Game Day - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond

[BulldogBelle]

This is the discussion thread for this Sunday's twillight game at the G against Richmond.

My predictions are:

The Dogs by 41 points
BOG : Matthew Boyd
Jason Akermanis to kick the first goal.

[AndrewP6]

We really need to come out firing and put them away in this one. Let's re-start the season this Sunday. C'mon Dogs!

Dogs by 44
BOG - BAZZA
First goal Murph.

[DOG GOD]

For me anything under a 50 pt win would be a little disappointing...so that said

dogs by 50
BOG - Bazza
1st goal - Bazza

[Go_Dogs]

Dogs by 67 points.
BOG - Cooney
First goal - Hahn

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 39pts
BOG - Boyd
First Goal - Hahn

[Max469]

Dogs by 36

1st Goal - Murphy

BOG - Lake

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 78
Aker BOG (He came into form last year against the Tigers, and i think it might happen again)
Hall First Goal

[chef]

Dogs by 76
BOG Hahn
First goal Hall

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 55
BOG Moles
First goal Higgins

[The Coon Dog]

Dogs by 125.

BOG - Barry Hall with 10.

First goal - Barry Hall.

[LostDoggy]

dogs by 125.

Bog - barry hall with 10.

First goal - barry hall.

nice :D

[Doggy]

Dogs by 101
BOG Hall
First Goal Gia

[boydogs]

Dogs by 30 points
BOG Gia
First Goal Griffen

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Dogs by 45 points
Griffen BOG
Guido 1st goal

[AndrewP6]

Dogs by 125.

BOG - Barry Hall with 10.

First goal - Barry Hall.

Awesome tip, I'm crossing everything it happens that way!

[Swoop]

Dogs by 52.

BOG - Ryan Griffen

First goal - Robert Murphy

[comrade]

After seeing the Demons get robbed today, I hope we don't take the Tigers lightly. If our defensive pressure is where it MUST be, then we will win by 50+ points.

Higgins for best on ground.

[AndrewP6]

After seeing the Demons get robbed today, I hope we don't take the Tigers lightly. If our defensive pressure is where it MUST be, then we will win by 50+ points.

Higgins for best on ground.

Hear hear... I really want us to put them away early.

[LostDoggy]

Same thoughts here - the boys must get the headspace right (unlike the Pies did yesterday) and take on the Tiges and smash 'em :D

Dogs by 65 points
BOG = Boyd
First goal = Bazza

[Hotdog60]

Hopefully after Rockets individual baking after last weeks game, the boys should turn up to play and it should be a one sided affair.

If they watched the Melbourne v Collingwood game, it should sink in that if you take any team lightly you do it at your peril.

My only concern with the doggies is that they don't have the ultimate killer instant. When they have a team down they don't go for the jugular, this is the sign of the good team and hopefully this season this will come through.

Here's hoping that it starts today.:D

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 51
First goal - Higgins
BOG - Griff


But I'd be happy with 4 points and no injuries ;)

[The Pie Man]

Dogs by 47 - interesting game, both teams internally under the pump after less than impressive first round outings, I expect the Tigs to serve up something competitive in the first half. They don't have the cattle to carry 4 quarters against us though.

Griffen BOG
Higgins first goal

[Mantis]

Dogs by 65.

1st goal: Hahn
BOG: Murphy

[becmatty]

Folks!!! - I am in London, trying to access Justintv.com to watch the game - anyone know an access code?

Thanks - or another link would be awesome too...

[Dry Rot]

Final team?

[Dry Rot]

Final team?

Johnno out, Hill in.

[LostDoggy]

Final team?

Josh Hill was warming up i am guessing that Johnson may be out

[vho]

Wondering if anyone has a video feed for this, stuck in Vietnam.

Thanks in advance

[Drunken Bum]

is there any way to listen to it on internet radio apart from the disgraceful afl site that refuses to load anything for me?

[vho]

Hey guys i found a video link, http://www.justin.tv/judd120b/popout/ code = sirengate. Have fun!

[Drunken Bum]

Hey guys i found a video link, http://www.justin.tv/judd120b/popout/ code = sirengate. Have fun!

Cheers vho, will give it a try but dont fancy my luck the internet in Cambodia is bloody slow as, if anyone can give me a audio stream that i dont have to access through the afl site would be reasonably happy then

[vho]

Cheers vho, will give it a try but dont fancy my luck the internet in Cambodia is bloody slow as, if anyone can give me a audio stream that i dont have to access through the afl site would be reasonably happy then

yep, internet in Vietnam here is just enough to manage the video stream. Lucky!

