Game Day - Bulldogs vs Cats

[GVGjr]

This is the discussion thread for Friday nights blockbuster clash against Geelong.

My predictions are:
The Cats by 21 points
BOG for Cross
Hill also for the first goal

[BulldogBelle]

Dogs by 2 points - I wish, hope and pray it happens... ;)
BOG - Adam Cooney
First goal - Brad Johnson

[AndrewP6]

Not at all confident... but I'll say

Dogs by 5 ( ***EVERYTHING CROSSED!***)
Aker BOG ( but in reality it'll probably be Gazza)
First goal to Hill

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 2 points in a fairytale win, its happened before, round 21 2000 =D
I have a weird feeling about this game :|
Gilbee BOG
First goal to Aker in his 300th

[The Coon Dog]

Geelong by 55 points

First goal to Aker

[boydogs]

Dogs by 16 points
BOG - Akermanis
First Goal - Welsh

[bornadog]

Dogs by 3 points
BOG Griffen
First Goal Aker

[Max469]

Cats by 15 pts

Aker - 1st goal

Cross - BOG

[chef]

Cats by 46
Akermanis first goal
Hill BOG

[Mantis]

Geelong by 37pts.

Our best - Hudson

1st goal - Higgins

Lets hope our boys can show the same sort of committment to the game plan as they did in last years PF. Our efforts have fluctuated far too often this year and if we don't bring our 'A' game I can see us being beaten pretty badly.

Time for a few of the experienced crew to perform well in a big game.

[Go_Dogs]

Dogs by 15.
First goal Akermanis.
BOG Giansiracusa.

As with Mantis, hope we arrive with our A game. I think we can challenge them if we do, and get a win.

[The Pie Man]

Cats by 28
Minson our first goal
Aka BOG...maybe...he loves the spotlight

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 13 points.

[LostDoggy]

Cats by....anything less that a 30 point margin I'll take.
Hawkins First Goal
Joel Selwood BOG (who did we pick instead of him I wonder!!!!!)

[The Coon Dog]

Cats by....anything less that a 30 point margin I'll take.
Hawkins First Goal
Joel Selwood BOG (who did we pick instead of him I wonder!!!!!)

What are you trying to imply here DexterT?

Are you suggesting we should have drafted him?

Joel Selwood was drafted at pick #7 by Geelong in 2006. Our first pick that year was pick #11 where we drafted Andrejs Everitt.

[LostDoggy]

Cats by 43pts
Our first goal to Higgins
Boyd our BOG for his job on ablett and picking up 25 possies himself

[comrade]

Cats by....anything less that a 30 point margin I'll take.
Hawkins First Goal
Joel Selwood BOG (who did we pick instead of him I wonder!!!!!)

We didn’t have a chance to overlook him – Selwood went at Pick 7 and we took Andrejs Everitt at Pick 11.

Bloody Geelong – one year where they really struggle and are awarded a high draft pick, they’re gifted a player as good as Selwood.

EDIT: TCD is way too quick for me :)

[Mantis]

Cats by 43pts
Our first goal to Higgins
Boyd our BOG for his job on ablett and picking up 25 possies himself

Why is the number of possessions one attains so important?

It is what he does with these 25 touches that is important and how his (or others) game should be judged.

[Mofra]

Dogs by 12 (Akers old number)
First Goal - Aker
BOG - Aker
Handstand - Aker

Aker. Just wanted to type it one more time. Aker.

[LostDoggy]

Why is the number of possessions one attains so important?

It is what he does with these 25 touches that is important and how his (or others) game should be judged.

In regards to effective posessions...being able to keep Ablett from having an impact aswell as contributing in the middle.

[LostDoggy]

What are you trying to imply here DexterT?

Are you suggesting we should have drafted him?

Joel Selwood was drafted at pick #7 by Geelong in 2006. Our first pick that year was pick #11 where we drafted Andrejs Everitt.

I wasn't sure who the dogs picked, that's why I was asking!

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 11 points. First goal to Welsh.

[Mantis]

I wasn't sure who the dogs picked, that's why I was asking!

It certainly didn't come across this way.

It came across that you thought we picked up some dud and overlooked Selwood. My guess is that you thought we took Grant (not saying Grant is a dud) rather than Selwood.

Perhaps you should get your facts straight before you make stupid statements.

[aker39]

I wasn't sure who the dogs picked, that's why I was asking!

You weren't asking, if you were asking you would have used ????? not !!!!!

[bornadog]

Why is the number of possessions one attains so important?

It is what he does with these 25 touches that is important and how his (or others) game should be judged.

Better than not getting possessions.;)

[LostDoggy]

It certainly didn't come across this way.

It came across that you thought we picked up some dud and overlooked Selwood. My guess is that you thought we took Grant (not saying Grant is a dud) rather than Selwood.

Perhaps you should get your facts straight before you make stupid statements.

I can't be held responsible for what other people think/guess or assume

I didn't know the facts, that's why I asked the question.

I think you make stupid statements too, but refrain from telling you that those statements are stupid. Because I'm not that kind of person.

[LostDoggy]

You weren't asking, if you were asking you would have used ????? not !!!!!


A missing question mark and I'm screwed:(

[Rocket Science]

The Cats have kept their past four opponents to 33, 68, 63 and 49 points respectively. They also kept us to our lowest score for the entire 2008 season in last year's prelim (54)...Meanwhile, they've averaged 100+ point totals in all of their games this season, their lowest being 105.

Richmond managed to limit the damage to 20 points in round two this year. I'd like to think we can do at least as well, but the Cats were only cruising in 2nd gear for the first month of the season and have been considerably better over the past month.

Oddly enough, Geelong have yet to play a game at ES this season, and haven't actually done so since August 2 last year.

It'll take a lot more than that to unsettle them.

Cats by 73 points
Gilbee BOG
Akermanis 1st goal

[Mofra]

Perhaps you should get your facts straight before you make stupid statements.
That reaction is far worse than the initial statement.

[Mantis]

That reaction is far worse than the initial statement.

The fact that he placed (or mis-placed) 5 explaination marks after his statement says to me that he was trying to make a strong point with his initial statement.

[GVGjr]

It certainly didn't come across this way.

It came across that you thought we picked up some dud and overlooked Selwood. My guess is that you thought we took Grant (not saying Grant is a dud) rather than Selwood.

Perhaps you should get your facts straight before you make stupid statements.


That reaction is far worse than the initial statement.

I agree with Mofra that your response is far worse than the initial statement.

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 20 points
Griff first goal
Griff BOG
Handstand? If we win i reckon we'll see one.

[Mofra]

The fact that he placed (or mis-placed) 5 explaination marks after his statement says to me that he was trying to make a strong point with his initial statement.
Regardless, I think we need to at least show some form of diplomacy to each other, considering we all barrack for the same team (and the quality of comment on this site is far better anyway than another site which shall remain unnamed).

[Mofra]

Handstand? If we win i reckon we'll see one.

Oh yeah, can you imaging the crowd reaction? :D

[Rocket Science]

I can imagine Boydy's reaction.

