PDA

View Full Version : Rd 18 - Western Bulldogs vs Sydney - Match Preview



Mantis
30-07-2008, 10:12 AM
Match: Western Bulldogs vs Sydney – Manuka Oval – Sun August 3 – 1.10pm

Recent Form: Sydney have won just 1 of there past 4 games, that being Carlton by 2 pts a few weeks back. The Bulldogs have lost there past 2, against ladder leaders Geelong by 61pts at the Cattery and then followed this match with a disappointing 28pt loss against Carlton, squandering a 37pt lead in the 3rd quarter in the process.

Most recent match between these 2 teams:

Rd 7 2008 – SCG – Sydney 14.10.94 def by Western Bulldogs 18.4.112

- Adam Cooney was the star with a stunning 5 goal performance as the Bulldogs on the back of a 7 to 1 goal 2nd qtr ran out winners in an entertaining affair.


Players missing/ At the selection table:

Western Bulldogs – West & Higgins continue there long lay off, abit they are getting closer to selection. Injury prone CHB Tom Williams is set to return in the VFL after an extended lay off due to a shoulder injury. Dylan Addison looks set to miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury against Carlton.

With quite a few players down on form it will interesting to see if the match committee keep the faith with the players who performed so well earlier on in the season, I suspect they will.

Sydney - Two time Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes looks set to miss with a persistent groin injury. He will join key players O’Loughlin and Barry and possibly Malceski on the sidelines.

Style of play:

Western Bulldogs – For much of the year the Bulldog’s have been one of the best contested ball winners in the competition, but over the past month the ability to win the hard ball has dropped. Without quick ball movement from clearance wins the small forward line has struggled to get enough ‘clean’ ball such to use there one on one abilities.

The run and carry that has been a major factor in the Dogs success this year has dropped away over the past month, especially in the latter part of the games. Talk out of Whitten Oval is that the player’s maybe a bit flat after a heavy training load to ready the player’s for finals actions, but without this run and carry the Bulldogs look vulnerable.


Sydney – Summed up with one word, “BORING”. Sydney are the shut down kings. They play man on man across the ground and deny the opposition time , space and the ball. They are ranked no.1 in the competition in least possessions conceded in all the main categories, kicks, marks and handballs. Helping them achieve this is the fact that Sydney are ranked the no.1 tackling team in the competition.

With O’Loughlin out of the team and Hall low on confidence and form the Sydney forwardline looks quite weak. O’Keefe is a gun, but there doesn’t look to be much firepower down there to help him out. Bit players like Bevan and Grundy have picked up some of the slack, but the ability of Sydney to kick a winning score over the past 4 or 5 weeks has been a struggle.

Sydney rely on there strong contested ball winners in the midfield in Kirk, Bolton and Ablett to force the ball forward or to deny the opposition first use through there ferocious attack on the ball or the player with the ball. McVeigh, Bird and Jack have added to the midfield depth and there ball winning abilities certainly appear a worry for the Bulldogs running players.

Sydney’s backline looks vulnerable without Barry down there, but in reality his form hasn’t been that great this year. Sydney rely on the run from defence from the likes of Kennelly (sore shoulder) and Mattner, but neither have been in sparkling form of late and with Malceski struggling with injury and Swans have missed there drive from defence.

Key Match-Ups:

Adam Cooney vs Brett Kirk – Cooney was the difference between the teams earlier this season. Kirk after keeping Judd to just 9 possessions a couple of weeks back will be looking to nullify the impact and influence Cooney has on the game. Cooney on the other hand after an exceptional start to the season has seen his form slip over the past month and will be looking to have a big impact on this one.

Ben Hudson vs Darren Jolly – Jolly has had a fantastic year and is one of the premier ruckmen in the competition with his season go from strength to strength. Hudson who has been a great pick up for the Bulldogs has had his colours lowered in his past 2 outings and will be looking for an improved performance against Jolly who in the past has put in some match-winning efforts against the Bulldogs.

Brian Lake vs Barry Hall – Hall will be primed for a big performance against a player who’s form has ebbed and flowed this season. For Sydney to have a chance in this one they will need Hall to have a big influence up forward.

