Game day - Bulldogs vs Demons

[GVGjr]

This is the discussion thread for todays game.

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

[Topdog]

Darcy with the 1st goal, Bulldogs to win by 23 points. This game starts at 2 right?

[southerncross]

The real question about todays game is can the players bounce back from travel over to the West and then playing against a team with so much to prove. Very much a danger game as far as I am concerned.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Time for Johnno to get back on track and kick the first one

[Go_Dogs]

I hope Griffen gets an early one. I'm also a bit nervous about this game.

[Dry Rot]

Was Harris reported? And what happened bewteen West & Godfrey?

[GVGjr]

Was Harris reported? And what happened between West & Godfrey?

There could be a few reports out of the game. Cross made contact with an umpire and I think one of the defenders might have as well. I was watching West when Godfrey went down and there didn't appear to be much in it but he did milk it for what it was worth.

Not sure about Harris.

[Dry Rot]

Thought Street played a good game, and today was the best ruck set-up so far this year.

Still need to really improve in the clearances.

[southerncross]

Thought Street played a good game, and today was the best ruck set-up so far this year.

Still need to really improve in the clearances.

Street was more than OK but I'm note sure it was a lot better than OK. A couple of nice marks in defence were good. Thought we started to play better footy when Darcy was in the ruck.

God we got out of jail a couple of times today. Hargrave, Eagleton and Johnno really stood up when it counted.

[southerncross]

Bulldogs pip Dees in a thriller (http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21722482%255E20322,00.html)

A CLEVER late goal from Western Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson lifted his side to a 16.16 (112) to 16.10 (106) win over Melbourne in a thriller at Telstra Dome today.

It was the second straight match in which winless Melbourne suffered a narrow defeat, with today's six-point difference following a five-point loss to Port Adelaide at the MCG last round.
The lead changed four times in time-on in the final term as the two sides traded goals.
Melbourne had fought back from a 15-point deficit at the last change to hit the lead 10 minutes into the final term.
Speedy forward Aaron Davey was sensational for the Demons in the final term, gathering 12 disposals and kicking the clever snap which put them in the lead for the first time since midway through the second quarter.
The Bulldogs regained the lead through Ryan Hargrave 17 minutes into the term after Johnson set him up with a handball.
Melbourne skipper David Neitz, who had a horror day and was dragged at one stage in the final term, finally kicked his first goal of the match just into time-on to put his side back in front.
Bulldogs' 200-gamer Nathan Eagleton capped a memorable milestone match with a long running goal in another switch of the lead.
Melbourne small forward Colin Sylvia took a strong pack mark to put the Demons back in front, before Johnson replied with the winning goal just over a minute later.
The Bulldogs pushed the ball forward after being paid a free kick in the centre square, with Johnson gathering on the 50m line, spinning around and shooting truly from 45m to put his side five points up about two minutes from fulltime.
It gave him four goals for the match to be the game's highest scorer.
Jason Akermanis made it a six-point lead with a missed snap before the Demons made a final forward thrust. Bulldogs defender Brian Harris took a mark on the last line of defence in the dying seconds to ensure his side held on.
Daniel Cross was a fine player in the midfield for the Bulldogs and Lindsay Gilbee provided great run and composure from defence.
For Melbourne, midfielder Travis Johnstone was excellent all day.

[southerncross]

Johnson kicks winner as Dees fall short (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/johnson-kicks-winner-as-dees-fall-short/2007/05/13/1178994987599.html)


WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.1 10.5 12.12 16.16 (112)
MELBOURNE 6.1 7.6 10.9 16.10 (106)
GOALS: Western Bulldogs: B Johnson 4 M Hahn 2 S Higgins 2 D Cross L Gilbee N Eagleton D Giansiracusa L Darcy A Cooney J Akermanis R Hargrave. Melbourne: C Sylvia 3 A Davey 3 A Yze 2 B Green 2 M Bate D Neitz L Dunn T Johnstone D Bell J White. BEST: Western Bulldogs: B Johnson D Cross L Gilbee B Harris D Giansiracusa N Eagleton. Melbourne: A Davey T Johnstone C Sylvia J White C Bruce A Yze.
Umpires: S McLaren D Sully M Head.
Crowd: 24,584 at Telstra Dome.

