Game Day 2011 - R2 Western Bulldogs vs Bris

[BulldogBelle]

This is the discussion thread for our Sunday afternoon game against Brisbane at ES.
Reminder: it's another 1.10pm early start game.

My predictions are:

The Dogs by 46 points
BOG : Shaun Higgins
Barry Hall to kick the first goal.

[EasternWest]

Dogs by 68
BOG: Cooney
First Goal: Grant

[Bumper Bulldogs]

For me the Dogs by 75 points
BOG Boyd
First Goal Cooney

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 86 Points
BOG Boyd
First Goal Giansiracusa

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 57
BOG Higgins (that will be WOOF posts BOG, umpires 3 brownlow votes will go to Boyd)
First goal Grant

[chef]

Dogs by 112
Hall first goal(and will end up with about 8)
Ward BOG

[Ghost Dog]

Dogs by a very narrow margin ( a kick )
A Bris that has nothing to lose to give us a real scare
First Goal - Barry
bobby - BOG

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by a very narrow margin ( a kick )
A Bris that has nothing to lose to give us a real scare
First Goal - Barry
bobby - BOG

Yeah, good educated selection. I have friends who are Lions fans who hate Bob cause he always tears them apart.

[LostDoggy]

Fingers crossed....
Dogs by 45 points
First Goal = Higgins
BOG = Murph:D

[AndrewP6]

Boy I hope we're not putting the moz on them!

Dogs by 40
BOG Coooooney
First goal Merlin.

[the banker]

Dogs by 42 points
BOG Griffo
first goal Gia

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 105 points. Brisbane won't win a game this year.
BOG Picken
First goal Gia

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 36 points
BOG Cooney
1st Goal Grant

[lemmon]

Dogs by 57
First Goal- Sherman
BOG- Tommy gun

[boydogs]

Brisbane by 24
BOG Cooney
First Goal Hall

[Go_Dogs]

Dogs - 38 points
BOG - Gia
First goal - Jones

[LostDoggy]

Dogs by 48 (anything less and I won't be impressed)
BOG - Cooney
First Goal - DJ

[AndrewP6]

Brisbane by 24
BOG Cooney
First Goal Hall

If that happens, heaven help us all...

[choconmientay]

Dogs by 39 points
BOG Higgins
1st Goal Bazza

[bornadog]

Dogs by 27

BOG - Cooooooney

First goal - Gia

[The Underdog]

Dogs by 39 points
BOG: Boyd
First goal: Sherman

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Dogs by 34
BOG: Cooney
First Goal: Grant

[Flamethrower]

Dogs by 15 points

First goal: Jarrad Grant

BOG: Simon Black

Best Doggie player: Ryan Griffen

[DOG GOD]

Doggies by under 39

BOG - Boyd
1st goal - Griffen

[BulldogBelle]

Hey guys, I can't make the game due to family reasons. Have to do the responsible thing and stay home with my sister as she is very ill.

I was just wondering if anyone knows of any streams of the game? I'm shattered about it because I missed last weeks as well. Not a good start to the season!!

Thanks if anyone can help my plight!

[KT31]

Dogs by 42
BOG - Gia
1st Goal - Grant
Rising Star - Libba

[Dry Rot]

Anyone else can't live radio on the AFL site? Have tried 3 browser on a Mac. Any help appreciated.

Fixed.

[comrade]

Playing like a bottom side at the moment. Disposal is horrid.

Libba is a gun.

[jasopan]

Libba 7 disposals 11minutes in and 2 tackles

[comrade]

I love Hill around the back line.

[Scraggers]

Anyone else can't live radio on the AFL site? Have tried 3 browser on a Mac. Any help appreciated.

Fixed.

I still cant access it through my Mac ... help !!

Would love a live feed if anyone knows of one

[Dry Rot]

I still cant access it through my Mac ... help !!

