Physical Bulldogs

[NoParkingOnMatchDays]

I feel very warm and fuzzy. Not because my wife made me a hot Milo with marshmallows whilst letting me watch On the Couch on the good telly - but has anyone started to notice that people are referring to the Bulldogs bigger bodies and stronger attack on the ball.

Laidley mentioned it in his presso yesterday. Posters on other sites are using our physical presence as factors in our 2 wins so far. The papers have also mentioned it as part of some articles.

It's been a long long while coming but our lads are finally growing up. I really think it's all part of the professionalism put in place a few years ago down there that is finally starting to have an effect. I remember it was only a few years ago that the players didn't understand the effect diet could have on a strength building program or on recovery for that matter. Anyway enough of my sugar enduced euphoria - bring on those weedy, sickly looking tigers.

By the way if you are allowed to watch On the Couch on the good telly with a stomach full of warm Milo make sure you record it as you won't last to the first ad before your head droops and you wake up with brown dribble all down the front of your shirt.

[LostDoggy]

I feel very warm and fuzzy. Not because my wife made me a hot Milo with marshmallows whilst letting me watch On the Couch on the good telly - but has anyone started to notice that people are referring to the Bulldogs bigger bodies and stronger attack on the ball.

Laidley mentioned it in his presso yesterday. Posters on other sites are using our physical presence as factors in our 2 wins so far. The papers have also mentioned it as part of some articles.

It's been a long long while coming but our lads are finally growing up. I really think it's all part of the professionalism put in place a few years ago down there that is finally starting to have an effect. I remember it was only a few years ago that the players didn't understand the effect diet could have on a strength building program or on recovery for that matter. Anyway enough of my sugar enduced euphoria - bring on those weedy, sickly looking tigers.

By the way if you are allowed to watch On the Couch on the good telly with a stomach full of warm Milo make sure you record it as you won't last to the first ad before your head droops and you wake up with brown dribble all down the front of your shirt.

Letting you watch on the good telly and Milo too? Your Mrs is a Saint - allow me to introduce her to my Mrs

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. I cannot remember when we were such a strong bodied side. Seems like forever we have had a team full of skinnies who have been brushed aside by teams like WC and the Coneheads from Adelaide.

In my view, this feature is a mandatory requirement of teams to do well in September and I applaud the people responsible for getting us into this position.

[bornadog]

Do you think this is all due to appointing Fantasia who has brought in the professionalism to coincide with the MIssion Elite training centre.

[Go_Dogs]

Do you think this is all due to appointing Fantasia who has brought in the professionalism to coincide with the MIssion Elite training centre.

It's a combination of things. Our recruiting has seen us look to more bigger bodied players, which has been successful. We had a young list, and after a few years in the system they are starting to see the results. We're still a hard running side, but now we're powerful and strong enough to mix it with the more experienced sides.

Falloon really got us looking bigger last year, and that is why Port chased him.

Not sure how much I would put down to Fantasia, as I think our professionalism as a whole stepped up vastly with Rocket arriving. Fantasia's appointment is just another step in that direction.

[LostDoggy]

Like i said in the maturity thread, Bill Davoren has a lot to do with our physical condition.

Since coming to the club, he has taken the group to another level.

[Cyberdoggie]

It's a combination of things. Our recruiting has seen us look to more bigger bodied players, which has been successful. We had a young list, and after a few years in the system they are starting to see the results. We're still a hard running side, but now we're powerful and strong enough to mix it with the more experienced sides.

Falloon really got us looking bigger last year, and that is why Port chased him.

Not sure how much I would put down to Fantasia, as I think our professionalism as a whole stepped up vastly with Rocket arriving. Fantasia's appointment is just another step in that direction.

I'm not sure Falloon should get all the credit here, in my opinion it's not hard to get players bigger. To get them bigger, stronger, and FITTER, is the tricky part.

Our game is such a demanding sport, you need strength and size but you can't compromise on speed and endurance.

I think Davoren has taken us a leap further than Falloon did. We really dropped off last year with fitness and the younger boys didn't look to build any size at all. Grant had most of last season off and didn't put on any size until Davoren got there. Bouman, Mulligan and O'keefe just put on puppy fat and didn't look fit at all. Henry White was a rake, he's actually starting to look like he has some muscle now, even though he is still under 80kg's.
Callan Ward was pencil thin and over this pre-season has turned into a man.
Griffen had such a low endurance he could only last short bursts and then he was spent. We've already seen how much fitter he is this year. If he can run a whole game he will be unstoppable.
Aker looks for the first time to be in good condition at the start of the year. First year with us he was too thin and lost his power. Last year he put the weight back on but didn't have the fitness and we overloaded him like many in the list. This year I think we may of got the balance right, despite the calf injury.

I totally agree with the professionalism in the club in recent years though. Each year we are improving off the field and that is reflecting in our performances. There were a couple of hiccups "2007" but i think it was 1 step back for 2 steps forward.

