Player Managers - Round #1

[GVGjr]

Ryan Hargrave - Had a very good game and used his pace and long kicking to great effect. This proved to be invaluable for the side as he set up a lot of play from the half back flank. He did make a few skill errors but he still had a significant impact on the game.

One of the better performers for the night.

His statistics were.
Kicks 18 - Handballs 9 - Marks 8 and Tackles 3.

[The Coon Dog]

Brian Lake

Kicks - 11
Handballs - 8
Marks -10

I thought Brian was better than average tonight. Wasn't outstanding by any means, but backed himself & went for his marks, which is his forte'.

Hard to tell watching on TV who he was opposed to, but I felt he was on McPharlin in the 3rd term & was led to the ball too often for my liking.

Still a worry when he looks sideways, a sure sign he's not going to go down the line, but fortunately no brain fades today.

Forgot to mention his smother late in the 3rd term when Freo were on the charge. It ultimately ended up with a goal to Gia as we moved it forward with precision kicking & handball. Possibly a 2 goal turn around.

[GVGjr]

Brian Lake

I thought Brian was better than average tonight. Wasn't outstanding by any means, but backed himself & went for his marks, which is his forte'.


Excellent point. He was very positive and really tried to keep running and creating some play. I had him in the better players.

[The Underdog]

Brian Lake

Kicks - 11
Handballs - 8
Marks -10

I thought Brian was better than average tonight. Wasn't outstanding by any means, but backed himself & went for his marks, which is his forte'.

Hard to tell watching on TV who he was opposed to, but I felt he was on McPharlin in the 3rd term & was led to the ball too often for my liking.

Still a worry when he looks sideways, a sure sign he's not going to go down the line, but fortunately no brain fades today.

Thought he was very solid and his ball use was pretty good. Had him just outside the votes but definitely in the bests.

[Mantis]

Ben Hudson

Kicks: 2
Handballs: 14
Hit-outs: 11

I thought he was pretty good. The umps obviously listened to the bitching and moaning this week from the Freo camp and gave Aaron Sandipants a free ride, but Ben battled on manfully. His work on the bottom of the pack was great, as was his willingness to get involved in our running game.

Needs to do something about the bum fluff on his chin.:)

[LostDoggy]

Brian Lake
Hard to tell watching on TV who he was opposed to, but I felt he was on McPharlin in the 3rd term & was led to the ball too often for my liking.


Yes it is hard to tell from the TV always.
Love to hear from people that were there.
Maybe Jerry can say?

[LostDoggy]

Ben Hudson
Needs to do something about the bum fluff on his chin.:)

Maybe it was a tactic as he was more 'Ogre' than Sandilands?
Fair dinkum its ugly!

[The Coon Dog]

Ben Hudson


Ben battled on manfully. His work on the bottom of the pack was great, as was his willingness to get involved in our running game.


I too thought he was terrific Mantis & as you say really scrapped when the ball hit the deck. It's like an additional midfielder in & under with Huddo.

[wb_age]

Shaun Higgens
What can I say, this kid is a gem. Played the season opener just like he had trained the house down all pre-season, wasn't brilliant but certainly solid and adds another dimension to an already formidable midfield. Got plenty of the ball, kicked a couple and got through the game with no injury concerns.

Kicks 10 Handballs 19 Goals 2
Supercoach rating of 141

[BulldogBelle]

Daniel Cross - As per usual threw himself into everything earned himself a couple of free kicks and I was absolutely rapt to see him kick a goal, I don't know about you lot but watching him tonight he seemed more at ease with his kicking and backing himself in. Love the kid.

His statistics were -

Kicks 11 - Handballs 18 - Marks 3 and Tackles 3 & 1 goal.
SC Score: 103
DT Score: 99

[soupman]

Shaun Higgens
If you're going to be his manager, can you please make sure you spell his name correctly. It's Higgins, not Higgens.


Well I had Tommygun, who came into the side as a late replacement for Robert Murphy. Seemed to spend most of the match in defence, on a combination of players (hard to tell on the TV).

Often led his man to the ball and frequently looked to get it moving as fast as possible, And the best news; was that he didn't appear injured.

Here are his stats:
6 kicks, 5 handballs, 6 marks, 1 tackle.

Apparently all his possesions were effective.

[wb_age]

If you're going to be his manager, can you please make sure you spell his name correctly. It's Higgins, not Higgens.
.
ha! My bad, i can justify it though.

After the game i've been having a read through all the posts about the game, I particularly took notice of the way #1dogsfan had been spelling Higgins incorrectly and found it amusing, so much so that it was fresh in my mind when i typed that.

