1st Third (2009) Season Review

[bulldogtragic]

Like all good places, reviews always help out and allow us to benchmark and see where we are at, where we thought we might be and where we want to be and what needs to happen. 8 games in, as close to a 1/3 review as you can do ;). How do you rate ourperformance so far:

[B]Kids stepping up:

Higgins seems to have taken the next step. Looking forward to him being fit for the rest of the year.
Hill has gone past a few in the starting 22.
Tiller seems to have cllimbed another rung
Everitt is still developing
Grant getting agame was great, but looked a little at sea.
DFA is still, doing his thing, maybe a move to the forward line?


Mature players taking the next step:

Not enough from them yet. They talk about the pain of last year as a burning desire, but there's not too many that can say they have had a great start to 2009.


Our older group:

Hate to say it, i think the game has gone past Johno. Or, he needs to be played in different roles. And should stop playing for frees.
Love to say it, Aker could go around another year. Brilliant and has won us two games this year personally.
Eagle, stepped up after having been read the riot act.


Alliance with Willi:

Seems to be going quite well. My feedback was good that they Willi people enjoy us over the Collingwood folk. The only issue at the moment is Boumann in the magoos, but that is hardly Pods v every developing fwd on the list.


Win/Loss ratio - Ladder Position:

5/3 - and 3rd. Happy enough with that. Some say the sign of a good group is that they win when they are not playing at their best. That is us in a nutshell. Would have liked to have had at least one extra win, but that's footy.


Growth/development of the group:

We seem bigger and defencive pressure when we apply it is great. The issue seems to be our inability to constantly apply it. Some good kids at Willi pushng for a spot and the young KPP are showing signs we have some good talls coming through in 2 years or so.


Tactics/Style used to win/lose games:

Lucky to get away with a few. We have had hot as hell, rain (almost hail), very windy and calm. Zone and man on man. We are one of those sides who can change and win a game in 10 minutes. I'd like to see more of that.


Overall Position in the Comp:

3rd is about right. Saints and Geelong have shown more consistency. But other teams, so even is the competition, could be where we are.


Improvements (if any):

Would love to see some kids come through. Grant got one game but looked at see. G'Ok is knocking the door down, Reid is doing well and STack i think needs a run at AFL level.

CONSISTENCY. Running, skills and defence. The way we played in 10 minuites against Adelaide, some more of that. I know you cannot sustain that for 100 minutes, but we are up and down.

Senior players have to find some form and make an impact. Gia and Hahn two I will nominate as having to lift to get some more improvement across the board.


Thoughts overall/Others:

I think the first third of the year has been ok. Two trips to Perth over, bot also we won the games we should have against Richmond and Melbourne. We broke the hoo-doo (just) against North. At 3 or 4 depending on what happens with Port Adelaide today, we are still around where we need to be. If our fitness regime is what we are being told, we going along nicely too. We need to play the zone a lot better and i'd like to see our depth tested by great performances at the VFL.

The next third will show us a little more where we are headed with game against Geelong and Hawthorn. But so far so good i'd say is the message.

[bornadog]

Don't agree about your assessment of Johnno. I think he has had a pretty good season to date. He is ranked equal 1st in the AFL for goal assists as well as goal assist per game. Still picking up 16 possessions per game.

[AndrewP6]

I think Johnno's maturity helps us... he's a hard worker, and I think had some good impact this year..

[bulldogtragic]

Bump

[Happy Days]

Regarding Johnno, he can still be a valuable contributor, but only if he's kept inside our forward 50. At this stage in his career, he's simply doesn't have the tank for the midfield, and his decision making under pressure leaves a little to be desired.

[bulldogtragic]

Regarding Johnno, he can still be a valuable contributor, but only if he's kept inside our forward 50. At this stage in his career, he's simply doesn't have the tank for the midfield, and his decision making under pressure leaves a little to be desired.
My concern would then be his direct opponent running off him and creating and rebounding whilst Johno is deep forward.

[Happy Days]

My concern would then be his direct opponent running off him and creating and rebounding whilst Johno is deep forward.

This is a fair call, but it could also work in our favour coming back the other way.