The sport science aspect addition to the club is really benefitting the players. The partnership with Vic Uni may be what takes us to another level above the opposition.

It is great to see us as the "tough" "stronger" side isn't it :D

[Go_Dogs]

I'm not sure Falloon should get all the credit here, in my opinion it's not hard to get players bigger. To get them bigger, stronger, and FITTER, is the tricky part.

Won't disagree with you there. In my opinion, Falloon did some good work - yes we ran out of legs towards the end of the season, but a lot of guys got a lot stronger and more size about them. This year, that size has been trimmed down, with more emphasis (it would appear) on the power side, and retaining strength whilst improving fitness.

I do think that you need to get 'bigger' first to really make this work.

[LostDoggy]

Have seen it in both our opening games this season we are getting on the front foot in the 1-on-1 contests around the ground. Our players are pushing and throwing their weight around, making their prescense felt, etc. It's been good to watch because the way the game of AFL is now, athleticism alone will not win you a flag - physicality and hardness at the football needs to accompany this because not every game will be decided by our running. In the season before last one of my main problems with Eade's approach was the fact that there never seemed to be a Plan B. Our running game was all we had. Now that our boys have muscled up and we have a core unit that is incredibly strong and hard at the footy - we have a lot more going for us.

Makes me rather chuffed because it's harking back to the days of old where we were the toughest going around, and I hope we carry this aggressive approach throughout the season.

[Sockeye Salmon]

I'm not sure Falloon should get all the credit here, in my opinion it's not hard to get players bigger. To get them bigger, stronger, and FITTER, is the tricky part.

Our game is such a demanding sport, you need strength and size but you can't compromise on speed and endurance.

I think Davoren has taken us a leap further than Falloon did. We really dropped off last year with fitness and the younger boys didn't look to build any size at all. Grant had most of last season off and didn't put on any size until Davoren got there. Bouman, Mulligan and O'keefe just put on puppy fat and didn't look fit at all. Henry White was a rake, he's actually starting to look like he has some muscle now, even though he is still under 80kg's.
Callan Ward was pencil thin and over this pre-season has turned into a man.
Griffen had such a low endurance he could only last short bursts and then he was spent. We've already seen how much fitter he is this year. If he can run a whole game he will be unstoppable.
Aker looks for the first time to be in good condition at the start of the year. First year with us he was too thin and lost his power. Last year he put the weight back on but didn't have the fitness and we overloaded him like many in the list. This year I think we may of got the balance right, despite the calf injury.

I totally agree with the professionalism in the club in recent years though. Each year we are improving off the field and that is reflecting in our performances. There were a couple of hiccups "2007" but i think it was 1 step back for 2 steps forward.

The sport science aspect addition to the club is really benefitting the players. The partnership with Vic Uni may be what takes us to another level above the opposition.

It is great to see us as the "tough" "stronger" side isn't it :D

Higgins is the one who has amazed me. A year ago he couldn't have run out of sight in a London fog.

[Mofra]

Higgins is the one who has amazed me. A year ago he couldn't have run out of sight in a London fog.
Fair call - and he seems alot bigger and stronger these days.

The only player who isn't noticably bigger is Boyd (who is already in the best form of his career) so it seems the fitness staff have tailored the individual programs about right. Cooney at 90kgs and still building up to match fitness, and Murphy on recovery, must be worrying opposition teams (they are arguably our two best players). Griffen is a bog boy, and we have guys like Welsh & Sam Reid to come into the side who both carry a big of bulk.

Massive credit due to the fitness staff.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Higgins is the one who has amazed me. A year ago he couldn't have run out of sight in a London fog.

Yep, he's really developed nicely - at times his running looks terrific. If he can maintain that running ability throughout the year he adds a great extra dimension to our midfield - provided of course we can get Cooney fit

Griffen also looks noticably fitter I think, leaner

[bornadog]

Fair call - and he seems alot bigger and stronger these days.

The only player who isn't noticably bigger is Boyd (who is already in the best form of his career) so it seems the fitness staff have tailored the individual programs about right. Cooney at 90kgs and still building up to match fitness, and Murphy on recovery, must be worrying opposition teams (they are arguably our two best players). Griffen is a bog boy, and we have guys like Welsh & Sam Reid to come into the side who both carry a big of bulk.

Massive credit due to the fitness staff.

Boyd had a big preseason and is the fittest he has ever been and now its paying off for him.

[Mantis]

Fair call - and he seems alot bigger and stronger these days.

The only player who isn't noticably bigger is Boyd (who is already in the best form of his career) so it seems the fitness staff have tailored the individual programs about right. Cooney at 90kgs and still building up to match fitness, and Murphy on recovery, must be worrying opposition teams (they are arguably our two best players). Griffen is a bog boy, and we have guys like Welsh & Sam Reid to come into the side who both carry a big of bulk.

Massive credit due to the fitness staff.

At the clearances he was pushing Rawlings around like a rag doll.

