulldogs supporters. Forward 50 open goal VDM misses they go end to end and Goal

[comrade]

We?re capable of staying with good sides for patches but that?s it.

[ledge]

On the rebound again!
They just play with us.

[Sedat]

We are always out-numbered in our F50 and poor old Duryea gets exposed in a 2-on-1 outnumber in our D50

[The Bulldogs Bite]

****ing sick of this club.

[chef]

Time to get macrae on

[ratsmac]

I feel sick

[angelopetraglia]

Floodgates.

Don?t take a gift,

It just kills you, kills you,

[Grantysghost]

Boy we bad.

[chef]

Same old story of Scott against Bevo.

[ledge]

All over by 10 goals I rekon.

[angelopetraglia]

What does that do to your energy and confidence?

Should be one goal down and now you are shot.

[Mantis]

We?ve got a few too many players who just don?t make the grade against good opposition.

Either Bevo gets rid of them now or he is jobless at the end of the year.

[jeemak]

Just another example of how we couldn't force the ball our way in the middle and it cost us.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Damn. We don't deserve to get flogged, here ,but some crucial moments, we're just not nailing our lines. It's not good enough.

[hujsh]

That looks about it. Feel bad for him because it took real gut running to get there and he took it cleanly but VDM miss was the game

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Thank you Bont.

[jazzadogs]

Bont yet again having to say "climb aboard fellas".

[jeemak]

That's a great goal.

[Grantysghost]

Is that freed from desire playing xD

[chef]

Go the Bont

[ledge]

Beveridge should step down every time we play Geelong.

[JanLorMill]

We need at least 2 Bontempelli?s

[kruder]

What's the point of holding back the sub? I reckon coaches waste it, we have so many players below par surely we should pull the trigger.

[GVGjr]

This has got the makings of a fair old pants down spanking unless we can start owning the footy for extended periods.

[jeemak]

How's the grab from West!

[chef]

Go Westie.

[Sedat]

He's an easy target but VDM should have put us 10 goals to 11. We need ruthless players who can seize the moment and execute - he simply isn't going to be that player.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Nice work Westy!!!

[angelopetraglia]

Those quick goals in succession against Geelong kill us every time

Always appear from no where against the trend. It has happened consistently in the Bevo/Scott era.

[jeemak]

Great finish too.

Come on lads, keep fighting!

[BornInDroopSt'54]

I hope we outstay them.

[azabob]

He's an easy target but VDM should have put us 10 goals to 11. We need ruthless players who can seize the moment and execute - he simply isn't going to be that player.

Two goal turn around. Happened at lease twice tonight

[Grantysghost]

Liam Jones
Bravo.

We are hanging in despite ourselves.

[Mantis]

Just way too easy.

[comrade]

That is garbage defending lads.

[jeemak]

REALLY needed Naughton to get that over the line then.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

VDM runs around like a headless chook, never actually applying real pressure.

[ledge]

Give up another easy one.

[Sedat]

Westy fantastic pressure and effort all night

[jeemak]

Would have been very very handy.

[Mantis]

Just don?t win the big moments?. But lucky Jezza is kicking it sideways.

[jazzadogs]

VDM runs around like a headless chook, never actually applying real pressure.

100%. Shitting your pants at maximum intensity might look impressive, but at the end of the day you've still got to change your jocks.

[Grantysghost]

Ollie Dempsey has a basketball background.

Get ready for ten years of that.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Would've liked to be at least one more goal closer, but we still have a pulse.

[jeemak]

A lot isn't going right but the boys are fighting and that's the main thing I ask. It's not everything, but it's something.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

West has turned himself into a terrier.

I'm disappointed in Naughton, he's done SFA and regularly is a non factor vs the likes of Geelong and Melbourne.

[Mantis]

A lot isn't going right but the boys are fighting and that's the main thing I ask. It's not everything, but it's something.

Yep.

Been a number of times where we looked cooked, but we?ve kept coming.

[G-Mo77]

Listen to this idiot Richardson. "What are you supposed to do? There is always going to be incidental contact" So was that not a free to West in his eyes?

[bornadog]

A lot isn't going right but the boys are fighting and that's the main thing I ask. It's not everything, but it's something.

