Willy Vs Sandy

[LostDoggy]

Anyone going? As I will be. Have to sneak out from mothers day with my father though.

[LostDoggy]

Yeah ill be there for a couple of quarters...the whole game if its a good one..

I just wanna see our guys run around, see how their fitness is looking..

Im wearing my grey doggies hoodie and trackie pants if anyone sees me dont be afraid to say gday :)

[The Coon Dog]

Seniors:

Williamstown 19 16 130

Sandringham 9 12 66


Goal Kickers: W. Skipper 3, M. Little 3, P. Rose 3, C. Ward 2, B. Johnson, C. Urch, D. Stretton, D. Galea, F. Ray, J. Harbrow, G. O''Keefe, A. McDougall
Best Players: B. Jolley, C. Ward, P. Street, W. Skipper, J. Harbrow, S. Meyer


Reserves:

Williamstown 29.13-187

Sandringham 12.10-82


Goal Kickers: A. Cook 8, A. Chiu 3, P. O''Shea 3, M. Keddell 2, S. Reid 2, J. Mulligan 2, K. McKenzie, J. Young, N. Lyons, C. Dullard, M. Cravino, T. Jenkins, M. Lynch, H. White, E. Wood
Best Players: A. Cook, T. Langlands, M. Cravino, S. Reid, M. Grossman, H. White


VFL Website (http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&round=6&client=1-118-0-67835-0&pool=-1)

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I managed to get down there today, boy was it cold. Saw Griffen, Gia, Addison & Hargrave up on one of the hills in good spirits. Jarrad Grant didn't play for some reason, perhaps he was dropped? Either way, he stood & watched the whole game with somebody too - probably his father.

The wind got ahold of some of the kicks, but it wasn't a legitimate excuse because the skills were pretty ordinary a lot of the time. Few of the Williamstown players were lost at times, including Urch - I thought he looked pretty poor today. Sandy made plenty of skill errors too, both by foot & hand. In that sense, it wasn't the best of matches to watch, although both did play hard footy. Willy got out to a decent lead at half time, but they should've been another two goals up. Missed a couple of easy ones. In the third quarter they missed a couple more, and Sandy came back. Early in the fourth, it was only a few goals the difference but pretty quickly Willy slamed on majors to obliterate Sandy by 10 goals. They're going to be a tough side to beat, although I personally think that Willy's forward line is ordinary. No real forward target and structure, the ball was turned over and run out of the backline too easily. At least this means more opportunity for our developing forwards when they play (Tiller, Grant).

Over to our listed players and in no particular order:

-----------------------------------

Skipper: Worked his way into the game and did OK. Not big stats and didn't turn the game by any stretch of the imagination, but was a good contributor. Nice kick of the football, although at times a little slow to deliver the ball/make a decision. He has good skills though and moves well around the ground.

Street: Played a pretty good game. Won the hitouts with ease but also provided options around the ground for a link-up. He put himself in the right positions and worked hard. As always though, his opponent was able to run off him a couple of times due to Street's lack of mobility.

McDougall: Ordinary. Looked lost and really only did a couple of nice things. Probably going to be the first player to be delisted unless he dramatically improves. The experiment of playing him down back isn't working. Maybe one last try as a full forward, as Willy didn't have much up there today despite a good win.

O'Keefe: Relatively quiet but when he got the ball he did some good things with it. He has good skills and managed to spot up targets using his vision. Although he didn't get a lot of it, it was still pleasing to see he can do something with it when he does actually get it.

Williams: Still needs to play more football. He made some bad errors today but also did a couple of nice things using his strength. He was relatively quiet and although he was neither terrible/great, he just needs to keep playing. Still looks a little way off playing senior football with the Dogs at the moment, but I'm sure as soon as he strings a couple of games together he'll be back.

Everitt: Started slowly but worked his way into the game, much like Skip. Had a good second half and layed a couple of very good tackles which resulted in free kicks. His closing speed & spoiling was impressive and his ball use was spot on. He wasn't dominant and wouldn't be considered for this week's game, but the signs were encouraging because he got a lot better as the game wore on. His trademarks of composure/mobility/skills were on display although he didn't get a heap of the ball. Still, if he improves on this & can hold up form for another couple of weeks, he'll be pressing for selection too.

