Game Day - Bulldogs vs Demons

[GVGjr]

This is the discussion thread for Saturday afternoons clash against the Melbourne Demons.

My predictions are:
The Dogs by 37 points
BOG for Brad Johnson
Johnson also for the first goal

[BulldogBelle]

Dogs by 28 points.
BOG - Daniel Cross
Akermanis to kick the first goal.

[AndrewP6]

Can't make this one unfortunately...

Dogs by 33 (hopefully more!)

BOG - Murphy
First goal to Josh Hill

[Happy Days]

I too can't make it, I'll be getting rained on at Groovin The Moo :)

Dogs by 25
First goal Murph
Cooney BOG

[The Underdog]

Dogs by 26
Cooney BOG
Welsh first goal

[The Pie Man]

Will enjoy a rare Saturday afternoon trip to the G

Dogs by 18 following another spirited Dees display
Welsh first goal
Cooney BOG

As a late night digression, Freo really disappointed me tonight - I should've known they'd choke on the big stage. Not a bad side to lose to, but Hawks injuries and the trip west....disappointing Freo.

[The Pie Man]

Dogs by 26
Cooney BOG
Welsh first goal

I swear I did not copy your prediction!

[The Underdog]

I swear I did not copy your prediction!

Late night minds think alike :)

[Max469]

Dogs by 15

Murphy 1st Goal

Gilbee BOG

[GVGjr]

Will the wet conditions come into play today?

[The Underdog]

Will the wet conditions come into play today?

Not a positive for us I wouldn't have thought. We struggled to hit targets against North in rd 2 and I think Melbourne will do something similiar and try to get numbers up to make it harder for us. We should win the contested possessions but we have to be smart about how we use it.

[LostDoggy]

Will the wet conditions come into play today?

Yes, and fairly windy as well. Not a plus for us, though skills have picked up in the last couple of weeks. They will just have to work hard and concentrate for the whole game.

I know it's history and the teams are quite different now, but l still remeber that loss to the Demons in late 2005 when we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Dogs by 31
First goal to Gia

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Dogs by 8 point
Mitch first goal
Cross BOG

[The Coon Dog]

Dogs by 65.

Johnno 1st goal & Gia BOG.

[Go_Dogs]

Any word on the final changes?

Boyd BOG, Akermanis first goal, Dogs by 38.

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 92 to blow the season open (the wet will affect Melbourne more than it affects us, and they're coming off a short break AND a trip to Perth.. could be a second-half blowout.)

Johnno first goal (after Melbourne scores the first, as we always seem to let opposition teams score first).

Aker BOG (best wet weather player on the list by a long way).

[BulldogBelle]

Agree. We will smash them. Dogs by 75 points.

Ist goal Gia.
BOG Cooney.

[dogman]

dogs by 60
Aker First Goal
Cooney BOG

[bornadog]

Dogs by 45 points

First Goal Johnno

BOG COOOOOOONNN

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 36points
Hill first goal
Boyd BOG

[LostDoggy]

Just heard rocket on 3AW - Hargrave is out and Addison is in.

[LostDoggy]

Yeah just sat down, shaggy out is odd when was the last time he missed a game?

Dogs by 41pts
Griffin bog
Murphy first

[becmatty]

ANYONE know of a link today to watch live online, as I'm in the UK??!!!!!????

[Hot_Doggies]

Bugger! Murphy gone with a bad hammy.

[AndrewP6]

Aker!!!!!!! First decent thing i've seen...granted I missed half the first quarter...

[AndrewP6]

signs are not real good

[AndrewP6]

Aker!!!!!!! First decent thing i've seen...granted I missed half the first quarter...

Bloody legend...

[AndrewP6]

Russell Robertson playing under the "Judd Exception" - if in doubt, it's his free kick...

[LostDoggy]

Ffs!

[AndrewP6]

Aker keeping us going...

[LostDoggy]

Aker keeping us going...

Its quite noticeable. Thank god for him.

[AndrewP6]

Its quite noticeable. Thank god for him.

Sorry for pointing out the obvious...:) love the bloke...

[AndrewP6]

I know shaggy is out, but do our backs look lost, or is it just me?

[LostDoggy]

Don't worry -- second half. We'll kill them. Just watch. (The signs are all there -- the floodgates are about to open)...

(When we beat Richmond by 100+ points a couple of seasons back we were DOWN by 26 points at halftime.)

[AndrewP6]

Don't worry -- second half. We'll kill them. Just watch. (The signs are all there -- the floodgates are about to open)...

(When we beat Richmond by 100+ points a couple of seasons back we were DOWN by 26 points at halftime.)