[Drunken Bum]

yep, internet in Vietnam here is just enough to manage the video stream. Lucky!

seems to be the only game not being shown on the Australia network this week, have been over the guide a few times and keep flicking over to it hoping it is just an error in the guide but no love :/

[mjp]

Is our plan to sit back and wait for Richmond to turn it over? I mean, it seems to be working but we are zoning off our opponents all over the ground...and despite (because of) the presence of Hall, we just seem to be bombing away to a stationary target up forward.

[Drunken Bum]

finally got the radio stream working through afl.com, geez that site is a disgrace

[Go_Dogs]

Dogs looking good so far.

Everitt been pretty solid, and kicked a nice long goal.

[Go_Dogs]

Is our plan to sit back and wait for Richmond to turn it over? I mean, it seems to be working but we are zoning off our opponents all over the ground...and despite (because of) the presence of Hall, we just seem to be bombing away to a stationary target up forward.

Agree on this. Need to look to spot up smaller leading targets as Hall is drawing a lot of attention.

Wouldn't mind Hall to lead up a bit and leave perhaps Hahn and Hill isolated deeper in 2 v 2.

[Dry Rot]

Is our plan to sit back and wait for Richmond to turn it over? I mean, it seems to be working but we are zoning off our opponents all over the ground...and despite (because of) the presence of Hall, we just seem to be bombing away to a stationary target up forward.

We're not even bombing it well.

And little defensive pressure by our forwards - the ball just pops straight out again.

[Bulldog Revolution]

video link is gold

OAM coming up vho

[chef]

Dogs looking good so far.

Everitt been pretty solid, and kicked a nice long goal.

But jeez we're playing like crap. Good pressure by Richmond but their mistakes are costing them.

[Dry Rot]

But jeez we're playing like crap. Good pressure by Richmond but their mistakes are costing them.

Agreed. We'd be easily rolled by a good team playing like that.

[LostDoggy]

Everitt, Hill, Acker looking good and Moles is doing some nice stuff too.

[Dazza]

We are looking extraordinarily flat.

[comrade]

Agreed. We'd be easily rolled by a good team playing like that.

I think it's a case of being dragged down a peg by the quality of the opposition. It shouldn't happen at this level, but it does. If we were playing St. Kilda, our pressure would be much different.

Let's hope they come out after half time, tackle and harrass, and out the contest to bed nice and early (if it's not already).

He's only had the 7 touches, but Everitt has done some nice things both ways.

[LostDoggy]

Frustrating stuff late in the third quarter ...... we are messing around too much.

[Go_Dogs]

Cooney has been very good.

Don't think we've been playing that poorly, but a strong last quarter would be a nice percentage booster.

[comrade]

We're in need of some genuine, pacy crumbers. How many times does the ball hit the deck and no one is there?

[comrade]

Rubbish kicking. Should have won by 90+.

[Go_Dogs]

Rubbish kicking. Should have won by 90+.

Yep, some poor kicking for goal in the last cost us a bigger victory, but still, it was a 12 goal win.

Thought Everitt and Williams were both good again tonight which was pleasing.

Gilbee looked to get a bit of his mojo back.

Cooney, Griffen and Higgins were all good in patches.

Morris, Lake and Hargrave all very good.

Thought Moles played OK in patches, but will need to improve to become a fixture in the side.

[LostDoggy]

I think you might be a it hard on Moles ...... thought his first AFL game was pretty good.

[chef]

We're in need of some genuine, pacy crumbers. How many times does the ball hit the deck and no one is there?

Yep, another Harbrow would be handy.

[Go_Dogs]

I think you might be a it hard on Moles ...... thought his first AFL game was pretty good.

I probably am a little bit hard on him, and as you say, it's only his first proper game, so hopefully with a few more hit outs he can better adjust to the tempo and continue to improve.

[Rance Fan]

Maybe Roughhead in for Minson next week.
A good performance against likely wooden spooners.
Hill took his chance and others played their part. Im still expecting more from Griffen. (& Gia)
Cooney sublime! Cross, Boyd more of the usual. Good to Gilbee show some form.
Will be interesting to see how they perform against better opposition next week.
Rest Johnno again i say.