[mighty_west]

Dogs by 1
First goal - Aker
B.O.G - Cooney

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Cats by 49.
First goal to Hill.
BOG to Boyd.

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 12 (Akers old number)
First Goal - Aker
BOG - Aker
Handstand - Aker

Aker. Just wanted to type it one more time. Aker.

Love this post and I'm with you - Dogs by 12 (or anything over 1 :D), first goal Griffin, BOG Aker. Let's hope the boys pull one out of the hat for this fantastic milestone - yeah Aker!!!

[DOG GOD]

Cats by 83 pts. (we only beat melb by 7pts thanks to aker)
BOG - Aker
1st goal - Hill

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Cats by 27 points
first dogs goal: Welsh
BOG: Boyd

Edit: I can't believe this but Glenn Archers article on the afl website has stirred my Bulldog belief.. and I'm changing my tip.

Dogs by 2 goals!!!!

[LostDoggy]

Go Dogs!

[Dry Rot]

"Scarlett marks over Hill" - WTF?

"Johnson looks up and there is no-one forward for the Dogs..." - WTF?

Add in crap skills and our 2009 season continues....

[LostDoggy]

We are getting smashed.

[LostDoggy]

Quarter Time:
Geelong 6.4 - 40
Bulldogs 3.2 - 20

Aker kicked a goal at the end of the quarter. Geelong are all over us at the moment.

[Scorlibo]

Geelong have a knack of starting very well and then just beating their opponents in the last two-three quarters, I'm actually not that disappointed to be 20 down because I know that we have a reverse trend.

[LostDoggy]

Brad Johnson has 3 goals.

Geelong 6.5 - 41
Bulldogs 5.2 - 32

[Scorlibo]

Go Johnno!

[Stefcep]

Yippppppiiiidiiiiyiibbbaaaaaa

IN FRONT!!!!!!!!

[LostDoggy]

WE'RE IN FRONT

Geelong 6.7 - 43
Bulldogs 7.2 - 44

[Scorlibo]

Don't look back doggies!

[Dry Rot]

WE'RE IN FRONT

Geelong 6.7 - 43
Bulldogs 7.2 - 44

Well **** me - just got off a work call.

Go Dogs!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Having a crack.... but it doesn't help that 7 of Geelongs goals have come from our turnovers.
Why have we (since pre-season as well) become so poor at disposing of the ball?

[LostDoggy]

Half Time


Geelong 9.10 - 64
Bulldogs 8.3 - 51

[LostDoggy]

3 Quarter Time

Geelong 14.12 - 96
Bulldogs 11.8 - 74

[Dry Rot]

EAGLE!!!!!

8 points the difference. One for Mantis. :D

[Dry Rot]

Full time. **** it!!!!

[LostDoggy]

Lose by 2 points.

Johnson missed a goal to win the game when the siren went.

[LostDoggy]

..... crap.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bad luck Johnno, was excellent tonight.. pity he couldn't get that last one....

Despite such a heart breaking loss, I hope that that last quarter and a half shows the players that they can challenge, and I hope that they can use this as the catalyt going forward.

[LostDoggy]

Great effort tonight.

[Jasper]

I can't say I'm overly happy to lose the game tonight but I think we did put in a great performance. There were a number of players that really bounced back and full credit to Eade for sticking to his plans and making it a great contest.
We coughed up to many goals from errors and Lake cost us a couple with mistakes with but overall there was plenty of positives from the night.

[Scorlibo]

May I just say what a great decision it was from the selectors to play Ward - just the right sort of game for him - competitive and constested.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

May I just say what a great decision it was from the selectors to play Ward - just the right sort of game for him - competitive and constested.

Absolutely. That was without a doubt his best game to date, and hopefully for him he will build off this.
I think he showed incredible skill in tight, put his body on the line took the bumps and didn't just cough the ball up.

Harbrow was pansted early on and made some clangers, but still kept his head up and continued to have a dip. I think it was Harbrow who put pressure on the Geelong ball carrier in the last 30 odd seconds that led to the turnover that eventuated in Johnno's mark.

It mightn't be your night but it can be your moment, and Harbrows pressure in that instance proved that adage true.
Out of curiosity, was anyone else surprised that Harbrow had the kicking in duties early on? I don't think his kicking is good enough for that role.

[LostDoggy]

Whats with Tommy Williams beating his opponent to the ball then doing a quick U turn with his player right behind? Then coughing up a poor hand pass under pressure. Is he afraid to have a run or be creative?

He did the exact same move against Adelaide in the 3rd quarter.

[GVGjr]

Just home but what a game. How great would have it been for Johnson to sneak that goal in with just a split second to go?

[Mofra]

Not happy to lose - but Murphy is a bigger out for us than Mooney is for them, I thought we had a couple of unlucky bounces & decisions, and you can't fault the endeavour or ticker of the guys.

If you do have to lose a game, you'd want it to be against the best, in a hard contest that could have gone either way.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Just home but what a game. How great would have it been for Johnson to sneak that goal in with just a split second to go?

I nearly had a heart attack when he first tried to play on...it would've been even worse had the ump not called him back and the siren going before he could get the kick off.
That woud've been totally deflating.

[LostDoggy]

Not happy to lose - but Murphy is a bigger out for us than Mooney is for them, I thought we had a couple of unlucky bounces & decisions, and you can't fault the endeavour or ticker of the guys.

If you do have to lose a game, you'd want it to be against the best, in a hard contest that could have gone either way.

Both important players. Ottens would of been dangerous down forward tonight.

[GVGjr]

Not happy to lose - but Murphy is a bigger out for us than Mooney is for them, I thought we had a couple of unlucky bounces & decisions, and you can't fault the endeavour or ticker of the guys.

If you do have to lose a game, you'd want it to be against the best, in a hard contest that could have gone either way.

I was very annoyed when I left the game mainly because of the missed opportunities we didn't capitalise on but on the trip home I had the same feeling that we played very well against a top side who put in one of their better efforts.

[LostDoggy]

I nearly had a heart attack when he first tried to play on...it would've been even worse had the ump not called him back and the siren going before he could get the kick off.
That woud've been totally deflating.

What's it with Johnno? Brilliant instinctive player, but no composure at all when given time to think. Can't believe he ran off the mark!!! Lucky got another shot anyway. Could have taken a lot more time too. Shame.

[LostDoggy]

Would Picken be a better bet for the small quick back pocket spot? Harbrow is just a tad small, plus it could release Harbrow forward.

[Stefcep]

The Good: pressure, effort, endeavour, Acker, Johno, Ward, Harbrow, Picken, Callen
The Bad: TURNOVERS, poor finishing
The Ugly: Cooney and Griffen. These two are our Ablett and Selwood or Corey. They did a couple of things but you can't beat top sides when your two main midfield movers are basically unsighted for more than three quarters and their opposite numbers total about 90 possessions between them.

[Stefcep]

Would Picken be a better bet for the small quick back pocket spot? Harbrow is just a tad small, plus it could release Harbrow forward.

i thought harbrows pace was good. not sure Harbrow actually played a traditional back pocket role anyway: he was kicking in , and setting up play from the back, rather than receiving and running. i liked his game alot.