Hope your right... I am a pessimist, after all...

[LostDoggy]

Sorry for pointing out the obvious...:) love the bloke...

Haha I didn't mean it as in 'yep you're stating the obvious', I mean it as in his contribution today is not going unnocticed. I'm probably going to cry when he leaves. Actually if the team doesnt lift before he leaves, it will be a concern.

Anyway, hopefully a dominating second half!!

[hujsh]

Imagine the horror when DG38 saw the replay of that Robbo free.

That and Murph's hammy have taken the gloss of what's been a good day otherwise

[hujsh]

If Smithy's right about Murph being out for 2-3 weeks we'll be lucky.

Did it freak anyone else out seeing Westy talking about the Demons and saying the Murph's injury is "handy"

[becmatty]

We are missing Murph with his hammy and with no Higgins, we need Welsh and Hill to step up as the lead-up forwards. Hargreave has been outstanding this year and we are missing his composure down back too.

Nothing in it at half time, with the Dees tiring and overusing the handball. Our intesity lifted in the last 15 mins and the Demons started looking very vulnerable - expect us to take control in the second half.

Acker was fantastic. Gilbee providing good drive. We have more than a few players quietly going about business and beginning to look dangerous (Coons, Lake, Johnno, Gia, Boyd, Cross, Morris, Welsh) and lots of room for improvement from Hill, Griffen, Eagleton and Hahn especially.

I think we are ready to open things up in a big way...Don't be surprised if we repeat last week's 3qtr blitz...

[LostDoggy]

Did it freak anyone else out seeing Westy talking about the Demons and saying the Murph's injury is "handy"

:eek: he said that?!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Imagine the horror when DG38 saw the replay of that Robbo free.

That and Murph's hammy have taken the gloss of what's been a good day otherwise

A good day? Apart from our ability to kick goals, Melbourne have all but controlled the game.

[AndrewP6]

Imagine the horror when DG38 saw the replay of that Robbo free.

That and Murph's hammy have taken the gloss of what's been a good day otherwise


Aker aside, I haven't seen a lot of good yet...

[AndrewP6]

Anyone who thinks the umpires don't decide games should take a good look at this... Robbo would only have 1 goal if it wasn't for those morons...

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

THis is the sort of game which says alot about our chances this year.
With all due respect to Melbourne, our midfield especially Cooney and Griffen should be tearing them up.
Instead it is there run and carry which is hurting us, and we look very hesitant.
WE may still win this, it is less than a goal the difference, however I'm not seeing anything from the performance so far today that would indicate we are on the up.

As I write Robbo has dived for the second time this game and been paid for it.

[AndrewP6]

THis is the sort of game which says alot about our chances this year.
With all due respect to Melbourne, our midfield especially Cooney and Griffen should be tearing them up.
Instead it is there run and carry which is hurting us, and we look very hesitant.
WE may still win this, it is less than a goal the difference, however I'm not seeing anything from the performance so far today that would indicate we are on the up.

As I write Robbo has dived for the second time this game and been paid for it.

agreed unfortunately....

[LostDoggy]

2 goals in a minute!!!!! looks good now =]
why do we start so sluggish and start carving them up after half time :S

[AndrewP6]

i shudder whenever tommy hits the deck...hope he's ok

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

i shudder whenever tommy hits the deck...hope he's ok

He looks a bit better now, is heading out to the 3Qtr tim huddle.
I reckon the Dees are going to come out and give it everything in the last. It's good we've wrested the lead, but I think we've going to have to kick the first couple to knock their confidence about early on.
Obviously we need focus on winning this game first, but a close second is that we need to win this final quarter convincingly to have any sort of confidence for next weeks game against the Cats, who are towelling up North by 9 goals at the moment.

[LostDoggy]

BIG MINNO!
hits the post... >.<

[LostDoggy]

lucky win..
they threatened to take it

[AndrewP6]

Always good to get up in a close one....but for mine, a really disappointing effort...

[Scraggers]

Pheeew ... its sounds as if we just fell over the line

[hujsh]

A good day? Apart from our ability to kick goals, Melbourne have all but controlled the game.

My team had a 100pt+ win hence the good day

[AndrewP6]

Pheeew ... its sounds as if we just fell over the line

Yep, you got that right... did our best to give it to them...

[Stefcep]

this is what happens when everyone starts to believe we have turned the corner after one quarter of good football against Adelaide. At the moment theres Geelong, St Kilda and a mile behind is everyone else.

[hujsh]

:eek: he said that?!