[hujsh]

Thought Cross was BOG today. The scrappy skill level suited him giving him plenty of chances to put in multiple 2nd/3rd/4th efforts.

[Go_Dogs]

Im still expecting more from Griffen. (& Gia).

Thought Griff was pretty good. Got involved pretty regularly and used the ball pretty well.

Gia was fairly good also IMO.



Agree on Hill. Needs to retain a place - just offers us something. Hahn was also very effective up forward, but 5.3 would've been a bit nicer than 3.5.

[Hotdog60]

I'm going to be very critical here. Todays game was absolute crap!

The doggies look nowhere near the team that was playing at the end of last year.
The Tigers were woeful and we should have done a lot better, I hope it was a case of the opposition dragging us down to their level because if we play like this against any other top 6 contenders we will get beat, the only good thing was our effort looked better after half time.

Gilby looked better and it was nice having Morris back in the side, but I just thought our pressure early wasn't intense enough.

Hill didn't do himself any favors by not going hard enough on a ball he could have marked, he did chase well at times but have to make the effort 100 % of the time.

We'll have to see how we go against the hawks which will be a good test.

[comrade]

Thought Cross was BOG today. The scrappy skill level suited him giving him plenty of chances to put in multiple 2nd/3rd/4th efforts.

That marking attempt against King was fantastic; no regard for his own safety. Definitely in our top couple today, along with Cooney.

I thought Aker was very good early when the game was there to be won and I'll sneak Andrejs into the votes as well. Yes, he was given plenty of latitude by his opponent, but he did some nice work in defence and was a creative option up the ground - good signs.

[Rance Fan]

We won by 70+, most guys would look good. Just wished Griffen would break thru packs like Cooney and then finish off and deliver or kick goals. He still is a good player i just want him to be great. I think he can be!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Maybe Roughhead in for Minson next week.
A good performance against likely wooden spooners.
Hill took his chance and others played their part. Im still expecting more from Griffen. (& Gia)
Cooney sublime! Cross, Boyd more of the usual. Good to Gilbee show some form.
Will be interesting to see how they perform against better opposition next week.
Rest Johnno again i say.

I actually thought Griffen was very good today, 23 possies and I thought he used it intelligently and ran hard, and apart from a miss on goal, I thought Guido did what he needed to do as well.
Agree on Cooney, his attack on the ball and his effective use was great. Also thought Gilbee was almost back to his very best.

Special kudo's to Crossy whose attack on the ball was both fearless and inspirational. Whilst Cooney was probably the more damaging of the two, Cross was BOG for mine as he set the standard in every contest he was involved in.

Good to see Williams and Everitt contribute, and I thought Moles looked comfortable at this level.

All in all it finished a good win, but Rocket will no doubt be pressing the point that they will need to improve a fair bit for next weeks game against the Hawks, particularly in ball usage.

[azabob]

Is our plan to sit back and wait for Richmond to turn it over? I mean, it seems to be working but we are zoning off our opponents all over the ground...and despite (because of) the presence of Hall, we just seem to be bombing away to a stationary target up forward.

The forward line is still looking too slow.

MJP I know you have been vocal about having more midfielders in the team.

Do you think we can play Hahn, Hall, Johnson, Akermanis, Gia all in the same team when 4 of the 5 most likely will be in the forward line at once?

Personally I dont think Hahn and Hall can play in the same team.

[angelopetraglia]

Rubbish game.

Can't believe the way Richmond continued to flood and get all their numbers behind the ball. At many stages in the game and particularly in the last quarter they had 15+ players inside our 50m arc. Terrible coaching. How do they learn doing that stuff?

They stormed out of 50m many times, had no option to kick to and then went sideways and backwards until they turned it over. But it wasn't a certain Bulldog goal, 'cause the Tiger players hadn't even run and presented to help out, there they were all still inside our 50m arc waiting for the pill to come back. It was like the old defensive flood the Dogs used in 2000 against the Bombers without any flair or run. Terrible stuff from Richmond.

Yes we looked rusty and also butchered the footy on many occasions. However if we kicked straight after half time it could have easily been 100+ win. In saying that we would not want to serve up that intensity and finish against the Hawks next week. Hoping that the Tigers brought us down to their level a little, especially with their gameplan (or lack of).

[LostDoggy]

35 scoring shots to 13...
And only a 72 point win to come from that?
Sure, a win that large is very nice, but more accuracy would have been fantastic!