Two good chances missed - VDM and the West set shot.
We are still in this

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

A lot isn't going right but the boys are fighting and that's the main thing I ask. It's not everything, but it's something.

I see a lot of green shoots tonight, provided we don't drop our bundle. It's a long season, and we need to at least make Geelong win this via decision and not via a late knockout. Who knows what happens if we stay on our feet til the final bell, maybe we connect on a power punch or two and pinch it.
That would be sweet.

[bornadog]

West has turned himself into a terrier.

I'm disappointed in Naughton, he's done SFA and regularly is a non factor vs the likes of Geelong and Melbourne.

He is playing up the ground. Taken 5 marks, 14 diposals

[azabob]

Listen to this idiot Richardson. "What are you supposed to do? There is always going to be incidental contact" So was that not a free to West in his eyes?

I think he was inferring to a suspension

[JanLorMill]

Hope they run out of legs

[jazzadogs]

The fight is impressive.

I'd dearly love to see us look for leading forwards more often. When West took his grab, that was a really poor option from Naughton. Marra was leading up at him but instead he sat it on English's head. Stewart was all set to pick up the crumbs if West hadn't clunked it. One of the most frustrating things about watching us.

[kruder]

I find it amazing at how many times we let a ball exit from the font of a contest? I would love for someone explain it to me surely you have a goalkeeper at every contest?

[ratsmac]

We need someone to take this game bu the scruff of the neck. Someone other than Bont. We have a big qtr in us. We just need to stop leaking shitty goals through ordinary defending. We can still do this. The cats have played well but we are still in it. I'm banking on Macca to dominate

[whythelongface]

Our intent has been good but lacking polish. Cats are very good

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Listen to this idiot Richardson. "What are you supposed to do? There is always going to be incidental contact" So was that not a free to West in his eyes?


I see a lot of green shoots tonight, provided we don't drop our bundle. It's a long season, and we need to at least make Geelong win this via decision and not via a late knockout. Who knows what happens if we stay on our feet til the final bell, maybe we connect on a power punch or two and pinch it.
That would be sweet.

Hr was just backing the action as not malicious but agreeing with the free I thought.
We only need to win one quarter, this one.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

It?s set up for MaCrea to win this for us

[ratsmac]

Weightman Naughton and Marra need some good service

[hujsh]

This is when our actual best new recruit stands up. Fitness Guy

[josie]

Been gutsy effort so far. Really like Weightman and West?s intensity.

If we could get Marra and Naughts into game a bit more we might bridge the gap.Our backline been pretty good.

Need more from English too.

Cats? on ball brigade seems to have improved which is scary.

Bont & Libba very good as always, if only we could clone them. Bont?s deft little taps when it looks like oppo are about to gain possession show just how clever he is.

[jeemak]

Good rucking Timmy.

[jeemak]

How the **** is that not in the back to Jacko?

[jeemak]

Jesus Marra. Cool it.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

JUH needs to kick these to take the next step. Come on Marra.

[Sedat]

Jesus Marra. Cool it.
English and Darcy were ridiculous with F50 ground balls and JUH blew it, and then blew the set shot a minute later.

And Geelong make us pay first chance - shithouse JUH

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Marra frustrating as hell.

[jazzadogs]

Dawgs Footy woof woof

[comrade]

Any chance a ball could bounce our way, just once?

[Mantis]

So ****ing frustrating.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Same again.

Not good enough Marra.

[jeemak]

Bees to the honey pot in the forward line leaving them out, as usual.

[angelopetraglia]

Six inside 50s in a row.one point.

Then they go coast to coast.

Always against this team. Always.

Why? Please explain.

[Mantis]

Bees to the honey pot in the forward line leaving them out, as usual.

What the **** was Williams doing?

[ledge]

Same old open up and let them run through after being in our forward line for 5 min.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Marra is not cool with chances.

[1eyedog]

9-11 team nothing has changed and nothing will change.

[jazzadogs]

It's funny how we all wasted time wondering who would play on Cameron when the answer was absolutely fooking nobody!!!

[jeemak]

Good boy VDM.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Juh pls ffs just do it.

