Player ratings: Western Bulldogs

[bornadog]

AFL.COM.AU (http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/101963/default.aspx)


Dylan Addison - 5
Was on Dale Thomas early and couldn’t keep up. Finished up on Harry O’Brien and continued the Pie defender’s bad night.

Matthew Boyd - 6
Got plenty of the pill, but didn’t hurt the opposition and gave it back to them too often.

Tim Callan - 4
Replaced Easton Wood and got the job on Pie danger man Alan Didak in his first game of the season. Might not get another.

Daniel Cross - 6
Showed his customary courage in throwing himself at O’Brien’s feet at one point. Plenty of touches, but his effectiveness was well down.

Nathan Eagleton - 4
Was one of the defensive forwards who rotated on O’Brien and was probably the least effective at it. Well off the pace.

Daniel Giansiracusa - 6
Unsighted when the game was hot early. Pushed off the ball too easily by Alan Toovey at one stage and then didn’t bother to chase him. Came into the game late, but the damage had been done.

Lindsay Gilbee - 5
Poor night for the defender. Didn’t provide his usual rebound and went to ground too easily on a few occasions.

Jarrad Grant - 2
Nowhere to be seen for the most part. Finally shook Ben Reid on a turnover in the third term but missed a running shot after having time to settle. Learning experience.

Ryan Griffen - 9
Struggled to shake a knee injury to play, but you wouldn’t have known it the way he lit up the ‘G. Far and away the Dogs’ best player. Spent the last minutes of the game with his knee iced up on the bench.

Mitch Hahn - 4
On Leigh Brown for long periods and was out-pointed. Kicked a nice goal, but was one of his side’s poorer players.

Barry Hall - 5
Had the sort of night where the Barry of old might have done some grievous bodily harm. Shaped to have a crack at O’Brien after a particularly frustrating passage, but was just foxing. Didn’t have any room to work in all night.

Jarrod Harbrow - 5
Rocket has taken to using the damaging defender up forward and he doesn’t look nearly as accomplished there.

Ryan Hargrave - 6
Ensured Leon Davis’ miserable September run continued.

Shaun Higgins - 5
Started as a defensive forward on O’Brien and spent some time on Heath Shaw as well. Has struggled with sickness and injury and looked off the pace.

Ben Hudson - 7
One of the few who won his position. Contested possession king. Gave Ryan Hargrave a cook for letting Darren Jolly goal in the third, but he was your man, Ben.

Brad Johnson - 4
Oh dear. Was getting the Bronxies from the crowd late in what was one of his poorer performances in recent memory. Looked well off the pace.

Brian Lake - 6
Didn’t have his usual influence, but wasn’t the Dogs’ worst. Showed great courage going back and face-planted after colliding with Williams. Finished the game up forward.

Will Minson - 3
Did okay at the stoppages, but his work around the ground was second rate. Won’t keep Roughead out if the youngster comes up from a shoulder injury.

Robert Murphy - 7
His side’s best defender on the night. Rarely beaten and was one of the few able to find a way through the defensive zone.

Liam Picken - 6
Did a good job on Sharrod Wellingham before the Pie was injured, but gave away a few indiscreet free kicks.

Callan Ward - 5
The youngster came off with an elbow injury early and never managed to really assert himself after.

Tom Williams - 4
Went to ground too easily, gave away the ball and made some bad decisions.

[bornadog]

Summed up pretty well except Tommy Williams kept Cloke pretty quiet after quarter time when Cloke hardly touched it.

[LostDoggy]

I was surprised at some of the ratings, goes to show the difference of opinion out there.

[SlimPickens]

absolutely thought it was one of William's better games for the club.

[bornadog]

I was surprised at some of the ratings, goes to show the difference of opinion out there.

Which ones?

[LostDoggy]

Which ones?

Thought Tom played pretty well last night.

Hargrave i thought had a shocker, especially with his composure under pressure.

Callan's rating i think is a little harsh, thought he played better then a 4.

Gia & Boyd i thought probably didn't rate as a 6, probably a 5 for each.

[bornadog]

Thought Tom played pretty well last night.

Hargrave i thought had a shocker, especially with his composure under pressure.

Callan's rating i think is a little harsh, thought he played better then a 4.

Gia & Boyd i thought probably didn't rate as a 6, probably a 5 for each.

