Game Day - Bulldogs vs Kangaroos

[GVGjr]

This is the discussion thread for todays game.

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

Who will be given the job on Petrie and Harvey?

[LostDoggy]

Sam Power on Harvey in his new tagging role. Surely Petrie won't have another day out against us? Who played on him last time?

Our first goal to Gia.

[The Underdog]

Sam Power on Harvey in his new tagging role. Surely Petrie won't have another day out against us? Who played on him last time?

Our first goal to Gia.

The first quarter on Petrie last time was a combo of Harris, Williams and the two of them looking at Petrie marking on his own, looking at each other, pointing and looking confused.:rolleyes:
(Kicked most of the first quarter goals on Williams but Tommy kept getting very lost and confused, Harris wasn't much help.)

I agree that Power will get a shot on Harvey, although I don't necessarily like the matchup.
Think Harris starts on Petrie, Morris on Jones. Firritto unlikely to play which is good news for Johnno.

Firtst goal to Robbins (sentimental me)

[LostDoggy]

Well hopefully Harris will be switched on today. Johnno hasn't had a big goal tally for a while, let's hope he has a big game today.

I know there's been talk about losing = higher draft pick but I go to the footy to watch my team try their best and win. I will be extremely disappointed if the season ends on a flat note (ala last week).

Anyone know the final 22 named?

[firstdogonthemoon]

first goal to darcy

I just want to see us be competitive - give us a bit to go on with over the preseason

[Go_Dogs]

Yeah, if we can play competitive football for 3/4 and then lose with dignity I'd be pretty happy. The Roos will be switched on today, so it's going to be a tough game.

Cooney for first goal, Ray to take Shannon Grant, Power on Harvey/Harris, and Boyd/Cross to play a negating role on the other one - Harris always causes us trouble and goes under the radar. Let's stop his influence today.

[GVGjr]

I think Johnno got the first goal and once again after a promising 1st quarter we fell away big time.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I think Johnno got the first goal and once again after a promising 1st quarter we fell away big time.

Yeah we should have even been another 2-3 goals ahead at quarter time. I know its stating the obvious but we have a lot of work to do. If we do the work, I still see a lot of upside in our playing list - I know there will be many baying for blood but if the players commit I believe we can turn it around.

[mike1954]

Again. we looked like a champion team for a quarter against the Kangas. But unfortunately this is a 4 quarter game. I've been watching us over the last few weeks and it looks like boys are playing against men. Our tackles are being brushed aside with ease, not running hard enough into position to receive the ball and hesitation seems like it is spreading through the team like a disease. I am a die hard doggie fan, but if Rocket thinks we are 2 to 3 years away from a premiership, I think he is in for a surprise. Our defence is being punished every week and changes need to be made. We are conceding far too many goals every week and maybe it's time we picked up a couple of experienced defenders from other teams to really lead this young group of pups. I don't mean to sound negative, but there really is no excuse for what we have seen over this season, especially after the start we had against the Cats.

Thoughts anyone??

[GVGjr]

Again. we looked like a champion team for a quarter against the Kangas. But unfortunately this is a 4 quarter game. I've been watching us over the last few weeks and it looks like boys are playing against men. Our tackles are being brushed aside with ease, not running hard enough into position to receive the ball and hesitation seems like it is spreading through the team like a disease. I am a die hard doggie fan, but if Rocket thinks we are 2 to 3 years away from a premiership, I think he is in for a surprise. Our defence is being punished every week and changes need to be made. We are conceding far too many goals every week and maybe it's time we picked up a couple of experienced defenders from other teams to really lead this young group of pups. I don't mean to sound negative, but there really is no excuse for what we have seen over this season, especially after the start we had against the Cats.

Thoughts anyone??

M1954, Eade genuinely believed that we had a realistic chance this season and we have fallen way behind the pack. At this moment 2 to 3 years to get us back on track looks way optimistic but perhaps he underestimated they impact have having so many players with delayed starts to the season. I think he possibly overestimated the impact Akermanis would make to us.

There are of course a number of big pluses particularly the game time so many younger players got but if we are realistic, we were poor and even lucky with a few of the wind that we actually got.
Right at this moment I think the gap between us, the Dees, Blues and Tigers is pretty close so we have a big mountain to climb.

Lets start the review with the recruiting and coaching panel plus Eade needs to work overtime with his end of season review.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Right at this moment I think the gap between us, the Dees, Blues and Tigers is pretty close so we have a big mountain to climb.

Lets start the review with the recruiting and coaching panel plus Eade needs to work overtime with his end of season review.

