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The Coon Dog
11-02-2009, 10:09 PM
NAB Cup – Round 1

Western Bulldogs v Essendon

When: Friday 13 February
Time: 8.30pm
Where: Telstra Dome

A Change of Venue

When the draw originally came out for this game the venue was Darwin; that was until the horrific bushfires that ravaged much of Victoria on Saturday causing untold damage to life & property.

The AFL, Western Bulldogs & Essendon are to commended for agreeing at short notice to transfer the game to Telstra Dome to raise money for the victims of the bushfires.

The most significant effects of the venue change will be a near if not sell out crowd. Both clubs must be salivating at this prospect as it provides them with an all important, albeit unexpected opportunity to sell memberships.

The other factor is both clubs had originally decided to field squads comprising many of their respective younger players, allowing some of the more senior players a rest before the hurly burly of the season proper, particularly in the case of the Bulldogs who travel to Perth in rounds 1 & 4. Players such as Brad Johnson, Nathan Eagleton, Matthew Lloyd & Jobe Watson are now likely to play.


What can we expect?

Honestly, who knows? Last season we saw these 2 meet in the 2nd round of the NAB Cup with Essendon winning convincingly. Fortunately for the Bulldogs that form didn’t transcend into the AFL season where the Bulldogs finished the season as the 3rd best team winning 15 games & a final while Essendon would have been disappointed with finishing with just 8 wins in 12th spot.

One thing we will see is both clubs giving youth a chance to shine on the big stage that is Friday night football, live on TV.


Squads

Western Bulldogs:

1 Jarrad Grant
4 Daniel Cross
5 Matthew Boyd
6 Brad Johnson
7 Shaun Higgins
9 Lindsay Gilbee
10 Nathan Eagleton
13 Daniel Giansiracusa
14 Callan Ward
15 Ben Hudson
16 Ryan Griffen
18 Brennan Stack
20 Josh Hill
22 Dylan Addison
25 Ryan Hargrave
26 Jamason Daniels
27 Will Minson
29 Easton Wood
31 James Mulligan
33 Tim Callan
34 Wayde Skipper
36 Brian Lake
37 Cameron Wight
38 Dale Morris
40 Jarrod Harbrow
41 Henry White
42 Liam Picken
43 John Shaw
44 Paul O'Shea


Essendon:

1 - Neagle, Jay
2 - Dyson, Ricky
3 - Gumbleton, Scott
4 - Watson, Jobe
6 - Monfries, Angus
7 - Jetta, Leroy
10 - McVeigh, Mark
11 - Zaharakis, David
13 - Lovett, Andrew
14 - Lonergan, Sam
15 - Dempsey, Courtenay
17 - Nash, Jay
18 - Lloyd, Matthew
19 - Hille, David
20 - Slattery, Henry
21 - Skipworth, Hayden
24 - Williams, John
26 - Hooker, Cale
30 - Ryder, Patrick
31 - Fletcher, Dustin
33- McPhee, Adam
36 - Slattery, Tyson
38 - Atkinson, Jarrod
39 - Hocking, Heath
41 - Quinn, Michael
42 - Lovett-Murray, Nathan
43 - Houli, Bachar
44 - Bellchambers, Tom
46 - Bock, Christian

The bolded players listed above have yet to make their AFL debuts.


Those missing

The following significant Bulldogs haven’t been selected:

Robert Murphy, Andrejs Everitt, Mitch Hahn, Tom Williams, Adam Cooney
& Jason Akermanis.

The following significant Bombers are missing:

Alwyn Davey, Scott Lucas, Brent Prismall, Kyle Reimers, Brent Stanton, Andrew Welsh & Jason Wunderlich.


Rule Changes

• A free kick will be awarded against the team if one of their players deliberately rushes a behind for the opposition. Interesting to see how this is interpreted.

• A player who retards an opposition player after he has disposed of the ball to stop them moving on to the next passage of play will be penalized.

• Balls hitting the goal post will be worth one point. Previously it was play on if the ball bounced back into play.

• Two of the eight interchange players are to be designated as ‘substitutes’ and can be brought onto the field at any time. The player a substitute replaces can take no further part in the game.


Likely outcome

A fast free flowing game. I think this will be like a game of basketball with play going from one end to the other, with little emphasis on defence. In view of the national TV audience both clubs will look to equip themselves well & consequently a win on Friday night will have much greater significance than if it was just televised on Foxtel from Darwin. Expect both clubs to be much keener to win than a week ago.