Yeah. And I think he laughed a little as well.

[becmatty]

A win is a win. Melbourne played some good footy and are on the rise. We will take the four points any day, especially with a spread of mediocre performances...

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

My team had a 100pt+ win hence the good day

Nice one! Would've made for a ying and yang kinda day for you had the Dee's kicked a couple more late ones to get the choccy's!

[AndrewP6]

If Smithy's right about Murph being out for 2-3 weeks we'll be lucky.

Did it freak anyone else out seeing Westy talking about the Demons and saying the Murph's injury is "handy"

didn't hear it, but that's footy for ya... no friends on the field!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

A win is a win. Melbourne played some good footy and are on the rise. We will take the four points any day, especially with a spread of mediocre performances...

Agree.
I wonder if the fact we had so many down, will serve to give players a kick up the pants to improve for next weeks Mission almost impossible next week?

[hujsh]

Nice one! Would've made for a ying and yang kinda day for you had the Dee's kicked a couple more late ones to get the choccy's!

Had plenty of those last year when we were getting smashed every week but the Dogs were 15-1. Funny how when we stopped losing (or more accurately the year finished) the Dogs started to lose.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

this is what happens when everyone starts to believe we have turned the corner after one quarter of good football against Adelaide. At the moment theres Geelong, St Kilda and a mile behind is everyone else.

Who is everyone? And how does how 'everyone' thinks the team is travelling affect the endeavour and performance of the fella's out on the field?
I don't recall too many here getting ahead of themselves following the win at AAMI last week....well except Mike Sheahan perhaps.
Quite a few scribes and fans alike have commented that we really only had the one exceptional quarter last week.

[LostDoggy]

We are in for a massive thumping next Friday. I fear it could be up around the 100 point mark.

Hope not.

[LostDoggy]

Wow, every player looked spent after that match today!
Who cares who we play next week..we wont win if we give up now!!!
get on the bandwagon everyone!! if we wanna win we have to believe in our players and their ability of playing some good footy!!

[LostDoggy]

Yeah. And I think he laughed a little as well.

Ouch.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

We are in for a massive thumping next Friday. I fear it could be up around the 100 point mark.

Hope not.

We certainly need to find something special over the next 6 days if we are to avoid a humiliating loss that's for sure.
Hopefully the fact that this does loom as such a massive task, players will lift accordingly and rise to the challenge.

Next week should tell us alot about our group. Only seems like yesterday that Griffen was towelling up Ablett, and Griff seemed to have the world at his feet. Griff has tread water somewhat since and Ablett has gone onto become the premier midfielder if not the premier player in the AFL.

[LostDoggy]

Pretty dismal effort, but nice to still get a win.
Murphy would have been handy to have against the Cats next week, but nothing much we can do.

Impressed with Welsh today, I thought his efforts were pretty great, nice to see him back in the side.
Harbrow I was also impressed with, got the ball, made some good decisions.

Everitt was better than usual today, but..... still not great. Leaves his opponent FAR too often, spoils when he could/should mark, slow. But, he laid a few good tackles today, better intensity.



Well, i'm hoping for Griff and Coons to do a bit more running next week, always dissapointing when they go missing.

[firstdogonthemoon]

It is strange but I think most Melbourne supporters went home happier than the dogs supporters.

Just saying...

[alwaysadog]

We certainly need to find something special over the next 6 days if we are to avoid a humiliating loss that's for sure.
Hopefully the fact that this does loom as such a massive task, players will lift accordingly and rise to the challenge.

Next week should tell us alot about our group. Only seems like yesterday that Griffen was towelling up Ablett, and Griff seemed to have the world at his feet. Griff has tread water somewhat since and Ablett has gone onto become the premier midfielder if not the premier player in the AFL.

It will be a really significant test to see if our guys can rise to the challenge. The last two times we've gone with Geelong for a while but not managed to go the distance. The group has reportedly talked a lot about the Cats and vowed to overcome.

Given that our form is described as patchy at best and Murph looks like he'll be missing it will be informative to see how we respond as a club to the challenge because we've certainly not handled those of the Saints and the Blues with any sense of real pride.

[LostDoggy]

Haha. I was only 85 points off.

Aker was definitely BOG though.

Who got the first goal again?

[mighty_west]

Wow, every player looked spent after that match today!
Who cares who we play next week..we wont win if we give up !!


Spent or flat?

Felt like a loss with 4 points handed on a silver platter.

[Mantis]

Who got the first goal again?

Murphy

[mighty_west]

It is strange but I think most Melbourne supporters went home happier than the dogs supporters.

Just saying...

