Game Day: Hawks vs Bulldogs

[GVGjr]

This is the discussion thread for Sundays game.

Who's you tip to kick the first goal for us?
I will go with Eagleton

[BulldogBelle]

Jason Akermanis is my pick this week, he will be raring to get off to a great start.

[bornadog]

I will go with Gia for the first goal.

[Twodogs]

Senor Aka.

[LostDoggy]

Murphy

Looks like it is going to be a wet game today (unlike yesterday in Melbourne despite the predictions). Can't remember the last time I went to the footy in the rain - TD doesn't count (and I also don't count that final in Perth).

[Dry Rot]

Sounds like Darcy has got a lot of it and played well, but has been inaccurate - is that correct?

[Dry Rot]

We were beaten 36-17 in the clearances. Simply not good enough.

[LostDoggy]

Sounds like Darcy has got a lot of it and played well, but has been inaccurate - is that correct?

Correct. A poster and several behinds. No goals scored by us in the final quarter.

[southerncross]

Correct. A poster and several behinds. No goals scored by us in the final quarter.

That shot Darcy missed in the last quarter could have really crushed them. No excuses from such an experienced player. I'm concerned he might get investigated as well after that altercation with Hodge.

[LostDoggy]

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8858/picture334ye4.jpg

[LostDoggy]

That shot Darcy missed in the last quarter could have really crushed them. No excuses from such an experienced player. I'm concerned he might get investigated as well after that altercation with Hodge.

Details? That wasn't who Darcy pushed into the goal post is it?

[GVGjr]

Another game that we should have put them away. Our percentage just isn't being given the boost it should after the three wins. We should have buried Geelong, Richmond and Hawthorn by at least a combined 120 points

[southerncross]

Details? That wasn't who Darcy pushed into the goal post is it?

Yes that is the incident. It didn't look like a push more like a slap. Hodge, who is no wimp, didn't bounce back up too quickly.

[LostDoggy]

I'll have to check the replay ... (I thought it was a shove)

[southerncross]

I'll have to check the replay ... (I thought it was a shove)

You might be right. I just expected Hodge to bounce back quicker. Lets call it a shove ;)

[LostDoggy]

Well - Darcy gave Hodge a good whack to the face and he went down. However it was an instant retaliation to Hodge belting Darcy in the head. There were 2 umpires right there (3 if you count the goal umpire) and no reports were layed. Commentators mentioned it would be looked at but didn't sound overly concerned (not that that means anything!).

[GVGjr]

Well - Darcy gave Hodge a good whack to the face and he went down. However it was an instant retaliation to Hodge belting Darcy in the head. There were 2 umpires right there (3 if you count the goal umpire) and no reports were layed. Commentators mentioned it would be looked at but didn't sound overly concerned (not that that means anything!).

Thats a relief. I hope he has nothing to answer.

[dog town]

Even though the scoreboard says they had plenty of scoring shots it is a game we could or should have won by 8-10 goals. After the first 6 or 7 minutes we completely controlled the game. The hawks were generally more desperate than us but we were a little bit cleaner and ran and supported each other very well. We actually got pumped in the clearances but won first possesion more times than them so that to me says our set up is wrong and we are not making the most of getting our hands on the ball. Our pressure skills were pretty good I thought and we closed down their space pretty well.

I thought that we lacked that full on no excuses attack on the footy once again with a few guys taking the easy option a few times. I watch this alot now because I think its the main area we need to address to go up another level.

In alot of ways the hawks played into our hands. They are a good tackling side but they continually ran at us and we were able to run in numbers and get an overlap when the hawks over committed. Our close in handpassing while under pressure was very good.

Special mention has to go to Harris , Morris and Hargrave who worked well together down back but I will talk about them later.

Umpiring was terrible.

Our forward line functioned fairly well against pretty inexperienced opposition. They blocked well for each other and lead to the right spots. One thing that annoys me a little bit and it stands out a bit more on the massive MCG is when we have the ball at half back and we have a pack of players on the wing that no forwards push up the ground and try to give an option longer and clear of the traffic. I am sure they are under instruction to leave that space for us to run into but I think sometimes we should mix it up. I have heard our forwards say that they like to try to cause organised chaos with the way they set up and its good to have so many moving targets inside 50 but sometimes we need guys to push up into the hole and create an option.

