Round 19: Match Preview - Western Bulldogs vs North Melbourne

[BulldogBelle]

LAST TIME OUT –

Well I guess we wont forget our last meeting with North Melbourne in Round 9 in a hurry, in those dying seconds of the game and Johnno having marked on the siren he lines up and takes his kick – the difference between a win and loss, but alas things didn’t go our way on this occasion – my heart went out to Johnson watching the anguish on his face as he missed. This week it is time for redemption!

BROADCAST GUIDE

Game Day – Sunday 10th August
Venue: Telstra Dome – North Melbourne home game
Time – 1.10pm early start
TV – Fox Sports 1 – Foxtel live coverage
Radio Stations covering match - ABC774, K-Rock and SEN


OUR WOUNDED DOGS ON THE SIDELINES

Our injury list as @ 05/08/08

Shaun Higgins - (ankle) available
Scott West (knee) - TBA
Tom Williams (thigh) - TBA
Dylan Addison (knee) - 7 weeks
Jarrad Grant (osteitis pubis) - season


OUR LAST FIVE GAME HISTORY AGAINST NORTH MELBOURNE

Not a great record against North Melbourne in our last 5 meetings we have won only once that was back in 2005 we need that to change.

Rnd 09, 2008 – Dogs 16.04.110 vs North 16.17.113 (Lost by 3 points)
Rnd 22, 2007 – Dogs 14.09.93 vs North 23.19.157 (Lost by 64 points)
Rnd 13, 2007 – Dogs 11.19.85 vs North 19.09.111 (Lost by 26 points)
Rnd 14, 2006 – Dogs 12.10.82 vs North 13.16.94 (Lost by 12 points)
Rnd 08, 2005 – Dogs 18.10.118 vs North 13.14.92 (Won by 26 points)


FORM

Our form hasn’t been the greatest in the last few weeks – we experienced two losses against the more fancied Geelong and then faced the less fancied Carlton. The tide is turning and we are back on the winning list after beating Sydney in Manuka. Twice we have beaten Sydney this year a feat we haven’t accomplished since 2002.


UP FORWARD

Plenty of goal kicking options they just have to be all onsong at the same time. Welsh and Johnno regained form last week and hopefully they can back it up again. Jason Akermanis due for a big game.


IN THE MIDDLE

Our ruck duo of Hudson & Minson has worked quite well this season they appear to click together. Street has been doing well for Williamstown and just waiting to get his chance to crack into the seniors if either of Hudson or Minson is rested before the finals Street may get his chance.

Cross, Boyd and Cooney and the other multitude of players that venture into the midfield on a part time basis they need to be quick off the mark this week, I always say a good start is imperative get it out of the middle quick and straight up to our forwards.


DOWN BACK

Lake will need to have his wits about him this week if he gets Petrie (who is also celebrating his 150th game, yes – I know another North milestone game against us. Lake will need to close check Petrie – we don’t want him getting a run and amassing a large goal tally this week.


VERDICT

Important game for us to win psychologically wise – North in recent times have had the wood over us – we need to make a statement this week and I feel we can do it.

Bulldogs by 28 points.

[Mantis]

I can't see Petrie being picked up by Lake. Petrie has been playing mainly as a mobile ruckman over the past 4 to 6 weeks since McIntosh went down and is in the best form of his career. He might spend a little time up forward, but only when he is a having a spell.

Will be interesting to see if Thompson is included for North. He has a good record against us and could prove a difficult match-up as has the wood on Lake. We will also need someone to pick-up Hale who has been playing more as a forward this year. His height and strength might be a bit too much for Everitt or Tiller to handle so we may have to think about bringing Wight into the team?

BB who do you think will pick up Harvey? He always kills us as we don't seem to have a suitable match-up for him. Ray has played on him before with some success so he might be an option.

[Go_Dogs]

I can't see Petrie being picked up by Lake. Petrie has been playing mainly as a mobile ruckman over the past 4 to 6 weeks since McIntosh went down and is in the best form of his career. He might spend a little time up forward, but only when he is a having a spell.

BB who do you think will pick up Harvey? He always kills us as we don't seem to have a suitable match-up for him. Ray has played on him before with some success so he might be an option.

Spot on re: Petrie, he'll just follow the ball around and be dangerous everywhere. Has been in good form and always plays well against us, so we have to be mindful of his influence. Hudson and Minson will have to be aware.


Ray on Harvey would be the way I go.

[Mantis]

Spot on re: Petrie, he'll just follow the ball around and be dangerous everywhere. Has been in good form and always plays well against us, so we have to be mindful of his influence. Hudson and Minson will have to be aware.



Read on BF that Wight looks a likely inclusion.

Initially I thought he would be brought in to pick up Hale, but could his role be to chase Petrie around. This really should be a role he is capable of achieving as he has all the attributes required.

[Go_Dogs]

Read on BF that Wight looks a likely inclusion.

Initially I thought he would be brought in to pick up Hale, but could his role be to chase Petrie around. This really should be a role he is capable of achieving as he has all the attributes required.

Perhaps aerobic attributes to go with him, but Petrie is much stronger, much more versatile and a much better mark. Would be an interesting match up though, and possibly one that we need to give Wight as may be needed in finals in Williams can't get his body right.

Hudson seems a bit limited at the moment, and we need Will resting forwards, so perhaps it is the logical option. Hmmmm.