Off course they would, they don't want to win games because the rules allow for not wanting to win, which basically go against any type of competitive sport.

Melbourne are going to be damn good in a few years time.

[The Coon Dog]

Don't worry -- second half. We'll kill them. Just watch. (The signs are all there -- the floodgates are about to open)...

(When we beat Richmond by 100+ points a couple of seasons back we were DOWN by 26 points at halftime.)

W Bulldogs 6.4 9.11 18.13 25.17 (167)
Richmond 3.2 5.6 6.6 7.10 (52)

No we weren't, we were leading by 29 points at half time.

Source: All the stats (http://afl.allthestats.com/statistics/rdscores.php?rdfm=1&yrfm=2006)

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Yep, you got that right... did our best to give it to them...

So did the umpires!!!!

[LostDoggy]

Those two Russel Robertson frees...... I was FUMING!

[BulldogBelle]

We certainly need to find something special over the next 6 days if we are to avoid a humiliating loss that's for sure.
Hopefully the fact that this does loom as such a massive task, players will lift accordingly and rise to the challenge.

Next week should tell us alot about our group. Only seems like yesterday that Griffen was towelling up Ablett, and Griff seemed to have the world at his feet. Griff has tread water somewhat since and Ablett has gone onto become the premier midfielder if not the premier player in the AFL.



I hope the tape of the game from 2006 v Geelong is played this week

We beat em in 2006 at Telstra Dome, and in the first round of 2007

A large percentage of football is played in the mind

Supreme confidence is something the Cats have got, and something we need to regain

If it bleeds, we can kill it

[bornadog]

I think we didn't give Melbourne any respect at all today and played that way. Melbourne have pushed a couple of teams this year including Geelong and WC last week over there.

I think a lot of players will be thinking about the prelim last year and how we had our chances and blew it, but that will give us some confidence.

[The Underdog]

I hope the tape of the game from 2006 v Geelong is played this week

We beat em in 2006 at Telstra Dome, and in the first round of 2007

A large percentage of football is played in the mind

Supreme confidence is something the Cats have got, and something we need to regain

If it bleeds, we can kill it

Unless it bleeds with numbers around the ball, winning contested possession and running forward with support, in which case going on todays evidence, we're ****ed...

[ledge]

I think some on here underestimate Melbourne, today we saw why Bailey is not given the same hard press as Wallace is, Bailey is building and has a side who believe in him and like him, they try every week and are improving.

Seriously today and the last couple of weeks if i was a Melbourne supporter i would be sad we lost but know their is a lot of positives.
You accept loss gracefully if your team is trying.

[hujsh]

I think we didn't give Melbourne any respect at all today and played that way. Melbourne have pushed a couple of teams this year including Geelong and WC last week over there.

I think a lot of players will be thinking about the prelim last year and how we had our chances and blew it, but that will give us some confidence.

How so? 68-111 isn't that close (although not terrible by Geelong standards)

[LostDoggy]

How so? 68-111 isn't that close (although not terrible by Geelong standards)

The scoreline doesn't reflect the game itself. They were competitive just got belted :P

[LostDoggy]

I hope the tape of the game from 2006 v Geelong is played this week

We beat em in 2006 at Telstra Dome, and in the first round of 2007

A large percentage of football is played in the mind

Supreme confidence is something the Cats have got, and something we need to regain

If it bleeds, we can kill it

So very true. I'm thinking that if we are currently playing patchy or ordinary footy at the moment and still getting over the line, we should be encouraged (if not satisfied). Don't the experts say that?? Footy is played mostly in the head - how many games have Geelong won - 50 of the last 53 (or something like that), but last year they lost the most important one because IMO, they got ahead of themselves in their minds. Murph will be a loss, as he was just starting to hit his straps again. Do we know if Missy (or some prefer Professor) will be "fit to go?"

[G-Mo77]

It is strange but I think most Melbourne supporters went home happier than the dogs supporters.

Just saying...

I'm very happy with the win. Melbourne fought hard all day and provided a really good contest. The second half we picked up the intensity, especially in the 3rd and that set up the win.

Good solid hitout in preperation for the best team in the comp.

[LostDoggy]

W Bulldogs 6.4 9.11 18.13 25.17 (167)
Richmond 3.2 5.6 6.6 7.10 (52)

No we weren't, we were leading by 29 points at half time.

Source: All the stats (http://afl.allthestats.com/statistics/rdscores.php?rdfm=1&yrfm=2006)

Did I say we were down. I meant.. haha, well, I was wrong. Was wrong about today too.. but glad we won anyway in a pretty tight year. Thanks TCD! :)

[Stevo]

We struggled in a game that we should have comfortably won so it's hard to gauge how good we really are at the moment. A good game against the Cats will probably provide us with some definite answers.