West- Had 41 touches and made very good decisions when he had the ball. Kicked the ball out in front and allowed our guys to run into the wide open spaces. He said after the game that he was dissapointed with our intensity.

Harris- Best game for the club I would say. Had 15 marks by zoning off his man and generally shut out his oponent as well. They just kept kicking the ball to him and he started alot of our attacks by taking a mark deep in defence.. Playing with a bit of confidence at the moment.

Hargrave- Alot of people wont rate his game but I thought he was very clever. Wight got 2 kicked on him early by Franklin and Hargrave had to go onto him. I thought Hargrave was instrumental in turning the momentum back our way just by putting some physical pressure on Franklin and immediately running off Franklin setting up a few forward thrusts. Franklin ended up with 4 on Hargy and about 10 touches but he got lucky a few times and Hargrave beat him one on one quite a few times. Initial match up for Franklin was a poor decision from Eade I thought.

Morris- Had some very telling touches down back and is getting back to his 2006 form. I liked his positioning down back and he played on a few different types. A few times he showed that his confidence isn't 100% because he went to leave his man to make a contest and then changed his mind half way ending up in no mans land. Closing speed makes him vital to our ability to match up different types of forwards.

Wight- Probably the most that he has sruggled down back. Was just giving too much of a head start to his opponents on the lead. He probably doesn't have the closing speed to be giving up front position and trailing in a couple of meters behind his opponents. Gave us a bit of a different look in the ruck with his big leap and probably won most of his taps IMO. Didn't play there long enough to have an impact around the ground though.

Cooney- Tagged out of it by Sewell but still worked hard to have an influence. Smart by Eade to leave him on the bench and forward quite a bit. You would pretty much concede at this stage that if Coons cops a hard tag he will struggle so you cant really afford to have him in the midfield much in that situation. Also robs the hawks of a pretty handy player. Always looks dangerous front and square up forward.

Aker- Best game for the club. Threatened to really break it open but something good happened everytime he was involved. Played pretty much all of his ground time on the wing other than a few short stints in the centre square. As soon as the rain came late Sewell went onto him and he still looked dangerous in those conditions. We could probably use him a bit more when he is in space as we missed him on his own quite a few times. I think he also needs to come to grips with the fact that he has maybe lost a yard in speed and kicking.

Gilbee- Bit of a return to form. Ran well from defence and used it well. Was a bit of a contradiction in that he would do something very brave followed by something a little bit airy fairy.

Johnson- Played more midfield and half forward today and again early he seemed to be lost when he got the ball up the ground but gradually as the game went on he became more composed and more aware of what was around him and by the end I thought he was using his touches beautifully. Just seemed to be starting to take his time a bit more and measuring his kicks. Laid a very un Jonno like block for Darcy in the last that set up a scoring shot.

Murphy- Getting better and better but still not right. He and Darcy both pulled out of ground level contests to protect their knees which is fair enough but it is obviously still playing on his mind. As clever as ever but not 100% below his knees or in the air. Created a goal with a cat like interception. Has amazing reflexes.

Darcy- Didn't get the reward for some good work because his kicking let him down but he certainly gave them something else to think about. Spent bugger all time in the ruck but was a good target man up forward.

Cross- Was brilliant again. He and West cop some flak for not being penetrating by foot but they dont make many mistakes either. Got plenty in close as usual and carried the ball well to. Amazing handball to set up Higgins in the first quarter.

Mcmahon- Not his best game of the year but set up plenty of attacks with clever kicks. They isolated him deep a few times on the taller Dixon but Dixons kicking let him down. Also noted Jordy didn't handle the slippery conditions late in the game all that well. Went to ground a bit much.

Ray- I want to write the words FIRST OPTION on his forehead. His best game of the year and seems to enjoy the space at the g but he all to often doesn't take first option and gets himself into trouble. Needs to keep things simpler.