Ward: Really impressive. He moves pretty well across the ground, certainly doesn't look slow at all. He has a strong pair of hands and this was evident on a couple of occasions. Took one great grab over two opponents and another where the ball was floating towards him, where Holland gave him a whack. He uses his body well in traffic and seems to always pick the right option. Nice hands & impressive foot skills - he hit the target every time minus once, and this included using his left foot on a few occasions too. Pretty impressed with Ward, he really does look like a quality young player that will make his debut at some stage this year IF he keeps playing like that.

Stack: I haven't seen too much of Stack, but the times I have he hasn't looked composed. In the NAB Cup he dropped some easy marks and looked out of place. Seemed uncertain. Today though, he was most impressive. He's got a fantastic leap that assisted him in tapping the ball down to a team mate & making a few spoils. Pretty quick too - he covers the ground quickly and although he isn't zippy like Harbrow, he takes long strides and is a very smooth mover. His delivery was a little off at times, but he did have good skills most of the time. His run & carry was great - prepared to take them on, handball to a player, continue running & get it back. Having put on some weight over summer has clearly helped him too as he was better in the contests. IMO he'll make his debut soonish - he looked good today.

Harbrow: Very good game by Harbrow, he was my best on ground. He didn't do a whole lot in the first quarter but after that, he was dominant. He ran very hard and was seriously quick. He's deceptively strong too because a number of times he somehow shrugged tackles off to either feed the ball off by foot or hand. Plenty of zip - the opposite to what we saw in his AFL games this year. He looked really sharp, picking the ball up cleanly and running in and around opposition players. Skills were pretty good too as was his tackling & intensity at the contest. If he puts in a few more performances like this, he's going to be straight back in the side because he was very good today.

Ray: Started slowly and looked rusty in the first quarter, but he was impressive after that and one of the better players on the ground. He got plenty of the ball and used it well. His composure and vision stood out - whilst a number of players kept turning the ball over, Ray consistently picked out players with good ball use. He worked pretty hard today too which was pleasing. Makes it pretty hard for the selectors - he certainly played well enough to be brought back into the Dogs lineup, but they may be tempted to give him one more week especially considering the travel to Subiaco. Either way - Ray should be back either this week or next - he looked in good touch.


------------------


All in all, I must say our boys did pretty well today. Our depth is looking pretty good at the moment, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of these guys get a few games under there belts prior to the seasons end. We've definitely got some quality youngsters coming through the ranks.

[GVGjr]

I went along.

The reserves had a terrific 2nd half keeping the Zebras goalless and in the end it was 29-13 to 12-10.

Boumann played in the back half for all the game but injured his shoulder mi way through the last quarter and was off the ground. I thought he had a good game.

Reid was the ruck rover who also changed a bit in defence. Solid game and he kicked a couple of goal. Reid is a bit weak on his left side and needs to improve on that.

Mulligan was again in the ruck and whilst he does OK around the ground and even up forward, he isn't a good enough mark at present which hurts his game. Mulligan kicked a couple of goals.

Lynch played a bit of everywhere after starting on the HFF. He had a good first half in particular with his kicking skills and tackling but had a very quiet 3rd term before lifting his tempo in the last quarter. Good game and he kicked a goal.

White played mainly in the back half and was one of the better players. He ran and carried the ball well and his kicking was solid. He really looks to be an improving type. White kicked one goal.

O'Shea played mainly as the CHF and after a quiet first half really held a number of marks in the 2nd half and kicked 3 goals. One thing is that he prefers to play from behind rather than being areal lead-up CHF. It looks great when he takes a grab over someone but he does miss a few as well.

Wood played on a wing and was quiet busy without being a telling player. He handballs a bit too much but it was probably his best outing that I have seen him play.

Shaw did not play again.

The firsts had a real tough encounter with the Zebras before blowing them away in the last quarter. 19-16 to 9-12.

Skipper had a terrific game as the CHF who changed with Street as required. He held his marks and kicked straight and bagged a few goals.

Ward played as the HFF and as you would expect when you play that position it's hard to put 4 quarters together. He displayed his foot smarts and made the right decisions and was a good contributor and must be close to getting a senior game.

Stack started on the interchange before playing mainly as a defender across half back. He did some terrific things and really did provide a lot of drive and run for the Seagulls.

McDougall played on Ben Holland and did his job today. He was consistent contributor across the 4 quarters without starring.

O'Keefe mainly played in the midfield and while he was a star, it was a solid game. He made the right decisions and used the ball well.