A clever late goal from Western Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson lifted his side to a 16.16 (112) to 16.10 (106) win over Melbourne in a see-sawing thriller at Telstra Dome today.
It was the second straight match in which winless Melbourne suffered an agonisingly narrow defeat, with today's six-point difference following a five-point loss to Port Adelaide at the MCG last round.
The lead changed four times in time-on in the final term, as the two sides traded goals.
Melbourne had earlier fought back from a 15-point deficit at the last change to hit the lead 10 minutes into the final term.
Speedy forward Aaron Davey was sensational for the Demons in the final term, gathering 12 disposals and kicking the clever snap which put them in the lead for the first time since midway through the second quarter. The Bulldogs regained the lead through Ryan Hargrave 17 minutes into the term, after Johnson set him up with a handball.
Melbourne skipper David Neitz, who had a horror day and was dragged at one stage in the final term, finally kicked his first goal of the match just into time-on to put Melbourne back in front.
Bulldogs' 200-gamer Nathan Eagleton capped a memorable milestone match with a long running goal in another switch of the lead.
Melbourne small forward Colin Sylvia took a strong pack mark to put Melbourne back in front, before Johnson replied with the winning goal just over a minute later.
The Bulldogs pushed the ball forward after being paid a free kick in the centre square, with Johnson gathering on the 50m line, spinning around and shooting truly from 45 metres to put his side five points up about two minutes from fulltime.
It gave him four goals for the match to be the game's highest scorer.
Jason Akermanis made it a six-point lead with a missed snap, before the Demons made one final forward thrust, but Neitz' opponent Brian Harris took a mark on the last line of defence in the dying seconds to ensure his side held on.
Daniel Cross was a fine player in the midfield for the Bulldogs, while Lindsay Gilbee provided great run and composure from defence.
For Melbourne, midfielder Travis Johnstone was excellent all day.

[dog town]

First thing I will say is dont judge this win on Melbournes current ladder position. They are a top 8 side when at full strength and today was the closest they have been to full strength this year with only 2 real quality players out. The dees were playing for their season so I thought it was a good effort to get over the line and not your typical fall over the line against a cellar dweller win. We had 69 tackles and broke even for contested ball so it shows that our effort was right up today.

Having said all that I think we can improve in lots of areas both as a side and in terms of individual players. I liked the way we swarmed and created turnovers but our execution on the rebound still has not reached the standards we are capable of. We are probably carrying a few blokes who are not getting enough of the ball through hard running and I think this might be stopping us getting those easy transition goals that we got at times last year.

I mentioned on another thread that I thought Daniher got the better of Eade in the second half. Basically Bruce went into the midfield in the third quarter after being touched up by Johnson and got a stack of it. Johnstone was being tagged by Boyd so we couldn't really move Boyd onto him (Bruce) because Johnstone was still dangerous. We also had Davey giving Morris the run around taking him all over the ground with Jordan Mcmahon having one of his quietest games of the season for us.

I thought Mcmahon should have gone head to head around the ground with Davey to get him into the game as I think Mcmahon would have done just as much damage at the very least. This would have released Morris to go with Bruce who is a similar athlete. The way it worked out they had Johnstone , Bruce and Davey the 3 guys the would want getting plenty of the ball doing just that and pretty much dictating the way they played the game. Just thought we missed a chance to turn the tables and free Jordy from a quieter day down back and maybe give Morris a bit of an easier task. Thought it was best to persevere with Boyd on Johnstone. Thats how I read it anyway. Please tell me if I have read some of these match ups wrong because I didn't get to the ground. Got a nasty poke in the eye at footy yesterday.

I did like a couple of the moves Eade made. He put Wight onto Bate in the last and released Hargy a little. Thought Wight made himself a factor in the last and did well in some crucial contests. Eade also sent Aker forward and exposed Bell and a couple of others.

Ray- Best game for the season I thought. Used his marking well and got some important loose balls. Disposal and decision making can still be better but I had him in our best today.

Cross- Was brilliant as the game wore on. Probably over did the diving on the ball that he and Westy are so good at early but his courage in the air and winning of crucial contests was a major influence on the result.

Boyd- Think he played on Trav Johnstone. Played his role pretty well and had his usual influence around the packs.