[LostDoggy]

i thought harbrows pace was good. not sure Harbrow actually played a traditional back pocket role anyway: he was kicking in , and setting up play from the back, rather than receiving and running. i liked his game alot.

He was on Stoke's i thought. Didnt have the height or strength to go with him in the air.

[LostDoggy]

Would Picken be a better bet for the small quick back pocket spot? Harbrow is just a tad small, plus it could release Harbrow forward.

How good was Picken's goal? Composure of a 50 game player.

[Stefcep]

He was on Stoke's i thought. Didnt have the height or strength to go with him in the air.


yep, still needs to build his body strength.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I thought Harbrow was very ordinary. He should never play defense again and is far too irrational with his decision making. Needs to play forward or be shifted to Williamstown IMHO.

Very disappointed with Morris who got another bath. He's been poor two or three times this season already and tonight he was smashed.

On the upside, Ward and Higgins were sensational and I thought Minson had is best game for the club - fantastic.

Aker's a gem.

[bornadog]

Would Picken be a better bet for the small quick back pocket spot? Harbrow is just a tad small, plus it could release Harbrow forward.

Did end up in the back pocket in the third quarter.

[LostDoggy]

Ward was awesome. Tonight also showed Higgins is going to be an absolute star, if we lose him i'd be devastated. Harbrow's 2nd half was much better than his 1st half were he made a lot of mistakes.

[GVGjr]

I thought Harbrow was very ordinary. He should never play defense again and is far too irrational with his decision making. Needs to play forward or be shifted to Williamstown IMHO.



I'm not a huge supporter of Harbrow but I still think this assessment is a tad harsh. He's learning and he has the right attitude but he still has a way to go. We need to be patient with him and I wouldn't stamp his cards from playing in defense again. Given our small forwards are going OK it's more likely that he could be better value coming off the bench as a burst player.

[dog town]

So many positives to take from tonight but ultimately its 4 points we have missed out on. The only way we can afford to look at it is that we matched it with the best and can now learn from our mistakes.

I think the outs for both sides work out about even. Mooney playing almost would have advantaged us the way the game turned out. They got 10 goals from Stokes and Johnson who they were able to isolate in the square. They also used Hawkins to drag Lake out of the play which would not have happened had Mooney have played. We also missed Hargrave immensely because he would have given us so much flexibility with the Johnson/Stokes situation. The loss of Murphy doesnt need to to be mentioned and Addison would have released Harbrow tonight as well. On the flip side we dominated the stoppages and had Ottens played that just wouldnt have happened. Dont think either side should bleat about injuries at this stage.

I thought we should have found another match up for Stokes earlier and used Harbrow in a more attacking role. Harbrows pace around the contest clearly worried them but he was badly exposed when Geelong got the ball in quickly. I hope supporters dont burn Harbrow for tonight. He is clearly up to the level and we just need to find the best way to use him. Shouldn't be kicking out and was asked to carry the burden when Gilbs started up the ground a bit.

Pretty evident now that we are really more of a scrounging hard nosed side than the fleet footed runners we were previously known for. We are the best clearance side in the comp and we have a good bunch of hard working players who put there nose over the ball. Ward and Picken have really added another couple of hard bodies to the mix. We have a small sprinkling of real class that we need more from IMO. I also think we still had a few guys take some short steps tonight. If we are going to rely on our toughness to get over the line then it has to unconditional from every player. I can recall a few times that we didnt get in as low as we should have.

I really think with a full side Geelong might struggle to score against us.

Big positive for me is that we can get a lot better IMO. We can and should expect better games from Cooney, Griffen, Gilbee, Higgins, Hill, Morris, Lake and possibly Williams. On top of that we have 2 very good players who didnt play.

Griffen- Showed glimpses but for mine he is still far to highly rated. His ability is unquestioned but he needs to work a lot harder. I thought he gave us a quick burst that got us going again but then he quickly dropped out of it again. 3 or 4 times he had perfect taps directed at him only for him to drop the ball trying to take it one hand. Needs to do the hardest thing first and let the pretty stuff fall into line later. Needs to take more care with the footy as well. Could be our Ablett if he can pull it together.

Ward and Picken- How good were these 2? Just kept hitting in all night and both used the ball pretty well. I think Ward needs to work on his first option/awareness type stuff but his endeavour was amazing tonight.

Johnson- Awesome game from the skip. Really tough kick and situation for him at the end.

Cooney- Was a bit flat footed tonight I thought. Intensity was down.

Hudson- Dominated the clearances and actually made himself into a useful target for switches around the middle of the ground.

Minson- Very good I thought. Influenced stoppages and made himself useful.

Cross- very good again imo. Third man up worked a treat. Geelong support each other at ground level brilliantly. We were able to take first possesion and not give them a chance to win the ball and spread.

[The Coon Dog]

Whilst Callan Ward finished the game well, I was disappointed in him early. He was selected to play on Joel Selwood & couldn't get within cooee of him in the first quarter. Selwood got a hold of it 13 times in the first term.

Terrific in the final quarter.

[dog town]

Whilst Callan Ward finished the game well, I was disappointed in him early. He was selected to play on Joel Selwood & couldn't get within cooee of him in the first quarter. Selwood got a hold of it 13 times in the first term.

Terrific in the final quarter. I dont think he was on him all of that first quarter. I saw Cooney let Selwood go past him at least 2 touches early on. I am sure you are right but dont think he is responsible for all 13 touches.

[LostDoggy]

Whilst Callan Ward finished the game well, I was disappointed in him early. He was selected to play on Joel Selwood & couldn't get within cooee of him in the first quarter. Selwood got a hold of it 13 times in the first term.

Terrific in the final quarter.

Selwood didn't get it much in the final quarter did he. I think we can call it even, which, seeing as its Callan's first handful of games and Selwood is a heralded 50-gamer, tells me that Callan has a brighter future than Selwood, and far more upside.

[LostDoggy]

To many turnovers from direct play, Lake kicking straight to Johnson.

Unbelievable.

[The Pie Man]

I nearly had a heart attack when he first tried to play on...it would've been even worse had the ump not called him back and the siren going before he could get the kick off.
That woud've been totally deflating.

One hour and many beers after watching this on tv, I'm so conflicted.

For memory, Johnson's taken the mark with 6 seconds left, so when he backed back and then played on I did think 'oh crap, the siren's going to sound before he kicks it' What I don't understand is why he was called back - he took a mark, he wasn't awarded a free kick. My understanding is you can play on any time you like if you mark the pill.

Even then, the tv angle showed it to be a quite getable shot with the 'ckeckside' but hey, not to be tonight - I'll look at the silver lining and say this will leave us hungry

And that's the poz way to look at it - they bleed..I know Hawthorn showed that last year, but they seem to be the obvious standout in 09, driven by the GF failure in 08, and we should've won in the end. Lot closer than I predicted. Still shattered we didn't win, after taking a mark where we did, that's a win for me...I'd pretty much started celebrating in the loungeroom.................................................. ..................I consoled myself that this wasn't Jeff White and nor was it round 21

But I'll poz up - they're very getable

[The Pie Man]

Whilst Callan Ward finished the game well, I was disappointed in him early. He was selected to play on Joel Selwood & couldn't get within cooee of him in the first quarter. Selwood got a hold of it 13 times in the first term.