[wb_age]

Higgins is the one who has amazed me. A year ago he couldn't have run out of sight in a London fog.
Acording to Gilbee, Higgins is weighing in at 92kg (Dogs site has 89kgs).

If true, amazing how much size he has put on and increased his endurance/running ability.

[Dancin' Douggy]

I'm not sure Falloon should get all the credit here, in my opinion it's not hard to get players bigger. To get them bigger, stronger, and FITTER, is the tricky part.

Good point re body types.
In my opinion Ben Cousins has the wrong body shape for the modern game and will keep injuring himself. He looks like an over exaggerated toy action figure. I can't think of any other players with his muscle bulk and definition.

[alwaysadog]

Falloon really got us looking bigger last year, and that is why Port chased him.

Rocket has said that last year most players were heavier but not as strong. What is more they were supposedly on something which retained fluid to no advantage. So Port may not have got what they expected.

[alwaysadog]

Our recruiting has seen us look to more bigger bodied players, which has been successful.

Perhaps you should say some bigger bodied players.

When Boumann and Cordy were matched up on each other in the practice game it was hard to tell if they were still on the ground when they turned side on.

I think one should also acknowledge that we have recruited bigger bodied players over the last decade and they have either suffered from major injuries before they played a game or just not made the grade.

[Mofra]

I can't think of any other players with his muscle bulk and definition.
McPhee? Can't think of any real stars.

[craigsahibee]

McPhee? Can't think of any real stars.

Thank god you put some puntuation in there. For a moment I thought you had mentioned "McPhee" and "stars" in the same sentence.

[Go_Dogs]

Perhaps you should say some bigger bodied players.

When Boumann and Cordy were matched up on each other in the practice game it was hard to tell if they were still on the ground when they turned side on.

I think one should also acknowledge that we have recruited bigger bodied players over the last decade and they have either suffered from major injuries before they played a game or just not made the grade.

Valid point.

The point I was making was more so in regards to first round, mid types rather than talls. As it stands, drafting 'big bodied' talls as 17/18 y.o's wouldn't be a very common thing.

It's interesting to contrast the Clayton type ie. McMahon, Power, even Gia, Murphy etc, as compared to the later kind of Cooney, Griffen, Higgins, Addison etc. Perhaps his opinion on what the prototype modern footballer was changed due to certain 'shapes' having more success. Either way, I think it's a worthwhile observation that we have taken more 'big bodied' players in preference to light bodied ones. Meanwhile the rookie list has seen a few of the lighter types, Henry White, Gavin Hughes, etc.

[LostDoggy]

the improvement of the younger guys is natural after doing 3 plus pre seasons so dont know if we can credit the new guy for it.

i would also like to hold judgement till later in the year as if you remember we were undeafeted for the first 13 rounds or something last year before we dropped off and we were all saying the same thing about our fitness

[alwaysadog]

Valid point.

The point I was making was more so in regards to first round, mid types rather than talls. As it stands, drafting 'big bodied' talls as 17/18 y.o's wouldn't be a very common thing.

It's interesting to contrast the Clayton type ie. McMahon, Power, even Gia, Murphy etc, as compared to the later kind of Cooney, Griffen, Higgins, Addison etc. Perhaps his opinion on what the prototype modern footballer was changed due to certain 'shapes' having more success. Either way, I think it's a worthwhile observation that we have taken more 'big bodied' players in preference to light bodied ones. Meanwhile the rookie list has seen a few of the lighter types, Henry White, Gavin Hughes, etc.

I think you are right, perhaps the way the game changed made Clayton adjust to its new demands. Our recruiting does seem to have become more balanced. We don't overlook lighter bodied players who are value at their pick, but we don't overlook good value bigger bodied players, and there are few who think we previously placed much value on them, with ruckmen being the obvious exception.

Only time will tell if the most recent crop of deliver on their promise.

[chef]

I think you are right, perhaps the way the game changed made Clayton adjust to its new demands. Our recruiting does seem to have become more balanced. We don't overlook lighter bodied players who are value at their pick, but we don't overlook good value bigger bodied players, and there are few who think we previously placed much value on them, with ruckmen being the obvious exception.

Only time will tell if the most recent crop of deliver on their promise.

Do you think Eade becoming coach may have something to do with this, as he loves the tougher players and may have suggested to Clayton that thats what type he wants drafted?

[alwaysadog]

Do you think Eade becoming coach may have something to do with this, as he loves the tougher players and may have suggested to Clayton that thats what type he wants drafted?

It's hard to know, Wallace loved tough midfielders (Libba, Jose and Dimma) but we didn't recruit too well until Clayton came along. At that stage we had urgent rebuilding to do for the immediate future and we had our own superdraft, Murph et al. After that we seemed to be looking for speedy flankers and "project" talls, most of whom were soon gone. Now that we have a pretty fair senior group we seem to be looking more long term and to value speed, size and grunt.