[choconmientay]

I couldn't believe that we kicked 18 behinds. A game like that against a decent opponent we would have lost quite easily.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Picken, Minson and Giansiracusa have had two ordinary weeks. Barely touch it and when they do, they haven't inspired. Hall was poor tonight and our forward structure is failing. Cannot play Minson, Hall AND Hahn at the same time on the ground. It doesn't work and we look incredibly slow. Bad kicking, turnovers and fumbles continued today. Boyd/Cross need to be cleaner.

Positives:

* Everitt was fantastic. I thought he was in our top 5-6 players today. Took some strong marks, handled the ball well, dispsoed of it very well and was prepared to work hard and take the game on. Really encouraging signs.

* Gilbee's return to form. His disposal and decision making was elite tonight. Great to see his change of form as he's a crucial player in terms of overcoming the quality sides.

* Harbrow didn't get a lot of it, but his disposal and decision making was much improved. Hill had a better game than last week too although he needs to perform against the top 4-5 sides.

* Cooney and Griff were fairly impressive. Cooney needs to finish off his work though - let himself down today a few times. Nevertheless he was very good. Griff's disposal was much better and he didn't bomb away like he has in the past. Only wish he'd stop kicking around his body.

* Murph has been our standout forward in the first two weeks. Pity he hasn't had a whole lot of help, but he's moving well, marking well and hitting up his targets.

* Moles had a good debut. Made a couple of errors, but for the most part was pretty handy. His clean hands are very good under pressure and he always plays on. You can see he's come from Geelong with how he plays the game. Doesn't ever over play situations.

* Aker got a fair bit of the ball and looked fit. Picked it up really well but probably let himself down a few times with his disposal. All the same, he played pretty well.

[Max469]

Rubbish game.

Atrocious kicking - should have won by over 100 points.

At times they took the ball away too easily - even if they didn't do anything with it. If we are going to let other teams do this with ease - we in a for a few more smashings.

Why can't someone hang back in the goal square. Too often we are leaving the square empty - why can't we sneak goals through like other teams? Because we aren't there.

Hopefully we played down to Richmond's level - other wise it may be a long year - 72 point win or no 72 point win.

[Remi Moses]

Gee some hard markers on here. overall pleased with the result and pleased we put the foot to the throat in the last quarter[albeit to many points] They had a bigger flood than Noah's Ark I think they even had the trainers in the defensive 50 to limit the damage. If Hardwick thinks that's teaching young players then I'm a Dutchman's uncle,missed to many tackles for mine and hopefully up the intensity for next week

[Remi Moses]

Rubbish game.

Atrocious kicking - should have won by over 100 points.

At times they took the ball away too easily - even if they didn't do anything with it. If we are going to let other teams do this with ease - we in a for a few more smashings.

Why can't someone hang back in the goal square. Too often we are leaving the square empty - why can't we sneak goals through like other teams? Because we aren't there.

Hopefully we played down to Richmond's level - other wise it may be a long year - 72 point win or no 72 point win.

tough crowd:rolleyes:They kicked 7 goals,it wont be a long year. Ask me if I'd take a 72 point win and no injuries I'd stick it in my back pocket and head to the carpark

[Remi Moses]

Picken, Minson and Giansiracusa have had two ordinary weeks. Barely touch it and when they do, they haven't inspired. Hall was poor tonight and our forward structure is failing. Cannot play Minson, Hall AND Hahn at the same time on the ground. It doesn't work and we look incredibly slow. Bad kicking, turnovers and fumbles continued today. Boyd/Cross need to be cleaner.

Positives:

* Everitt was fantastic. I thought he was in our top 5-6 players today. Took some strong marks, handled the ball well, dispsoed of it very well and was prepared to work hard and take the game on. Really encouraging signs.

* Gilbee's return to form. His disposal and decision making was elite tonight. Great to see his change of form as he's a crucial player in terms of overcoming the quality sides.

* Harbrow didn't get a lot of it, but his disposal and decision making was much improved. Hill had a better game than last week too although he needs to perform against the top 4-5 sides.

* Cooney and Griff were fairly impressive. Cooney needs to finish off his work though - let himself down today a few times. Nevertheless he was very good. Griff's disposal was much better and he didn't bomb away like he has in the past. Only wish he'd stop kicking around his body.

* Murph has been our standout forward in the first two weeks. Pity he hasn't had a whole lot of help, but he's moving well, marking well and hitting up his targets.