Would love a live feed if anyone knows of one

Use radio links from here :)

http://livescores.afl.com.au/all-matches.html

[Scraggers]

Use radio links from here :)

http://livescores.afl.com.au/all-matches.html

Brilliant !! Thanks DR ;)

[Bulldog Joe]

Overcame a horrid first 10 mins.

Josh Hill very good
Libba just keeps getting it.
Tommy Williams been good.
Griff starting to look dangerous

[comrade]

Why do Boyd and Cross persist with kicking?

[comrade]

Sherman has been gooood.

[comrade]

Jones much better today. Nice mark and goal.

[comrade]

Crossy's kicking is a deadset liability.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Crossy's kicking is a deadset liability.
It's even more noticeable when he tries to bring the ball back into the corridor. When he turns it over there, it really hurts.

Callan Wards' endeavour as usual is valiant, but his inconsistency of disposal by foot and his lack of making tackles stick is a worry.

[comrade]

Shermanator!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Boyd much better today,

[comrade]

Callan Wards' endeavour as usual is valiant, but his inconsistency of disposal by foot and his lack of making tackles stick is a worry.

He needs to tidy up his disposal but his strength in close and ability to bust tackles and get a handball away is first class for a player his age.

[LostDoggy]

Amazing what a little confidence does to a team and also a better work ethic. Things can turn around quickly with more input from your leaders and your quality players. Happy Hobdog....so far!

[comrade]

Ward lives up to to his 'cement head' nickname.

[MrMahatma]

Canºt help feeling that a half decent side wouldºve put us to the sword with all those turn overs.

Good scoreboard at the moment, but I think that masks some of the bad play we've had.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

He needs to tidy up his disposal but his strength in close and ability to bust tackles and get a handball away is first class for a player his age.

Agree. I think perhaps his inconsistency in hitting targets by foot is magnified because of a couple others in the side also have a similar problem.

But no doubt his hardness in close is a major tick for him, especially -as you point out- given his age

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Canºt help feeling that a half decent side wouldºve put us to the sword with all those turn overs.

Good scoreboard at the moment, but I think that masks some of the bad play we've had.

Perhaps, but the Dogs pressure and work rate (at least from the TV view) looks better.
It is hard to gauge though given the overall relative inexperience of the Lion midfield. The fact that we've had superiority for the majority of the game in centre clearances has helped our cause immeasurably.
Were we up against a more seasoned midfield, maybe things would be different.

[LostDoggy]

Canºt help feeling that a half decent side wouldºve put us to the sword with all those turn overs.

Good scoreboard at the moment, but I think that masks some of the bad play we've had.

Maybe so but the endeavour compared to last week is much improved. They need to go back to a style of taking the game on, which will lead to a few turnovers.

[MrMahatma]

Perhaps, but the Dogs pressure and work rate (at least from the TV view) looks better.
It is hard to gauge though given the overall relative inexperience of the Lion midfield. The fact that we've had superiority for the majority of the game in centre clearances has helped our cause immeasurably.
Were we up against a more seasoned midfield, maybe things would be different.
Fwd line pressure looks better. Gia has been very good up there so far today.

I guess itºs also easy to forget we have quite a few kids out there; Libba, Roughead, Jones, Grant, Stack, Marko, Ward et al. All still young and learning the trade.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Fwd line pressure looks better. Gia has been very good up there so far today.

I guess itºs also easy to forget we have quite a few kids out there; Libba, Roughead, Jones, Grant, Stack, Marko, Ward et al. All still young and learning the trade.

True. Hard to believe but in once small passage of play in our forward line today we laid 4 tackles, which was 3 more than our entire forward line tackle count for the whole game last week.

[comrade]

Morris destroying Banfield and Williams killing Clark.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Love Djerkerra's effort there chasing the defenders. Excellent example for the type of commitment to forward pressure we want to see this year.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Morris destroying Banfield and Williams killing Clark.

A very good game from both, and Markovic has done some nice things too.
Notwithstanding the poor quality of opposition it must be good for the confidence after the shocking start last week.

[comrade]

That's why Roughy should be picked ahead of Will. Great mark and his work around the ground has been solid, too.