Who will win and why:

After exceeding all expectations in the first 15 rounds the Bulldogs form has wavered over the past few weeks. The reason’s for this could vary, but what is known is that there ability to play a full 120 minutes of hard contested footy just hasn’t been there. This week see’s them match-up against a team who may lack the flair and finesse of a Geelong, but by and large are the hardest team to break down.

Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade has publically stated that the Dogs need to get back to winning the contested footy, something that was done to great effect earlier in the season. Preaching this is one thing, but against the Swans if there isn’t a concerted effort across the board then this will not be a reality.

The Swans look vulnerable with several key players out and I would hope that a fired up Bulldogs would be able to match Sydney’s hardness through the midfield and then with it’s superior pace and skill be able to penetrate Sydney’s under strength backline.

A big test to where the Bulldogs are at and although panic buttons haven't been pressed just yet another poor perfomance could see serious questions being asked.

In saying that the I expect the Dogs to bounce back strongly this week and win by 27pts.

bornadog
30-07-2008, 05:39 PM
Well done Mantis and can't disaagree with anything you have written.

I think the boys will bounce back this week, I haven't been as overly impressed with the Swans this season and I think their capacity to kick a big score has diminished a bit with a few outs, like O’Loughlin.

The Coon Dog
30-07-2008, 06:22 PM
Good write up Mantis.

Interesting, it will be the first time the Everitt brothers will play against each other. Be interesting to see if Spida looks to suck him in if he pushes forward.

BulldogBelle
30-07-2008, 06:37 PM
Very well written Mantis -

Definitely be a big test for the Dogs this week we hopefully will get back on the winning wagon and restore all confidences.

Yes, Sydney do tend to bottle things up and shut down play although this year they have opened up a little and scoring more. Should be a good game.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
30-07-2008, 07:35 PM
Who got the job on O'Keefe last time we played?
I think if we can negate his influence roaming outside of the forward fifty, we can go someway to deny Hall both delivery and space.
Whilst Hall isn't in form, it's vital for our defense to provide the conditions to prevent him from finding his form against us. This begins in the middle, and if we can't completely shut them down here, negating O'Keefe becomes even more important I feel, otherwise with his smart leading at 45-60 metres out he could then open up the space for Hall.

Scraggers
31-07-2008, 03:10 AM
Good write up Mantis.

Interesting, it will be the first time the Everitt brothers will play against each other. Be interesting to see if Spida looks to suck him in if he pushes forward.

Do you think Andrejs will get a run on Spida if Spida does push forward ... I would have thought that Andrejs would not have the body strength or height to match his brother, but might be able to get under his skin a bit and put him off his 'mental' game... as you said it will be interesting

Go_Dogs
31-07-2008, 03:36 PM
Kirk went to Griffen last time, will be interesting to see who he runs with this week.

Perfect game for us to get back to the basics that have seen us do so well thus far this year.

Cyberdoggie
31-07-2008, 05:03 PM
Kirk went to Griffen last time, will be interesting to see who he runs with this week.

Perfect game for us to get back to the basics that have seen us do so well thus far this year.

manuka is also a bigger oval than the s.c.g. so the tactics will change a bit.

at his best, lake is a good match up for hall, although i think brian's agility is really been effected with that medial knee injury he's been suffering from. If we give sydney space, and let their midfield go unchecked they might just play hall into form. On the other hand if they bomb it into him brian will be competitive.

I think we can win this game, provided we have 22 players out there that want to compete and expect someone else to do all the physical work.

You know who i'm talking about !!!! :mad:

Go_Dogs
01-08-2008, 02:06 PM
You know who i'm talking about !!!! :mad:


Surely not FDOTM's #1 picked each week?

firstdogonthemoon
01-08-2008, 11:33 PM
Surely not FDOTM's #1 picked each week?

Cyberdoggie is just jealous that I love Nathan more than I love him.

Nice write-up mantis - I agree this is a v important game. If we win, we will all relax. If we lose, the creeping doubts will start to stand up and flap about.

Not sure how it affects the team themselves but obviously, beating the swans two in a row is a very good news story.

The media have written us off already which is good. And heavens, the hawks flogged the pies so they must be better than everyone one except the complacent, over confident cats.

lol

LostDoggy
02-08-2008, 12:50 PM
Don't know who else you love FDOTM, but I certainly love reading your all too infrequent posts.