Terrific in the final quarter.

I've been a little critical of Cal, but I agree with you on his second half. Looked like the kind of contested performer you need late in the year

[Mantis]

Pretty evident now that we are really more of a scrounging hard nosed side than the fleet footed runners we were previously known for. We are the best clearance side in the comp and we have a good bunch of hard working players who put there nose over the ball. Ward and Picken have really added another couple of hard bodies to the mix. We have a small sprinkling of real class that we need more from IMO. I also think we still had a few guys take some short steps tonight. If we are going to rely on our toughness to get over the line then it has to unconditional from every player. I can recall a few times that we didnt get in as low as we should have.



Good summary dt.

I have taken all small piece out I would like some clarification on. Which players did you have in mind with these thoughts?

[dog town]

Good summary dt.

I have taken all small piece out I would like some clarification on. Which players did you have in mind with these thoughts? I will wait for another look at the game before I hang anyone ;)

Anyone else think we immediately look a better side with Tim Callan in? Lacks a little polish but he helps out other defenders and is one of the bravest players in the comp.

[azabob]

Having a crack.... but it doesn't help that 7 of Geelongs goals have come from our turnovers.
Why have we (since pre-season as well) become so poor at disposing of the ball?

Watching it at the ground I couldn't believe how many numbers Geelong get around the footy and ball carrier or get to the spots where the ball is going to go. Our skills were poor at times but Geelongs pressure is just amazing.
Also at some stages our players would look up and have nothing to kick to.

[azabob]

I'm not a huge supporter of Harbrow but I still think this assessment is a tad harsh. He's learning and he has the right attitude but he still has a way to go. We need to be patient with him and I wouldn't stamp his cards from playing in defense again. Given our small forwards are going OK it's more likely that he could be better value coming off the bench as a burst player.

I'm not a huge supporter of Harbrow either, but after watching him tonight there is quite a bit to work with. Yes he still needs to work on his one on one and decision making. But he has dash and dare, always goes in for the footy. I think he uses the footy well its just his decision making which needs to be improved. Gilbee (except for most of last night) and Griffen have been moved from defence into the midfield so we need someone to provide run out of defence. Overall I think he is improving each week.

[azabob]

I was very annoyed when I left the game mainly because of the missed opportunities we didn't capitalise on but on the trip home I had the same feeling that we played very well against a top side who put in one of their better efforts.

Funnily enough I left happy enough. To be 6 goals down then to lose by 2 points is a great effort. What I like the most was I really thought Will Minson was good for us, have no idea of his possessions or hit outs but I thought he really set the tone for us when we were coming back. He'd really crash and bash players and tackle them hard and he started to get the footy and actually used it ok.

[Go_Dogs]

Fantastic performance by our guys last night, and whilst it is very disappointing not to have walked away with the win (forgot Johnno's miss - what about Aker being molested by by David Johnson a few moments earlier - blatant free in anyone's book!) we played a real 4 qtr effort. Hill, Griffen, Cooney, Welsh and Akermanis all missed easy chances and we sort of let the cats off. I thought we clearly outworked them defensively, but they just run and spread so hard offensively they only need a few moments to tear you apart.

I counted at least 8 Geelong goals where the chain started from a free kick. Anyone else notice the Ablett free rule in effect last night? Cooney was unceremoniously dumped after disposing of the ball a few times and never received the 50, Ablett got 2 both for (imo) softer incidents.

Anyway....


Struggling to find a bad player last night - Harbrow is about the only guy who made multiple mistakes. We need Hargrave back, as I didn't feel safe all night with Harbrow kicking the ball in.

Higgins looks injured still but got quite a few important touches.

Griffen is so important and is definitely a big game player. Really lifted at times last night and finished with 9 tackles and 6 clearances.

Gilbee and Eagleton continued their better form of the past few weeks.

Cross was solid, and Boyd was his usual self.

Akermanis is about our most dangerous forward at the moment - on the lead, I just feel confident he's going to snaffle it.

Hahn and Welsh were both decent last night - Hahn's desperation at the end, willing himself to the contest, some how emerging with the ball, regaining his feet and getting it to Johnson was a super effort.

Minson and Hudson were both great too.

Not to get too excited....but I think our season has just begun. We can win the flag this year. No doubt in my mind.

[Desipura]

Would Picken be a better bet for the small quick back pocket spot? Harbrow is just a tad small, plus it could release Harbrow forward.

Jerry, are you saying there is a spot for Picken now?

[Go_Dogs]

I will wait for another look at the game before I hang anyone ;)

Anyone else think we immediately look a better side with Tim Callan in? Lacks a little polish but he helps out other defenders and is one of the bravest players in the comp.

His effort to leave his man, create the contest and spoil in the 3rd(?) was huge.

[Desipura]

Selwood didn't get it much in the final quarter did he. I think we can call it even, which, seeing as its Callan's first handful of games and Selwood is a heralded 50-gamer, tells me that Callan has a brighter future than Selwood, and far more upside.
What sort of comment is that? Selwood is already a champion, Callan has a long way to reach his status. I dont know how you can say Callan has a brighter future, based on what?
Callan has more upside because he has alot more improving to do whereas Selwood does not. A bit biased me thinks.......
Not saying it will happen, what if Ward does not improve and Selwood continues being the player he is? I cant see Selwood become any worse than he is as he is only young.

[azabob]

Selwood didn't get it much in the final quarter did he. I think we can call it even, which, seeing as its Callan's first handful of games and Selwood is a heralded 50-gamer, tells me that Callan has a brighter future than Selwood, and far more upside.

Disagree totally, between Selwood and Ablett they were the reasons Geelong jumped us. Selwood is a gun, gets the hard, tackles, runs, does everything and more. Selwood was already playing great football at this stage of Ward's career.

[Stefcep]

Pretty evident now that we are really more of a scrounging hard nosed side than the fleet footed runners we were previously known for......

.......Griffen- Showed glimpses but for mine he is still far to highly rated.

Agree 100% with both of these comments.

Tim Watson: "The Dogs have the highest rate of turnovers in the competition. That they are skillful side is a total fallacy". I agree, unfortunately. far far too many turnovers that resulted in goals.

Griffen is approaching 90-100 games. Selwood has played 50. Selwood is about 50% better then Griffen. Griffen lacks stamina, his hands are ordinary and so is his kicking, especially for goal on the run.

Geelong are a team that plays on confidence. If they dominate from the first bounce, then they are hard to stop, usually the game is over by three quarter time. Stay within four goals till the last quarter, apply pressure and they fade badly in the last. Selwood and Ablett looked dead at three quarter time.

geelong had a short forward line. that suits us. if Mooney, Gamble, Ottens and Hawkins were all there I think they would be harder for us to control.

the umpires: Ablett ducks, its too high. Cross ducks, its holding the ball. Ablett gets bumped in the side, its ion the back. They bump us, its play on. S Johnson bumps in the side, he's paid a mark. We do it, its in the back. Acker gets held, its play on. We do it its holding the man.