[Scraggers]

Ben Hudson

Kicks: 2
Handballs: 14
Hit-outs: 11

I thought he was pretty good. The umps obviously listened to the bitching and moaning this week from the Freo camp and gave Aaron Sandipants a free ride, but Ben battled on manfully. His work on the bottom of the pack was great, as was his willingness to get involved in our running game.

Needs to do something about the bum fluff on his chin.:)

You're right Mantis ... Hudson did have a good one. What relly impressed me about him today was his ability to work off Sandilands in the stoppages ... there were numerous occasions where he left Sadilands flat footed and as has been said became another midfielder

[Scraggers]

Adam Cooney

Kicks :- 7
Handballs :- 13
Marks :- 0
Goals :- 1
(and one hitout apparently ... although I didn't see it)

Not your usual Cooney game with a meagre 20 disposals, but considering his preseason (and how much game time he had) a pretty good result. Cooney had explosive pace out of the centre and combined well with Griffen on a number of occasions to set up goals.

To use old football vernacular ... He will be better for the run !!

[Mantis]

You're right Mantis ... Hudson did have a good one. What relly impressed me about him today was his ability to work off Sandilands in the stoppages ... there were numerous occasions where he left Sandilands flat footed and as has been said became another midfielder

I thought Minson also did this well, especially in the first qtr. We all know Will's kicking isn't the best, but he showed a willingness to run off Sandilands which was great.

[Bulldog Revolution]

You're right Mantis ... Hudson did have a good one. What relly impressed me about him today was his ability to work off Sandilands in the stoppages ... there were numerous occasions where he left Sadilands flat footed and as has been said became another midfielder

I also thought Hudson was very good, as Sandilands presents such an ominous matchup challenge for anyone.

Huddo was constantly feeding the ball off to his runners and drawing our midfielders into the game if they were prepared to run and receive. He's talked about not wanting his season to drop away in 09 and he certainly ran the game out nicely.

[bornadog]

Robert Murphy

Could be out another 3 weeks depending on how the thigh is strengthening up. Fitness is not an issue but just have to be monitored over the next few weeks at training to see how he pulls up.

[The Coon Dog]

Robert Murphy

Could be out another 3 weeks depending on how the thigh is strengthening up. Fitness is not an issue but just have to be monitored over the next few weeks at training to see how he pulls up.

Pretty poor report there bornadog. ;)

How was his singing after the game? How did he come across in his interview at half time. Did he look the part???

[Dazza]

Will Minson -

stats- Kicks 4, H/balls 7, Marks 2, Hitouts 7

Thought it was a pretty average game by Minno without being good or bad. Gave away a couple silly free kicks but thought overall he played his part. Particuarly some of his ruckwork. Loved that fisted ball to Cross in the 3rd quarter(?). Solid without being great.

[LostDoggy]

Dale Morris

Picked up where he left off last season and didn't miss a beat. Stayed pretty much at home for this game and took either Pavlich or McPharlin (?). As TCD said, it is hard to tell from TV coverage as the cameras just follow the ball around. Addison's goal in the first quarter can be tracked back to Morris' work in the backline where he beat his opponent to the ball. Mr Reliable and played his usual dedicated game.

Stats:

Kicks - 3; Handballs - 14; Marks - 3; Tackles - 3
Apparently 94% of his disposals were effective, second behind Tom Williams with 100%. Sounds impressive anyway.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Lindsay Gilbee

A fairly good performance from Gilbee, especially early, but his kicking was unusually poor (by his standards).

21 kicks, 12 handballs, 3 goals is a good return. When it's Gilbee you would expect that would mean a clear BOG because his kicking is so damaging; but he actually only managed 61% efficency and 5 clangers, including 2 OOF.

He spent a fair amount of time up forward in the 3rd quarter which surprised me and meant that he went missing in action for a while.

I can't tell you who he was matched up on because off the TV it's too hard to tell.

[LostDoggy]

Josh Hill
7 Kicks 10 Handballs 7 Marks 2 Behinds
Interesting game to say the least. Came out and started off very well. Plenty of confidence, and silky ball skils in first quarter (Missed 2nd qtr). Bit too 'showboaty' in the goal square in the last quarter but followed that up with nice turnover mark..good defensive work throughout the day especially when we were under the pump in the 3rd qtr, looking forward to his game the rest of the year

[Scraggers]

Dale Morris

Picked up where he left off last season and didn't miss a beat. Stayed pretty much at home for this game and took either Pavlich or McPharlin (?). As TCD said, it is hard to tell from TV coverage as the cameras just follow the ball around. Addison's goal in the first quarter can be tracked back to Morris' work in the backline where he beat his opponent to the ball. Mr Reliable and played his usual dedicated game.