[Sedat]

VDM deserves credit there for the spot-up and not blazing away

[ledge]

They must love playing us , game plan let it go in our forward line then just intercept it and it’s a goal on the rebound.

[jeemak]

Good boy Marra.

Come on lads keep fighting!

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Libba has been absolutely huge, Bont too.

[Mantis]

Keep running!!

[jeemak]

Baker just hung that up there and didn't get it wide enough.

[jazzadogs]

Baker just hung that up there and didn't get it wide enough.

If he'd given it more air, Stewart might have been able to take the mark. Better luck next time Oskar!

[BornInDroopSt'54]

West like an anaconda over Tuoy, love it!

[ledge]

West like an anaconda over Tuoy, love it!

West has come of age tonight, shouldn’t play VFL again.

[jeemak]

How much of Marra's jumper did he have?

[jazzadogs]

How much of Marra's jumper did he have?

I could see Marras belly button. I shouldn't be able to do that.

[Mantis]

They?re gassed and we?re just fluffing our lines.

[comrade]

This is just a replay of every game against this mob.

[Sedat]

Poor Sanders. Needs to remove the hack kick out of his game

[jeemak]

Bont is amazing.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Their tempo footy, we predating on a turnover, the m9ment will come.

[Mantis]

Just full of nearly moments that don?t eventuate.

[ratsmac]

How good by the cays to just eat the clock and take the match away from us.

[jeemak]

Come on lads, come on!!!!!

[angelopetraglia]

Well done Treloar. Cmon boys. We have showed plenty of ticker.

Just here to play a littler smarter.

[Grantysghost]

The cats biggest mistake was joining in the wave.

Thats when we pounce.

[hujsh]

What was Williams doing there lol

[jeemak]

Buku didn't fly.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Meds not enough, I need a funny cigarette.

[Sedat]

VDM's Paddock (wasn't his fault but he's no Carey)

[Mantis]

Why do they always have players out?

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Ollie a tired kixk.

[hujsh]

English still not that guy.

[comrade]

Geelong are cooked and still cleaner than us.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Not enough time.

[JanLorMill]

Naughton horrible tonight

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Not smart kick by Duryea to go to Gallagher then.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

We'll never beat this club in any half meaningful game. Never.

[jeemak]

That's a really really shit minute for Gags. ****en hell.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

What was the 50 for?

[ledge]

Game over, 5 years of can’t get our mids to lower their eyes to hit forward on the lead.

[Mantis]

That was an awful minute..we just can?t take the advantage and lose key moments.

[hujsh]

What was the 50 for?

Too close to the player

[jeemak]

Come on boys!!!! Come on!!!!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bloody hell

[hujsh]

Surely not

Edit: that was such a clear push lol

[Mantis]

Fair shove? we?ll take it!

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Never die Dogs!

[Sedat]

We're going to lose because of the Stengle mark in row B lol

[jeemak]

Massive push.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Too close to the player

Fair enough. we can't have that :)

[comrade]

**** these umpires.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bugger.

[ledge]

I wouldn’t back us against Geelong if we were first on the ladder and they were last.

[Mantis]

Fair enough. we can't have that :)

Gallaghers opponent went to the right, he went left? east 50 to give.

[jeemak]

Bugger.

So much didn't go right and we nearly pinched it.

Good effort, lots to work on.

[G-Mo77]

Close enough, not quite good enough. So many chances at scoring but just hit Cats players on the tit so many times.

[josie]

Gutsy effort.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

We won the last quarter.

[Sedat]

**** these umpires.
Umps were alright tonight

**** the clown in the ARC though

[comrade]

If we can?t win with Bont and Libba playing like that, we?re just not good enough.

[JanLorMill]

Great effort but not good enough.

[GVGjr]

Gee that hurts but we did make it hard for them.

[Mantis]

**** these umpires.

Awful tackle by Dale.

[Mofra]

That sucks. It really sucks. But we did a lot of things right tonight.

The 2024 Bulldogs are a far better side than the 2023 Bulldogs.

[dog town]

Things people won?t say but we should be discussing.