I am sure I am going be a target for saying this BUT fortunes can always turn quickly in this game. I believe we can turn this around because our list has enough talent on it - look at what North did in a year and they have far less raw talent IMO than us. We need to get the best kids we can again at the draft, and not . If you get good kids it is surprising how quickly they can make the grade - in two years time Everitt could be amazing if he works at a Scott West like level to improve.

Clearly we lack leadership and there is a huge crew of middle age players (Gilbee, Cross, Murphy, Harris, Hargrave, Gia, McMahon) who need to lift ENORMOUSLY.

We won 9 and half games this year in a year in which we played poorly for most of the year - if the players are seriously committed to conditioning this summer then I have no doubts we could make the finals in 2008.

[Go_Dogs]

Did anyone see the incident at the start where Kasey Green hit Tommy Gun in the jaw? Tommy took a while to get up, but once he did he was straight over there to handle business. That is what I like to see. (besides the pathetic umpire paying a free to the Roos - again the umpiring was PATHETIC today. If I was Eade, I'd honestly speak to the umpires and just ask why so many decisions seem to consistently go against us. Harris took a mark, not paid results in a goal for the Roos. Numerous goals/shots they had as a result of frees!!)

McDougall really stood up today again, he's got to be our third tall defender. Forget him in the forward line, it'll have to be someone else. But as a third tall defender, he'll do well. His attack isn't always that excellent, but he tries and did some nice things. His goal was the highlight of the match.

[mike1954]

Saw the incident when Green hit Williams. Should definitely get a game for that. I think McDougal should be played up forward. He has done well in the backline, but if he's capable of bombing them outside 50, that's a bonus. I think with his height and speed, he's like a Richo, hard to match up on. Now that Darcy's gone, who else do we chuck up forward other than Tiller or Skipper with some height?

[Dry Rot]

The stock answer I suppose is to give Harris a go.

[firstdogonthemoon]

I am sure I am going be a target for saying this BUT fortunes can always turn quickly in this game. I believe we can turn this around because our list has enough talent on it - look at what North did in a year and they have far less raw talent IMO than us. We need to get the best kids we can again at the draft, and not . If you get good kids it is surprising how quickly they can make the grade - in two years time Everitt could be amazing if he works at a Scott West like level to improve.

Clearly we lack leadership and there is a huge crew of middle age players (Gilbee, Cross, Murphy, Harris, Hargrave, Gia, McMahon) who need to lift ENORMOUSLY.

We won 9 and half games this year in a year in which we played poorly for most of the year - if the players are seriously committed to conditioning this summer then I have no doubts we could make the finals in 2008.

I reckon you are right - I remain quite hopeful. If you can drop from 6 to 13th in one season - which is 7 spots - you should be able to do the reverse - if we had done that this year we would be 0 which has never happened before - we would be in front of the cats and would be the major minor premiers.

Seriously though - I do think we can be much better than the last 7 games. But some stuff really needs to change obviously.

What we didnt do this year was play (like the year before) as a team - we never really played like more than the sum of our parts. Loads of talented individuals but not as a team. We got away with it at the start of the year and then got found out.

We also need LEADERSHIP - Johnno is not the man he is too nice - we need a complete bastard!!. We need someone who is hard and mean. Dont know who that is though - dont think its gia or murph. Might be cooney, probably not. Maybe west? He was good in that article - players who dont train hard enough etc need to be told!

As off the field so on the field.

More discipline for them and for me too, really I need to lose some weight. probly next week though.

[southerncross]

I am sure I am going be a target for saying this BUT fortunes can always turn quickly in this game. I believe we can turn this around because our list has enough talent on it - look at what North did in a year and they have far less raw talent IMO than us. We need to get the best kids we can again at the draft, and not . If you get good kids it is surprising how quickly they can make the grade - in two years time Everitt could be amazing if he works at a Scott West like level to improve.

Clearly we lack leadership and there is a huge crew of middle age players (Gilbee, Cross, Murphy, Harris, Hargrave, Gia, McMahon) who need to lift ENORMOUSLY.

We won 9 and half games this year in a year in which we played poorly for most of the year - if the players are seriously committed to conditioning this summer then I have no doubts we could make the finals in 2008.

I agree that things could turn around quick but with one proviso and that being that you need to be competitive like North were the previous season. The way we have been unconvincing with our wins plus the way we have been smashed in our losses does not bode well for a quick fix.