Griffen- Much better effort. Made some really good defensive efforts to spoil or tackle and carried the ball well when we had possesion.

Guido- A little bit better and had some important touches but still not fantastic. Made some skill errors and ran to some strange spots. Stayed a bit stronger over the ball this week. Set up goals for Power and Ray with spot up passes.

Higgins- Just made himself dangerous without getting a heap of it. His finishing skills are elite. Would like to see him through the centre square more often even if just for a burst.

[Bulldog Revolution]

cheers Dog Town, I was unable to get to the game, I'm not going to give an excuse as I except that this board would find it unacceptable - and I'd probably agree.

Anyhow thanks for the feedback.

Very pleasing Aker was so positive, West and Cross are just model footballers in there consistent workrates. I'm also pleased that Darcy was able to get his hands on it so much, and I enjoyed the Murphy snap in the highlights

[Raw Toast]

Thanks for the detailed report dt, another excellent read. I couldn't get to the game either and had to settle for the radio.

Sounded like Aker was hurting the hawks with his long-kicking and vision, but that he got a bit tentative around the goals.

Not sure what Higgins did wrong in the last quarter and a bit but Eade sounded ropeable on 774 (with him and the team in general). Not sure that Eade's later media comments about Higgins would've been completely true as he refused to say what Higgins had done wrong, just said he was v disappointed with his last quarter and a bit (sounds, as Scooter said on bf, tha the broke a team rule).

Eade also seemed to be fuming about intensity as well, and complained that while many people would've been happy with our skill level, we made close to a dozen mistakes that we shouldn't have.

Minson seemed like he struggled again. When Eade was asked about Minson looking at the other ruckman rather than the ball he said Darcy does as well (he was quite scathing, something about trying to trip the light fantastic). Bit of a test against Cox and Seaby coming up this week, wouldn't mind Wight playing in the ruck a bit more if match-ups allow it.

A few varying reports on Power on bf, how did people on here think he went? And what about Robbins, did his pressure skills justify his lack of ball?

[Twodogs]

A few varying reports on Power on bf, how did people on here think he went?



He was good although he was bad as well. He had a poor game possession wise but looked a lot more confident and assured when he did get it.

[Mantis]

And what about Robbins, did his pressure skills justify his lack of ball?


Thought he was ordinary.. Almost took a great mark, we all know the story with that one.. Just couldn't get into the game, he is quite limited in that you cant really put him up into the midfield to find a bit of ball when he is not finding it deep in the forwardline. With Harbrow performing well at W'Bee it may mean that Robbo may struggle to keep his spot as they are both playing for the one spot and Harbrow may offer us more...

[Raw Toast]

He was good although he was bad as well. He had a poor game possession wise but looked a lot more confident and assured when he did get it.

Sounded on the radio as if he mainly played up forward, but seems like he's struggling to get enough of the ball up there with Murphy and Darcy around. I thought he looked quite confident and composed against the Saints but didn't get much of it then either.

Seemed like he was on the bench quite a bit from what I read on bf. With Griffen moving down back again (perhaps temporarily) Power struggles to get a starting spot, but does add flexibility in being able to go forward or back. While not as dynamic as Griffen, I think Power was playing his role to a certain extent in that he was roving quite a few of the defensive contests, linking up and providing some run.


Thought he was ordinary.. Almost took a great mark, we all know the story with that one.. Just couldn't get into the game, he is quite limited in that you cant really put him up into the midfield to find a bit of ball when he is not finding it deep in the forwardline. With Harbrow performing well at W'Bee it may mean that Robbo may struggle to keep his spot as they are both playing for the one spot and Harbrow may offer us more...

Harbrow did have a pretty good game for Werribee and Robbins is likely to be under the pump a lot from now on. Thought Robbins started brightly against Richmond, and sounded prominent early against the Hawks, but Harbrow's good with his pressure-skills as well as at crumbing. Did we crumb the ball much up forward against the Hawks? (I think Higgins might have been in trouble for flying for the ball too much but this is just a guess).