[Jasper]

We struggled in a game that we should have comfortably won so it's hard to gauge how good we really are at the moment. A good game against the Cats will probably provide us with some definite answers.

Very true. Yesterday I was always confident that we would win but I just knew we wouldn't win big. Melbourne did their job well but overall it was another disappointing display.
I think that it will be one of those up and down years for us. We will always be a couple of good results away from the top 4 but just never putting it all together.
Some of our skills yesterday were very good but then we had guys like Harbrow and even Gilbee costing us when it counted. We are not that quick and we don't have a key forwards so we can't have our skill level and decision making so inconsistent.

[LostDoggy]

The Good:

Jason Akermanis was one of the major reasons the dogs won the game - whether kicking the goals or being the key link man in passages moving forward, he was BOG for the dogs.

Matthew Boyd - 11 clearances (the most for either team) - the other reason the dogs won the game.

Dylan Addison tackle and goal

Ben Hudson smother

Ben Hudson and Big Willy getting on top in the ruck contests - but Paul Johnson (22 disposals - Willy and Huddo had 24 between them) won the around the ground contests - lack of accountability from the big fellas.


38 clearances to 26 showed the dominance of the dogs in the midfield and the dogs had 7 more scoring shots than the demons. Think about that - the dogs had more inside 50's but just didn't capitalised. There were several set shots that should not have been missed. Josh Hill, Guido and Aker had a couple as well that he missed or gave off.

The pleasing thing was how the dogs got their goals - compared to the demons over possessing the ball and going the hard way to getting the goals.

The dogs did everything right to get the ball for scoring opportunities, but could not finish it off - and god help us all if they do that against Geelong.

There have been quite a few knockers of Tom William's game - but after watching the replay - he kept Brad Miller goalless and Miller has been the Dees go to man for the majority of the season with Robertson only starting to play.


After watching the game at the ground and the replay, that's about all I can think of that was good during the game.


The Bad:

Slim Pickens was soundly beaten - his direct opponent Aaron Davey ran riot and was one of the key players in setting up a Demons onslaught in the final quarter. The question is - will Rocket risk playing Pickens against a Geelong team full of stars which will further dent Pickens confidence or let him gain some confidence back at Williamstown?

The lack of forward structure the dogs went along way to how the Dee's came back into the game, there were quite a lot of kick and hope from the backline deep in the final quarter, which resulted in some costly turn overs. The lack of forward structure would have come about due to....

The Ugly:

Bob Murphy's hamstring injury was bad, but what made it ugly was the fact that the dogs rely on him so much as a leading target for their backline and midfielders.

I bring this up, because from the posts I've read here, there's been a lot of singling out of players because of how they performed. When their number one leading forward is out of action for most of the game (not to mention buggers up all the rotations) it's pretty hard to find a target as good as Murphy on the lead and who can make the right decision to get the ball into the forward 50.


The Singling out of Players. (I don't know what else you'd call it...."making him accountable" maybe?).

It's very interesting to note that Guido had the most inside 50's for either team and had 6 goal assists the most for either team. His efficiency rating was down to 68% but then so was Aker's. If you're going to take a bash at Guido for his efficiency, you'd then have to have a go at Aker too. As for Guido being "soft", well, I can't make that judgment seeing as I haven't played AFL football.

Josh Hill had the most tackles (6) for the doggies, one more than Matty Boyd - but I reckon what annoyed some people was the fact that he just did not work hard enough to get the ball and when he did get a hold of it, he was very inefficient (50%!!!! - the lowest for either team and that's just not good enough).

The End Result:

A win is a win, it doesn't matter how ugly the dogs won it by - it's still 4 points and the dogs are third on the ladder. I'll take that over a loss and be 4 and 4 heading to a Friday Night match with....

The Cats:

It's kind of depressing when it's a Friday night game and you know the opposition is going to win and it's going to be a Geelong home game and us die hard fans will be surrounded by feral cats supporters. It's not something to look forward to, but then us doggies supporters are gluttons for punishment - I just hope we don't lose by a big margin.

I'm not being overly negative - if you read the posts on there, there's enough of that going around, I'm being realistic. At this moment, no one can beat Geelong and if you think the dogs can then you're in for a sad Friday Night. Lower the expectations and the hurt will be less.

All I want is for the dogs to try their best, if they do that, then I'll be more than happy.

