Round #5 - Slaps and Sledges

[GVGjr]

For those who aren't familiar with the Slaps and Sledges thread:

A slap on the back for a job well done by 2 players. (not to be confused with the Woof Player Awards (http://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=9023))
This can be a passage of player or a spirited effort.

A sledge to two players that let down the team. Try and make this constructive critique and not just overly critical.

Provide us with your thoughts on today's game against Fremantle.

[GVGjr]

Anyone game to start this?

[LostDoggy]

Cal Ward - Hero
Dale Morris - dominated Ballentine

Sledges
Roughy - With the form he is in, and Minson's, wouldn't be disappointed to see a swap.
Cooney - What the hell happened to his goal kicking? should have slotted 4 today

[LostDoggy]

Anyone game to start this?

I will.

SLEDGE:

Stack. Ruined one of his best games for the club by manufacturing Fremantle victory when we were seven points up. Brutally hard to pick on one turnover in a game of turnovers, but that passage of play was the difference between us winning the game and losing it.

Cooney. Bloody awful from beginning to end. Not just the goals he missed but the times he failed to make the right decision.

Boyd. If he had have found his teammates and not the opposition tonight then he would have played one of the best games of all time. But he didn't. Again and again and again.

[SonofScray]

SLAP

Higgins' last quarter was exactly what I expect from him. Was happy that he was able to deliver.

Sherman, played a ripping game. Showed what he has to offer and I felt he really injected some venom to the attack.

Boyd, lead the way with an impeccable work rate and some dangerous touches.

SLEDGE

Roughead, terrible performance. In the last 5 minutes he gave it a real good go but on the whole it was a poor effort.

Grant, needs to work harder. Just a disappointing effort. Glad he slotted that late goal though, suggests he has some real steel in him.

Cooney, could have put them to the sword but his disposal was dismal. Missed 3 "match winning" opportunities. Field kicking was atrocious. he is a star and needs to start taking the game on and getting the result on the board.

[AndrewP6]

Slaps
- Shermanator. Tackled hard, looked desperate, and converted chances.
- Picken, for much of the same. He just never gives up.
Honourable mention to Morris for his job on Ballantyne.


Sledges
- Cooney. Either he's sick, hurt or needs to step into the roomful of mirrors.
- Grant. Get thee to Williamstown, post-haste. And try to look interested there.

Dishonourable mentions to Stack, Boyd (45 touches, but how many to advantage?)

[comrade]

Slap to Higgins' last quarter was amazing after a fairly sloppy performance in the first 3.

Sledge to Cooney. How can someone so talented continuously butcher the ball?

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Slap:

* Sherman: Our best. His effort was great. His intensity first class. We had several players running through the motions at times, but Sherman was fierce from beginning to end.

* Higgins' last quarter. Showed he has some ticker and stood up.

Sledge:

* Hudson and Roughead were crap. Hudson tried hard but made so many errors. Basic errors. Roughead spent more time on the ground than anywhere else. Extremely disappointed with these two.

* Cooney lost us the game. Murphy not far behind.

[ReLoad]

I will.

SLEDGE:

Stack. Ruined one of his best games for the club by manufacturing Fremantle victory when we were seven points up. Brutally hard to pick on one turnover in a game of turnovers, but that passage of play was the difference between us winning the game and losing it.

Cooney. Bloody awful from beginning to end. Not just the goals he missed but the times he failed to make the right decision.

Boyd. If he had have found his teammates and not the opposition tonight then he would have played one of the best games of all time. But he didn't. Again and again and again.

Boyd was sensational today, you picked the wrong guy to sledge there.

Likewise Stack, he was very serviceable tonight, and I was impressed by his endavour, Dont have a crack at him about the turnover, how about Cooney for missing goals that Hazel Smith my 89 year old in a scooter grandmother would have kicked. Did some very good jobs, that run for 30 yards to punch out of bounds saved a goal. good stuff.

Sledges go to Grant, you got 2 goals you didnt work for, you didnt run or chase, and if tommy didnt have a dodgy hammy you should have been subbed off. A month in Willy for you, dont come back unless you average 8 tackles a game. Forward pressure is everything.

A huge sledge to Cooney, stop reading you own press mate, you were a gun because you worked your ass off, your not working to even 20% of it right now.

[Sedat]

Slap to Morris for owning Ballantyne's ass and handing it back to him on a platter

Sledge to Cooney for his appalling finishing and, unusually, his poor decision-making

[comrade]

Big ups to Picken who put the clamps on Hill and ended up with 8 tackles.

Love him.

[EasternWest]

Slap: Morris. Gun.
Picken. Thanks TCD.