[Raw Toast]

Johnson- Played more midfield and half forward today and again early he seemed to be lost when he got the ball up the ground but gradually as the game went on he became more composed and more aware of what was around him and by the end I thought he was using his touches beautifully. Just seemed to be starting to take his time a bit more and measuring his kicks. Laid a very un Jonno like block for Darcy in the last that set up a scoring shot.

This is just about the most promising thing I've read on the game. Johnson's had a bit of adjusting to do. Was obviously fantastic for much of last season and against the Cats in R1, but against Adelaid and the Saints it seemed clear that we needed to use other options a bit more. If Johnson can start using the ball effectively up-field then he becomes even more of a nightmare for opponents.

Sounded like he was creating more by hand than earlier, and he had 10 handballs this game, compared to just 20 in his first 4 games.


Ray- I want to write the words FIRST OPTION on his forehead. His best game of the year and seems to enjoy the space at the g but he all to often doesn't take first option and gets himself into trouble. Needs to keep things simpler.

Eade said after the game that Ray has been given run-with roles in the last couple of weeks. Said he thought his effort against the Tiges when he was on Deledio had been greatly under-rated, and that against the Hawks he was switched to whoever was going well, for example McGlynn. Eade seemed pretty pleased with him, but I agree that he's a better option when he keeps it simple.

Eade also praised West. Said that as well as getting a heap of it, they put him on Mitchell when he was starting to come into it, and West limited him while still finding the ball himself. And he racked up another mere 7 effective (plus 2 ineffective) tackles.

[bornadog]

I thought Eade was too critical of Gilbees game. I saw the interview after the game and I really thought he didn't give Gilbee enough praise. I thought Gilbee played a great game, these guys aren't supermen, so I am not sure what he expects.

[bornadog]

A few varying reports on Power on bf, how did people on here think he went? And what about Robbins, did his pressure skills justify his lack of ball?

I am still not a Power fan, and to mine he barely keeps his position. He is intent on getting rid of the ball as soon as he gets it and often makes the wrong decision. He must do more to hold down his position.

Robbo is not a super star, all we want is for him to kick a couple of goals every week (50 for the year) and run and pressure the backman and in fact thats what he did on Saturday.

[Go_Dogs]

Interesting that Ray has been used in a bit of a run with role. A few of us here were suggesting such a move reasonably recently. Thought he had been pretty good over the last few weeks. His goal, and a couple of other good passes that he spotted up on the weekend were very pleasing, as was his overhead marking again, or at least, ability to contest in the air with a bit of presence.

I thought Power was reasonably good too. I'd like to see him sometimes get a bit of a negating role in the midfield, and although as mentioned he didn't get a lot of the ball, he looked confident and sure when he had it. Obviously Rocket has shown a lot of faith in Sam, and certainly 2 years ago, perhaps even a year ago, Sam wouldn't have came straight back in after an injury at the expense of others who played reasonable games. He's been quite impressive so far this year, and has just about nailed a best 22 spot. Going to be interesting to see once Hahn, Monty and Grant are all up for consideration too.

[GVGjr]

Interesting that Ray has been used in a bit of a run with role. A few of us here were suggesting such a move reasonably recently. Thought he had been pretty good over the last few weeks. His goal, and a couple of other good passes that he spotted up on the weekend were very pleasing, as was his overhead marking again, or at least, ability to contest in the air with a bit of presence.



I think Ray has something to offer us in that area plus I wouldn't mind seeing him used as a defender allowing McMahon to be used more in the midfield.



I thought Power was reasonably good too. I'd like to see him sometimes get a bit of a negating role in the midfield, and although as mentioned he didn't get a lot of the ball, he looked confident and sure when he had it. Obviously Rocket has shown a lot of faith in Sam, and certainly 2 years ago, perhaps even a year ago, Sam wouldn't have came straight back in after an injury at the expense of others who played reasonable games. He's been quite impressive so far this year, and has just about nailed a best 22 spot. Going to be interesting to see once Hahn, Monty and Grant are all up for consideration too.