[dog town]

North are a frustrating team to play against. They just grind away at you with such an even contribution and often get teams right on the line. The way to beat teams like this is to keep taking the game to them. They wont stop coming at you so if you start playing for containment then they will start hurting you again. I expect them to hang in doggedly all day and it will be up to us to see if we can hold our intensity all day.

Laidley is IMO one of the better planners going around. He just seems to be a very good operator and he will have them primed for this.

The roos will probably go with Gibson on Murphy and Firrito on either Welsh or Johnson. Big Shannon Watt will be an interesting one. He has good speed and is ok in the air and will probably have to match up with one of Johnson or Welsh at stages. He has the pace and size but I would back our guys in to be a bit clever for him. Having said that I have seen him beat Brad Johnson before. The roos might be forced to give Hansen and Pratt jobs on dangerous players at stages as well. The roos backline is a very competitive bunch who tend to match us pretty well at ground level. We will need to be at our best to kick a winning score. I like seeing Gibson dragged back to the last line. For me he just looks a bit less comfortable when he is deep. Hahn looks the important piece in the jigsaw to me. If they sacrifice Firrito or Gibson to him then it opens up the other match ups for us.

The kangas forward line does not look like much but they can hurt you at times. They will rotate big guys like Hale, Petrie and Brown through who are not the most dangerous players but will give a solid contest all night. They actually kick quite a few run and carry type goals as well these days through guys like Campbell, Harvey, Grant and Wells. Mcmahon worries me a little bit because he is that quickish lead up player who can occasionally give us trouble. He is just starting to work his way back to form to. Corey Jones has had an ordinary year but must be given respect as well.

Boyd will probably get Harvey again and they will probably instruct the player that goes to Cooney to attack whenever the chance comes. That seems to be the big tactic at the moment. I hope we get on the front foot and take things up to the opposition with our match ups this week. We tried to do it last week with Aker and Ray but it was poorly executed and the wrong players and positions were used. I want to see us become harder to plan against.

I have enjoyed watching Sammy Power lately. He wouldn't get a game in our side ahead of Cross or Boyd but he is playing a similar role pretty well for the roos. He has the quickest hands in the league (dead serious) and he is a pretty tough player these days. He has some of the same limitations but he is pretty valuable for them right now.

[Twodogs]

I have enjoyed watching Sammy Power lately. He wouldn't get a game in our side ahead of Cross or Boyd but he is playing a similar role pretty well for the roos. He has the quickest hands in the league (dead serious) and he is a pretty tough player these days. He has some of the same limitations but he is pretty valuable for them right now.



He's got the quickest hands of any player I've seen bar Diesel Williams. Ever.


I understand that Simpson is in doubt for North.

[Sockeye Salmon]

He's got the quickest hands of any player I've seen bar Diesel Williams. Ever.


1/4 of a second, Axe.

[cinder]

Is this week's game a replacement game for home game members?

[Bulldog Revolution]

Will be interesting to see if Thompson is included for North. He has a good record against us and could prove a difficult match-up as has the wood on Lake.

This will be a very interesting selection decision

I think North have actually been pretty clever with the way they've managed him coming off the knee. They've really just given him a spell to work on his conditioning and strength in the hopes it can provide a platform for a good end of season from him.

The logic is sound and now its just up to Thompson to perform.

[The Coon Dog]

Is this week's game a replacement game for home game members?
Yes, it is for admission only, not seating.

[bornadog]

The one thing the doggies can take into this game is confidence that they can beat North. Other than for that errant Johnno kick we all but won. I don't think the boys will take North for granted but I am confident we can beat them.

Dogs by 33 points

[cinder]

Cheers Coon Dog.

[bornadog]

Flexibility the key against Roos: Lake
By Jason Phelan
3:48 PM Thu 07 August, 2008

WESTERN Bulldogs full-back Brian Lake maintains flexibility is the key for the Dogs’ back six as the uncertainty over the make-up of the Kangaroos’ forward set-up continues.

The Bulldogs will be trying to snap a four-game losing run against the Kangaroos at Telstra Dome on Sunday with Lake and his teammates prepared to face an attack that may or may not contain regular full-forward Nathan Thompson.

“You prepare with their best squad in mind and I think that squad has Nathan Thompson in it,” Lake said on Thursday.

“It’s happened before, but I always just focus on the opposition putting out their best side and being ready for a few different blokes; you do a fair bit of research on all of the opposition anyway.

“With Hamish McIntosh going down with his knee, Drew Petrie’s played a bit more in ruck and then chopping and changing with David Hale as a deep forward. They might play tall, they might play small; it’s just a matter of being flexible.”

North Melbourne inflicted the first loss of the Bulldogs’ season in dramatic fashion back in round nine when skipper Brad Johnson barely missed a chance to win the game after the siren.

Lake said the crowded nature of the AFL season meant there was little time to reflect on past games and he doubted whether Johnson had given it much thought in the lead-in to the return bout.

“I hadn’t really thought about that actually. Johnno’s doing alright and to be honest there’s been no mention of that at all,” he said.

“I just remember that we lost last time, fair enough he could have won the game with a goal after the siren, but there were plenty of instances before that where we could have done better.”

Lake said the weekend’s game presented an excellent opportunity to even a ledger that had become uneven of late.

“They’ve had the wood on us over the last couple of years,” Lake said.

“I guess the times we’ve played them they’ve always had milestone games, we’ve had Glenn Archer, Brent Harvey and even this week its Drew Petrie’s 150th, so we are getting them at the wrong time, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

[hujsh]

From the Bulldogs newsletter

" the Bulldogs will now come up against arch nemesis North Melbourne on Sunday."

when'd that happen