[Happy Days]

All I want is for the dogs to try their best, if they do that, then I'll be more than happy.

Sorry Dex, but this is a cop out.

We're supposed to be an elite, top four team in this competition, which to me says that we can compete with anyone. To take this under-12's line with a group of top-tier athletes who are meant to be amongst the best at what they do in the world is absolute junk.

If we want to play grand finals and win premierships, then we should be good enough to win these games.

[The Underdog]

We are in for a massive thumping next Friday. I fear it could be up around the 100 point mark.

Hope not.

You're such a negative nelly Jerry.
As an optimist I'm sure we couldn't get blown out by more than 70.

[mighty_west]

The Good:

Jason Akermanis was one of the major reasons the dogs won the game - whether kicking the goals or being the key link man in passages moving forward, he was BOG for the dogs.

Matthew Boyd - 11 clearances (the most for either team) - the other reason the dogs won the game.

Dylan Addison tackle and goal

Ben Hudson smother

Ben Hudson and Big Willy getting on top in the ruck contests - but Paul Johnson (22 disposals - Willy and Huddo had 24 between them) won the around the ground contests - lack of accountability from the big fellas.


38 clearances to 26 showed the dominance of the dogs in the midfield and the dogs had 7 more scoring shots than the demons. Think about that - the dogs had more inside 50's but just didn't capitalised. There were several set shots that should not have been missed. Josh Hill, Guido and Aker had a couple as well that he missed or gave off.

The pleasing thing was how the dogs got their goals - compared to the demons over possessing the ball and going the hard way to getting the goals.

The dogs did everything right to get the ball for scoring opportunities, but could not finish it off - and god help us all if they do that against Geelong.

There have been quite a few knockers of Tom William's game - but after watching the replay - he kept Brad Miller goalless and Miller has been the Dees go to man for the majority of the season with Robertson only starting to play.


After watching the game at the ground and the replay, that's about all I can think of that was good during the game.


The Bad:

Slim Pickens was soundly beaten - his direct opponent Aaron Davey ran riot and was one of the key players in setting up a Demons onslaught in the final quarter. The question is - will Rocket risk playing Pickens against a Geelong team full of stars which will further dent Pickens confidence or let him gain some confidence back at Williamstown?

The lack of forward structure the dogs went along way to how the Dee's came back into the game, there were quite a lot of kick and hope from the backline deep in the final quarter, which resulted in some costly turn overs. The lack of forward structure would have come about due to....

The Ugly:

Bob Murphy's hamstring injury was bad, but what made it ugly was the fact that the dogs rely on him so much as a leading target for their backline and midfielders.

I bring this up, because from the posts I've read here, there's been a lot of singling out of players because of how they performed. When their number one leading forward is out of action for most of the game (not to mention buggers up all the rotations) it's pretty hard to find a target as good as Murphy on the lead and who can make the right decision to get the ball into the forward 50.


The Singling out of Players. (I don't know what else you'd call it...."making him accountable" maybe?).

It's very interesting to note that Guido had the most inside 50's for either team and had 6 goal assists the most for either team. His efficiency rating was down to 68% but then so was Aker's. If you're going to take a bash at Guido for his efficiency, you'd then have to have a go at Aker too. As for Guido being "soft", well, I can't make that judgment seeing as I haven't played AFL football.

Josh Hill had the most tackles (6) for the doggies, one more than Matty Boyd - but I reckon what annoyed some people was the fact that he just did not work hard enough to get the ball and when he did get a hold of it, he was very inefficient (50%!!!! - the lowest for either team and that's just not good enough).

The End Result:

A win is a win, it doesn't matter how ugly the dogs won it by - it's still 4 points and the dogs are third on the ladder. I'll take that over a loss and be 4 and 4 heading to a Friday Night match with....

The Cats:

It's kind of depressing when it's a Friday night game and you know the opposition is going to win and it's going to be a Geelong home game and us die hard fans will be surrounded by feral cats supporters. It's not something to look forward to, but then us doggies supporters are gluttons for punishment - I just hope we don't lose by a big margin.

I'm not being overly negative - if you read the posts on there, there's enough of that going around, I'm being realistic. At this moment, no one can beat Geelong and if you think the dogs can then you're in for a sad Friday Night. Lower the expectations and the hurt will be less.

All I want is for the dogs to try their best, if they do that, then I'll be more than happy.

Quality post again there DexterT, although i thought you were going to put a bit of heat on Harbrow & Gia, and for good reasons as well....appreciate the time & effort into your weekly report.

Also, BRAVE, VERY BRAVE for watching the replay!!!! :D

[mighty_west]

Sorry Dex, but this is a cop out.