- if you play 3 tall forwards you need to be marking it more than we do?much more. We have been forced in some ways to invest in our list that way but it hurts us against the very best at the moment.
- People will focus on Macrae and Daniel but what?s happening to them isn?t personal it?s a balance issue related to our ability to cover the ground. If Sanders is playing one of them can?t.
- Naughton has regressed as an aerial threat year on year since 2021. His first general play goal in 2021 was in the GF. Pressure is great, we need him marking it. Pundits rate our list based on Naughton being a star, he isn?t that right now.
- We need 1-2 guys that can run and burst in our mid group ASAP.
- We hack kick against the good teams out of stoppage. Significant difference based on quality of the oppo.
- For the inevitable blame Bevo crew. Which line on paper do you think we have them covered?
- 3 talls, a mid, Weightman (leading forward) is a bad mix when West has an instinct to go to ground under pressure.
- If there is questions around ball movement tonight we took too long to take a few risks with the ball but every time we turned it over we got burnt so I understand the balance.
- 3 senior players took short steps or pulled out in Q2. Happens a bit against the very best and it?s easy to ignore but it?s probably an
issue in tight games. Dale, English and Treloar which is out of character for him.

Happy to say Geelong are top 4 locks and we are not far off them. Just some thoughts before the avalanche of blame and cliches.

[azabob]

That last ball up on our 50, why were we so far from the drop zone? They cleared it so easily

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Still can't beat em. They couldn't run for the last 20 minutes but we couldn't do it.

Nice we fought it out and all but I don't care for thst. That should be a given. I want wins against this club.

[Grantysghost]

The Brownless curse continues.

[josie]

We're going to lose because of the Stengle mark in row B lol

Aren?t you supposed to control the ball while still in field of play? If so cannot see why they called that a mark.

[bornadog]

Dam...

[The Bulldogs Bite]

If we can?t win with Bont and Libba playing like that, we?re just not good enough.

That's the thing. They had hurclean games and we still couldn't win.

[macca]

Geelong punished us with consecutive goals from skill errors. Good teams do that.

We just cant hit a target under pressure.

[jazzadogs]

Who could have predicted that Jeremy Cameron would get 27 touches, 8 marks and kick 2.4? It's laughable really.

[westbulldog]

We're going to lose because of the Stengle mark in row B lol

and Vandermeer's clanger

[Before I Die]

If we can?t win with Bont and Libba playing like that, we?re just not good enough.

If Stengle takes that grab 1cm further back we win. Are we good enough then?

[whythelongface]

Great effort but let’s be honest that sucks. We could have won that. Cats are coached well and were in control most of the game but we had them and panicked with some of our kicking.

[angelopetraglia]

Just dumb football at crucial times. Geelong just own us. Just own us.

We should have won that game. They just are too smart for us in key moments.

We go seven consecutive 50m entities for one point, Against the trend they get out the back and kick a goal with their first entry of the last quarter. That is basically the game and so many moments similar to that in the third quarter.

You can?t question the commitment or courage of the players to keep giving themselves a chance.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

With our fixture, although having played the two top teams, we can put things in the positive next few games.

[Bullies]

Would have been handy having Garcia as sub. Someone to hit it hard and give some run at the end.

[bornadog]

Great effort but let’s be honest that sucks. We could have won that. Cats are coached well and were in control most of the game but we had them and panicked with some of our kicking.
They have a very good backline

[Eastdog]

Yet again we lose to the Cats. Can't take a trick against this mob.

[Sedat]

If we can?t win with Bont and Libba playing like that, we?re just not good enough.
Bit of Bont/Libba or bust again tonight.

Gutsy to run it out against a likely top 4 team and not drop our heads like we did in R1. Didn't get anywhere near enough from JUH or Naughton, or from our small forwards outside of West. We really need Arty and Clarke to start to put pressure on the incumbents.

[comrade]

If Stengle takes that grab 1cm further back we win. Are we good enough then?

We would have still found a way to lose.

[bornadog]

Would have been handy having Garcia as sub. Someone to hit it hard and give some run at the end.
Agree, Macrae is not a sub

[JanLorMill]

If we can?t win with Bont and Libba playing like that, we?re just not good enough.

Spot on. A mistake here and there, some others not effective cost us.