* Moles had a good debut. Made a couple of errors, but for the most part was pretty handy. His clean hands are very good under pressure and he always plays on. You can see he's come from Geelong with how he plays the game. Doesn't ever over play situations.

* Aker got a fair bit of the ball and looked fit. Picked it up really well but probably let himself down a few times with his disposal. All the same, he played pretty well.

I agree Minson's clumsiness and failure to clunk marks is a source of immense frustration

[Mantis]

I agree Minson's clumsiness and failure to clunk marks is a source of immense frustration

Why don't you delete all the parts of the post you quoted which don't refer to comments on Minson?

[hujsh]

Hall was poor tonight and our forward structure is failing.

I thought Hall did well to get his 4 shots at goal (one out in the full for anyone checking the stats) with the Richmond defenders/mids looking to drop in front of him even if he was a bit more sloppy with his marking and kicking this week.

We were never going to have a great looking forward structure with Richmond playing the way they did but I though having Hall there helped create space for the mid sized forwards when they didn't have the whole team in the defensive 50.

Not an attractive win but it wasn't going to be an attractive game after that 1st quarter.

[AndrewP6]

Wow, there are some tough critics tonight. Sure, our intensity and skill levels were not flash, but we won the game, and I'll take that any day. Yes, our opponents were poor, but hey, we put the scores on the board. The biggest letdown was the 18 behinds... our radars were obviously on the blink. I agree that we need to convert opportunities, as the best teams do.

I thought Everitt and Hill were good, showed promising signs. That said, I'm not convinced Hill will keep his spot. Moles did well for his debut game (in the season proper).

Hall had a rough afternoon, but that's gonna happen - he's not going to kick a bag each week. Had he converted better, he would've had an OK day. IMO, his presence alone is a positive, it brings others into the game - 12 individual goal scorers is proof of that. He was double-teamed a number of times, this gives chances to others.

WILLLBUR frustrated the hell out of me today - giving away so many frees really hurts us.

Aker got a bit of it, and he's so smart.

Not our best effort, but as I've said, offer me a 12 goal win, and I'll take it.

[Greystache]

Picken, Minson and Giansiracusa have had two ordinary weeks. Barely touch it and when they do, they haven't inspired. Hall was poor tonight and our forward structure is failing. Cannot play Minson, Hall AND Hahn at the same time on the ground. It doesn't work and we look incredibly slow. Bad kicking, turnovers and fumbles continued today. Boyd/Cross need to be cleaner.

Picken? Seriously?

He tagged the winner of Richmond's last two B&F's out out the game completely, Deledio barely touched the ball after quarter time. Did it go unnoticed that Richmond were trying to continuously rough him up off the ball to put him off his game?

[boydogs]

Picken, Minson and Giansiracusa have had two ordinary weeks. Barely touch it and when they do, they haven't inspired. Hall was poor tonight and our forward structure is failing. Cannot play Minson, Hall AND Hahn at the same time on the ground. It doesn't work and we look incredibly slow. Bad kicking, turnovers and fumbles continued today. Boyd/Cross need to be cleaner.

* Moles had a good debut. Made a couple of errors, but for the most part was pretty handy. His clean hands are very good under pressure and he always plays on. You can see he's come from Geelong with how he plays the game. Doesn't ever over play situations.

I definitely respect your analysis TBB and again agree with most of it, but the comments above suprised me.

Picken and Minson aren't really supposed to get a lot of the ball, it would be par for the course for them to be amongst our bottom 5 ball getters as they were this week, with one our second ruckman and the other a tagger. If their opponents are dominating, then that is a different story. Gia had 25 touches, 6 marks and a goal, that looks OK to me.

The forward structure comments don't make sense to me, as the structure is the same as last year except Hall in for Welsh, and Barry's defensive pressure could be argued as being better than Welsh's - and last year we were the highest scoring side in the comp. Defensive pressure from the forwards has been an issue for a while (see the Carlton game last year, Collingwood game last week) however it was awesome in the NAB cup with the same setup

There was a comment made on SEN radio re. Moles that he seemed a bit nervous and tried to do too much and over played things, this was when he gave away a free for holding the ball just before half time. Obviously you saw it differently, I would be interested to hear your reasoning

[Dry Rot]

The forward structure comments don't make sense to me, as the structure is the same as last year except Hall in for Welsh,

That is a pretty big change. I don't think we used to look up and bomb to Welsh all the time.

Aker is a year older too, and IMO it shows. It probably will with Johnno too.