[GVGjr]

Slap
Picken and Morris for their jobs on dangerous opponents.

Sledge
Hudson's decision making and skill errors and Grant for just not putting in hard enough in the first half.

[angelopetraglia]

Slap:

Boyd: 45 touches. Never stops working.
Sherman: 4 goals. Took his chances and good pressure.

Sledge:

Cooney: 11 kicks is not good enough for an elite mid. Could have sealed the game.
Hall: Deplorable. No where to be seen tonight.

[The Coon Dog]

Slaps - Like others, Picken & Morris for blanketing Hill & Ballantyne.

Sledge - Dropped marks! Nearly sent me over the edge watching tonight.

[EasternWest]

Slaps - Like others, Picken & Morris for blanketing Hill & Ballantyne.

Sledge - Dropped marks! Nearly sent me over the edge watching tonight.

You know, I didn't even notice Picken playing. But I didn't notice (their) Hill either. Good pickup.

[The Pie Man]

Despite being so filthy, there's a few slaps to hand out

Picken - great job
Morris - backline would be lost without him
Sherman - his trade in was a good call
Ward - for the first half anyway
Cross - just for diving on the hard ball and winning high tackle frees
Markovic - continues to be solid

Now I'd sledge Grant, though strangely enough he ended up with 18 touches and two goals. Reads better than I thought he played. How can I sledge Boyd after winning so much of the pill? Sadly it's not much use to us when he gives it back a fair bit of the time.

Sledge

Cooney...not going to say anymore, will just hope with confidence this doesn't last long
Hall - ugly, and he did have some opportunities..night would've looked a lot different if he could've taken those
WB - for losing to a Freo team that dropped so many easy marks. Infuriating result that I fear will haunt this season

[Ghost Dog]

Slap - Sherminator. For showing us that pretty boys can actually get the job done.

Sledge - . Cooney forgot his contact lenses tonight it seems. 1...ok. but 4??

[Rocco Jones]

Slap- Our heart
Sledge- Our head

[G-Mo77]

Slaps

Morris & Picken
When there is a job to do they do it and do it very well.

Sherman
I was really iffy on the Sherman choice but I can't fault the guy. He's been pretty good since coming over and was easily one of our better players tonight.

Minson
Great work in the VFL. Can't wait to see you back next week.

Sledge

Cooney
Wake the hell up. You are a key player in this side. How about playing like it once in a while

MC
Great choice in throwing a first gamer to the wolves. Make him sit for 3 quarters then throw him on the ball. Great job in boosting his confidence.

[PurpleHaze]

Slaps:

Picken & Wards continuous tackling efforts. Hard at the ball, for the first half especially they just threw themselves in there, with all of Freo's clearances....kept us in there. Such guts in both these boys.

Sherman- determined and focused, really stepped up when Barry was AWOL.


Sledges:

Stack- that turnover with minimal time to go cost us the game (along with Murphys out on the full, but Murphy had been decent for the rest of the game). Really can't see a spot for Stack next week, same goes for Roughead.

Coons- HOW did he miss those shots?! Expect better from players of his calibre.

[jazzadogs]

Slap:
- Picken and Morris shut down two of the danger men. Merits of stopping Hill vs Fyfe could be argued, but the job was done.
- Shermanator. At this stage, certainly happy with the trade. Showed speed, hardness and enthusiasm. Loved the pumped up celebrations after his fourth quarter goal.

Sledge
- not enough silk. Plenty of grunt, but the good sides have the silky skills to finish it off on the scoreboard.
- too Barry Hall conscious. This was one of our biggest problems against the Pies last year, because it makes it easy for them to zone off, and it would have been good to see it rectified this season.

[comrade]

Sledge to Gilbee's disposal. If he's not hitting enough targets, should he be playing?

[AndrewP6]

Hall: Deplorable. No where to be seen tonight.

He was easily seen, under two or 3 Freo players, waiting for someone to kick it over his head. He wasn't helped by the shocking decisions/kicks by his teammates.

[Greystache]

Slaps

- Morris & Picken, both blanketed dangerous players.
- Sherman, good attack and finishing.

Sledges

- Cooney, enough said
- Game plan, out of date and no structure in high pressure games.

[LostDoggy]

I went to the game, would like to see the replay

Slaps:
Griff - worked hard, played dam well.
Ward - firstly for the hair, it's better in person. But hard ad nails.
Murphy and Morris - didn't get beaten, special mention to Murphy for knocking over ballentyne when he was tying his laces. Bit of his own medicine.
Stack - spoiled well at key times.