Harbrow returned to a bit of form today and as you would expect he ran hard and was good with the defensive side of his game. His kicking wasn't great but his work rate was vastly improved. It looks like he is well past any problems with his knee.

Street rucked today as expected and did a good job. He palmed the ball better than previous weeks and was OK around the ground. Good effort.

Williams was used in defence but didn't have a huge influence on the game.

Everitt started off well as a defender and moved particularly well which was encouraging.
His kicking skills was a real feature and he is close to being ready to play for the seniors.

Ray started off as a HBF and was a solid contributor throughout the game. He took some nice marks and carried the ball well which are what you expect of him. He is ready to play in the seniors when required.

Tillier and Grant didn't play today. I hope a few others put up their reports as well.

[The Coon Dog]

^^^^

TBB & GVGjr, fantastic reports, thanks for that. I guess as the season progresses it's only going to get colder down at Willy.

Whilst it seems good that many 'seadogs' played well & are putting their name up before the selectors, there may come time where someone may 'drop their head' because of the form of the seniors.

Be interested in mjp's take on this, but if you have players in the seconds continually playing well & not being able to force their way into the seniors, how do the coaching staff (Gotch/Dalrymple) manage this issue?

[Mantis]

Thanks for the excellent reports TBB & GVG.

Good to hear that the pressure is still been maintained on the senior players to keep performing each and every week with the likes of Ward, Ray & Harbrow playing well.

[LostDoggy]

I went to the game aswell, first one ive been to this year, quite enjoyed it.

Saw the bulldogs up on the hill aswell, i stood in front against the fence...

Good to see Skipper doing well, same with Streety in ruck...very impressed with little things Brennan Stack did too..

Also Callan Ward got a big slap to the eye late in the last qtr, came off with blood rule..anyone else notice that? looked pretty nasty

On the grapevine, a kid (maybe 11, 12) 0standing next to me went over and talked to Daniel Gia & Ryan Griffin...
Comes back saying Gia said that Murphy injured himself last night, calf muscle and out for 6 weeks..

It kinda scared me... Anyone else hear anything about Murph? Is this little kid making up stories?

[ledge]

Ouch dont need to hear that!

[BulldogBelle]

TBB, GVGjr great reports - thanks for taking the time out to write up these reports and sharing with us how our Bulldog listed players performed. :)

[LostDoggy]

Ray, Everitt and Williams all looked short of a gallop today.

Ward, Harbrow and Skipper were the best bulldogs players today.

[Dancin' Douggy]

I went to the game aswell, first one ive been to this year, quite enjoyed it.

Saw the bulldogs up on the hill aswell, i stood in front against the fence...

Good to see Skipper doing well, same with Streety in ruck...very impressed with little things Brennan Stack did too..

Also Callan Ward got a big slap to the eye late in the last qtr, came off with blood rule..anyone else notice that? looked pretty nasty

On the grapevine, a kid (maybe 11, 12) 0standing next to me went over and talked to Daniel Gia & Ryan Griffin...
Comes back saying Gia said that Murphy injured himself last night, calf muscle and out for 6 weeks..

It kinda scared me... Anyone else hear anything about Murph? Is this little kid making up stories?

Gia is a stirrer. Nothing there

[ledge]

Gia is a stirrer. Nothing there

I hope so, poor kid will be devastated though if its not true, Gia just lost a supporter.
Dont need that.

[Sockeye Salmon]

McDougall: Ordinary. Looked lost and really only did a couple of nice things. Probably going to be the first player to be delisted unless he dramatically improves. The experiment of playing him down back isn't working. Maybe one last try as a full forward, as Willy didn't have much up there today despite a good win.


That's unfair on Mcdougall. He played a predominately defensive game on Ben Holland and shut him out but did manage to get up the ground off him a few times.

One glaring error in the 3rd where he tried to pat the ball ahead of him instead of getting the body over it let to a goal but for the most part he was OK.

Harbrow burnt up the grass more than once and was very good but Callan Ward was the story of today. Very much like Nick del Santo.

[GVGjr]

That's unfair on Mcdougall. He played a predominately defensive game on Ben Holland and shut him out but did manage to get up the ground off him a few times.

One glaring error in the 3rd where he tried to pat the ball ahead of him instead of getting the body over it let to a goal but for the most part he was OK.



I didn't think his effort was too bad either. Not terrific but he stuck to his task. I know he was carrying a bit of a back injury in the last half as well.