[comrade]

That is a pretty big change. I don't think we used to look up and bomb to Welsh all the time.

Aker is a year older too, and IMO it shows. It probably will with Johnno too.

Aker was easily in our top 5-6 today.

[Dry Rot]

Aker was easily in our top 5-6 today.

Do you think he looks as sharp as he did in the last two seasons?

Don't misconstrue this as criticising him - I still he has the best vision and decision making in the side.

I just think father time is catching up with him.

[LostDoggy]

Was at the game and Aker still has a lot to offer. One of our best today.
By the way watching Cooney and Murph live (rather than on tv) is a real treat ;)

[LostDoggy]

I know what you're saying. He looked sharp early last year too comrade, but did drop away a bit.
He will need to be carefully managed.

[Dry Rot]

Was at the game and Aker still has a lot to offer. One of our best today.


AgainI think you're misunderstanding the context of this, or I haven't connected it clearly. ;)

The Bulldogs Bite has questioned the structure of forward line and noted the ease with which the Pies rebounded. I think he's made some reasonable points and maybe our critics who claimed that our forward line could suffer with so many older players might be right.

I suspect we've seen the best of Aker and Johnno, and throw in Hall and Hahn and sometimes Minson and we look top heavy and slow up forward.

[AndrewP6]

Forgot to mention this earlier, but watching the match back tonight reminded me... I was impressed by the ability to stand up in tackles (Cooney did this a number of times)... core strength really showing. The sandpit sessions must be paying off!

[Ozza]

Yes the game wasn't overly inspiring - but that was due to the way the Tigers played. Its hard work weaving our way through all 18 of their players in our forward line most of the time. We won by 10 goals 12! We absolutely dominated, got the job well and truly done and apart from some ordinary set shots at goal - put in a good performance.

I really liked Everitt's game.
I thought Hall's job was pretty tough with players crowding his space all day and I'm not worried about him only kicking one goal as games at Etihad and more free flowing types of matches will suit him better.
Gilbee was back in town with some great skills and he got the ball higher up the ground which was encouraging (despite a fwd tag put on him at times by King).
and Higgins laid 6 tackles and showed a bit more urgency at the contest which was great.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Picken? Seriously?

He tagged the winner of Richmond's last two B&F's out out the game completely, Deledio barely touched the ball after quarter time. Did it go unnoticed that Richmond were trying to continuously rough him up off the ball to put him off his game?

My assesment of Picken has probably been more so on his decision making and mistakes rather than his negating roles. There were a couple of instances today where he either fumbled badly or handballed to another player under extreme pressure. Perhaps I haven't noticed him as much as I did last year, but he doesn't seem to be peforming at that level. No doubt he'll hold his spot - my concern is whether he'll keep it once Ward is fully fit and possibly Reid later in the season.



Picken and Minson aren't really supposed to get a lot of the ball, it would be par for the course for them to be amongst our bottom 5 ball getters as they were this week, with one our second ruckman and the other a tagger. If their opponents are dominating, then that is a different story. Gia had 25 touches, 6 marks and a goal, that looks OK to me.

Happy to be proven wrong - I thought Gia had about half of that. Still - I thought he was disappointing in quite a few contests today. He tried to turn his body sideways and mark the ball on his chest, when he should have ran straight at the ball and opened up his hands.

As a leader, I want to see Gia display a bit more mongrel. He's got it in him, it's just a little inconsistent.

As for Minson, he should still be holding onto marks and providing an option around the ground. He hasn't done this so far in 2010. He's given away some very silly free kicks in the last few weeks too. I like Will as a player and generally defend him, but I don't think he'd be happy with his first two weeks.


The forward structure comments don't make sense to me, as the structure is the same as last year except Hall in for Welsh, and Barry's defensive pressure could be argued as being better than Welsh's - and last year we were the highest scoring side in the comp. Defensive pressure from the forwards has been an issue for a while (see the Carlton game last year, Collingwood game last week) however it was awesome in the NAB cup with the same setup.

Hall is a trade up from Welsh and he's not my problem at all.

I personally think the combo of Aker, Hahn and Johnson is hurting us. They're very slow and can be carved up on the rebound. It's OK to have a couple of these types but when Murphy, Gia, Higgins and Minson also don't provide much defensive pressure - it begins to add up. Hahn is somewhat of a barometer in that when he's scraping, we're usually applying plenty of pressure to the opposition's backs. When Hahn's sluggish, we look terrible.