[LostDoggy]

Yep the umpiring was shocking, we missed some gettable goals in the third quarter too, I certainly dont blame Johno, he had a great game but I am sure he is beating himself up about it.

Aker and Johno what a combo tonight.

Great hard games by Picken and Ward, another step for both, haha a proud call I imagine by Pickens dad after the game...'great goal son!'

Great game by Minson too, a game where his value is actually on display rather than behind the scenes.

SO many great contributors, massive applause to the in and under guys that put their body on the line time and again. After the first qtr I was thinking...these guys are just all bigger and stronger across the ground but we hurt them in the end.

Is Welsh a passenger at the moment or am I missing something?

I bet I sound like we won the game but it almost feels that way. Might be a good platform.
We need to win the next 4 in a row.

[LostDoggy]

What sort of comment is that? Selwood is already a champion, Callan has a long way to reach his status. I dont know how you can say Callan has a brighter future, based on what?
Callan has more upside because he has alot more improving to do whereas Selwood does not. A bit biased me thinks.......
Not saying it will happen, what if Ward does not improve and Selwood continues being the player he is? I cant see Selwood become any worse than he is as he is only young.

Ah. You've just encapsulated the attitude of the umps out there last night. Selwood plays for Geelong and therefore must be so, so much better than any player in a red, blue and white jumper.

Rubbish.

Selwood had a blistering first quarter but faded after half-time. Ward had a quiet first half, but an even better fourth quarter than Selwood's first quarter. How is that not 'even'?

The fact that Selwood has played 50+ games and had his colours lowered when the game was on the line in the fourth -- yes, LOWERED -- by a 12/13 gamer tells me that Callan has a lot more upside.

And of course I'm biased. If the umps out there can be biased enough out in the middle to decide games, I can be biased on a relatively inconsequential post on an online forum towards a gun young Doggie player who played his socks off against a player (Selwood) that, while I really like, gets too much love from the umps and media (understandably so, but still).

[LostDoggy]

Disagree totally, between Selwood and Ablett they were the reasons Geelong jumped us. Selwood is a gun, gets the hard, tackles, runs, does everything and more. Selwood was already playing great football at this stage of Ward's career.

Selwood was playing 'great' football in his first 13 games? Rubbish.

Like many others, Geelong's aura has made them giants in your eyes. Selwood has always been good, but until this year he hadn't really threatened to take a game apart, and he plays with the best midfielders in the comp, which makes his life running around without a tag (he copped a 13-gamer as an opponent last night for heaven's sakes) easy as hell.

Ashley Hansen looked like a gun too when West Coast had Judd and Cuz giving him the ball on a platter. It's easier to look 'great' when four of the best in the business (Ablett, Corey, Bartel, Ling) are around to take the attention off you.

And Joel Selwood has, for all his reputation for being hard, NEVER, in 50+ games, laid 10 tackles in a game, which Callan just did last night.

--

ps. why is first quarter form considered greater than fourth quarter form? So what if they got the jump? Isn't reeling them back in EXACTLY the same on the scoreboard, only in reverse? If Ablett and Selwood (there you go, Ablett AND Selwood, he got some help there didn't he) gave the Cats the jump, Aker in the third and Ward in the last dragged us back into it.

pps. Look at Daniel Kerr now -- it was a lot easier to destroy teams when Judd and Cuz copped the hardest tags, it's a bit harder to be dominant when you're the main man. We'll have a better handle on Selwood's real value when Corey, Ling and Bartel retire (Ablett will play till he's 60).

[LostDoggy]

Jerry, are you saying there is a spot for Picken now?

Not in the midfield. If Addison cant play on the quick forwards why dont we stick Picken down there?

We need some class in the middle to help Cooney and Griffen out.

[AndrewP6]

Is Welsh a passenger at the moment or am I missing something?
.

Don't agree with that. He was up the ground a fair bit. Works hard even without the ball. Not in career-best form, but not alone in that. He kicked 3 last week - that's hardly a passenger.

[azabob]

Agree 100% with both of these comments.

Tim Watson: "The Dogs have the highest rate of turnovers in the competition. That they are skillful side is a total fallacy". I agree, unfortunately. far far too many turnovers that resulted in goals.

Griffen is approaching 90-100 games. Selwood has played 50. Selwood is about 50% better then Griffen. Griffen lacks stamina, his hands are ordinary and so is his kicking, especially for goal on the run.

Geelong are a team that plays on confidence. If they dominate from the first bounce, then they are hard to stop, usually the game is over by three quarter time. Stay within four goals till the last quarter, apply pressure and they fade badly in the last. Selwood and Ablett looked dead at three quarter time.

geelong had a short forward line. that suits us. if Mooney, Gamble, Ottens and Hawkins were all there I think they would be harder for us to control.
the umpires: Ablett ducks, its too high. Cross ducks, its holding the ball. Ablett gets bumped in the side, its ion the back. They bump us, its play on. S Johnson bumps in the side, he's paid a mark. We do it, its in the back. Acker gets held, its play on. We do it its holding the man.

If Mooney played I dont think Gamble would have. I think Lake and Williams could have played on Hawkins and Mooney and done well. We may have struggled to contain Ottens but we did well in the ruck so maybe Thompson would've been forced to ruck Ottens rather than have him rest forward.

[LostDoggy]

Griffen is approaching 90-100 games. Selwood has played 50. Selwood is about 50% better then Griffen. Griffen lacks stamina, his hands are ordinary and so is his kicking, especially for goal on the run.
.

Have to disagree.

Griffen cops the hard tag every week. Selwood runs around with Callan Ward for company. No comparison. If Griffen ran around with a 13 gamer on him he would tear games apart, which teams know, and thus send their best tagger to him.

For what it's worth, Griff had 9 (!) tackles, 6 clearances (only Ablett had more with 7) and 2 goals last night, and was instrumental to a lot of the midfield pressure the Dogs put on the Cats and is a key reason to why we are the best clearance team in the comp at the moment.

[azabob]

Selwood was playing 'great' football in his first 13 games? Rubbish.

Like many others, Geelong's aura has made them giants in your eyes. Selwood has always been good, but until this year he hadn't really threatened to take a game apart, and he plays with the best midfielders in the comp, which makes his life running around without a tag (he copped a 13-gamer as an opponent last night for heaven's sakes) easy as hell.

Ashley Hansen looked like a gun too when West Coast had Judd and Cuz giving him the ball on a platter. It's easier to look 'great' when four of the best in the business (Ablett, Corey, Bartel, Ling) are around to take the attention off you.

And Joel Selwood has, for all his reputation for being hard, NEVER, in 50+ games, laid 10 tackles in a game, which Callan just did last night.

--

ps. why is first quarter form considered greater than fourth quarter form? So what if they got the jump? Isn't reeling them back in EXACTLY the same on the scoreboard, only in reverse? If Ablett and Selwood (there you go, Ablett AND Selwood, he got some help there didn't he) gave the Cats the jump, Aker in the third and Ward in the last dragged us back into it.

pps. Look at Daniel Kerr now -- it was a lot easier to destroy teams when Judd and Cuz copped the hardest tags, it's a bit harder to be dominant when you're the main man. We'll have a better handle on Selwood's real value when Corey, Ling and Bartel retire (Ablett will play till he's 60).