[whythelongface]

Who could have predicted that Jeremy Cameron would get 27 touches, 8 marks and kick 2.4? It's laughable really.

as much as I dislike he is the best player in the game. The ground he covers and his influence. Naughton needs to model himself on him.

[jazzadogs]

Someone said we're better than the 2023 Bulldogs...and maybe we are...but until we WIN one of the close ones I'm not jumping on. We certainly look fitter though.

[chef]

Brave effort, a lot to work with going forward.

We'll flog the bombers so thats something to look forward too.

[jazzadogs]

as much as I dislike he is the best player in the game. The ground he covers and his influence. Naughton needs to model himself on him.

Could you see ANY plan in place to combat him? He ran around as he pleased.

[Mofra]

Would have been handy having Garcia as sub. Someone to hit it hard and give some run at the end.
Yep Sonny has to play sooner rather than later. There's every chance he comes in for Caleb.

Speed is what we're looking for which is why guys like Gags & Bramble have played every game.

[Grantysghost]

Just dumb football at crucial times. Geelong just own us. Just own us.

We should have won that game. They just are too smart for us in key moments.

We go seven consecutive 50m entities for one point, Against the trend they get out the back and kick a goal with their first entry of the last quarter. That is basically the game and so many moments similar to that in the third quarter.

You can?t question the commitment or courage of the players to keep giving themselves a chance.

What you said.

Im happy we pushed them, but those are the wins that get you top 4 and they win them often.

Complete pros.

We make so many dumb decisions.

It really was back breaking performances by Libba, Bont and Jones that had us close.

Cameron pantsed us too. Nobody covered him up the ground.

[azabob]

Yep Sonny has to play sooner rather than later. There's every chance he comes in for Caleb.

Speed is what we're looking for which is why guys like Gags & Bramble have played every game.

It is a real shame Smith is out injured.

[meenies]

I think we can see now why Macrae and Daniel are behind others.
let’s give Garcia and others a chance now.

[Eastdog]

It is a real shame Smith is out injured.

He is a big loss. I was looking forward to him getting back to form again in 2024 before that pre season injury.

[bornadog]

I was disappointed with the run out of the backline, only Ed had 9 rebound 50s, whereas once more JJ was ineffective. We need him running and bouncing and creating.

I don't think we have a player on our list that can go with Cameron

In the end we had 82 turnovers to 73 - there is the game.

[Danjul]

They have a very good backline
They had a lot of help from our terrible kicking into the forward line. They couldn?t have won without it.

[JanLorMill]

If Stengle takes that grab 1cm further back we win. Are we good enough then?
In 150 years of football that was never a mark. The moment he touches it might be a millimetre on the line, the moment he controlled it he is well over.

[jeemak]

I've never seen a game where even though our good players were playing out of their skins the ball just didn't bounce their way and even they gave up fumbling errors and didn't do the percentage things to lock the ball in.

There's just so much to improve on, but we were still in it.

[Sedat]

We go seven consecutive 50m entities for one point, Against the trend they get out the back and kick a goal with their first entry of the last quarter.
JUH missed 2 clear chances in 2 minutes before that Geelong goal against the run of play - good teams nail the moments and JUH wasn't up to it tonight. VDM is going to cop it (and fair enough) but JUH was terribly disappointing tonight except for a 5 minute cameo in the last.

[Happy Days]

That’s a split decision if I’ve ever seen one. Big up and move on.

[azabob]

I was disappointed with the run out of the backline, only Ed had 9 rebound 50s, whereas once more JJ was ineffective. We need him running and bouncing and creating.

I don't think we have a player on our list that can go with Cameron

They were all poor. Bramble, JJ, Dale also. Considering the number of times Jones and Khamis took intercept marks.

[josie]

In 150 years of football that was never a mark. The moment he touches it might be a millimetre on the line, the moment he controlled it he is well over.

Thanks. That?s what I thought too.

[jeemak]

I was disappointed with the run out of the backline, only Ed had 9 rebound 50s, whereas once more JJ was ineffective. We need him running and bouncing and creating.

I don't think we have a player on our list that can go with Cameron

Especially given how much we intercepted the football.

Too many times we actually left it to Jones to go the long kick after an intercept instead of peeling off and getting it moving. Geelong close out any width in the ground so quickly.

