Swoop
30-12-2008, 04:19 PM
After a disappointing end to the 2007 season that promised so much the Western Bulldogs highlighted 3 key areas in order to improve on the playing field. As a club they targeted;
A small defensive backman, someone who could play a purely defensive role on the elusive small forwards.
A big bodied ruckman, someone who could compete both at centre bounces as well as around the grounds in order to improve stoppages and also nullify opposition ruckmen.
A goal kicking forward, someone who is capable of kicking multiple goals on quality defenders in order to alleviate the pressure placed on Brad Johnson. The player would provide an alternate avenue to goals allowing for a greater shared workload and therefore being less predictable going forward.
After acknowledging their needs the club was pro-active in searching for players who could successfully fulfil the roles required. Unfortunately goal kicking forwards are a rare commodity and the club was very keen to pursue quality despite size as opposed to size despite quality as they’ve been guilty of in the past. Russell Robertson headed the short list as a player who met all the criteria as well as someone who appeared to be a realistic target as he was out of contract. Despite discussions with Robertson nothing eventuated and the focus eventually moved onto Adelaide’s 4-time leading goal kicker Scott Welsh. The Bulldogs were able to capitalise on Adelaide’s youth policy, while Adelaide refused to offer anything longer than a 1-year contract the Bulldogs were able obtain the services of both Hudson & Welsh by offering longer-term security.
Opinions are varied on Scott Welshs first season at the Western Bulldogs and depending on who you speak with opinions vary further regarding his upcoming second season.
I thought I would provide an in depth review on his season and open to discuss his role if any in the side for 2009.
Scott Welsh is very much a product of delivery, if you give him the ball than more than likely he will kick goals. For the first time in his career however he was asked to play a number of varying roles opposed to what he is used to which is lead, mark & kick goal. Immediately by coming to the Bulldogs he went from attracting the 2nd – 3rd best defender to many times attracting the likes of Rutten, Glass, Barry & Scarlett. However some of the very matches where he attracted the best defenders were the same matches he was asked to sacrifice his game for the team. He was asked to lead up the ground in order to move his opponent out of inside 50, he was asked to play decoy to allow players like Johnson, Murphy & Hahn to wreck havoc on their lesser opponents and finally he allowed players like Murphy, Johnson & Hahn to have lesser opponents simply by playing and drawing the better defender. While many armchair critics would look at these games and argue that his influence and contribution to the match was minimal from a coaching perspective the role he played was invaluable by taking a strong presence out of the offensive hot spot and freeing up space for his teammates. Lance Franklin displayed another example of this role on Grand Final day, while Scarlett had the better of the duel he still attracted the best defender and by playing his role he allowed his teammates do the damage for the greater good of the side.
Another aspect that you don’t truly appreciate until you watch him was his defensive pressure and it was evident to see it was an aspect of his game that he really worked on. It was always noticeable that whenever the opposition were running the ball out of defence he made an effort to chase and pressure regardless of how realistic he was of chasing them down. Besides Harbrow he really set the standard in regards to endeavour in chasing and it’s no doubt it is something the match committee had discussed with him.
Having said all of this, he still managed to kick 43 goals for the season from 24 games. If you were to look at the 2008 season and judge the sides best game based purely on ball use and skill execution than the Hawthorn game in Launceston certainly stands out and it’s no coincidence to see Welsh on the goal kickers list that day with 5 majors. Although at times throughout the season his accuracy may have deserted him he certainly still possesses all the weapons required to hurt opposition sides on the scoreboard.
While many critics would argue that his impact would lessen next season there are many reasons for us to believe he will continue to maintain his form if not improve further. Certainly an injury free & fit Brad Johnson would attract a lot more attention and free Welsh up and with the likes of Griffen & Higgins to improve their output through the midfield it would appear the quality of delivery should also benefit Welsh further.
Having focussed on the positives he brings to the team, like all of us he also has weaknesses & flaws. His major flaw seems to be the lack of positions he can play, despite Eade using Welsh as a loose man in defence at different times throughout the season he essentially is a forward and if he is struggling on any given day there aren’t too many other roles you can give him to work his way into a match. Eade loves versatility and that unfortunately is one thing that Welsh does not posses. Consistency would also seem to be another weakness in his game, while one week he can come out with an impressive display, he is just as likely to come out the next week and have minimal impact on the game. As stated previously there were many games where his role was sacrificed in order to draw his opponent away but there were also many games where he was a focal point and struggled to influence games. It is probably no coincidence that in the second half of the season when the side struggled he also appeared to struggle for form.
While many detractors look at the Geelong preliminary final as evidence to suggest that Welsh wasn’t up to it especially in a finals game, it does need to be highlighted that it was a tough low scoring finals affair. Geelong as a winning side only managed 12 goals of which their full forward & centre half forward only managed 1 goal each. While Welsh didn’t trouble the scoreboard neither did Murphy or Hahn and Johnson only added 1 for the night and they didn’t have Scarlett hanging off their arm.