I understand your passion for the bulldogs. Ward has exactly the same support around him Cooney, Griffen, Boyd, Cross as Selwood does. I think first quarter form is equally important as last quarter form as majority of the time the game is at its quickest tempo at the begining. Ward had plenty of help in the 4th term last night also. Anyway Im hope im wrong and Ward turns out to be a much better player than Selwood.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Don't agree with that. He was up the ground a fair bit. Works hard even without the ball. Not in career-best form, but not alone in that. He kicked 3 last week - that's hardly a passenger.

If we hadn't fought back last night and had lost by 6-8 goals Welsh would be fair in the gun, he was very poor.

[azabob]

How do we rate Hahn's game?
I thought Eagleton was good.

[AndrewP6]

If we hadn't fought back last night and had lost by 6-8 goals Welsh would be fair in the gun, he was very poor.

Yes, but we didn't lose by 6-8 goals... and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I don't agree he was poor.

[AndrewP6]

How do we rate Hahn's game?
I thought Eagleton was good.

To be honest, I didn't notice Hahn much... thought Eagleton was good too. Interesting to note the Eagleton-bashers aren't up and about at the moment...:)

[LostDoggy]

First time in a long while I've watched the replay of a game that the dogs lost.

The Good:

Brad Johnson again shutting up some people - lead the team in marks with 10, just too bad he couldn't kick the game winning goal.

Matthew Boyd - no clangers, rock solid and has now brought some consistency to his game. My vote goes to him for future Captain.

Callan Ward - credited with 10 tackles and many more influences in the packs that could not be seen but caused the ball to go to his team mates. It was great to see him be part of the "zone busting" run though to the middle of the ground which lead to Brad Johnson's 4th (and unfortunately final goal for the game).

Ryan Griffen has been criticized for having a "quiet" game - perhaps it's due to the expectation for Griffen to play 4 quarters of explosive football. However 9 tackles and 6 clearances (leading the dogs) and 2 goals (and one crucial miss unfortunately) aren't bad numbers. I mean he wasn't great, but he wasn't THAT bad.

Nathan Eagleton with his patented left foot boomerang bombs (magnificent goal on the run deep in the final quarter) deserves a pat on the back.

Picken - great goal.

Guido again shut up critics with a great all around game and again lead the team in goal assists with 4 and kicked 2 goals himself.

Higgins made a welcome return to footy - however with 16 possies, was probably a bit rusty. Hey, not all players can be like Gary Bloody Ablett and get 38 possies and 7 clearances in his first game back for a couple of weeks.

Tim Callan looked right at home in the back pocket.

And of course Jason Akermanis - 300 games and a major influence in the game (7 inside 50's) the man talks the talk, but certainly walks the walk - unbelievable goal from the boundary line.



The Bad:

Josh Hill, with only 8 possessions at 50% efficiency was disappointing. Great one handed mark and good effort on the goal attempt but that one effort is just not good enough when a four quarter effort is required.


Jarrod Harbrow is being asked to play (and learn at the same time) a role he's unfamiliar with and was soundly beaten by Stokes in the air and had 6 clangers second most (with Aker having the most with 7!:eek:) and when you make a mistake with a team like Geelong, they make you pay.

With Harbrow's role, Eade would like him to run and create while being accountable to his opponent. This is where the dogs are missing Ryan Hargrave with his run and experience in picking out midfield and half forward targets. It was interesting in the second quarter, Eade decided to move Gilbee back to home sweet home, as a half back flanker and coincidentally, the Dogs got a run on and won the quarter.

The Ugly.

Dale Morris got the run around from Stevie Johnson - sure the Glove kept Johnson to just 11 possies, but he had 7 shots at goal, not including an 8th that he (thankfully) decided to give off and kicked it straight to a doggies player.

Some shocking turnovers STRAIGHT to the opposition. As I said before, you can't afford to make mistakes against a team like Geelong, because they will make you pay EVERY TIME.

Speaking of turnovers - I consider a free kick a turnover - well you are giving the ball to the opposition. And again, the cats took their chances and kicked the goals when they were given to them. Dodgy free kicks they were too and the Cat's had a quite a few incorrect disposals/holding the ball decision go their way.


And of course - Johnno's miss on the buzzer :( I thought he kicked it and I started to celebrate (yes I felt like Nathan Brown from last season), I also have a sore throat from screaming too much. God, it's strange to say the dogs COULD have won the game instead of saying the Dogs lost the game - I don't know if that actually makes sense but damn I just feel sorry for Johnno. :(


The Game Plan: When kicking out - it's pretty simple really. The dogs don't have a power forward to make the big lead down the wing to create a contest when every one is covered. Therefore Hudson and Minson have to work EXTREMELY hard to be that target. Just create a contest and get the ball across the line or get a ball up. At least the dogs midfield has a 50% chance of getting the ball. When there was no option down the line during the game except for the small forwards, invariably the kick outs wound up right back into the Cat's forward 50.

The Game Plan: When the dogs are running from the backline - usually the dogs like to use the corridor to mount an attack but when they use the wings/flanks those who are on the opposite side of the ground HAVE to run hard and give the half back flankers a chance of hitting a viable target. So many times the structure broke down with the dogs flooding back and forgetting to have some targets up forward. The Cats seemed to always have 3 - 4 defenders WAITING for that release kick and straight back into their forward 50. A couple of forwards have to have enough discipline to not get sucked into the play and just hold their position.


Until the dogs get their power forward, those are probably the main ways they can carry the ball out of the defensive 50 - although hitting their targets and stopping those brain fart turnovers would help very much so.


The Game Plan: Tackling - it was amazing the number of times we thought that a ball up was going to be called, but the Cat's players somehow, one way or the other (sometimes illegally) got the ball out of the packs. Tackles are a great stat, but what I would like to know is how many tackles are actually broken. The Cat's are masters of getting tackled but someone getting the ball to a team mate. During the game, I always thought it was a "win" that there were quite a few stoppages, because Cats like to keep the ball moving quickly but the dogs tackles were sticking and was preventing the cats midfield from having multiple possessions in quick succession and gaining momentum (this fell down a bit in the all important championship quarter).

The Swans: The match ups will be interesting - Slim Picken doesn't really have a match up - unless he becomes a run with player against Rhyce Shaw. If Hargrave misses - who's going to go with Ryan O'Keefe? Morris is the logical choice for Michael O'Loughlin and Brian Lake on Big Bad Busting Barry Hall. And what about Jarrad McVeigh who seems to enjoy playing against the dogs. And Tom Williams? Will they move him to the forward line as a tall forward target?

It will be yes...another great test for the dogs and whoever Morris plays on will be facing a very angry Glove, determined to erase any memory of the Geelong game.

GO DOGS!