[jeemak]

That’s a split decision if I’ve ever seen one. Big up and move on.

Agreed.

The commentators gushing over Geelong, but we did them in every stat except scoring. It was a lot closer than it looked.

[Rocket Science]

I've almost stopped giving a shit about another flag, I just want to live to see us beat a full strength Geelong outfit one day.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Things people won?t say but we should be discussing.

- if you play 3 tall forwards you need to be marking it more than we do?much more. We have been forced in some ways to invest in our list that way but it hurts us against the very best at the moment.
- People will focus on Macrae and Daniel but what?s happening to them isn?t personal it?s a balance issue related to our ability to cover the ground. If Sanders is playing one of them can?t.
- Naughton has regressed as an aerial threat year on year since 2021. His first general play goal in 2021 was in the GF. Pressure is great, we need him marking it. Pundits rate our list based on Naughton being a star, he isn?t that right now.
- We need 1-2 guys that can run and burst in our mid group ASAP.
- We hack kick against the good teams out of stoppage. Significant difference based on quality of the oppo.
- For the inevitable blame Bevo crew. Which line on paper do you think we have them covered?
- 3 talls, a mid, Weightman (leading forward) is a bad mix when West has an instinct to go to ground under pressure.
- If there is questions around ball movement tonight we took too long to take a few risks with the ball but every time we turned it over we got burnt so I understand the balance.
- 3 senior players took short steps or pulled out in Q2. Happens a bit against the very best and it?s easy to ignore but it?s probably an
issue in tight games. Dale, English and Treloar which is out of character for him.

Happy to say Geelong are top 4 locks and we are not far off them. Just some thoughts before the avalanche of blame and cliches.

Love to see you articulate your views here DT. I think you've made some really interesting insights, the Macrae/Daniel comment is one of those.

[bornadog]

Agreed.

The commentators gushing over Geelong, but we did them in every stat except scoring. It was a lot closer than it looked.

I am still seething over the free against Flea when he was trying to handball to West and the umpire called it insufficient bullshit. They took that all the way for a goal.

Anyway, at one stage I thought we were going to get smashed, but we fought on.

[angelopetraglia]

Treloar 37
Bont 35
Libba 35

Each of them also kick a goal. Yet we lose the game and the inside 50m count as well.

[Eastdog]

Cannot question our effort tonight. Libba is a beast along with the Bont. Just disappointed we could not win a close one. Last year this was a big difference lots of close losses except against the Tigers at the G to where we could have been higher up the ladder playing finals.

[Danjul]

What you said.

Im happy we pushed them, but those are the wins that get you top 4 and they win them often.

Complete pros.

We make so many dumb decisions.

It really was back breaking performances by Libba, Bont and Jones that had us close.

Cameron pantsed us too. Nobody covered him up the ground.

Thats because of our poor game plan. When our players get the ball they start thinking. Geelong didn?t have to think, for them the play was a reflex action. Their thinking was done at training. That?s what it is for.

Look at their handball, for example. Blind handball out of congestion repeatedly opened up running clearances.

[weltschmerz]

Last year we'd have dropped the heads somewhere in q3 and given up six goals in a row.

[kruder]

Naughty and JUH were poor let's be honest, while our half back flankers couldn't tackle to save themselves and just didn't do any damage with ball in hand. It was a solid effort but still kind of feels like ground hog day under Bevo atm.

Love to know what's going on with Daniel and Macrae, AA talent looking like VFL level right now.

[JanLorMill]

as much as I dislike he is the best player in the game. The ground he covers and his influence. Naughton needs to model himself on him.
What game were you watching? Bont is the best player in the game.

[SonofScray]

We go seven consecutive 50m entities for one point, Against the trend they get out the back and kick a goal with their first entry of the last quarter. That is basically the game and so many moments similar to that in the third quarter.

.

It?s part of the DNA of our style of footy.

[bornadog]

Even though Darcy kicked 3, I still feel Lobb would have been better against Geelong rucks. Darcy just couldn't handle the ruck at all.

[Mofra]

Naughty and JUH were poor let's be honest, while our half back flankers couldn't tackle to save themselves and just didn't do any damage with ball in hand. It was a solid effort but still kind of feels like ground hog day under Bevo atm.