[Mantis]

We also need LEADERSHIP - Johnno is not the man he is too nice - we need a complete bastard!!. We need someone who is hard and mean. Dont know who that is though - dont think its gia or murph. Might be cooney, probably not. Maybe west? He was good in that article - players who dont train hard enough etc need to be told!



He wasn't yesterday and it was good to see. On a number of occassions he showed geniune frustration in the performance of his teammates, about bloody time I say.

When Boyd was streaming into an open goal and missed, he punched the ball into the crowd and went and spoke to Boyd.

When Darcy turned the ball over which cost us a goal, he shook his hand in disgust and went and spoke to him.

Johnson was very strong in his words after the game. He has the bastard in him, he has to unleash it.

[The Underdog]

A few random observations on yesterday.
Had to stay home and watch it on TV unfortunately, hard to pick up some of the matchups so correct me if I'm wrong. (God knows the channel 7 commentary team don't help you. Praise or condemnation isn't analysis, you bunch of two bit hacks)

Appeared as though Eags was given the job on Harvey. Didn't work. Eags played him too loose and was killed the other way, while doing little damage forward himself.
Not sure what lies in the future for Eags, he is too one dimensional and is easily pushed out of the contest (a common theme I know)

McMahon started off promisingly but while also damaging going forward he showed little appetite for a contest and to be honest flat out pulled out when he could of put his body on the line for his team. Also not sure where he's at.
Our small defenders don't seem to be very good at, well, defending. Are good attacking players but struggle to stop an opponent.

Was that Dale Morris' worst game for us?

Scott West continues to lead by example by putting his head over the ball and sacrificing his body, but he doesn't get much help.

I'm sure Johnno is a great leader around the club, but his position up forward means that he has trouble influencing the game when we're getting overrun. Doesn't seem to be able to slot back into the midfield anymore if needed.

Is it wierd that Boyd and Cross started out as defensive mids, but now that they find their own ball more often we don't seem to be able to stop opposition midfields at all?

The backline looked ordinary yesterday but the lack of midfield pressure on the ball coming in killed them. Hard to stop a guy on the lead when the balls put in his hands.
Also can't believe how easy we make it for opposition defenders. Petrie could have stood still at CHB in the second quarter and we still would have kicked it to him. You can kick it to your players advantage to give them a better than 50% chance of getting the ball in a one on one contest, y'know. Some really dumb football at times.

Really not sure where we're at. There is potential there, but there needs to be some reshaping done. There's a few guys at the crossroads, although I'm not sure what any trade value is for guys like Power, McMahon and anyone else you care to name.

Oh yeah, nice goal Doogs, good to see him have a reason to smile, despite the scoreline.

Gonna be a long preseason. :(

[Templeton31]

FWIW I went to the game yesterday meaning I have seen 3 games live this year - R1 agst Geelong, the Canberra game against the Swans in may and yesterday. Obv I watched most games on TV but its not the same. Comparing R1 to R22 I would say I noticed the follwing differences:

- run and carry out of backline had dissapeared.My memory of R1 involved Griff, Gilbee, Shaggy & McMahon running out of the backline to deliver deep into fwd line. Remember last year we were the team with the most coast-to-coast goals in the league. this run was just not happening yesterday. Nearly all the kick outs seemed to be sideways to back pocket. I can recall McMahon running out through HB a few times and Gilbee maybe once but compared to R1....

- leading and making yourself available. Just not happening yesterday compared to R1. I get frustrated sometiems watching it on tv as to why they kick it to Scott West all the time when he is relatively short and not the best kick going round if he does get it. When you go to the game you can see why - he is one of the few players running into space and making options.

- play on vs stop and hesitate. R1 lots of play on and IIRC Eade was unhappy that they didnt play on more. Not much playing on happening yesterday.

- confidence in general. makes such a difference.

- HF & HB lines just seem to have become hopeless for us. Previously we were running through these lines or kicking over them. Now without run and attack we stagnate and have to kick to CHF or CHB where we have not enough tall players and the ones we do have arent used to that style of game so dont know what to do. I noticed in 2nd quarter yesterday we seemed to do a lot of bombing to round CHF line and the only bloke contesting was Granty. Oh Granty and about 3 tall Kangaroo blokes.

this is getting depressing. i'm stopping and going back to watching Doogs goal from 55m out over and over again in my mind.

[bornadog]

We need someone who is hard and mean. Dont know who that is though .

Minson, seriousley, he is the meanest, sometimes over does it, but I like it. We missed him this year, doing the mean things. Every other player is too nice.

[Twodogs]

Did anyone else see McDougall throw a punch at Petrie before the first bounce? Doogs telegraphed the punch, Pertrie saw it coming and swerved out of the way and Doogs had so much momentum he just fell face first on the ground.