[LostDoggy]

Fantastic performance by our guys last night, and whilst it is very disappointing not to have walked away with the win (forgot Johnno's miss - what about Aker being molested by by David Johnson a few moments earlier - blatant free in anyone's book!) we played a real 4 qtr effort. Hill, Griffen, Cooney, Welsh and Akermanis all missed easy chances and we sort of let the cats off. I thought we clearly outworked them defensively, but they just run and spread so hard offensively they only need a few moments to tear you apart.

I counted at least 8 Geelong goals where the chain started from a free kick. Anyone else notice the Ablett free rule in effect last night? Cooney was unceremoniously dumped after disposing of the ball a few times and never received the 50, Ablett got 2 both for (imo) softer incidents.Anyway....



Not to get too excited....but I think our season has just begun. We can win the flag this year. No doubt in my mind.

Have been sitting here reading all the posts on last night's game, and wondering was I the only one who saw that Geelong got a pretty good run with free's?? Have to agree with what you said Griff#16 - there seemed to be a number of blatant free's that we didn't get! That being said, I was pretty happy with the boys performance last night - I don't really go along with the line of an "honourable loss" - at the end of the year, all that will be remembered (by everyone else) is the score line and that we didn't win. I'm also hoping that last night was the start of our season - and hopefully we can win the next 4 to give the side confidence :D

[AndrewP6]

Have been sitting here reading all the posts on last night's game, and wondering was I the only one who saw that Geelong got a pretty good run with free's??

God no, I saw it... and have posted on it.

[LostDoggy]

Don't agree with that. He was up the ground a fair bit. Works hard even without the ball. Not in career-best form, but not alone in that. He kicked 3 last week - that's hardly a passenger.

Yes he kicked 3 against a limited opposition backline that had other players to keep a handle on. I am just concerned that he isnt working hard enough/is out of form/struggling with fitness and this will be shown up against the better teams.

On song, he has been a match winner.

[LostDoggy]

God no, I saw it... and have posted on it.

I think a few of us have mentioned it. May have been the difference for me, that and 3 missed opportunities in a row from some of our best kicks for goal in the third.

There were a few examples where similar free kicks were paid for Geelong players but when it was a dog it was play on.

If Aker didnt deserve a free kick in those final moments when he probably could have almost claimed sexual assault... (not making light of a serious matter but my god! He had arms and legs all over him!)

[AndrewP6]

Yes he kicked 3 against a limited opposition backline that had other players to keep a handle on. I am just concerned that he isnt working hard enough/is out of form/struggling with fitness and this will be shown up against the better teams.

On song, he has been a match winner.

I reckon he's still coming back from his time out. At his age, he spent a long time this year out of the side. I think he'll come good.

[LostDoggy]

I reckon he's still coming back from his time out. At his age, he spent a long time this year out of the side. I think he'll come good.

Reading through posts, few others on here reckon he did some good work too. I might have to watch the game again my heart was in my mouth and beating out of my chest for a good portion.

[AndrewP6]

Reading through posts, few others on here reckon he did some good work too. I might have to watch the game again my heart was in my mouth and beating out of my chest for a good portion.

:) Me too... screamed my lungs out for a while there... especially after half time. Sat next to a guy who had the nerve to complain about some frees the Cats DIDN'T get...

[boydogs]

Re. DexterT's Good, Bad and Ugly (don't want to quote the whole post)
Great post. I thought Cross on Bartel and the Centre Bounce ruck work from both Hudson and Minson were also notable Good's

[Stefcep]

--

ps. why is first quarter form considered greater than fourth quarter form? So what if they got the jump? Isn't reeling them back in EXACTLY the same on the scoreboard, only in reverse?

It harder to come back when you are 5 goals down: you not only have to kick 5 yourself, but you have to stop them from kicking ANY. The opposition can also take on a more defensive structure if you get a run on, making it harder still to make up the deficit. Physically its very draining. Who's body's would be more sore, ours or Geelong's? Do that over 22 weeks and it takes its toll come final's time.

[Go_Dogs]

How do we rate Hahn's game?
I thought Eagleton was good.


I thought Hahn was pretty good. His effort to effect the kick to Johnson right at the end, when he had about 10 blokes hanging off him, was sheer brute strength. He also managed to tackle Ablett to the ground, which is something that isn't seen often.

He probably still has a little way to go to get back to his best, but it was by no means a bad effort last night.

[hujsh]

It harder to come back when you are 5 goals down: you not only have to kick 5 yourself, but you have to stop them from kicking ANY. The opposition can also take on a more defensive structure if you get a run on, making it harder still to make up the deficit. Physically its very draining. Who's body's would be more sore, ours or Geelong's? Do that over 22 weeks and it takes its toll come final's time.

That's all just mindset. To get a 5 goal lead they have to kick five without us scoring any.


Bu really it's more likely that you'll score 8 goals to 3 than 5-0.

[Go_Dogs]

Have to disagree.

Griffen cops the hard tag every week. Selwood runs around with Callan Ward for company. No comparison. If Griffen ran around with a 13 gamer on him he would tear games apart, which teams know, and thus send their best tagger to him.

For what it's worth, Griff had 9 (!) tackles, 6 clearances (only Ablett had more with 7) and 2 goals last night, and was instrumental to a lot of the midfield pressure the Dogs put on the Cats and is a key reason to why we are the best clearance team in the comp at the moment.

I tend to agree and think a lot of the assessments have been a bit harsh on Griffen this year. Hopefully he has a massive break out game not too far away, at this rate people will be calling for his head soon.

[Scorlibo]

I tend to agree and think a lot of the assessments have been a bit harsh on Griffen this year. Hopefully he has a massive break out game not too far away, at this rate people will be calling for his head soon.

He was good but again he was just that little bit away from being great, he just seems to be struggling to find space in general play. I liked the aggressibe attitude he took in the 3rd and 4th quarters, which I noted as being after the point at which Scarrlet got him for holding the ball. He needs to show that aggression all the time and attack the ball like he knows he's the most talented player out there, because a lot of the time he is.

[Bulldog Revolution]

He was good but again he was just that little bit away from being great, he just seems to be struggling to find space in general play. I liked the aggressibe attitude he took in the 3rd and 4th quarters, which I noted as being after the point at which Scarrlet got him for holding the ball. He needs to show that aggression all the time and attack the ball like he knows he's the most talented player out there, because a lot of the time he is.

Teams just sit so tightly on Griff - he is universally respected by opposition teams

I thought he really worked defensively and he had 3-4 shots on goal - kicked 2, could easily of had 3, bloody shame he didn't

He still got a lot of improvement left in him but I was very pleased with his game Friday night. The mix of Higgins, Griff and Cooney still shapes as a potent force when fully fit.

[Mantis]

Teams just sit so tightly on Griff - he is universally respected by opposition teams

I thought he really worked defensively and he had 3-4 shots on goal - kicked 2, could easily of had 3, bloody shame he didn't

He still got a lot of improvement left in him but I was very pleased with his game Friday night. The mix of Higgins, Griff and Cooney still shapes as a potent force when fully fit.

And when you add in the hardness of players like Boyd, Cross, Ward, Picken and possibly Reid we look to be developing an awesome midfield group.