Sledges:
Cooney - head down all night.
Grant - no intensity, no confidence.
Dropped marks, bloody hell... Gave them two easy goals, cost us a number of shots on goal.
Hall - dissappointed! One lead only, no double back,

[AndrewP6]

I went to the game, would like to see the replay

Slaps:
Griff - worked hard, played dam well.
Ward - firstly for the hair, it's better in person. But hard ad nails.
Murphy and Morris - didn't get beaten, special mention to Murphy for knocking over ballentyne when he was tying his laces. Bit of his own medicine.
Stack - spoiled well at key times.

Sledges:
Cooney - head down all night.
Grant - no intensity, no confidence.
Dropped marks, bloody hell... Gave them two easy goals, cost us a number of shots on goal.
Hall - dissappointed! One lead only, no double back,

His mobility is clearly impaired.

[LostDoggy]

Boyd was sensational today, you picked the wrong guy to sledge there.




No I didn't.

Finding the ball 45 times is terrific, but the fact is that he stuffed up his disposal on eighteen separate occasions. Eighteen. Almost all of which were kicks and less than half can be explained due to physical pressure from his opponent. You think that's sensational? Good for you.

If this was a one off then I wouldn't be so irritated by it, but his kicking has been letting him down far too often in the last couple of seasons. He needs to improve his skills. We already carry one midfielder who can't kick and two elite midfielders whose efficiency has dropped below 60% in both our losses this year. Improvement must be quick and it can start at the top.






Likewise Stack, he was very serviceable tonight, and I was impressed by his endavour, Dont have a crack at him about the turnover




You know what? Even though you've told me not to, I will have a crack at him.

Seven points up, not long to go, protection on the flank, panic sets in and he commits an unpardonable offense: he brings the ball back into the corridor and turns it over. It's sad for him but the simple truth is that his mistake was the single most costly on a night full of mistakes. Hopefully he'll learn from it.






A month in Willy for you, dont come back unless you average 8 tackles a game. Forward pressure is everything.




A small dose of lunacy that made me smile on an otherwise ordinary night.

[LostDoggy]

MC
Great choice in throwing a first gamer to the wolves. Make him sit for 3 quarters then throw him on the ball. Great job in boosting his confidence.




I agree. I couldn't believe it when Eade said that he'd be the sub and was even more surprised when they threw him into the middle with Mundy and Pavlich after they'd both had the break to rest.

[Remi Moses]

Slaps - Picken great game on Hill
Morris - terrific game on that little toe rag
Sherman - Best game for the club
Boyd- yes he turned the ball over to often,but generally he was very good
Ward - Terrific first half

Sledges- Cooney, For Christ sake Adam that was bloody awful :mad:Missing sitters all night!
Barry - Worst game for the club. We're looking to Barry way to often!!
Roughead - He was poor
Grant- was bloody awful
Higgins- Controversial, but for such a talented player he just doesn't put good Quarters together!!

[Remi Moses]

I agree. I couldn't believe it when Eade said that he'd be the sub and was even more surprised when they threw him into the middle with Mundy and Pavlich after they'd both had the break to rest.

The kid should have played at the start.Rocket's to conservative sometimes!

[chef]

Slaps:

Picken & Wards continuous tackling efforts. Hard at the ball, for the first half especially they just threw themselves in there, with all of Freo's clearances....kept us in there. Such guts in both these boys.

Sherman- determined and focused, really stepped up when Barry was AWOL.


Sledges:

Stack- that turnover with minimal time to go cost us the game (along with Murphys out on the full, but Murphy had been decent for the rest of the game). Really can't see a spot for Stack next week, same goes for Roughead.

Coons- HOW did he miss those shots?! Expect better from players of his calibre.

I thought he proved last night that is is a spot for him.

[the banker]

Thought the divide between our best and worst contributors was immense.

SLAPS Morris, Picken, Sherman, Boyd...

SLEDGES

[ReLoad]

You know what? Even though you've told me not to, I will have a crack at him.

Seven points up, not long to go, protection on the flank, panic sets in and he commits an unpardonable offense: he brings the ball back into the corridor and turns it over. It's sad for him but the simple truth is that his mistake was the single most costly on a night full of mistakes. Hopefully he'll learn from it..

The single most costly mistakes were by our brownlow medal winner, direct oppostion scoring shots from missed shots at goal. The dockers kicked 2.1 from Cooneys missed shot kick ins.

Thats a direct flaw as opposed to some rookie kid who has played less games than ive got fingers.

Stack ran, chased hard, tackled, intercepted, spoiled etc, just like a kid who was having a real crack. yes he made a mistake, but there were far worse than stacky last night. What about the first two freo goals where Lake was off doing his mental sudoku or whatever the hell he does during his brain fades?