Murphy has been great.

[LostDoggy]

Ward doing very well , DJ Sub for Hall then gets kneed in the head , Markovic solid , Libba stepping up to the mark again

.

[MrMahatma]

Ward doing very well , DJ Sub for Hall then gets kneed in the head , Markovic solid , Libba stepping up to the mark again

.
Libba's hands are incredible.

[Scraggers]

Brisbane win inside 50s by 51 to 50, yet the Bulldogs win by 78 points ... great defence !!

[comrade]

Biggest positive was to see Griff at full flight. After a shocker last week and a quiet pre-season, he was at his best today.

[DOG GOD]

Brisbane win inside 50s by 51 to 50, yet the Bulldogs win by 78 points ... great defence !!

To me, this is a bit of a worrying sign. A better team wouldve made the most of those inside 50's.

[Scraggers]

To me, this is a bit of a worrying sign. A better team wouldve made the most of those inside 50's.

28 scoring shots to 15 ... i think they did make the most of their inside 50s

[hujsh]

If Tommy had held his marks he would have been Lake-esq in his performance today

[EasternWest]

Our endeavour was certainly better today. We were good in stages and poor in stages. I couldn't help but think we looked a bit rusty on the whole.

[SonofScray]

Just got home, thought it was an OK effort but answers none of the questions raised from the flogging Essendon gave us. None other than the need for a back for Huddo I suppose, Roughhead or Minson need to play.

Overall I thought we had more contributors and better quality contributions from a few players we expect to perform ie: Griffen, Cross and Boyd but there wasn't a lot of real slick play, no super exciting performances I don't mean to be negative but I reckon we may have been beaten by a half decent team given the way we coughed the ball up and the way Rocket allows the opposition to pump the ball in F50.

A few side notes, I thought Stack showed a bit. Hill put in a very strong game and Libba was much more effective with his multitude of touches. Liam Jones got more involved which was great. The sub, Djerkurra battled a bit, I'd like to see someone else get a run.

I liked the work of most our players' in close. I didn't like the application over four quarters. Hopefully there is a continual and marked improvement over the season.

[comrade]

Another positive - our percentage is back in the black (currently 114%) and should improve next week.

[Dazza]

I thought we were a little patchy today especially early but a wins a win I guess.

Libba very good. 28 touches and 9 tackles is a fantastic effort for a second gamer. Josh Hill is looking very slick down back and should be left there IMO. Tom Williams/Dale Morris were great today.

[G-Mo77]

Pretty happy with the result. I thought our work rate was fantastic. The pressure seemed relentless and the tackling was very good. It's a hard one to judge because the opponent was so bad but it was good to see the Dogs blow a team out.

[GVGjr]

I didn't find the game too fulfilling. Thought we looked poor for most of the first quarter before getting out act together mainly due to some strong marking by Hall.

Liked Tommy Williams game despite a couple of poor errors.
Tom Libertore provides a spark when he first comes onto the ground and had another good outing.
Stack played well but that running straight into a tackle was a huge letdown. He backed it up with a similar effort in the next quarter.
Two ruckman worked a lot better. Lets hope Roughead can stay on the park.

[bornadog]

The midfield dominated to day and made the big difference. How important is Griffen and Cooney, when they rack up possessions we win.

[anfo27]

I think the margin says more about the opposition than it does about us. The Lions are terrible and in a world of trouble thanks to supercoach Voss.
I was happy enough with the effort by the boys and their tackling intensity was noticeably better than last week but still miles away from where we need to be. Still saw plenty i didn't like.
I see that a few posters thought Stack played well, i think i must have been watching a different game. His disposal and decision making is no way near AFL standard. His in the team to provide run, carry and foot skills but he does not provide that.
Little libba a chip off the old block and showed them how to do it in that first quarter and i did like Hills game.

[JohnGentStand]

I cant remember a more disappointing 13 goal win ever !!!