I thought Hargrave was ok, except for the three wild kicks that were slammed onto the boot and went straight to Colingwood and they promptly goaled.

[AndrewP6]

Boyd and Cross too high, the acknowledgment was made of their ineffiency - 5 at best for mine. Thought Williams did better than a 4, thought 6 was a tad generous for Gia. Didn't see the replay, so I have to rely on my memory...

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I'd give Boyd and Cross a 2.

How the hell could you give them anything more?

[craigsahibee]

Bit harsh on Tom. Cloke did not really have too much of an influence so I reckon Tom is on the plus side of breaking even. 6 out of 10 at least. Murph maybe an 8.

[The Doctor]

I'll have a go at rating them

Dylan Addison - 4
Tried hard but short on class at this level. Thrashed by Thomas in first half

Matthew Boyd - 3
Failed miserably at stopping his man and repeatedly turned the ball over.

Tim Callan - 5
At the very least he shard the honours with his opponent.

Daniel Cross - 3
Worst game I have ever seen him play. Slow and useless with the ball.

Nathan Eagleton - 1
Lucky to get 1.

Daniel Giansiracusa - 2
Went missing in the first half because he was showing his outstanding leadership skills by going looking for Eagleton. When he found him he decided to stay with him and help exorcise his finals demons. Meanwhile all hell was breaking loose around them. Also loved the way he flew the flag when Hall, Johnno and Higgo were getting picked on and how quickly he bounced back after that nasty Toovey blatantly king hit him from behind.

Lindsay Gilbee - 3
Not one to tell the grandkids about eh Gilbs.

Jarrad Grant - 2
How his eyes must light up at the sight of Boyd and Cross running forward with the pill.

Ryan Griffen - 8
Easily our best. my pick for captain.

Mitch Hahn - 2
Slow, can't kick, won't contest, can't tackle, useless below the knees, old, broken down, aside from that everything else ok.

Barry Hall - 5
What could he do?.

Jarrod Harbrow - 5
gave us some bite and at least had a go. So we're gonna loose him coz we can't offer him the $$$ but yet retain the likes of Hahn, Gia, Cross, Boyd and others.

Ryan Hargrave - 3
See Gilbee.

Shaun Higgins - 3
Shouldn't have played as it is obvious he is injured. If he isn't injured should never play again.

Ben Hudson - 7
A fine warrior. Would have lost by 20 goals without him

Brad Johnson - 2
Worst game i've seen him play. I called for him to retire in 2008. Wish he did, sadly he didn't. Don't want to remember him for this.

Brian Lake - 6
Tried his guts out despite carrying injury and taking a heavy knock.

Will Minson - 2
At least he could have buried thomas into the MCG turf. I would have given him 10 if did.

Robert Murphy - 6
One of the leaders that actually played well. Doesn't have a good finals record but he stood up in this one.

Liam Picken - 5
got swept away by the tsunami but tried to swim against it.

Callan Ward - 3
Would like to see him get more involved.

Tom Williams - 6
tHOUGHT he played ok. Still would like to see him back himself more in the run and carry area because he can do it.

Rocket - 2

Why was Maxwell left alone?

[Hotdog60]

Could I get a report on Grant's game, it's hard to tell from the TV how hard he was working.
I know the delivery was bad into the forward line but was he still presenting.

[ratsmac]

I'll have a go at rating them


Ryan Griffen - 8
Easily our best. my pick for captain.

Shaun Higgins - 3
Shouldn't have played as it is obvious he is injured. If he isn't injured should never play again.

Brad Johnson - 2
Worst game i've seen him play. I called for him to retire in 2008. Wish he did, sadly he didn't. Don't want to remember him for this.

Rocket - 2

Why was Maxwell left alone?

Your ratings are spot on.

My thoughts last night driving home thinking about Johnno and the captaincy were, "who the hell can captain this side," because last night no one did. We have gone over all this before about when Johnno should be retiring, and sadly that question should of already been answered. Thinking that Gia could be captain makes me sick. He plays only decent games at times, and that is when he is not acting captain. He doesn't show any leadership on the field at all when the game is in the balance.

Boyd gives his everything and no one can question that, but a captain should be a game breaker and have the abilty to bring others into it. Boyd turns the ball over far too much. A must have in any leadership group though.