What about playing him as a loose man in defece? His skills are good enough to play this role, and he might help add some much needed creativity down there.

[bulldogtragic]

This is a fair call, but it could also work in our favour coming back the other way.

What about playing him as a loose man in defece? His skills are good enough to play this role, and he might help add some much needed creativity down there.
He can kick goals, and we need that. This is no easy question and we are a fair bit of topic. My aim was not to pot him or suggest he is over (Not suggesting you were saying that, just beating a few who might have got in). But i think the game is changing, for that we can agree, and it may be moving past him, faster than say Aker who has more tricks.

I'd like to see DFA played up forward. The traditonal hard pressuring forward to some is the small aborogiginal player with speed and tackling pressure. That's DFA too. He is 3 goals from 3 shots this year, so his concersion rate isn't too bad.

Perhaps using Johno as a utility or loose man or forward, or as the game requires from game to game. I'm not sure, if we had one or two firing tall forewards this wouldn't be an issue, and we are quickening his retirement by making him play FF. I haven't got the answer yet. But i'm sure someone will :)

[Happy Days]

He can kick goals, and we need that. This is no easy question and we are a fair bit of topic. My aim was not to pot him or suggest he is over (Not suggesting you were saying that, just beating a few whop might have got in). But i think the game is changing, for that we can agree, and it may be moving past him, faster than say Aker who has more tricks.

I'd like to see DFA played up forward. The traditonal hard pressuring forward to some is the small aborogiginal player with speed and tackling pressure. That's DFA too. He is 3 goals from 3 shots this year, so his concersion rate isn't too bad.

Perhaps using Johno as a utility or loose man or forward, or as the game requires from game to game. I'm not sure, if we had one or two firing tall forewards this wouldn't be an issue, and we are quickening his retirement by making him play FF. I haven't got the answer yet. But i'm sure someone will :)

Well said.

I too in no way meant he was over, I just feel we aren't getting the most out of him in his current role.

As for DFA forward, it's an interesting proposition, but I don't think he has the natural talent to play the role you've suggested to its full capacity. Our defensive pressure in the forward line hasn't been too bad this year either.

[bulldogtragic]

Well said.

I too in no way meant he was over, I just feel we aren't getting the most out of him in his current role.

As for DFA forward, it's an interesting proposition, but I don't think he has the natural talent to play the role you've suggested to its full capacity. Our defensive pressure in the forward line hasn't been too bad this year either.
I will leave the DFA question to the other thread and speak over there if you post on that thread re: the idea.

[Bomberdog]

That is a pretty fair summation. I think that the crux of the matter is that we do not seem to have made any improvement from last year. Some guys have lifted but the majority are playing at a lower level than last year. The quality of football that the side is playing this year is no where near what they were churning out last year. (Except for that bad patch)

I get the feeling this Friday night may show us just how much we have stagnated compared to last year.

[LostDoggy]

Like all good places, reviews always help out and allow us to benchmark and see where we are at, where we thought we might be and where we want to be and what needs to happen. 8 games in, as close to a 1/3 review as you can do ;). How do you rate ourperformance so far:

[B]Kids stepping up:

Higgins seems to have taken the next step. Looking forward to him being fit for the rest of the year.
Hill has gone past a few in the starting 22.
Tiller seems to have cllimbed another rung
Everitt is still developing
Grant getting agame was great, but looked a little at sea.
DFA is still, doing his thing, maybe a move to the forward line?


Mature players taking the next step:

Not enough from them yet. They talk about the pain of last year as a burning desire, but there's not too many that can say they have had a great start to 2009.


Our older group:

Hate to say it, i think the game has gone past Johno. Or, he needs to be played in different roles. And should stop playing for frees.
Love to say it, Aker could go around another year. Brilliant and has won us two games this year personally.
Eagle, stepped up after having been read the riot act.


Alliance with Willi:

Seems to be going quite well. My feedback was good that they Willi people enjoy us over the Collingwood folk. The only issue at the moment is Boumann in the magoos, but that is hardly Pods v every developing fwd on the list.