In time I will add my review on both Hudson & Callans seasons as well. Please feel free to add your comments or thoughts on Scott Welsh, was his drafting a success? How will his 2009 season play out?
A small defensive backman, someone who could play a purely defensive role on the elusive small forwards.
A big bodied ruckman, someone who could compete both at centre bounces as well as around the grounds in order to improve stoppages and also nullify opposition ruckmen.
A goal kicking forward, someone who is capable of kicking multiple goals on quality defenders in order to alleviate the pressure placed on Brad Johnson. The player would provide an alternate avenue to goals allowing for a greater shared workload and therefore being less predictable going forward.
After acknowledging their needs the club was pro-active in searching for players who could successfully fulfil the roles required. Unfortunately goal kicking forwards are a rare commodity and the club was very keen to pursue quality despite size as opposed to size despite quality as they’ve been guilty of in the past. Russell Robertson headed the short list as a player who met all the criteria as well as someone who appeared to be a realistic target as he was out of contract. Despite discussions with Robertson nothing eventuated and the focus eventually moved onto Adelaide’s 4-time leading goal kicker Scott Welsh. The Bulldogs were able to capitalise on Adelaide’s youth policy, while Adelaide refused to offer anything longer than a 1-year contract the Bulldogs were able obtain the services of both Hudson & Welsh by offering longer-term security.
Opinions are varied on Scott Welshs first season at the Western Bulldogs and depending on who you speak with opinions vary further regarding his upcoming second season.
I thought I would provide an in depth review on his season and open to discuss his role if any in the side for 2009.
Scott Welsh is very much a product of delivery, if you give him the ball than more than likely he will kick goals. For the first time in his career however he was asked to play a number of varying roles opposed to what he is used to which is lead, mark & kick goal. Immediately by coming to the Bulldogs he went from attracting the 2nd – 3rd best defender to many times attracting the likes of Rutten, Glass, Barry & Scarlett. However some of the very matches where he attracted the best defenders were the same matches he was asked to sacrifice his game for the team. He was asked to lead up the ground in order to move his opponent out of inside 50, he was asked to play decoy to allow players like Johnson, Murphy & Hahn to wreck havoc on their lesser opponents and finally he allowed players like Murphy, Johnson & Hahn to have lesser opponents simply by playing and drawing the better defender. While many armchair critics would look at these games and argue that his influence and contribution to the match was minimal from a coaching perspective the role he played was invaluable by taking a strong presence out of the offensive hot spot and freeing up space for his teammates. Lance Franklin displayed another example of this role on Grand Final day, while Scarlett had the better of the duel he still attracted the best defender and by playing his role he allowed his teammates do the damage for the greater good of the side.
Another aspect that you don’t truly appreciate until you watch him was his defensive pressure and it was evident to see it was an aspect of his game that he really worked on. It was always noticeable that whenever the opposition were running the ball out of defence he made an effort to chase and pressure regardless of how realistic he was of chasing them down. Besides Harbrow he really set the standard in regards to endeavour in chasing and it’s no doubt it is something the match committee had discussed with him.
Having said all of this, he still managed to kick 43 goals for the season from 24 games. If you were to look at the 2008 season and judge the sides best game based purely on ball use and skill execution than the Hawthorn game in Launceston certainly stands out and it’s no coincidence to see Welsh on the goal kickers list that day with 5 majors. Although at times throughout the season his accuracy may have deserted him he certainly still possesses all the weapons required to hurt opposition sides on the scoreboard.
While many critics would argue that his impact would lessen next season there are many reasons for us to believe he will continue to maintain his form if not improve further. Certainly an injury free & fit Brad Johnson would attract a lot more attention and free Welsh up and with the likes of Griffen & Higgins to improve their output through the midfield it would appear the quality of delivery should also benefit Welsh further.
Having focussed on the positives he brings to the team, like all of us he also has weaknesses & flaws. His major flaw seems to be the lack of positions he can play, despite Eade using Welsh as a loose man in defence at different times throughout the season he essentially is a forward and if he is struggling on any given day there aren’t too many other roles you can give him to work his way into a match. Eade loves versatility and that unfortunately is one thing that Welsh does not posses. Consistency would also seem to be another weakness in his game, while one week he can come out with an impressive display, he is just as likely to come out the next week and have minimal impact on the game. As stated previously there were many games where his role was sacrificed in order to draw his opponent away but there were also many games where he was a focal point and struggled to influence games. It is probably no coincidence that in the second half of the season when the side struggled he also appeared to struggle for form.
While many detractors look at the Geelong preliminary final as evidence to suggest that Welsh wasn’t up to it especially in a finals game, it does need to be highlighted that it was a tough low scoring finals affair. Geelong as a winning side only managed 12 goals of which their full forward & centre half forward only managed 1 goal each. While Welsh didn’t trouble the scoreboard neither did Murphy or Hahn and Johnson only added 1 for the night and they didn’t have Scarlett hanging off their arm.
In time I will add my review on both Hudson & Callans seasons as well. Please feel free to add your comments or thoughts on Scott Welsh, was his drafting a success? How will his 2009 season play out?