Power is a marked man with a number of supporters and while he still needs to improve as far as I am concerned he is not as bad as some think.
He was very good last year as a forward and I like the fact that he can play both ends of the ground.

[Go_Dogs]

I think Ray has something to offer us in that area plus I wouldn't mind seeing him used as a defender allowing McMahon to be used more in the midfield.

Certainly like this idea.

[dog town]

This is just about the most promising thing I've read on the game. Johnson's had a bit of adjusting to do. Was obviously fantastic for much of last season and against the Cats in R1, but against Adelaid and the Saints it seemed clear that we needed to use other options a bit more. If Johnson can start using the ball effectively up-field then he becomes even more of a nightmare for opponents.

Sounded like he was creating more by hand than earlier, and he had 10 handballs this game, compared to just 20 in his first 4 games.



. I was amazed that the papers were talking as if Johnson was shut out of the game. Campbell Brown even got votes in the paper. Johnson still had 23 touches and played atleast half the game leading from 30 out all the way up to defensive wing. The first time he got the ball up the ground seemed a similar story to previous weeks. He seemed almost overly eager to get the ball moving and played on straight away had no options then got himself in a tight situation. As the game wore on he was more composed and put some nice passes into space and if he did play on quickly it was just when it was a more sensible option. He was brilliant in this role around 2002 but really hasn't played under Eade other than a few little patches. Might just need time to get used to the space.





Eade said after the game that Ray has been given run-with roles in the last couple of weeks. Said he thought his effort against the Tiges when he was on Deledio had been greatly under-rated, and that against the Hawks he was switched to whoever was going well, for example McGlynn. Eade seemed pretty pleased with him, but I agree that he's a better option when he keeps it simple.

Eade also praised West. Said that as well as getting a heap of it, they put him on Mitchell when he was starting to come into it, and West limited him while still finding the ball himself. And he racked up another mere 7 effective (plus 2 ineffective) tackles. This is the sort of thing we cant really pick up as supporters. Not many could have picked up that Ray was tagging someone. It is easy when it is someone who regularly runs with a player. Will be good for his development and give him another string to his bow which he probably needs being a poor kick in a side which bases its game on skill. My criticism is based on him continually holding onto the ball when someone has pushed to make an option for him. It isn't just when he is in space but also when under pressure. Cant remember who it was but he was getting tackled looked at a teamate running past then decided to try and spin out of the tackle and it probably cost us a shot on goal. Makes it hard to have any sort of sustainable game plan if you dont know what your teammates are going to do when they have the ball. Still his best game for the year for mine.


West tends to lift a cog against the better players of the same type. Mitchell had 32 touches but was not as effective a Cross or West.

Power was ok. Not as big a fan of him in that half forward role as some mainly because I think for all his clever passing he just doesn't give you enough in terms of presenting and ball winning ability. Had a couple of turnovers but didn't do that much wrong. One of his clangers was a switch across ground at half forward that was intercepted but it was probably the right option ( gave it a bit to much air). Couple of strong tackles as usual.

Hard to say whether Aker was tentative around goals or not but I certainly think he has lost maybe a yard in pace and a bit of depth with his kicking. Not a weakness by any means but he missed two goals that he would have nailed earlier in his career and looked like he was putting alot of effort into the kicks. Roved a couple brilliantly off contests and looked like the old Aker but they tackled him pretty quickly.

We got a few crumbing goals. Cooney got a classic one in the third and looked dangerous in that situation a few times. Murphy got a couple of poachers goals at ground level but I suppose they were not really crumbing goals. Similar story for Higgins goal.

[dog town]

I thought Eade was too critical of Gilbees game. I saw the interview after the game and I really thought he didn't give Gilbee enough praise. I thought Gilbee played a great game, these guys aren't supermen, so I am not sure what he expects.
What did he say? Gilbee ran well and looked more confident but lacked the killer instinct Eade would be looking for IMO.

[Sockeye Salmon]

I've been disagreeing with most people about Power for years and I still am. For 4 years I've been telling everyone on BF that he was not as bad as everyone made out, now I don't think he's been as good as everyone else has made out.

I thought Power was in our worst 3 on Sunday.