Stats:

Kicks - 3; Handballs - 14; Marks - 3; Tackles - 3
Apparently 94% of his disposals were effective, second behind Tom Williams with 100%. Sounds impressive anyway.

Spot on MsBulldog ... Morris' game was sensational. His work off the ball was just as impressive as when he had the pill in his hands. Very focussed player

[Bulldog Revolution]

Matt Boyd

33 disposals
21 handballs
12 kicks
5 marks
1 goal
3 goal assists
7 clearances

It's a good time to be Matty Boyds player manager as he is looking the consensus Marmo BOG from Freo clash.

His performance reminded me of what Rocket had commented in the Bulldog Magazine: "He's had a sensational pre-season as one of the leaders of the pack. The program this year has been different and I have no doubt that Matthew has gone to another level as a physical specimen. We're expecting his football to go to another level this year as well."

He really did everything we'd want him to do, won the ball in tight, scrapped, tackled, got clearances, and was clean with his hands. He even took a nice overhead grab, set up some goals and kicked one himself. A very polished performance from one of our engine room.

[Rocket Science]

CALLAN WARD - Round One vs Fremantle Dockers

Match Statistics:
- 18 Disposals (9 kicks - 9 handballs), with 67% effectiveness (ranked 17th amongst the chosen 22)
- 9 Contested possessions (2nd only to Matt Boyd)
- 1 Mark (uncontested)
- 3 Tackles
- 2 Clearances
- 3 Inside-50's
- 2 Rebound-50's
- 1 Goal Assist
- Won a game-high 5 free kicks for, with 1 free kick against.

Match Review:
Deployed in a midfield role and endured a patchy first half in just his 7th guernsey at senior level, which he may have been fortunate to acquire given increased competition for senior spots and his documented attitudinal issues over the off-season.

Ward's endeavour can rarely be faulted but his timing and more particularly his peripheral awareness appeared 'off' early, attracting undue pressure through indecision, holding onto the ball for too long, or being unaware of oncoming pressure, often resulting in sloppy, rushed disposal, and in general he experienced modest involvement before the main break.

However Ward rebounded more positively in the second half...continued to scrap in tight but began to play more 'heads-up' football, hitting gaps in traffic with greater timeliness, and was both more urgent and cleaner with his disposal, as well as finding more outside opportunities as his club gained the ascendency with the possession count and on the scoreboard.

Ward appears adept at both the outside and inside game, and a sturdier frame along with his courage and appetite for the contest will invariably improve his effectiveness at the latter. There are shades of Joel Selwood for mine. Ward's skills aren't elite but are certainly above average, and he isn't the sleekest of movers but with added polish and confidence projects as a valuable and highly effective midfield cog who can exert influence both with and without the pill.

[Go_Dogs]

Daniel Giansiracusa:

Don't have the stats on hand, but will edit later.

Giansiracusa played one of his better games for recent years. He was all over the place, winning the ball and using it well. The highlight of the game for me however was his defensive efforts. He finished with something like 8 tackles for the game, which was a fantastic effort. Good to see him spend more significant time in the middle (that's at least how it appeared to me - I was watching a live stream on my computer, so the quality was not fantastic at all times).

Gia is one of the blokes that we really need this kind of consistent effort from. He's fit, a good ball user and decision maker, plus he's tough and can kick a goal or two.

At a few times he lacked the pace to really put the pressure on the opposition, and made a few disposal errors throughout the night. And that's me being picky.

A really strong game from Gia, hopefully it continues.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Ryan Griffen

Griff was electrifying in the first quarter, almost singlehandedly getting us back in the contest after we were jumped early by Freo.
His run, precision, awareness and finishing was a joy to watch, and it looked as if he had set the stage for a huge game.

Whilst he maintained a high work rate for the 4Qtrs, he was unable to effectively shake Crowley's tag after the first quarter.
Surprisingly he only had an effective disposal rate of 70%. 9th best on the day

I look forward to seeing Griff putting together an even 4 Quarter performance regularly and take the stage as one of the Premier midfielders in the game, as one who is blessed with as much talent as Ryan has should be.

Stats:

Kicks: 11
Handballs: 12
Marks:6
Tackles:0
FreeF: 1
FreeA: 1
Running bounces: 7 (Game high)
Goals: 3

[lemmon]

Ill have Everitts in soon, want to watch the game before i make any judgements though.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Matt Boyd

33 disposals
21 handballs
12 kicks
5 marks
1 goal
3 goal assists
7 clearances

It's a good time to be Matty Boyds player manager as he is looking the consensus Marmo BOG from Freo clash.