Johnson- Probably gave us that edge in class. We need Murph up and Darcy back at his best to make us less predictable. Hahn gives us another option now. Johnson played very well and lead cleverly as he always does. Wish he would stop kicking the ball off the ground though.

West- Tagged by Godfrey and reasonably well held. Still did some crucial things when the game was up for grabs. Wouldn't mind seeing him isolated deep forward more often when he has a hard tag on. He is so strong and smart he is going to win the ball no matter where he is playing if he is one on one. Just gives him a bit more space to expose his opponent. He isnt going to be dangerous leading out but if you just get it into him then he will get his hands on it.

Hahn- Very good return game. Looked dangerous whenever he was near it. Adds so many dimensions to us. Can play deep or as a target around CHF even midfield in patches. Had a good presence when the ball was on the ground with his attack on the footy and tackling. Will only get better.

Gilbee- Better than his stats suggest. Very effective by foot and did alot of mopping up work. Played on a number of opponents. I think it might have been Yze who got away from him for a little bit but still thought he was more than handy.

Eagle-Typical sort of hard running Eagleton game. Not hurting sides enough at the moment for the style of game he plays but he is important to us because he runs so hard.

Harbrow- Prominent early. Still find it hard to believe he didn't play last week. Looks a real find to me. Will get better with time.

Guido- Our best player early on but faded a little. Still had some important touches

Darcy- Thought he really worked into the game well. Had a genuine influence around the ground and got his hand to the ball in the ruck.Still a work in progress.

Griffen- Pretty poor again. Just not getting enough of the ball in close and also through gut running. Intensity is their when he is near the ball and he had 5 tackles and made some nice spoils but he is not working hard enough off the ball. Does the hard things brilliantly but forgets the basics.

Cooney- Fairly similar story to Griffen. Looked like Jones was playing on him. Had 8 tackles and worked hard when the ball landed in his area but like Griffen didn't work hard enough to get the ball. Impressed with his improved output late in the game.

Higgins- Dropped out of it after half time but was close to the most damaging player on the ground before the half. A staggering stat I heard today was that his turnover in the second quarter was his first ineffective disposal for the season. Came just after a brilliant kick out in front of Johnson to set up a goal. Still very young.

Addison- Didn't get much of it but showed a few good signs. I can see why Rocket likes him. He is fearless and the type of player we need to persist with and bring through quickly if we are going to improve our contested work to the levels of the top 4 sides. I actually thought he looked like a small defender but starting to think he could be an inside midfielder with time.

Mcmahon- Little bit quieter but still set up a few attacks. Liked his work as the game got tighter .

Hargy- Played a more defensive game early but gave a bit of run as the game wore on. Put in some crucial chases and tackles late in the game when the pressure was on.

Street- Credit where its due he was ok today. Did fairly well with his taps and was serviceable around the ground. Needs to be smarter with where he parks his big frame. Got in a leading players space a few times and then didn't complete the mark.

Aker- Brilliant in the last quarter and a bit. Such an adrenaline filled finishcould be just what he needed. A tight finish tends to force you to letgo of your inhibitions and just go for it and I think thats what happened. He just played on instinct and his evasiveness and legs came back to him. Could easily have kicked 3 or 4.

Wight- Had patches in the ruck early and struggled so I was wondering what they would do with him. Came on and had an impact picking up Bate in the last quarter. Beat him in several one on ones and when he didn't he atleast forced another contest and gave us time for players to get back. The dees tried to play through Bate alot in the last. Wight is still finding his feet but he found a way to keep himself in the game today.

Harris- Different role today. More of a stopper and murdered Neitz. Having a good start to the year again.

[Dry Rot]

Great report DT.

Was really impressed with young Addison - agree that he could make an inside midfielder. One of our few players showing a demonstrable improvement.

What do you reckon is wrong Griffen? Seems to have gone backwards.

Does Higgins form and role keep Robbins out?

[dog town]

Great report DT.

Was really impressed with young Addison - agree that he could make an inside midfielder. One of our few players showing a demonstrable improvement.

What do you reckon is wrong Griffen? Seems to have gone backwards.