We're supposed to be an elite, top four team in this competition, which to me says that we can compete with anyone. To take this under-12's line with a group of top-tier athletes who are meant to be amongst the best at what they do in the world is absolute junk.

If we want to play grand finals and win premierships, then we should be good enough to win these games.

Unfortunatly, alot, ALOT of Doggies supporters have this mind frame, good bad or indifferent, following the club for so long like DexterT, i myself have fallin from times to time as well just wanting an effort more than anything, we are a different supporter base than a Collingwood or Carlton, naturally we are all extremely passionate, but most of us under the age of 50 or 60 don;t have that win at all costs attitude like others.

Absolutely we all should take nothing less than Premiership success, but it's also only human nature to just want 100% given more than anything.

[mighty_west]

You're such a negative nelly Jerry.
As an optimist I'm sure we couldn't get blown out by more than 70.


I seriously think we WILL win.

MARK MY WORDS!

[LostDoggy]

Sorry Dex, but this is a cop out.

We're supposed to be an elite, top four team in this competition, which to me says that we can compete with anyone. To take this under-12's line with a group of top-tier athletes who are meant to be amongst the best at what they do in the world is absolute junk.

If we want to play grand finals and win premierships, then we should be good enough to win these games.

Elite? Against Geelong? Good Luck To You. NO TEAM bcan beat Geelong. And if you think the dogs are "elite" enough, then you're going to be very disappointed on Friday night. You can ride them as hard as you want, go for it, but I'll just hope for no injuries and no suspensions.

You call it a cop out, I call it trying to beat the unbeatable team.

A team cannot be "elite" until they have themselves a KPF. I've never rated the dogs a Premiership contender for this year. It's sad but true.

I'm waiting (yes we do a lot of waiting around here at the dogs) for Cordy and Roughead to mature and be permanent targets up forward.

Till then Rocket has to work with what he's got and he's doing a great job with no key forward.

[mighty_west]

Elite? Against Geelong? Good Luck To You. NO TEAM bcan beat Geelong. And if you think the dogs are "elite" enough, then you're going to be very disappointed on Friday night. You can ride them as hard as you want, go for it, but I'll just hope for no injuries and no suspensions.



Thats where i disagree with you Dex, we CAN and we WILL beat Geelong.

[Happy Days]

Elite? Against Geelong? Good Luck To You. NO TEAM bcan beat Geelong. And if you think the dogs are "elite" enough, then you're going to be very disappointed on Friday night. You can ride them as hard as you want, go for it, but I'll just hope for no injuries and no suspensions.

You call it a cop out, I call it trying to beat the unbeatable team.

A team cannot be "elite" until they have themselves a KPF. I've never rated the dogs a Premiership contender for this year. It's sad but true.

I'm waiting (yes we do a lot of waiting around here at the dogs) for Cordy and Roughead to mature and be permanent targets up forward.

Till then Rocket has to work with what he's got and he's doing a great job with no key forward.

I'm not saying I expect them to win, I'm just saying that we shouldn't be complacent and be content with a loss. I won't be happy if we give it 100% and "only" lose by 5 goals, because for a top 4 team that is just not good enough.

As for us not having a KPF making us a lesser team, that's just untrue. We were the second highest scoring team in the competition last year (ahead of KPF-oriented teams such as Hawthorn and St. Kilda, as well as 13 other teams), and the forward line structure works better without a big man in there, as evident in last week's thrid quarter.

[LostDoggy]

Quality post again there DexterT, although i thought you were going to put a bit of heat on Harbrow & Gia, and for good reasons as well....appreciate the time & effort into your weekly report.

Also, BRAVE, VERY BRAVE for watching the replay!!!! :D

I was going to put the blow torch on Guido and Harbrow for what I thought were bad games, but after watching the replay I changed my mind.

Although with Harbrow, I still get the shakes when he gets the ball and decides to go for a run, sometimes I don't think even HE knows where the ball's going to end up after playing on.


As for Guido, I dunno why he's getting hammered by supporters, not many turnovers and the "not hitting targets" calls were mainly for passes that bounced before being received by his target for an inside forward 50 foray.

I had to watch the replay just to see where the dogs went wrong (gawd, imagine the coaching staff doing this after every loss!) and to look at why some players are being singled out. It's always good to see all of the game and take a look at the stats before making judgments and calling for players to be dropped.

[LostDoggy]

Thats where i disagree with you Dex, we CAN and we WILL beat Geelong.