This brought my thoughts to Griffen and his game last night. I think a star was born last night. We bulldogs supporters all know of his brilliance, but the way he stood up and performed under duress when the rest of the team were getting smashed, speaks volumes. He took a massive step forward last night. From what I can gather about his personallity is that he is quite a reserved person and isn't your out spoken type. But when he gets on the field his footy does the talking.

Obviously the jury is still out on this one but as far as Gia and Boyd go for captain, sorry not for me.

Great assessment of Shaun Higgins doc. If he isn't injured he isn't good enough to be in the team, and if he is injured why the hell is he out there, this is finals for goodness sake.

Why why why wasn't someone picking up that nick maxwell. I don't rate him at all. Yes he may be a good captain with his gift of the gab but he can be very ordinary when someone plays on him. He was growing in confidence as the night went on with his allowed freedom. We made him look good. Rocket your were out coached with that move (or non move).

[LostDoggy]

I thought Hargrave was ok, except for the three wild kicks that were slammed onto the boot and went straight to Colingwood and they promptly goaled.

Oh that's allright then,........................ only three goals from crap turnovers. :rolleyes:

[Jeanette54]

I think most of the ratings are a little tough on our backline..... they were under constant pressure all night. Our problems seemed to stem from the lack of mid-field and forward pressure which allowed attacks to be organised and mounted at will. I am not sure what any backline can do when the ball comes in so quickly without pressure being applied to the kicker.

Under the circumstances I thought Tom Williams, Brian Lake, Liam Pickering and Ryan Hargrave did all they reasonably could. Ditto for Murph, but with the added bonus that he could still mount attacks from the backline. (We need Jarrod Harbrow back there again for the same reason).

For me the bright lights were Ryan Griffens game, and his pride. You could see that the defeat was really hurting him.

Big Benny's first, second, third and sometimes fourth efforts were magnificent. Best I have seen since Scotty Wynds gutsy effort in that debacle final against Geelong some years ago.

Some how with all that crowded defensive forward pressure Collingwood applied Bob Murphy's silky skills still showed through.

Tom Williams did shutdown Cloke, and I thought his composure under constant pressure showed improvement; in fact I would say this might turn out to be a milestone game in his career.

And lets not forget the courage displayed by Liam Picken, now there is a player who never knows when he is beaten.

We need a bit more of that.

[Cyberdoggie]

Summed up pretty well except Tommy Williams kept Cloke pretty quiet after quarter time when Cloke hardly touched it.

Totally agree on Williams,

He was a little lost early, and slipped a few times but after quarter time Cloke was no where to be seen.

[Cyberdoggie]

I thought Hargrave was ok, except for the three wild kicks that were slammed onto the boot and went straight to Colingwood and they promptly goaled.

He has been butchering the ball all year, particularly since the Geelong game.

Continually over kicks the man or skies the ball

[LostDoggy]

Totally agree on Williams,

He was a little lost early, and slipped a few times but after quarter time Cloke was no where to be seen.

This.

Commented to the guy in front of me that I thought he kept growing as the match went on. By then end of the match my reactions had shifted from 'oh no, Tommy is one out!!' to 'nah it's ok Tommy will have this..'

Let's hope that he is able to build on this with a good final against Sydney and a strong match on White/Goodes. He still has some defensive flaws (defending from the front spot, recvovering the ground ball) but what 50 gamer doesn't.

While the loss of Dale still hurts, the silver lining is getting to see Williams put against the best fowards and taking something from the experience. He can learn a lot playing on Goodes and Riewoldt, even if the lesson is what he still needs to improve.

[BulldogBelle]

As others said I thought Tom Williams really announced himself tonight. Continually stood up all game, never lost confidence, definitely a shining light leading into the future.

We have such a good list that may be forgotten after the dust settles if we don't experience success soon. :(

[Sedat]

When a football commentating simpleton like The Ox thinks Williams has had a dirty night, you know he has been very good. Cloke was a non-factor, despite the ball being in his vicinity almost 70 times on the night.

[LostDoggy]

Hargrave i thought had a shocker, especially with his composure under pressure.

Callan's rating i think is a little harsh, thought he played better then a 4.

They got it wrong because Callan was on David for most of the game and held him to very little. (He had Didak in the last Q when he kicked that miracle goal)

Hargrave was horrible ..... how many times can you kick it to a pack of players?