Does Higgins form and role keep Robbins out? Griff has been played in a few different roles. Certainly his workrate off the ball is not at a good enough level yet. Like I said in my review when the ball is in his area his intensity is great but when it comes to running 100 metres to get a kick on his own or pushing up 40 or 50 to make a contest where he is no guarantee of getting the ball he probably takes the easy road at the moment and just stays where he is.I noticed he runs down the side of packs to recieve the ball alot as well which doesn't give him a great chance of getting it. Does all the really exciting things well but just needs to do the basic things a bit better.

The role Higgins is playing now probably holds Robbins out but I would like to think Higgins has a bit of versatility and could move around if need be.

[LostDoggy]

Great post DT.

Does anyone else think that Morris has lost some of the magic that he has displayed over the last couple of years ? He was OK today and took some nice marks but I think he coughed the ball up a couple of times and really couldn't control Davey. I think he has slipped back a fair bit this year.

[Go_Dogs]

I think Griff showed some good signs today, a bit of flair about his game, and few impressive runs. Obviously hasn't got back to 100% just yet, and is probably going to take another few weeks. I think he's also struggling a bit to adjust to the midfield and more up field roles than he's had in the past. I think it's just fitness really, as Griff has always had excellent intensity and work rate.

Morris was fine today. A few times he used his closing speed well to reach a contest and effect the situation. He nearly cost us the game though by not fisting the ball away and allowing Sylvia an easy mark at the end. Punch first as a defender, especially in the dying moments - unless your clear to take that mark. Tough match up for him today, but thought he was alright.

Harbrow wasn't that great IMO. I think he'll possibly move out this coming week for Faulkner. Made a few silly errors, and seemed to play on whenever he got possession, even if it wasn't to our advantage. Can't judge too harshly though, it was only the lads second game.

[dog town]

Great post DT.

Does anyone else think that Morris has lost some of the magic that he has displayed over the last couple of years ? He was OK today and took some nice marks but I think he coughed the ball up a couple of times and really couldn't control Davey. I think he has slipped back a fair bit this year. Perhaps a little. Should get another big job next week on Didak.

[GVGjr]

Perhaps a little. Should get another big job next week on Didak.


Ideal match-up for him I would have thought. I tend to agree that he hasn't hit his straps yet but is performing well enough.

[dog town]

I think Griff showed some good signs today, a bit of flair about his game, and few impressive runs. Thats not his problem though IMO. He will always have those abilities to fall back on and they are his bread and butter. Needs to get some easier kicks and get to more contests. I agree though that he was ok by most peoples standards.



Harbrow wasn't that great IMO. I think he'll possibly move out this coming week for Faulkner. Made a few silly errors, and seemed to play on whenever he got possession, even if it wasn't to our advantage. Can't judge too harshly though, it was only the lads second game. I like the fact that he plays on straight away. We havent taken teams on enough this year and his foot skills were good enough to hit targets even when he got himself in trouble. I just think he gave us a spark when he was on.

[Go_Dogs]

For mine he turned the ball over a few times. Didn't play as well as he did in his first I don't think. But yeah, he does add some excitement and spark. I just think at this stage, I'd rather see Faulkner out there playing that role - mainly for his hardness at the contest, and for the fact that he's got a bit more flexability at this stage than Harbrow does.

[dog town]

For mine he turned the ball over a few times. Didn't play as well as he did in his first I don't think. But yeah, he does add some excitement and spark. I just think at this stage, I'd rather see Faulkner out there playing that role - mainly for his hardness at the contest, and for the fact that he's got a bit more flexability at this stage than Harbrow does. Fair enough. Pretty keen to see how Faulkner is progressing as well.

[GVGjr]

Fair enough. Pretty keen to see how Faulkner is progressing as well.

He was good yesterday but I think Eade might be tempted to stick with Harbrow for at least another week.

[Go_Dogs]

I suspect you'll probably be right GVGjr - Eade likes to show faith in the young lads and obviously has been very impressed with Harbrow's efforts, so it wouldn't surprise me if he did play again this week.

I'm just on a pro-Faulkner thing atm I think.

[GVGjr]

I'm just on a pro-Faulkner thing atm I think.
Same here but it's harder to justify dropping someone at the moment.

[GVGjr]

Gia hails “inspirational” skipper (http://westernbulldogs.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/4112/Default.aspx?newsId=43112)

This one is worth a read from the clubs website.