Sounds bizarre but there was no fluidity,the forwards looked confused when BBBBB went off, & the centre clearance work was not exactly thrilling..
On the positives...5 defenders down ( Lake, Gilbee, Wood, Hargreave, Harbrow) from last years regulars and the efforts from the back 6 today were 1st class. If Tommy starts holding his marks I may chubb up...

looking forward to the next 2 byes.

[soupman]

I see that a few posters thought Stack played well, i think i must have been watching a different game. His disposal and decision making is no way near AFL standard. His in the team to provide run, carry and foot skills but he does not provide that.

I'm not sure anybody is saying he looks like a member of our best 22, but at times he looked promising.

Defensively he is solid, still goes to ground a little easy (similiar to Tim Callan in this regard) but competes well in the air. He looked to me to be working hard to provide an option coming out of defence and up the ground (should of had a shot on goal if Hill (?) got the handball to him quicker). His issue is that he makes a few stupid mistakes like running into or kicking to Brisbane players. This could really hurt him against better sides. I'm happy to perservere with him but I don't have high expectations.

[LostDoggy]

I cant remember a more disappointing 13 goal win ever !!!

Sounds bizarre but there was no fluidity,the forwards looked confused when BBBBB went off, & the centre clearance work was not exactly thrilling..
On the positives...5 defenders down ( Lake, Gilbee, Wood, Hargreave, Harbrow) from last years regulars and the efforts from the back 6 today were 1st class. If Tommy starts holding his marks I may chubb up...

looking forward to the next 2 byes.

Get what you are saying, but "Disapointing" might not be the right word? I wouldn't say I'm disapointed because they are heading in the right direction from last week (yes they would have got exposed by a stronger side). This "freebie" of a game and probably next week too, hopefully lets the team tune themself to the style and develop the game plan they are trying to achieve.

[LostDoggy]

Just got home, thought it was an OK effort but answers none of the questions raised from the flogging Essendon gave us. None other than the need for a back for Huddo I suppose, Roughhead or Minson need to play.

Overall I thought we had more contributors and better quality contributions from a few players we expect to perform ie: Griffen, Cross and Boyd but there wasn't a lot of real slick play, no super exciting performances I don't mean to be negative but I reckon we may have been beaten by a half decent team given the way we coughed the ball up and the way Rocket allows the opposition to pump the ball in F50.

A few side notes, I thought Stack showed a bit. Hill put in a very strong game and Libba was much more effective with his multitude of touches. Liam Jones got more involved which was great. The sub, Djerkurra battled a bit, I'd like to see someone else get a run.

I liked the work of most our players' in close. I didn't like the application over four quarters. Hopefully there is a continual and marked improvement over the season.

I agree. I thought at times Cross was a liability and his lack of leg speed showed. Libba played well and with 10 tackles showed up some more senior players. Williams for me looks good at time but also very hesitant at other times. Needs to bight the bullet and just go at the ball. Djerkurra was another who was a little hesitant and just needs to back himself.

Main thing for me was fitness. The Dogs looked short of a gallop at times and may be due to a easy off season. Time will tell. Hopefully we improve each week. The loss of Easton Wood is big in the context of the season as we need our runners up and going.

[LostDoggy]

Maybe some would be happier if we lost. Nothing to complain about and no one to scapegoat.

[AndrewP6]

Maybe some would be happier if we lost. Nothing to complain about and no one to scapegoat.

Hear hear. Whilst it was against an undermanned side, I thought our intent was there today. Much better attack on the ball, much better tackling and pressure. Good to see a spread of scorers, and some important game time for the Pups.

Undoubtedly we need to improve to match the best sides, but I'll take a 13 goal win.

[Maddog37]

Funny sort of game. Lots of fumbling but attack on the man and ball were greatly improved. Gia led the way in that regard I reckon. We definitely play our best footy when we take more risks. The down side is when the risks don't come off we look terrible.

Still think we need to get the balance right regarding when our players run forward of the ball.

Games into our younger guys is a big bonus. Bring on wallis and maybe Howard.