What I’m looking forward to

Honestly I’d love to win, but to me it’s not the be all & end all. I’m looking forward to seeing the kids in action. For 12 months we have been awaiting the likes of Grant, Stack & O’Shea to step up & perform on the big stage. Hopefully they won’t suffer from stage fright & perform serviceably.


Who will win?

Hopefully the big winner will be the amount of money raised for the bushfire appeal. After that the Dogs to prevail by 5 goals in a high scoring affair.

LostDoggy
12-02-2009, 10:34 AM
Glad to see we are leaving some talent behind not risking injuries

Hopefully we rest Hudson and/or Johnson while we're at it get those kids out there to shine

Ozza
12-02-2009, 11:03 AM
Good preview TCD. It should be an interesting watch on Friday night.

Will also be interesting to see the ridiculous reaction on Big Footy if we lose like we did last year to Essendon in the NAB Cup!

Bulldog4life
12-02-2009, 11:21 AM
Add to those missing Ryan Griffen, Tiller & Welsh and we have 9 players who would appear to be in our starting 22 not playing.

LostDoggy
12-02-2009, 05:04 PM
What happened to Malcolm Lynch i thought he had really impressed during the pre-season?
Is he injured or just out of favour?

Mantis
12-02-2009, 06:03 PM
What happened to Malcolm Lynch i thought he had really impressed during the pre-season?
Is he injured or just out of favour?

Injured.

He will be back in full training next week. The club are very happy with the way he has gone about his re-hab and the work that he has put in this pre-season.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
12-02-2009, 06:29 PM
Nice write up TCD........

I'm really looking forward to seeing alot of our youngin's get a run, in particular Grant, Stack and Wood.
Normally wouldn't care if we won or lost a NAB cup game, but I'd really like us to win this one.

GVGjr
12-02-2009, 06:36 PM
The questions about the outcome of this game really revolve around how some of our youngsters handle the big stage. With about 7 or 8 of them debuting it typically never quite gels for the side.

I get the feeling that this won't be a free flowing contest and it could be a fairly scrappy affair.

Mantis
12-02-2009, 06:47 PM
I get the feeling that this won't be a free flowing contest and it could be a fairly scrappy affair.

You would think so.

With so many young & inexperienced players in both squads you would think that there will be a fair bit nervous energy flowing, especially if the game draws a sizeable crowd.

It's going to be a really good opportunity to see which of our youngsters remain cool & calm under the pressure of an AFL game and can possibly play a role for the senior this year.

lemmon
12-02-2009, 07:35 PM
I wouldnt be suprised if Essendon get up, if they get the ball in quickly Gumbleton, Lloyd and Negle could be a big headache for a shortish, inexperienced backline. Their midfield have to perform well though to give them enough opportunity, the contested ball will be massive.

Bumper Bulldogs
12-02-2009, 08:13 PM
I still think the Dogs will win and have it wrapped up by 3/4 time.

They should gel well as it looks a lot like the willy side. they faired quite well last year.

The one to watch for me is Skip and Wight, they would have to be keen to impress as one would think they need to get into the side early on this year.

fantastic the dogs are Back.

Mantis
12-02-2009, 08:31 PM
I wouldnt be suprised if Essendon get up, if they get the ball in quickly Gumbleton, Lloyd and Negle could be a big headache for a shortish, inexperienced backline. Their midfield have to perform well though to give them enough opportunity, the contested ball will be massive.

From our squad:

Mulligan - 199cm
Lake - 195cm
O'Shea - 192cm

With back-up from:

Morris - 190cm
Hargrave - 190cm
Wight - 200cm

Yep, 2 of our 'tall' defenders are yet to play a game, but Gumbleton has only played 5 games & Neagle (190cm) has only played 8.

And yes as with all games the midfield battle will be a key.

aker39
13-02-2009, 12:45 PM
Will also be interesting to see the ridiculous reaction on Big Footy if we lose like we did last year to Essendon in the NAB Cup!


Yes, it certainly was embarassing.

