Bulldogs to bite back in finals: Eade

[bornadog]

August 3, 2008

Sunday Age

WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade says his team will enter the finals full of confidence whatever happens over the remaining five rounds of the AFL home-and-away season.

The Bulldogs sit second on the ladder with five rounds remaining, and face Sydney at Canberra's Manuka Oval this afternoon on the back of consecutive losses for the first time this year. Both defeats — to defending premier Geelong and the improving Carlton — featured big last-quarter fadeouts and a decrease in the number of contested possessions won.

Eade said spirits were high despite the disappointing performances over the past fortnight and the focus was on doing well in the finals.

"The confidence is there, confidence is not an issue," Eade said before a light session at Manuka Oval yesterday.

"Over the next five games, if we only won two of those I don't think the confidence is going to drop away either.

"I think for us it is all about September."

At 13-3, the Bulldogs are three wins clear of fourth-placed Sydney, which has lost three of its past four matches and is battling a lengthy injury list.

In their round-seven meeting at the SCG, the Bulldogs were able to overcome Sydney's defensive pressure to come away 18-point winners and Eade expected a similar type of contest today despite the larger dimensions of Manuka Oval.

"Obviously they will try to shut the run down and it will be a tight, in-close game," Eade said. "We know that, we're certainly prepared for that."

Today's match also sees the resumption of hostilities between Jason Akermanis and Sydney's Jared Crouch, who was selected to play his first match of the season after struggling to overcome persistent hamstring problems.

AAP

[Rocket Science]

At the risk of jumping the gun, is anyone else a little concerned at the manner in which the club's played its PR cards this past week?

Earlier it was all about the ramped-up training regimen (which we really didn't want to let on, but we still did), which Matt Boyd's protestations aside, generally came across just a little like an excuse of sorts.

And now the coach is suggesting (a) how the club performs over the next 5 weeks is almost irrelevant, and...(b) with five weeks of football to go they're putting the cart before the horse and already thinking finals.

I'm not sure I really want to be hearing this stuff, or having the players think it either.

He also seems at pains to stress that "confidence" is definitely not the issue, when it's been conceded confidence has been a major issue with the playing group at stages in the past.

Doth he protesteth too much?

Maybe I'm being a nervous Nelly...If the club goes out and wins today this is reduced to pointless conjecture, but I'd like to see less talk and more action.

[The Coon Dog]

^^^^^

Yes, RS, I think you are being too much of a nervous nellie, having said that, there are many years to look back on to see why you may be feeling this way.

Spoke with Rocket last week briefly & he felt that once a top 3 finish was assured then we would use the remaining games in a similar manner to the NAB Cup, where the focus is really all geared towards round 1, or in this case the first week of the finals.

[Stefcep]

Is there an advantage if you finish second as opposed to third, in terms of a week off or playing a lower finishing side, in the finals.

[bulldogtragic]

Is there an advantage if you finish second as opposed to third, in terms of a week off or playing a lower finishing side, in the finals.
No, we will play Hawthorn in the frist week no matter what now.

I'm tuning out a little now. We have to spend the next month working out how to replicate the Tassie win and making sure we can control buddy, thus making sure Tommy can get back in.

Will be a cracker of a game. Not to mention i'm 26 years old and have gone to every final that i can remember - that isn't too many...

[G-Mo77]

In short, no. If they were an interstate side then you would want to finish second the higher side would get the home ground.

[The Coon Dog]

Is there an advantage if you finish second as opposed to third, in terms of a week off or playing a lower finishing side, in the finals.

This year there's no difference. As G-Mo77 alluded t, it would make a difference if 2 teams from different states were playing one another.

Make no mistake, the Dogs v Hawks clash will have significant ramifications for the loser. The winner will have a week off before the Prelim Final, whereas the loser will go into a sudden death Semi Final to then play Geelong (assuming they win their first final) in a Prelim Final.

[Stefcep]

No, we will play Hawthorn in the frist week no matter what now.

I'm tuning out a little now. We have to spend the next month working out how to replicate the Tassie win and making sure we can control buddy, thus making sure Tommy can get back in.

Will be a cracker of a game. Not to mention i'm 26 years old and have gone to every final that i can remember - that isn't too many...


Thanks for clearing that up.

Actually I think Buddy holds the key to the AFL premiership. If he's on song then I can't see the Hawks losing even to Geelong.

The key for us is to stop the supply. I thought the game against Carlton was a test of sorts in stopping supply to a gun forward for us and we failed badly after half time. It seemed Eade's tactics were to let our midfielders run loose, and let theirs run loose and we'd outscore them in the end. Except they had Fev, we don't have a like target. i hope Eade learns from that and the tassie game. We can't play the Hawks letting our midfield loose and letting their midfield loose, because even if Cooney, Cross and others get 40 possessions each, Roughhead, Williams and Buddy will kick over 20 goals between them.

[The Coon Dog]

The key for us is to stop the supply.We can't play the Hawks letting our midfield loose and letting their midfield loose, because even if Cooney, Cross and others get 40 possessions each, Roughhead, Williams and Buddy will kick over 20 goals between them.
Spot on, we tackled & harrassed that day so in the end Hawthorn weren't sure what to do with it once they had it.