[Mofra]

Our Round 1 in many respects will be in round 5.
Our first ten minutes was poor, but the team started to click more as the game wore on.

The result was irrelevent in some ways - we played ourselves into some form, although structurally we still get too many sucked forward of the ball. If our defenders win the one on ones we will hurt sides. Our HF line did much better today, although Jones seems to either run too hard to the fall of the ball from CHF or teammates kick it too high to him - rarely got one out on the lead. It's something that will improve with time and when he plays deep he looks dangerous.

I was very happy with Tommy's game, really provided some rebound and he would butter up any mistakes he made. Tackling was also a feature.

Going to be very hard to drop Markovic - he is rapidly going from a depth player to someone who is a legitimate consideration every week depending on match ups.

[LostDoggy]

Obviously Brisvegas are going to be fairly ordinary this year, so we didn't have that much opposition, and I was nervous at the start as we seemed to be very slow off the mark. The boys improved from last week, and there were some good signs - gotta love Libba, and whilst Stack made some errors and doesn't seem to be able to keep his feet, he certainly looked to me like he was giving it 100%. We still have lots of room for improvement, but I'm happy to take a percentage boosting win over ordinary opposition than a galant defeat against a great side any day!

[mjp]

Obviously Brisvegas are going to be fairly ordinary this year,

We don't know that yet.

Freo beat Brisbane (lucky) by 2 points, and Freo should have beaten Geelong last night but for some inaccurate kicking at the death...and Geelong beat the Saints...

Brisbane are young, but after two weeks we don't know much about anyone except Collingwood.

[LostDoggy]

We don't know that yet.

Freo beat Brisbane (lucky) by 2 points, and Freo should have beaten Geelong last night but for some inaccurate kicking at the death...and Geelong beat the Saints...

Brisbane are young, but after two weeks we don't know much about anyone except Collingwood.

True MJP, but I probably should have clarified my statement i.e., with Brown out for an extended period, they are looking very ordinary! Your statement about Collingwood just confirms what I said to someone at the game today - just how do you beat them? Is there any team up to the task?

[EasternWest]

I was very happy with Tommy's game, really provided some rebound and he would butter up any mistakes he made. Tackling was also a feature.


Very true. It was "certainly pleasing" that he never dropped his head when he got beaten, just hustled his tail off to harass and tackle.

Even feeling confident enough to spoil with the back of his head :D.

[alwaysadog]

Maybe some would be happier if we lost. Nothing to complain about and no one to scapegoat.

You can't be serious.

After a big win like this, all the usual suspects will be dammed with faint praise and the context and the real issues will be ignored.

Analysis is for fools, let the emotions rip.

[alwaysadog]

Is it appropriate to take time off from complaining and to talk in terms of the transformation of the side, or perhaps the side in transition?

It’s so different from the one we used to know and all those who have been complaining about the lack of opportunity afforded our young players should get off the backs of individuals and start concentrating on what’s happening structurally.

Take today
1 Of the back six, Marcovic, Stack and Hill played key roles. That’s an amazing change, and all acquitted well, but not perfectly and experience and leadership was not exactly abundant.

2. Up forward we had Grant, Jones and at times Roughead, and once Hall was retired for the day only Gia was a senior player, and at the start of the last ¼ the oldest player in the front six was Higgins.

3. On ball we have Libba jnr and have also introduced Sherman, and Djerrkura, with my mate Vez and young Wallis in the wings.

Does anybody really expect a side with this structure to yet work like a finely oiled and tuned machine?

While I was critical of a lot of things last week, the audacity of the changes being implemented is breath taking and while not yet a polished package showed that the more they play together the better they get.

There are still issues and I’m not about to give up my critical stance, anyone who has followed what I write would know that, but if I’d told anyone we’d win a game by 13 goals with the side we had today you’d have told me “I was dreaming”.

[AndrewP6]

Is it appropriate to take time off from complaining and to talk in terms of the transformation of the side, or perhaps the side in transition?