[LostDoggy]

Thanks to all who have provided match reports.

After having a non-football week-end due to significant family milestones, it's great to be able to access Woof and catch-up with the Seadogs performances.

Much appreciated.

[LostDoggy]

Also Callan Ward got a big slap to the eye late in the last qtr, came off with blood rule..anyone else notice that? looked pretty nasty


That was pretty much right in front of me, Ben Holland was the player who hit him, anyone think he may get reported for that? Not that it really matters to us anyway.

Thought Cal had a great game, streeta as well, boy hes got a bit kick on him when he gets onto it, helped a bit with the wind as well.


Just on a werribee listed player, i though #25 Scott Meyer i think his name is, did a great job on a player i cant stand Nick Sautner.

The seadogs did pretty good today, was great to see, even if it was bloody freezing there.

[LostDoggy]

The seadogs did pretty good today, was great to see, even if it was bloody freezing there.

I live in Williamstown and forgot how cold it is at Point Gellibrand. Must be 5 deg colder than the rest of Williamstown.

[The Underdog]

Thanks for alll the great reports guys.
Sockeye I agree with your call of Cal Ward being Dal Santo like from what i've seen of him, although hopefully more like the good Dal Santo of previous years and not this years version who seems more like Santos L. Helper.

[Go_Dogs]

Thanks for the reports as always guys. Great to get a reasonable grasp on how these guys are travelling.

Seems to me like any of Ray, Ward, Harbrow, Stack, O'Keefe, Williams and Everitt could be pushing pretty hard for senior matches over the coming weeks, and Skipper and Street must also be in some sort of consideration - although their opportunities will more likely be dictated by injuries at this stage.

Great news, and it does look like a pretty exciting bunch of kids who could form key components of our side over the next 10 years. Exciting times a head...

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Thanks all for the reports.

Looks like we are well on the way now,

My Question is does anybody think the Willi football club is handling our young guys better than the Werribee FC.

Or is it just our recruiting seems to be licking in now.

I thought with the retirements of Monty, Grant, Robins ect, we would be struggling for a few seasons in the seconds.

[bornadog]

Thanks all for the reports.

Looks like we are well on the way now,

My Question is does anybody think the Willi football club is handling our young guys better than the Werribee FC.

Or is it just our recruiting seems to be licking in now.

I thought with the retirements of Monty, Grant, Robins ect, we would be struggling for a few seasons in the seconds.

Players are being looked after better at Williamstown with the coach Brad Gotch also the development coach for the dogs. We also have a great bunch of kids coming through and Williamstown and the WB's are working well together.

[Desipura]

Thanks all for the reports.

Looks like we are well on the way now,

My Question is does anybody think the Willi football club is handling our young guys better than the Werribee FC.

Or is it just our recruiting seems to be licking in now.

I thought with the retirements of Monty, Grant, Robins ect, we would be struggling for a few seasons in the seconds.
I think Scott Clayton has been there long enough and has the runs on the board not to have to resort to that method.:D

[Scorlibo]

Thanks for alll the great reports guys.
Sockeye I agree with your call of Cal Ward being Dal Santo like from what i've seen of him, although hopefully more like the good Dal Santo of previous years and not this years version who seems more like Santos L. Helper.

Ha ha, I don't think that Dal Santo's been that bad this year, a little down but not all that much on previous years. He is probably my favourite opposition player to watch and if Cal turns out to be anywhere near the standard of Dal Santo then I'll be ecstatic. Josh Hill hasn't been going all that great last four rounds and I think a rest at Willi would do him good, is Westy looking OK for this round and if not Callan is a shoe in right?

[Sockeye Salmon]

Ha ha, I don't think that Dal Santo's been that bad this year, a little down but not all that much on previous years. He is probably my favourite opposition player to watch and if Cal turns out to be anywhere near the standard of Dal Santo then I'll be ecstatic. Josh Hill hasn't been going all that great last four rounds and I think a rest at Willi would do him good, is Westy looking OK for this round and if not Callan is a shoe in right?

Ray must be ahead of Cal.

[Mantis]

Ray must be ahead of Cal.

Agree with that.

On reports Ray is pretty close to full fitness, the decision now has to be made do we give him one more week at Willi.

[Mofra]

Gia is a stirrer. Nothing there

Surprised he didn't tell the kid it was gout