One big difference this year - No Lucas, No MCDougall

The Coon Dog
13-02-2009, 01:08 PM
One big difference this year - No Lucas, No MCDougall

That's 2 big differences!

lemmon
13-02-2009, 03:46 PM
From our squad:

Mulligan - 199cm
Lake - 195cm
O'Shea - 192cm

With back-up from:

Morris - 190cm
Hargrave - 190cm
Wight - 200cm

Yep, 2 of our 'tall' defenders are yet to play a game, but Gumbleton has only played 5 games & Neagle (190cm) has only played 8.

And yes as with all games the midfield battle will be a key.

I meant more inexperienced then height. Lake will do the job on Lloyd but Neagle and Gumbleton have big wraps, I would be a little more at ease if we had Tommy down back.

LostDoggy
13-02-2009, 03:50 PM
I dont care if our defence isnt good

Open free flowing high scoring footy tonight please!

LostDoggy
13-02-2009, 05:10 PM
Add to those missing Ryan Griffen, Tiller & Welsh and we have 9 players who would appear to be in our starting 22 not playing.

Hey! Someone stole my "avater" is nothing sacred in this world!! Oh Well.,

Bulldog4life
13-02-2009, 05:20 PM
Hey! Someone stole my "avater" is nothing sacred in this world!! Oh Well.,


I was going to say the same thing seeing as I joined before you.:D

LostDoggy
13-02-2009, 05:20 PM
Looking forward to seeing these guys at senior level.. Henry White, Liam Picken, John Shaw, Paul O'Shea, James Mulligan and Easton Wood watched them last season at Willi and let me tell you they all have what it takes, they just need to step up now.

P.S. Brennan Stack is a gimme!

LostDoggy
13-02-2009, 05:23 PM
I was going to say the same thing seeing as I joined before you.:D

OK, OK I Will change mine as my name does not suit the great man, does anyone have a pic of Shane Loveless?

Sockeye Salmon
13-02-2009, 06:29 PM
Looking forward to seeing these guys at senior level.. Henry White, Liam Picken, John Shaw, Paul O'Shea, James Mulligan and Easton Wood watched them last season at Willi and let me tell you they all have what it takes, they just need to step up now.

P.S. Brennan Stack is a gimme!

I suspect that Mulligan might be one of the two left out.

Only because Eade rattled off the names of the guys who will be playing tonight that hadn't played an AFL game and he left out Mulligan. It could easily have just been an oversight but if Grant, Stack, Wood, Picken, Sahw, White and O'Shea are all playing there's not too many more to leave out.

Bumper Bulldogs
13-02-2009, 07:39 PM
I dont care if our defence isnt good

Open free flowing high scoring footy tonight please!

i would think that with $5,000 a goal we will not be seeing a lot of defencive pressure.

both side to kick 27 plus goals.

Bumper Bulldogs
13-02-2009, 07:42 PM
My thoughts would be that Hudson, Lake and Gia miss out tonight.

Also the thoughts of Twodogs!

Mantis
13-02-2009, 08:03 PM
Also the thoughts of Twodogs!

And we are supposed to take notice of his thoughts why???

hujsh
13-02-2009, 09:15 PM
Grant has looked pretty good apart from his shank at goal.

Eagle's kick in defense was horrible. Better off with a left footed banana than his right foot attempt

ledge
13-02-2009, 09:48 PM
Im impressed with our young guns, must mention Ward, his arms have taken shape his maturity is awesome and he still has a little kids face!
Grant? How good does he look? Betting Eade has him practising his kicking because he looks the goods.
I like Wood too.

hujsh
13-02-2009, 09:50 PM
Higgins is looking pretty good as a mid too.

ledge
13-02-2009, 09:57 PM
Harbrow... a lot of great signs.
Even Skipper is getting a kick, Hudson started well too.
Think the biggest thing to come out of this is we have a kid with that abillity to take a good mark to help out Johnno in the forward line (Grant)
Wight? mmmm

G-Mo77
13-02-2009, 10:05 PM
Wight? mmmm

I've defended Wight a lot since the season ended, mmmm echos my thoughts. Hopefully he can have a better second half.

Grant looks very lively, pretty gutsy too with that mark attempt in the first that almost took his head off. Loved the chase down tackle!