I love Aker and Johnson, but they aren't getting any younger. It came as no surprise to me that Aker was pushed up into the midfield for large chunks of tonight's game. He was very good too, mind you.

Agree the pressure was good in the NAB Cup but not a whole lot can be taken from that competition. Case in point is Hall's form. He's not being given the same freedom, even against a side like Richmond.

We desperately lack a Matthew Robbins type. Somebody who's output isn't defined by the amount of goals they put on the board. Aside from Murphy - our forwards are all expected to contribute weekly to the scoreboard. Realistically this can't happen - some will have down days etc. For the opposition, it means they can kill that player on the rebound.

Hall, Johnson, Hahn, Aker, Hill, Gia and even Higgins are almost expected to kick multiple goals per game. If they don't, it's seen as not one of their better games because they're all primarily attacking forwards.


There was a comment made on SEN radio re. Moles that he seemed a bit nervous and tried to do too much and over played things, this was when he gave away a free for holding the ball just before half time. Obviously you saw it differently, I would be interested to hear your reasoning

I couldn't disagree more with that comment on SEN. He made a few errors, but most players did. He took the game on, his disposal was usually good and his hands in traffic were brilliant. He stood up in tackles really well a few times, still able to fire out a handball. His defensive pressure was a highlight in the first half too.

FWIW - we aren't going to pluck out a Cyril Rioli type. We haven't got the options on our list at the moment. However, I hope we manage our side so that Picken, Ward, Moles (Based on tonight's pressuring) and Cooney spend periods of the game up forward. Playing Minson, Hall and Hahn at the one time isn't ideal either.

[LostDoggy]

Yes the game wasn't overly inspiring - but that was due to the way the Tigers played. Its hard work weaving our way through all 18 of their players in our forward line most of the time. We won by 10 goals 12! We absolutely dominated, got the job well and truly done and apart from some ordinary set shots at goal - put in a good performance.

I really liked Everitt's game.
I thought Hall's job was pretty tough with players crowding his space all day and I'm not worried about him only kicking one goal as games at Etihad and more free flowing types of matches will suit him better.
Gilbee was back in town with some great skills and he got the ball higher up the ground which was encouraging (despite a fwd tag put on him at times by King).
and Higgins laid 6 tackles and showed a bit more urgency at the contest which was great.

Hall layed a few crunching tackles as well, one that resulted directly in a goal.

[AndrewP6]

Hall layed a few crunching tackles as well, one that resulted directly in a goal.

And gave off some nice handpasses, one leading to a goal for Hahn.

[chef]

And gave off some nice handpasses, one leading to a goal for Hahn.

Good game by Hahn(not much love around here for him) yesterday and finished with 8 scoring shots. His goal kicking let him down a bit after he was was such a straight shot last year.

[Rance Fan]

Good game by Hahn(not much love around here for him) yesterday and finished with 8 scoring shots. His goal kicking let him down a bit after he was was such a straight shot last year.

I agree. If Hall had 8 scoring shots he'd be BOG. Great to have Hall he takes the key defender and it helps free up Hahn, Murphy and the like.

[LostDoggy]

Good game by Hahn(not much love around here for him) yesterday and finished with 8 scoring shots. His goal kicking let him down a bit after he was was such a straight shot last year.

I thought Mitch did his job well. Maybe could have converted a bit more.

[GVGjr]

Does anyone know why we were wearing our "clash jumper" last night?
Are we really clashing with the Tigers jumper?

[chef]

Does anyone know why we were wearing our "clash jumper" last night?
Are we really clashing with the Tigers jumper?

Maybe it's our 'away' jumper now, as we seem to be wearing a lot in over the last couple of seasons.

[GVGjr]

Maybe it's our 'away' jumper now

Looking like it. I love the way the club communicates this to the fans. Ideally you want the fans coming to the ground wearing the same colours as the club is playing in. No chance of that unless you pack a bag :)

[hujsh]

Do you think he looks as sharp as he did in the last two seasons?

Don't misconstrue this as criticising him - I still he has the best vision and decision making in the side.

I just think father time is catching up with him.

I think you're right. It feels like maybe he's lost some pace and a bit of that indefinable magical quality that made him great. Still a good player though.

[chef]

Any news on how Higgins pulled up(corked calf?) after the game?