His performance reminded me of what Rocket had commented in the Bulldog Magazine: "He's had a sensational pre-season as one of the leaders of the pack. The program this year has been different and I have no doubt that Matthew has gone to another level as a physical specimen. We're expecting his football to go to another level this year as well."

He really did everything we'd want him to do, won the ball in tight, scrapped, tackled, got clearances, and was clean with his hands. He even took a nice overhead grab, set up some goals and kicked one himself. A very polished performance from one of our engine room.


I think Boydy's performance was close to his best ever. He looks to have improved another 5%. Specifically I loved the way he consistently made quick fire decisions, often NOT handballing to the first option but changing his mind, was very Scott West like in the way he scanned his options and then took the best one, all in the blink of an eye.

[ledge]

Well i took Rodney Eade, didnt get into the game in a physical sense with no kicks, handballs or marks but certainly was a great leader and showed experience and poise in the way he selected the right players and lead from the front.
In all i would have given him 9 out of 10 for this game.

[LostDoggy]

I was at the game and thought that Callan Ward's game was very good. He stood out to me with his clean possesions in traffic and his willingness to get in and get the hard ball. I wasnt looking out for him and he definitely was one who caught my eye.

Harris played a lot of the time as the spare man in defence but also followed Pavlich around a bit when Morris had peeled off. Having Williams and Everitt in the team just gives us so much more flexibility and options down back. Harris playing as a free man or on a less dangerous forward really is great as he drops back and takes marks / cuts off plays very well.

[LostDoggy]

Mitch Hahn

Kicked 5 goals and...excuse me the phone's ringing....

"Hello.......Get F$%&#$* Scot.

No..... he doesn't want to talk."

[LostDoggy]

I was at the game down the Subiaco end (Freo's goals in the 1st and 3rd term). From my recollections, Brian played predominently on Grover, Everitt was playing on McPharlin in the Third when they got a bit of a run on, I thought Williams went to him after he scored two quick goals.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I think Boydy's performance was close to his best ever. He looks to have improved another 5%. Specifically I loved the way he consistently made quick fire decisions, often NOT handballing to the first option but changing his mind, was very Scott West like in the way he scanned his options and then took the best one, all in the blink of an eye.

He was very, very good

I am hoping in 2009 that he can reach a consistently high level influence of output similar to that of Joel Corey from Geelong.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I think Boydy's performance was close to his best ever. He looks to have improved another 5%. Specifically I loved the way he consistently made quick fire decisions, often NOT handballing to the first option but changing his mind, was very Scott West like in the way he scanned his options and then took the best one, all in the blink of an eye.

He was very, very good YHF

I am hoping in 2009 that he can reach a consistently high level influence of output similar to that of Joel Corey from Geelong.

[hujsh]

Akermanis

Not his most explosive match. He wasn't sighted too often early but when he did get the ball he appeared to use it well. He was used once or twice in the midfield but as usual he mainly played up forward. With his interrupted pre-season his game wasn't too bad and should continue to improve. A candidate to be rested this week depending on how he pulls up.

18 possies
4 tackles
2 goals

[lemmon]

Everitt:

A tough game to rate from Everitt, did some nice things but let himself down on a few occasions as well. Played predominantly in the back half but also played on a wing. Hard to tell from the TV but he seemed to be matched up on Ryan Murphy and he did a good job but let Mcpharlin get away from him in the 3rd quater and was moved into the midfield.
His run and dash was on display on a few occasions but too often he let himself down when choosing the wrong option whether it be by hand or foot.
Experience will be the best thing for him IMO as on a few occasions he went when he should have been tight on his opponent and let him slip away, this is not a necessarily bad sign IMO as it shows he has the confidence to run and attack the footy.
I would give him a 6/10, the signs were good but there is still vast improvement there.

Stats:
8 kicks
9 handballs
17 disposals
4 marks
1 tackle
0.1 score

[azabob]

He was very, very good

I am hoping in 2009 that he can reach a consistently high level influence of output similar to that of Joel Corey from Geelong.

With Boyd finishing 3rd in the best and fairest would indicate to me he reached that level last year.

[Bulldog Revolution]

[/B]

With Boyd finishing 3rd in the best and fairest would indicate to me he reached that level last year.

That's perhaps a fair call,

I guess like a few others though I wonder how much he perhaps dropped away as the year went on.