Care to make it interesting?;)

[LostDoggy]

I'm not saying I expect them to win, I'm just saying that we shouldn't be complacent and be content with a loss. I won't be happy if we give it 100% and "only" lose by 5 goals, because for a top 4 team that is just not good enough.

As for us not having a KPF making us a lesser team, that's just untrue. We were the second highest scoring team in the competition last year (ahead of KPF-oriented teams such as Hawthorn and St. Kilda, as well as 13 other teams), and the forward line structure works better without a big man in there, as evident in last week's thrid quarter.

High scoring, but it's not going to win the dogs a Premiership - that's not an opinion, that's a fact.

[Happy Days]

High scoring, but it's not going to win the dogs a Premiership - that's not an opinion, that's a fact.

Care to justify this "fact"?

You win games by scoring more than your opposition. There's no better way to do this than scoring rapidly.

[LostDoggy]

Justification? How about, when did a team last win a Premiership without a KPF?

[Happy Days]

Justification? How about, when did a team last win a Premiership without a KPF?

That's not what I meant.

Why cant we win a premiership without one?

To answer your question, Adelaide won a premiership with Shane Ellen kicking 5 goals and Modra in the stands.

[LostDoggy]

When was that?

I reckon the game's changed since then.

You can hope the dogs can win the Premiership without a KPF and be be bitterly disappointed and blast the team when they don't. I'll be waiting for Roughead and Cordy to mature.

[Happy Days]

You can hope the dogs can win the Premiership without a KPF and be be bitterly disappointed and blast the team when they don't. I'll be waiting for Roughead and Cordy to mature.

Ease up. You're taking what I said way out of context.

All I said was we should not be content with a good effort, given the team's current abitlities. Just because popular opinion says something does not make it so - just ask Al Gore.

I'm just looking to avoid complacency.

[LostDoggy]

When you're playing a team like Geelong, it's pretty hard to get revved up, you're a better man than I am that's for sure!

[The Pie Man]

Thats where i disagree with you Dex, we CAN and we WILL beat Geelong.

You can say no way on current form, but allow me to dust off an old chestnut... a week is a long time in football.

It could be the result that opens the season up

[LostDoggy]

No chance.

Geelongs backline and midfield will waltz out of our foward line with ease and set up many scoring chances. On the other hand we will be under great pressure ,miss targets and turn the ball over.

I know it isnt going to happen and he doesnt deserve a run on form, but i wouldnt mind seeing Lynch line up in the forward pocket this week.

[LostDoggy]

Very true. Yesterday I was always confident that we would win but I just knew we wouldn't win big. Melbourne did their job well but overall it was another disappointing display.
I think that it will be one of those up and down years for us. We will always be a couple of good results away from the top 4 but just never putting it all together.
Some of our skills yesterday were very good but then we had guys like Harbrow and even Gilbee costing us when it counted. We are not that quick and we don't have a key forwards so we can't have our skill level and decision making so inconsistent.

Get your hand off it Darryl (timely Castle reference)... we've been in the top 4 in six out of the seven completed rounds this year and will probably end this week still in third or fourth, so how we are 'a couple of good results away' from it beats me...

[AndrewP6]

Elite? Against Geelong? Good Luck To You. NO TEAM bcan beat Geelong.
You call it a cop out, I call it trying to beat the unbeatable team.


No team can beat Geelong??? Tell that to the Hawks...they did it on the big stage...

That said, I think we're in for a belting...

[Desipura]

No chance.

Geelongs backline and midfield will waltz out of our foward line with ease and set up many scoring chances. On the other hand we will be under great pressure ,miss targets and turn the ball over.

I know it isnt going to happen and he doesnt deserve a run on form, but i wouldnt mind seeing Lynch line up in the forward pocket this week.

Hate to say it Jerry, however I agree. Our forward line lacks that "x" factor

[LostDoggy]

Just curious, when did a player who was playing in the reserves side of the reserves, get a straight call up to an AFL 22?

[Desipura]

Just curious, when did a player who was playing in the reserves side of the reserves, get a straight call up to an AFL 22?
cant recall it happening at the dogs. Harbrow was closest when he played 2nds in the first week then firsts for Werribee the following week then made his debut for us the week after.

[mighty_west]

Just curious, when did a player who was playing in the reserves side of the reserves, get a straight call up to an AFL 22?

Didn't Rocket bring in Skipper whilst Atkins was playing him in the Werribee ressies one time?

[ledge]

Tiller last year i think.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Years ago Greg Wells played R1 with Melbourne's U19's (3 Morrish Medal votes), R2 with the reserves (3 Gardiner Medal votes) & R3 with the seniors.