I'm not sold on stack wither way, but this is some serious singling out and unfair pressure your putting on him.

For him to be in our worst 2 players of the night, is just plain wrong.

[the banker]

Sledges Cooney, Grant (some redemption), Higgins

[Ghost Dog]

The single most costly mistakes were by our brownlow medal winner, direct oppostion scoring shots from missed shots at goal. The dockers kicked 2.1 from Cooneys missed shot kick ins.

Thats a direct flaw as opposed to some rookie kid who has played less games than ive got fingers.

Stack ran, chased hard, tackled, intercepted, spoiled etc, just like a kid who was having a real crack. yes he made a mistake, but there were far worse than stacky last night. What about the first two freo goals where Lake was off doing his mental sudoku or whatever the hell he does during his brain fades?

I'm not sold on stack wither way, but this is some serious singling out and unfair pressure your putting on him.

For him to be in our worst 2 players of the night, is just plain wrong.

If this is the case, Bulldogs fans should rally behind Stack and show him solid support as I'm sure he feels pretty shite today.

[LostDoggy]

Slaps - Picken & The Glove

Sledge - WBFC - why can't we hold onto a lead with a few minutes to go????

[LostDoggy]

Slaps.....

Picken and Ward for always trying to get between the player and the ball
A mid field that sharked the ruck taps
Sherman for showing us zip and speed by being in the right place at the right time

Sledges.....

a forward line that can't take a contested mark
a team that comes off half back /mid field without long precise kicking to a deep forward target....not enough of these are executed to perfection
Lake...it'd be great if he stood closer to his opponent, at least until he has found his feet
Roughhead....just cannot play this game if you keep falling over in a contest and / or allowing the ball to get behind you

I thought Hudson wasn't anywhere near as bad as others thought.

[Topdog]

For him to be in our worst 2 players of the night, is just plain wrong.

The sledge is not for our 2 worst players on the night. It is


A sledge to two players that let down the team. Try and make this constructive critique and not just overly critical.

He 100% let the team down with that play. It lost us the match.

He had a pretty good game IMO and we should keep him in the side for next week but I hope the boys and coaches tell him that it was a big mistake. He is young and is new to defense so he will improve and we have to be willing to accept his mistakes down there.

[LostDoggy]

Slap on the back to the MC - Lake, Williams AND Markovic in the backline , its a work in progress but it works

Sledge : Forward structure ? What forward structure ?

.

[Ozza]

Slaps:
Higgins for stepping up in the last quarter and making things happen.
Morris for shutting out a very dangerous player, in Ballantyne - and winning some crucial 50-50 balls.

Sledges:
Rougheads stinker, woeful in nearly every contest he was involved in.
Cooney - had the opportunities to ice the game up forward, and when in the midfield gave us very little.
Crossy - for having no impact - again (and yes, 'again' includes when he had 100 possessions 2 weeks ago).

[Flamethrower]

Sledge - everyone bagging Cooney. He should be awarded a VC for just playing after the terrible hamstring injury he had last year - it takes a good 12 months to recover from one of those, and there are plenty of players who have been forced into premature retirement because of it. He was always going to struggle this year, especially with his kicking, and don't be surprised if he never fully recovers.

Sledge - the boundary umpire who came out of retirement after the Wayne Harmes decision in the 1979 GF only to not to see Brian Lake kick the ball from 10 rows deep in the grandstand.

Slap - Dale Morris - put the annoying little pest Ballantyne back in the box.

[Desipura]

Any sledges for Murphy who kicked out on the full on a few occasions including the dying seconds of the game?

[bornadog]

Slap

Morris - great game on Ballantyne

Picken - likewise on Hill

Sherman - 4 goals plus the first two goals on the board came from his handpasses.

Sledge - As everyone has mentioned - Cooney and his kicking, whether at goal or field. Grant, needs to work a lot harder.


Big Sledge to WOOF posters who continually have a go at Stack. If we don't develop these players, next thing you know, Hargrave, Gilbee Murphy, Morris will all be 33 years old and no one to take over.

[Desipura]

Slap

Morris - great game on Ballantyne

Picken - likewise on Hill

Sherman - 4 goals plus the first two goals on the board came from his handpasses.

Sledge - As everyone has mentioned - Cooney and his kicking, whether at goal or field. Grant, needs to work a lot harder.


Big Sledge to WOOF posters who continually have a go at Stack. If we don't develop these players, next thing you know, Hargrave, Gilbee Murphy, Morris will all be 33 years old and no one to take over.

I thought Stack showed a bit, sure he made a crucial error in the last, more experienced players did the same

[comrade]

Stack made a couple of crucial spoils that he had no right getting to, just out of sheer will and determination.