[LostDoggy]

He was good but again he was just that little bit away from being great, he just seems to be struggling to find space in general play. I liked the aggressibe attitude he took in the 3rd and 4th quarters, which I noted as being after the point at which Scarrlet got him for holding the ball. He needs to show that aggression all the time and attack the ball like he knows he's the most talented player out there, because a lot of the time he is.

He definitely could get better - no doubt about that, but to say (not by you, Scorlibo, I know) that Selwood is 50% better than Griff is just to not understand football very well.

Every team, if given the choice, would take Griffen over Selwood in a heartbeat, no question.

[Mantis]

I will wait for another look at the game before I hang anyone ;)

Anyone else think we immediately look a better side with Tim Callan in? Lacks a little polish but he helps out other defenders and is one of the bravest players in the comp.

Did you get a chance to watch the tape?

I just did and I can't think of too many occassions where our players didn't commit themselves to the contest.

[Rocket Science]

Did you get a chance to watch the tape?

I just did and I can't think of too many occassions where our players didn't commit themselves to the contest.

Fully agreed...loved the fact that we were doing it in numbers, and in rapid succession as well. It really underpinned our resurgent 2nd and 4th quarters, and it's the sort of irrepressible footy that stands up against any opposition, clearly even Geelong.

If we learned anything from that loss, I hope we learned that. If so, it'll take us a long, long way.

[Mantis]

Ok as I got slightly hammered in the corporate area on Friday my re-collection of the game was a little fuzzy, but after the watching replay last night it all came back to me.

Umpires - I don't mind that the let the game flow, but when players take on the tackler and drop the ball they need to be penalised.

Intensity - Bar for a few 5 minute bursts (which cost us dearly) our intensity was fantastic.

Opportunities missed - Our skilled players must convert their opportunities in front of goals. We missed 4 or 5 very gettable goals in the 3rd qtr which hurt us in the end of result.

We kept coming - We could have chucked in the towel a couple of times, but we didn't and that was almost the most impressive aspect of our performance.

Cross - really good game, but was still very indecisive with the ball in his hands. He has to learn to move the ball on quickly.

Boyd - has really matured as a player, hard & physical and he doesn't take any shit.

Johnson - vintage Johnson in parts, but he needs to be more aware at times and share the ball. In the piece of play where the ball was smothered in the 3rd qtr he should have dished the ball off by hand, I know thats being picky, but little mistakes are costly against the best teams.

Higgins - Fantastic game. The kid was hurt, but he put his body on the line every time he was in a contest. I was harsh with some of my comments in the pre-season, but performances like Friday night prove the kid is maturing and will be a damn good player.

Hahn - Thought he was great, battled hard and gave us a real hard edge.

Eagleton - His second half was good, but I still think he can use the ball better.

Williams - His kicking for a big bloke is good, his spot up kick to Aker in the 3rd qtr was very good.

Gia - Much better game, used it well, finished well and mixed it up in the centre.

Ward - Tough as nails, but still needs to find a bit of power in his legs to help him break through tackles or 'explode' away.

Griffen - Needs to take a little more care with his kicking, but his work around the contest was great.

Cooney - when he switches on he is great, but was too quiet for large chunks of the game.

Callan - did some great things defensively, but also did some poor things. He needs to be smarter defensively when he is isolated, he over-committed a couple of times and it was costly. When you have team-mates around his reckless actions can be helpful, but when you are isolated and go to ground in the contest your actions can be extremely hurtful as we saw late in the game with his contests with Bartel.

Harbrow - was badly beaten in the air by Stokes on a couple of occassions, but I thought he was ok. In the last 5 or so minutes of the game his work around the contest was fantastic. In this time he had 3 one on one contests with Ablett and beat him in 2 and held the ball in for the other one. Speaks volumes about the sort of player he could develop into.

Picken - I think we saw that he struggles in defence, but he did some great things. Was more than happy to mix it up and out close. His awareness is good and he is now happy to take on players in order to free up his team-mates. Hard and tough as well and is developing into a handy player.

Overall you can't be anything but impressed with our performance. We really controlled the game for probably 60 or 70% of the game and bar for the costly lapses where we gave away goals in quick succession we looked the better team.

As many other posters have commented since the game we need to bring that intensity to our game more often than not because when we do we go ok.;)

[azabob]

Was Johnson's kick after the siren a goal an AFL player would kick 5 out of 10 times, or 8 out of 10 times, or 10 out of 10 times?

Should have he kicked the goal? The more I look at it, the more I wonder....

[Mofra]

Callan - did some great things defensively, but also did some poor things. He needs to be smarter defensively when he is isolated, he over-committed a couple of times and it was costly. When you have team-mates around his reckless actions can be helpful, but when you are isolated and go to ground in the contest your actions can be extremely hurtful as we saw late in the game with his contests with Bartel.

This is a very good point - I'm not sure if it is overenthusiasm and desperation to be part of the best 22, but he needs to learn when to hold off & corral the opposition.

[bornadog]

Was Johnson's kick after the siren a goal an AFL player would kick 5 out of 10 times, or 8 out of 10 times, or 10 out of 10 times?

Should have he kicked the goal? The more I look at it, the more I wonder....

I have watched this a number of times.

A couple of things:

* He was only metres out, even though there was an angle.
* He rushed his shot
* Why a banana kick from so close, why not a drop punt, and steer it through

In the end, I am soooooo disappointed with his effort from a player that has played 333 games.

[bornadog]

Umpires - I don't mind that the let the game flow, but when players take on the tackler and drop the ball they need to be penalised.

This is fine if it happens for four quarters, but why do we have to have soft free kicks in the first quarter. Three goals out of six, were kicked from direct free kicks in the 1st qrt.

[azabob]

I have watched this a number of times.

A couple of things:

* He was only metres out, even though there was an angle.
* He rushed his shot
* Why a banana kick from so close, why not a drop punt, and steer it through

In the end, I am soooooo disappointed with his effort from a player that has played 333 games.

I tend to agree with you. It wasn't till Sunday mind you that I thought he should've kicked it.

[Sedat]

I have watched this a number of times.

A couple of things:

* He was only metres out, even though there was an angle.
* He rushed his shot
* Why a banana kick from so close, why not a drop punt, and steer it through

In the end, I am soooooo disappointed with his effort from a player that has played 333 games.
Unfortunatelty he has form - the set shot against North last year was really a poor miss as well, and wasted the fantastically composed work of Gia to spot him up in traffic and deliver it to him in that instance.

I also thought there was enough daylight for Johnno to try a drop punt, but then he does tend to kick his set shots a little right to left, which was the worst position for such a kick to be kicked from. The disappointing thing from my perspective was that he a) rushed to play on (which showed a complete lack of awareness relevant to the time of the match), and b) he didn't steady and compose himself anywhere near enough before he took the shot.

He would have been exhaused when he made the surpreme effort to contest the mark, so he really should have taken all the time in the world to relax, suck in a few big breaths to get his heart rate back down, then size up the goals and kick the drop punt or banana. Easy for me to say so in the stands, but the mindset can't have been right if he tried to play on immediately after taking a mark with 31 minutes up on the clock.