It’s so different from the one we used to know and all those who have been complaining about the lack of opportunity afforded our young players should get off the backs of individuals and start concentrating on what’s happening structurally.

Take today
1 Of the back six, Marcovic, Stack and Hill played key roles. That’s an amazing change, and all acquitted well, but not perfectly and experience and leadership was not exactly abundant.

2. Up forward we had Grant, Jones and at times Roughead, and once Hall was retired for the day only Gia was a senior player, and at the start of the last ¼ the oldest player in the front six was Higgins.

3. On ball we have Libba jnr and have also introduced Sherman, and Djkerrua, with my mate Vez and young Wallis in the wings.

Does anybody really expect a side with this structure to yet work like a finely oiled and tuned machine?

While I was critical of a lot of things last week, the audacity of the changes being implemented is breath taking and while not yet a polished package showed that the more they play together the better they get.

There are still issues and I’m not about to give up my critical stance, anyone who has followed what I write would know that, but if I’d told anyone we’d win a game by 13 goals with the side we had today you’d have told me “I was dreaming”.

Well said.

[alwaysadog]

If Tommy had held his marks he would have been Lake-esq in his performance today

Slowly the things we hoped for from Tommy are happening and with Lake back next week or the one after he'll only get better.

PS Brian was a guest at the TopDogs lunch and had pulled up well and is looking to getting his spot back.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

We started off very rusty, which confirms my belief that it's going to take at least half a season until we are playing our best football. However, I thought the same last year - and that didn't really happen at any stage. A 78 point win is very good, but there's still a lot of worrying signs. Inside 50's being the biggest of them. If we were to play against a half decent side, we'd probably be in trouble - ala last week. I've read various suggestions that our fitness etc. isn't as high as what it has been in previous seasons, due to us hoping to peak for finals. It sort of looks that way, in that we're playing as though we haven't been training at full intensity for long enough.

On the upside, I thought we improved as the game wore on. The pressuring and defensive game was better than last week, particularly in the forward half, however I don't like that we are conceeding a lot of space in the midfield. It means sides can freely run the ball up to the 70-80m mark, and bomb the ball to put our defence under seige. Sides like Brisbane will struggle to make us pay, but Essendon did, and Collingwood will. Why are we allowing sides so much space in the midfield? Why are we clogging up the backline? We only make it harder for ourselves when we win the ball, and have nobody/nowhere to kick it to. Against weaker sides, you may get away with running the ball out in numbers, but against good sides - you're put under immense pressure. It's a game plan I really hate.

* Cross: He finds the ball, he shows courage and takes some good marks. However, his time in the game is limited - particularly within our side. He makes far too many errors by foot and hand. Again today he used his left foot when he didn't need to, and turned it over. It's stupid football. We cannot play Cross, Boyd and Gia in the same side - one of them has to go, and I don't believe Cross offers us enough offensively or defensively.

* Williams: Very good game. Dropped around 4 marks he should have held onto, which would have made his game in the top bracket. However - Clarke is a good player, and Williams gave him a bath today. He's confident with the ball in hand, made strong tackles, had second efforts, spoiled the ball and rectified mistakes he made.

* Griffen: Seriously good game. It was very pleasing to see Griff return to form after a poor pre-season and round one. Showed today he is a cut above the rest when switched on. Nice to see him convert his chances in front of goal, including a brilliant piece of play with the snap around the body.

* Cooney: Improved on last week's performance and looked fitter. Good signs.

* Higgins slowly getting back into it. His stats looked good, better than I expected. Thought his defensive pressure was good today, and we all know he can finish - which he did.

* Libba is a gem. You can't teach a player how to find the ball. It's an innate ability that few have, and coupled with his lethal hands - he's a beauty. Left foot skills also pretty neat. Very impressed.

* Hill was impressive again today. Made a few basic errors, including a few attempts to mark the ball in defence when he should have spoiled. However, his reading of the play is very handy down back. Picks off kicks nicely, positions himself well, and as a result is playing the perfect sweeper role.