His work rate was top notch and to me, proved that there is something worth persisting with.

[bornadog]

I thought Stack showed a bit, sure he made a crucial error in the last, more experienced players did the same

That crucial error was because he received a handball from Grant who put him under pressure. Grant himself was being tackled but why he didn't kick towards goal baffles me. He decided to turn around and hanball to Stack, but then again they were both under pressure and executed incorrectly.


Stack made a couple of crucial spoils that he had no right getting to, just out of sheer will and determination.

His work rate was top notch and to me, proved that there is something worth persisting with.

Spot on Comrade.

[LostDoggy]

He was easily seen, under two or 3 Freo players, waiting for someone to kick it over his head. He wasn't helped by the shocking decisions/kicks by his teammates.

When the news that Hall was coming to the dogs was released, I was excited. Not because I was visualising him kicking 5-6 goals a game but for the above reason. All I kept seeing in my mind was 2-3 key defenders runing with Hall leaving the usual smaller FWDs (at that time, Aker, Johnno etc) of the WBs to run riot.
Last night I saw the 2-3 defenders with Hall, but no Grant / Higgins options till the last 15mins!
If this had happened earlier then Freo would have adjusted, then the delivery into Hall one on one could have started.

[AndrewP6]

When the news that Hall was coming to the dogs was released, I was excited. Not because I was visualising him kicking 5-6 goals a game but for the above reason. All I kept seeing in my mind was 2-3 key defenders runing with Hall leaving the usual smaller FWDs (at that time, Aker, Johnno etc) of the WBs to run riot.
[B]Last night I saw the 2-3 defenders with Hall, but no Grant / Higgins options till the last 15mins!
If this had happened earlier then Freo would have adjusted, then the delivery into Hall one on one could have started.[B]

Exactly, but for whatever reason, most times this happens there's no one even near the ball.

[Remi Moses]

Can someone give me a Pauline (please explain) on the decision makers kicking the ball constantly to a one on 3? Would have thought having a key forward for now two bloody years they'd have some structure or system worked out.

[Dogmatic]

Slap - Morris is always good even when the team is horrible.

Sledge - Rocket for accepting mediocrity and being please with our efforts. It's not good enough.

[LostDoggy]

The sledge is not for our 2 worst players on the night.

He 100% let the team down with that play. It lost us the match.

He had a pretty good game IMO and we should keep him in the side for next week but I hope the boys and coaches tell him that it was a big mistake. He is young and is new to defense so he will improve and we have to be willing to accept his mistakes down there.




Exactly right, Topdog.

I think Stack played very well last night. I even mentioned that in my post that put ReLoad's knickers in a twist:





Stack. Ruined one of his best games for the club by manufacturing Fremantle victory when we were seven points up. Brutally hard to pick on one turnover in a game of turnovers, but that passage of play was the difference between us winning the game and losing it.




Regardless of how well he played, his turnover was clearly the most costly mistake on the night because it happened at the worst time and was the result of panic and not poor skill execution.





I'm not sold on stack wither way, but this is some serious singling out and unfair pressure your putting on him.



He's playing senior football; not kick to kick at a local park. I'm sure that he's man enough to cop the criticism that he'd have received internally from his mistake and learn from it.

[cambo]

The single most costly mistakes were by our brownlow medal winner, direct oppostion scoring shots from missed shots at goal. The dockers kicked 2.1 from Cooneys missed shot kick ins.

Thats a direct flaw as opposed to some rookie kid who has played less games than ive got fingers.

Stack ran, chased hard, tackled, intercepted, spoiled etc, just like a kid who was having a real crack. yes he made a mistake, but there were far worse than stacky last night. What about the first two freo goals where Lake was off doing his mental sudoku or whatever the hell he does during his brain fades?

I'm not sold on stack wither way, but this is some serious singling out and unfair pressure your putting on him.

For him to be in our worst 2 players of the night, is just plain wrong.

Are you guys sure your not getting Stack and J Hill mixed up, I was at game and thought Stack was great and J Hill was his normal not interested self

[LostDoggy]

Boyd was sensational today, you picked the wrong guy to sledge there.



From an article on the Bulldogs' website entitled 'Boyd takes blame despite his record show':


"It doesn’t mean much really. It's not how much you get, it's what you do with it and unfortunately I made a few mistakes with the ball that cost us a goal or two towards the end," Boyd said.

[cambo]

Slap on the back to the MC - Lake, Williams AND Markovic in the backline , its a work in progress but it works

Sledge : Forward structure ? What forward structure ?

.

100% agree with you post