[FrediKanoute]

A little late I realise, but FWIW my thought on the game were that it was a scrappy affair that we never looked like losing, but that we really never blew apart with a consistent spell of quality football. Its not a game I'd be putting into a highlight package, though Cooney could probably add it to his scrapbook collection. Probably the most interesting thing from a viewer's perpective was how would the kids go, both the WB kids and the Tiger's kids. I thought ours went ok.

Hill - kick in the pants was what he needed and he was good. Probably for the first time we saw just what Barry brings to the table, by drawing opposition defenders who are Barry conscious it frees up guys like Hill. Team balance may see him dropped this week, though I think he would be unlucky.

Everitt - just keeps getting better and better. Every player has a break out year and IMO this will be Everitt's. He seems to have grown into his body and with a bigger engine he is more confident in his play.

Higgins - an OK game from HIggo. Didn't really burst it apart, but did enough when it counted.

Williams - liked his game thought he controlled the HB line really well. Beat his man and created some good rebound. Will only get better if his body hoolds together. Am looking forward to his battle with Buddy this week.

Moles - good debut game. Looked a little lost early, but got better and better as the game wore on. Will learn to give it off at the first option and become a really good midfielder for us.

[boydogs]

I couldn't disagree more with that comment on SEN. He made a few errors, but most players did. He took the game on, his disposal was usually good and his hands in traffic were brilliant. He stood up in tackles really well a few times, still able to fire out a handball. His defensive pressure was a highlight in the first half too.


Moles - good debut game. Looked a little lost early, but got better and better as the game wore on. Will learn to give it off at the first option and become a really good midfielder for us.

Interesting to read another comment in the same vein re. Moles taking the game on too much. Is he one we need to accept a couple of holding the ball decisions against given the reward when it comes off, ala Harbrow?

[bornadog]

Does anyone know why we were wearing our "clash jumper" last night?
Are we really clashing with the Tigers jumper?

and didn't it look horrible with all that white:D

[GVGjr]

and didn't it look horrible with all that white:D
And get ready to see us wearing the white (surrender) jumper more often.
The 'clash' jumper isn't just to be worn against the original nominated sides (Melbourne, Fremantle and Brisbane I think) and it's now at the AFL discretion meaning we could also be wearing it against Essendon, Richmond and Carlton along with possibly a few others. Apparently it depends on time of the game and the venue.

[chef]

And get ready to see us wearing the white (surrender) jumper more often.
The 'clash' jumper isn't just to be worn against the original nominated sides (Melbourne, Fremantle and Brisbane I think) and it's now at the AFL discretion meaning we could also be wearing it against Essendon, Richmond and Carlton along with possibly a few others. Apparently it depends on time of the game and the venue.

I don't mind, It's better TV viewing with a light jumper and a dark jumper(nearly all other sports do it). And I like the 'away' jumper too.

[AndrewP6]

I don't mind, It's better TV viewing with a light jumper and a dark jumper(nearly all other sports do it). And I like the 'away' jumper too.

I'll second that..

[Sockeye Salmon]

I don't mind, It's better TV viewing with a light jumper and a dark jumper(nearly all other sports do it). And I like the 'away' jumper too.

I like the white jumper too.

[mighty_west]

And get ready to see us wearing the white (surrender) jumper more often.
The 'clash' jumper isn't just to be worn against the original nominated sides (Melbourne, Fremantle and Brisbane I think) and it's now at the AFL discretion meaning we could also be wearing it against Essendon, Richmond and Carlton along with possibly a few others. Apparently it depends on time of the game and the venue.

Why don't they just make it triditional jumper home, white strip away, like with the shorts, less confusion that way.

Wouldn't bother me, i'm a fan of the white jumper anyway.

[GVGjr]

Why don't they just make it triditional jumper home, white strip away, like with the shorts, less confusion that way.

Wouldn't bother me, i'm a fan of the white jumper anyway.

They would be better off saying that but they are firm that it is a clash jumper not an away jumper. By saying it's a clash jumper it means the AFL can also instruct us to wear it for home games as well like we did against Port last year in Darwin.

I'd like to think that when we make the H&A GF we would have a good chance of wearing our traditional colors but with about 8 sides now we could potentially be clashing with it might just be a pipe dream. If the AFL move the GF to the Saturday night we probably have even less of a chance.

I wish the club was a little more pro-active with communication to the supporters with issues like this before conceding more ground to the AFL but the only time they involve the supporters is to let us know how many people haven't signed up from the previous year and asking us to point them in the right direction :)