Love to know what's going on with Daniel and Macrae, AA talent looking like VFL level right now.
Our game plan is a lot faster now. They aren't getting faster.

Sometimes you pick the players to execute a plan rather than just build a plan around what you have even if you know it isn't going to work (e.g. 2023)

[merantau]

I should be fuming but, strangely, I'm not. Probably because for the first three quarters they showed that they had our measure and I had resigned myself to a loss. It looked like we might lose by 6 or 8 goals at one stage.

We had our chances but we couldn't take them - particularly in the last quarter. I thought we played very poorly at critical contests and our field kicking was poor. We often gave their defenders a chance.

The thing that concerns me is that we had monumental performances from Libba and Bont and we still couldn't get the job done. That being said to get within a kick of a top 4 side and to keep coming back at them is very encouraging.

[ratsmac]

We're going to lose because of the Stengle mark in row B lol

And where was the front on footage to see if his hands were on the ball. From the side vision his hands were beside the ball but no conclusive evidence that his hand hand even made contact. How they overruled the ump who was right those is appalling and amateur to say the least.

[jeemak]

They just showed the Stengle "mark" again, and it was clear one hand wasn't on the ball when the ball was well behind the line.

Terrible bullshit decision.

[kickit2Koly]

I’ll say it, Dale needs to be dropped.

[angelopetraglia]

The VDM miss and then three goals in a row conceded in a heartbeat was basically the game.

They went out to 28 point lead. Sliding doors, if VDM kicks that we were a goal down with momentum and the energy of a running goal kick that.

To fight back the way we did after that was encouraging. But to put ourselves into that position is so disappointing.

[bornadog]

I’ll say it, Dale needs to be dropped.

Had a shocker tonight, plus cost us a goal in the 3rd quarter when he stuffed the handball and got caught

[whythelongface]

What game were you watching? Bont is the best player in the game.

Too true. I should of quantified it by saying apart from Bont he is the best player in the game.

[whythelongface]

Had a shocker tonight, plus cost us a goal in the 3rd quarter when he stuffed the handball and got caught

Thought he was ok and started to do some good things. Much more influential than JJ. That was a poor decision that lead to the Stengle goal but he wasn’t that bad

[kickit2Koly]

Had a shocker tonight, plus cost us a goal in the 3rd quarter when he stuffed the handball and got caught

hasn’t been good for a long time.

[Bigdog]

I thought Macrae was pretty good when he came on.

[jeemak]

Reckon the VDM miss was actually a fairly difficult chance. Holmes made up a lot of ground and the ball just held up a little.

A much classier player would have nailed it but VDM isn't a much classier player, he is who he is.

[whythelongface]

They just showed the Stengle "mark" again, and it was clear one hand wasn't on the ball when the ball was well behind the line.

Terrible bullshit decision.

Unfortunately they seem to get the run of the green. Bullshit decision that cost us the game

[Sedat]

I’ll say it, Dale needs to be dropped.
I'd rather swap Dale and Williams - move Williams to half back where he does his best work and move Dale further up the ground and get him to utilise his pace and good foot skills.

[dog town]

Naughty and JUH were poor let's be honest, while our half back flankers couldn't tackle to save themselves and just didn't do any damage with ball in hand. It was a solid effort but still kind of feels like ground hog day under Bevo atm.

Love to know what's going on with Daniel and Macrae, AA talent looking like VFL level right now. Reasonable comparisons to Crouch, Mitchell, Wines, Fyfe and quite a few others recently. Macrae could be in our best 8 players but the way we are setting up if he isn?t in our best 3 mids plus Sanders (development) he will not be what he was.

The game might swing back another way but right now it?s not just a turnover game it?s turnover/turnover.

[angelopetraglia]

Max Laughton

Geelong now 18-3 against the Bulldogs since the 2009 finals, and the third of those losses was last year with the Dogs playing for finals and the Cats totally cue in the rack. One of the great modern footy hoodoos.

[jeemak]

hasn’t been good for a long time.

He was excellent in 2022 and should have been All Australian. Agree that he wasn't great last year and that he's been patchy after an interrupted start to the year.