Win/Loss ratio - Ladder Position:

5/3 - and 3rd. Happy enough with that. Some say the sign of a good group is that they win when they are not playing at their best. That is us in a nutshell. Would have liked to have had at least one extra win, but that's footy.


Growth/development of the group:

We seem bigger and defencive pressure when we apply it is great. The issue seems to be our inability to constantly apply it. Some good kids at Willi pushng for a spot and the young KPP are showing signs we have some good talls coming through in 2 years or so.


Tactics/Style used to win/lose games:

Lucky to get away with a few. We have had hot as hell, rain (almost hail), very windy and calm. Zone and man on man. We are one of those sides who can change and win a game in 10 minutes. I'd like to see more of that.


Overall Position in the Comp:

3rd is about right. Saints and Geelong have shown more consistency. But other teams, so even is the competition, could be where we are.


Improvements (if any):

Would love to see some kids come through. Grant got one game but looked at see. G'Ok is knocking the door down, Reid is doing well and STack i think needs a run at AFL level.

CONSISTENCY. Running, skills and defence. The way we played in 10 minuites against Adelaide, some more of that. I know you cannot sustain that for 100 minutes, but we are up and down.

Senior players have to find some form and make an impact. Gia and Hahn two I will nominate as having to lift to get some more improvement across the board.


Thoughts overall/Others:

I think the first third of the year has been ok. Two trips to Perth over, bot also we won the games we should have against Richmond and Melbourne. We broke the hoo-doo (just) against North. At 3 or 4 depending on what happens with Port Adelaide today, we are still around where we need to be. If our fitness regime is what we are being told, we going along nicely too. We need to play the zone a lot better and i'd like to see our depth tested by great performances at the VFL.

The next third will show us a little more where we are headed with game against Geelong and Hawthorn. But so far so good i'd say is the message.

We seem to have a day less break than the other teams we are up against. Especially with all the travel we have had, it must take it's toll. I am hopeful that after the break we may come out firing then.

[Scraggers]

Last year we were May /June / July premiers having a sensational start to the season but we fell off badly towards the end (particularly when we knew we couldn't fall out of the top four).

This year we have started slower having won 5 from 8; if we duplicate this in the middle 8 (that is have 10 wins from 16 games) I would think we were in a good position to come home with a wet sail and win 5 of our last six giving us 15 wins for the season (more than likely enough to secure a top 4 berth ... last year we finished with a 15-6-1 record).

Importantly, if we can do this we will be hitting the finals on a roll and filled with confidence.

With 10 of our remaining 14 games being played at the Telstra Dome ... including 8 of the last 9, we should be able to achieve this ... 5 of these 14 are on a Friday night

(note:- we still have another three interstate games as well)

Next 8 games
Geelong TD*
Sydney MO
Richmond TD*
Port Adel TIO
----------------- Mid season break
North Melb MCG
Hawthorn TD
Collingwood TD*
Essendon TD*


Final 6 Games (Wet sail time)
St Kilda TD
Fremantle TD
West Coast TD
Brisbane G
Geelong TD*
Collingwood TD

(* - denotes Friday night games)

[LostDoggy]

Good breakdown Scraggers (and love your signature).

None of the last 6 games are gimmes, so I think we would have to sneak another couple of wins into the seemingly easier middle section (so we win 6/7 out of the middle 8 instead of winning 5) to end up with 15+ wins for the season.

[bulldogtragic]

I will try to put some fire of on the review.

Can we still make top 4 and what do we need to do? Because the first 8 games don't look like a top 4 team.

[LostDoggy]

I will try to put some fire of on the review.

Can we still make top 4 and what do we need to do? Because the first 8 games don't look like a top 4 team.

It's an interesting question, because it depends on what you mean by a 'top 4 team'. In the most pedantic sense, top 4 is a position relative to where everyone else is that year, so if the standard is pretty low or even across the board then 'top 4' may not actually need to be that good. If you're talking about a generic 'top 4' SENSE, then we know that we're talking about a certain quality of team.

The reality is, in the pedantic definition of 'top 4', we ARE a top 4 team because, well, we're sitting in a top 4 position, and have been every week this year bar one.