G-Mo77
13-02-2009, 11:14 PM
No matter what the game is I don't like seeing them lose. :mad:

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
13-02-2009, 11:16 PM
Damn!! we almost snatched that. I'm normally not too disappointed after a NAB game loss, but I'm pretty annoyed we couldn't get that one.
In the end we shot ourselves in the foot (yet again) with poor converting in key situations.
Guido, Johnno, Grant, all missed relatively easy chances.
Not too mention our inexperienced guys made some expected poor decisions, disposal or positioning, which led to crucial turnovers.
Of our kids tonight, I thought Grant showed good smarts and good hands. However I hope our coaching staff are looking to improve his runup when kicking for goal.
I thought Easton Wood showed some good dash and desire.
Callan Ward looks set for a good year. I really think he has a great physique already for one so young.
O'Shea is still very very raw, but has alot of courage. Not sure if that alone is going to see him make it though.
Picken also has great desire, but I'm not sold on his skill level, same with Daniels.
Stack certainly has the physique and athletic ability, just needs to be able to get involved more.
Harbrow looks set to build on last season, and continues to show excellent promise. Looks to have a stronger frame this year as well.
Higgins, looks impressive.

I'm very disappointed with Wight tonight. Given he's only just holding onto a spot on our list due to having a year left on his contract, I really thought tonight was a big chance for him to show how much he wants to remain an AFL player. Unfortunately his skills, poor positioning and decisions tonight haven't done anything to reassure me he has the ability to demand a spot. I really hope he can turn it around, as I'd love to see him make it.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
13-02-2009, 11:19 PM
I also have to add I thought Wayde Skipper acquitted himself alright tonight... with the exception of his kick out of defense in the last couple of minutes.

LostDoggy
13-02-2009, 11:20 PM
Although it was just NAB Cup, I found myself screaming at the t.v. Footys back! Oh hang on.... yeah in like a month now. Damn.

Well, if thats the best Essendon can do with their mostly senior player team against out kids...

By the way, why is Lovett playing? i thought he was suspended for massive anger problems? Too bad he was actually alright tonight.

Now, Jarred Grant, mm yes I was impressed that he can actually take a mark, and his misses at goal were forgivable today.
Harbrow, still good.
Josh Hill.....lazy.
Skips, not bad. He wasn't entirely crap, in fact he impressed me a little bit.
Wight, erm.... well, we all saw him play... at this stage, afl is not looking like his career..
Higgins- Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, yes he is nice to watch. So smooth and skilfull and nice looking...erm I mean, good disposal skills!
Johnno- still going strong!

Dale Morris was fantastic I thought!

LostDoggy
13-02-2009, 11:22 PM
Damn, I hate losing.

alwaysadog
14-02-2009, 01:06 AM
I can't recall a time when we have ever played so many kids for the first time. That's the real positive to come out of tonight.
Liked the game of Easton Wood, not too far off the pace, backs himself and trying to make something happen.
Jarrad Grant looks a player and nearly ready for the big time. He should have learnt a lot tonight about what he can do at that level and what he has to improve. Looks like he might just live up to some of the hype around him.
Stack deserves another try but he didn't do enough tonight to have staked a claim.
All the rest of the debutants had a real go but apart from Picken who I find hard to judge on that performance, as he had a lock down role tonight, seemed worth persevering but far too raw. None were disgraced.

Remi Moses
14-02-2009, 01:26 AM
Looks like the Bombres have the NAB cup wood on us:p:pPlaying at collusion park next week against the loser of Brisbane v stkilda

LostDoggy
14-02-2009, 01:34 AM
Who was missing out of the bombers line up? Considering we had, Griffin, Murphy, Cooney, Welsh, Aker and Hahn (I think) not playing, I think we did quite well against what seemed to me to be a nearly full strength Essendon.

GVGjr
14-02-2009, 07:37 AM
Who was missing out of the bombers line up? Considering we had, Griffin, Murphy, Cooney, Welsh, Aker and Hahn (I think) not playing, I think we did quite well against what seemed to me to be a nearly full strength Essendon.

We did have a number of our better players out but on paper we still should have won it. From a playing perspective, we made a number of errors like missed tackles and we even had senior guys like Gilbee, Giansiracusa and Lake turn the ball over with skill errors so we have plenty of work to do.

Sockeye Salmon
14-02-2009, 08:25 AM
Who was missing out of the bombers line up? Considering we had, Griffin, Murphy, Cooney, Welsh, Aker and Hahn (I think) not playing, I think we did quite well against what seemed to me to be a nearly full strength Essendon.

Williams, Everitt