* Whilst Hudson was better today, I still think this is his last year and that he'll struggle to impact as many games as we'll want him to. Looks to be struggling with the pace of the game, even though some of his desperate acts today were very good.

* Markovic played pretty well. I think he's doing a better job than expected. Whilst he only played on kids today, he did a decent job on Hurley last week. He's keeping things relatively simple, spoiling the ball, and getting it into the hands of the runners when he has a chance to.

* Stack is a frustrating player. Shows some good signs, with quick closing speed at times, some strong tackles, some run and carry. However, he still makes some poor skill and decision making errors. He's doing OK at this stage.

* Sherman will be an important player for us. His run and carry was good, and his attack on the ball/man even better. Never thought he was a soft player, but didn't think he was as hard as he showed today. Seems to me like he's a confidence player; he got better as the game wore on.

[bornadog]

* Whilst Hudson was better today, I still think this is his last year and that he'll struggle to impact as many games as we'll want him to. Looks to be struggling with the pace of the game, even though some of his desperate acts today were very good.

Got smashed in the ruck today as did Roughead. Rucks are an issue at this stage.




* Stack is a frustrating player. Shows some good signs, with quick closing speed at times, some strong tackles, some run and carry. However, he still makes some poor skill and decision making errors. He's doing OK at this stage.

.

Is Stack the new Hargrave early in his career?

He has played a 13 games and everyone expects him to be a super star. He is now getting better every week as he learns the game. Yes he made some poor decisions but also played some good footy, so not sure why he is singled out by many posters.

[anfo27]

79 tackles today. I can't remember the last time i have seen us put up a tally of tackles that high. That is a step in the right direction.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Got smashed in the ruck today as did Roughead. Rucks are an issue at this stage.

Yep.

I actually think a Minson/Roughead combination would be the best way to go, however I don't want to write Hudson off after only two games.


Is Stack the new Hargrave early in his career?

He has played a 13 games and everyone expects him to be a super star. He is now getting better every week as he learns the game. Yes he made some poor decisions but also played some good footy, so not sure why he is singled out by many posters.

I was one of few that supported Stack being picked to play in round one.

He deserves another game, too.

He's frustrating because he has obvious raw talent, but at times can make very basic errors. If he eliminates this, he can be a good player. His desperation has certainly improved.

I think there's hope for Stack, especially when we get Lake (and either Hargrave/Gilbee in form) back.

[anfo27]

Got smashed in the ruck today as did Roughead. Rucks are an issue at this stage.



Is Stack the new Hargrave early in his career?

He has played a 13 games and everyone expects him to be a super star. He is now getting better every week as he learns the game. Yes he made some poor decisions but also played some good footy, so not sure why he is singled out by many posters.

I think thats unfair. Posters have come out and suggested he played well I just didn't agree with that.

[LostDoggy]

You can't be serious.

After a big win like this, all the usual suspects will be dammed with faint praise and the context and the real issues will be ignored.

Analysis is for fools, let the emotions rip.

You think so, Gia and Stack still copping it even though they had reasonable games. Don't care if the fans are ignoring the real issues. I doubt the MC are.

[chef]

Yep.

I actually think a Minson/Roughead combination would be the best way to go, however I don't want to write Hudson off after only two games.



I was one of few that supported Stack being picked to play in round one.

He deserves another game, too.

He's frustrating because he has obvious raw talent, but at times can make very basic errors. If he eliminates this, he can be a good player. His desperation has certainly improved.

I think there's hope for Stack, especially when we get Lake (and either Hargrave/Gilbee in form) back.

Yep, he deserves to hold his spot until his performances justify him being dropped.

[w3design]

Going to be very hard to drop Markovic - he is rapidly going from a depth player to someone who is a legitimate consideration every week depending on match ups.

Would be good to afford the luxury of throwing Lake forward hey? :)

[LostDoggy]

I'm yet to see Lake play like a CHF. He might be ok at being plonked in the goal square and not moving or running off the backline for a goal but I doubt he knows how to play as a modern day forward.