In the second sense of the word, this is a strange season up till now because the top 2 have pulled away and there is a huge lump of teams from 3rd to 10th or so that are within a win of each other, so one might argue that there's not a whole lot of difference in terms of quality.

Yet, the fact that we've managed to hold on to 3rd spot for 7 out of 8 weeks tells me that it's not a fluke -- we may be doing just enough, but no one is doing any better.

If the question is 'do we look likely premiers', then I have to agree that the top two look just that bit better at the moment, but our game against the Cats this Friday - regardless of if we win or lose - will go some way to telling us exactly where we are in terms of quality.

[hujsh]

I will try to put some fire of on the review.

Can we still make top 4 and what do we need to do? Because the first 8 games don't look like a top 4 team.

You do realize we're 3rd?

[bulldogtragic]

You do realize we're 3rd?
Yes. On percentage. But my point remains the same as the post aove yours very philosophically explains.

[LostDoggy]

Our 5 wins have come from the 5 bottom sides. Not a great stat. I'm usually very/overly optimistic about the Dogs but I don't honestly see how we can beat Geelong or St Kilda if they play anywhere near their best. Luckily for us the premiership isn't won in May. As long as we make top 4, we are a chance. The way the finals system works, you only have to be the best team on the day (Geelong were 21-1 in the H&A season last year, and lost the GF).

[Mitcha]

Guys, agreed that we haven't played consistently good footy this season but we are sitting third with a 5-3 record. There is still plenty of upside with some prime movers still regaining match fitness and form after restricted pre-seasons. The club internally during the pre season said that if we can get to the mid season break at 6 and 6 they would be happy considering the tough draw in the first half of the season. We at the moment are only one win off achieving that and are expected to come home well with only one interstate trip in the last nine games. Personally I would rather be having our supposed form slump now than what has happened in previous years coming into the finals not playing our best footy. Thoughts?

[LostDoggy]

Guys, agreed that we haven't played consistently good footy this season but we are sitting third with a 5-3 record. There is still plenty of upside with some prime movers still regaining match fitness and form after restricted pre-seasons. The club internally during the pre season said that if we can get to the mid season break at 6 and 6 they would be happy considering the tough draw in the first half of the season. We at the moment are only one win off achieving that and are expected to come home well with only one interstate trip in the last nine games. Personally I would rather be having our supposed form slump now than what has happened in previous years coming into the finals not playing our best footy. Thoughts?

Hi Mitcha. Mostly agree with this, but echoes of 2007 still resonate, where we were pretty ordinary in the first half of the year but grinding wins out, then just fell away badly in the second half of the season and barely won a single game, as I'm sure we all remember.

This season has an eeriely similar feeling -- we are assuming that we will 'burst out of the blocks' in the second half of the season, but I'm not so sure, especially if you look at our last 6 games at Etihad, which will all be very, very tough games, and we haven't really shown all that much form yet this season, and Coons, Welsh and Murph (all crucial players) have all had interrupted pre-seasons.

If we can win most of those last six (Saints, Freo, Brisbane, West Coast, Geelong, Collingwood) we would be a genuine finals contender, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that we lose them all (like 2007), and limp into the 8 (if we make it at all).

[azabob]

Hi Mitcha. Mostly agree with this, but echoes of 2007 still resonate, where we were pretty ordinary in the first half of the year but grinding wins out, then just fell away badly in the second half of the season and barely won a single game, as I'm sure we all remember.

This season has an eeriely similar feeling -- we are assuming that we will 'burst out of the blocks' in the second half of the season, but I'm not so sure, especially if you look at our last 6 games at Etihad, which will all be very, very tough games, and we haven't really shown all that much form yet this season, and Coons, Welsh and Murph (all crucial players) have all had interrupted pre-seasons.

If we can win most of those last six (Saints, Freo, Brisbane, West Coast, Geelong, Collingwood) we would be a genuine finals contender, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that we lose them all (like 2007), and limp into the 8 (if we make it at all).

If and this is a big if, 2009 ends like 2007 what do they do from a coaching point of view? They have already cleaned out the footy department, or do they again stick tough?