[Sedat]

The loss of Easton Wood is big in the context of the season as we need our runners up and going.
Creates an opportunity for the likes of Hill and Stack to develop their games in the back 6, which can only be a positive thing for the overall depth of the playing group. With Howard not yet AFL ready, Harbrow gone, Hargy and Gilbee injured and now Wood joining them, our defensive depth is being tested far more than at any stage during Rocket's tenure. It went in there 70+ times last week and 50+ times yesterday, so they are holding up extremely well under the circumstances.

I commend the MC on their decision to move both Hill and Stack down back - Hill in particular has been terrific, and while Stack is still a work in progress, he is trending in the right direction in terms of career improvement.

[LostDoggy]

Not entirely sure what fellow WOOFers wanted to see yesterday to be convinced. Seems to me the Bulldogs are in a tough spot with their fans: if we lose, we're finished, if we win, the other side was just shit. For the record, I thought Brisbane was incredibly inept and I'm not overly excited by the win, but I'd rather have a 78 point win than a kick in the pants.

We all cried last week about tackling — much better this week. Work rate — much better this week. Accountability — a long way to go but still better than last week.

It's not their fault they played the Lions. Give them a fair go guys, this kinda talk is Round 18-24 stuff.

[LongWait]

Still not sure that we have a robust and coherent game plan that the players will execute effectively, but huge props to the MC for playing younger players and for perservering with Stack and Jones in particular. We will not regret giving serious game time to Marcovic, Jones, Stack, Roughead,DJ and Libba, even though they are not all going to be in our best 22 when all are available.

[Mantis]

Brisbane are young, but after two weeks we don't know much about anyone except Collingwood.

I think we have also learnt that GC are going to really struggle.

[Mantis]

You think so, Gia and Stack still copping it even though they had reasonable games. Don't care if the fans are ignoring the real issues. I doubt the MC are.

I doubt they are too, but I guess we will wait in anticipation to see what they do to fix the problems that we can all see.

I guess there is no rush to do so at present, but as the season progresses and we hopefully get a full list up and running we see some changes that will hopefully make us more competitive against the competition's best.

[Chicago1]

I was very happy with the boys' effort after the first half of that first quarter. However, there just didn't seem to be the fast flowing game that I saw last year. It is early days and a few more matches will get them really going again, I'm sure. Looking forward to seeing the Suns on Saturday. I was happy we play them so soon. Wish I could be here for the match against the Magpies next month. I hope it'll be shown on ESPN3.

[the banker]

The major difference this week was the lack of pressure we were put under coming out of the back half. We need to test "our out of defense methodology" against a strong forward press. We were lost last week esp in the second quarter. We have the talent and attacking game to slaughter lesser sides which points to us finishing the H & A fairly high up. It will be fascinating watching us build our game strategies to beat strong defensive structures of Collingwood etc.

[Mantis]

The major difference this week was the lack of pressure we were put under coming out of the back half. We need to test "our out of defense methodology" against a strong forward press. We were lost last week esp in the second quarter. We have the talent and attacking game to slaughter lesser sides which points to us finishing the H & A fairly high up. It will be fascinating watching us build our game strategies to beat strong defensive structures of Collingwood etc.

It was the same last year too.

Although it's extremely early in the season there are still some worrying signs which don't give me much hope of matching it with the competitions best, but I guess it isn't all that important at present and how our side develops over the next 22 rounds is.

[JohnGentStand]

* Stack is a frustrating player. Shows some good signs, with quick closing speed at times, some strong tackles, some run and carry. However, he still makes some poor skill and decision making errors. He's doing OK at this stage.

it was the 1st i'd seen of stack this year and he looks stronger & seriously quick.....Sure the decision making is dodgy, but when I think of the way the cats persisted with Varcoe for 3 years of very little return I am encouraged to think that getting games into Stack could be fruitful.

fingers crossed :)