Funniest thing I've seen all year.

[Mantis]

Did anyone else see McDougall throw a punch at Petrie before the first bounce? Doogs telegraphed the punch, Pertrie saw it coming and swerved out of the way and Doogs had so much momentum he just fell face first on the ground.



Funniest thing I've seen all year.

Certainly did.. What a pisser. How bad are we going when you can't even land a punch.

[Twodogs]

Certainly did.. What a pisser. How bad are we going when you can't even land a punch.




Years ago I saw Tony Mundine fight an exhibition bout. He was hooning around and was actually waving at a friend in the crowd when his opponent swung the biggest 'bolo punch I have ever seen at him and connected flush on Mundines jaw.



I havent seen anyone throw a punch like that again until yesterday. Doogs missed though...

[Mantis]

Years ago I saw Tony Mundine fight an exhibition bout. He was hooning around and was actually waving at a friend in the crowd when his opponent swung the biggest 'bolo punch I have ever seen at him and connected flush on Mundines jaw.



I havent seen anyone throw a punch like that again until yesterday. Doogs missed though...

There was a concerted effort to show more aggression yesterday, pity it only lasted for about 10 minutes...

[Dry Rot]

What did everyone think of Mcdougall yesterday? I've read some good comments but the 3AW guys thought he was crap (I haven't seen the game)

[Templeton31]

i thought he was one of the better ones out of a bad lot yesterday.

Pros, he went hard for the ball both on the ground and in the air, his disposal improved as the game went along and his disposal and willingness to help run the ball out of defence improved as the game went on. This improved confidence was typified by when he kicked a cracker goal in the last quarter - 55m out he looked round for a pass, couldnt find anyone available, so just went woof with a beautiful kick. He also at one point backed without fear or favour into a giant pack in the goal square.

Negatives were that a few disposals out of defence, particularly in 1st half, were poor resulting in turnovers. I thought a couple of times he got bussled over in marking contests when I had thought he could have held his own and punched clear. Certainly I'd say also in the first half at times he looked like he didnt know where to run too or what to do in defence. It wasnt through lack of trying/intensity.

In summary I'd say if I barracked for Port or Lions or some team with an abdunance of good talls then I think I wouldn't have noticed him. But, for better or worse, :) we barrack for a team of wimpy, undersized midgets and from that regard I thought he was very very encouraging. Did more positive things yesterday than I ever saw Morgan, Wiggins, Walsh combined do.

[Sockeye Salmon]

What did everyone think of Mcdougall yesterday? I've read some good comments but the 3AW guys thought he was crap (I haven't seen the game)

Then they have clearly had preconcieved ideas and didn't bother watching the game.

Mcdougall was easily in our best couple of players.

I even think that Mcdougall could easily hold down CHB for the next 2 years and once he's confident enough that he's not going to get dropped he may even go forward again at some stage. He's the 2nd big defender we've been looking for.

[Twodogs]

What did everyone think of Mcdougall yesterday? I've read some good comments but the 3AW guys thought he was crap (I haven't seen the game)



Doogs was OK. That comment says more about how lazy and arrogant 3AW are than anything.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I didn't think he was in our best 5, but he improved as the game went on, and was a reasonable contributor - he certainly showed enough to persist with for another year

His 55 metre goal was close to the individual highlight of the game

[The Doctor]

I thought Doogs was very good. Got better and better as the game went on. He seemed to gain in confidence with every touch. In the first half I got very angry with some of his team mates who blatantly ignored him and opted for boundary riders when he had run hard into the centre corridor from defence. I reckon this happened about 5 times that I noticed. Beautiful running goal from around 60m. I think there is a fantastic player somewhere inside Doogs. How to get the best out of him is a mystery it seems.

Cam Wight is bordering on hopeless. I dread when he gets the ball and he can't stop his opponent. What purpose does he serve? Honestly if we weren't so stuck for talls I would call for his delisting. If another club showed any interest I would be prepared to deal.

Matty Boyd's defensive work was bordering on pathetic. His opponent Daniel Harris was able to run freely and set up play at crucial times in the 2nd 1/4 particularly. This is where we lost the game. Boyd gets plenty of it and no doubt he tries hard but he doesn't really hurt the opposition.

I liked McMahon playing out of the centre square late in the game. I've always felt ruck roving is his go and I think he can hurt one paced midfields with his dash from the centre.

Skipper was great til he got injured or went off or whatever happened to him. His demise in the game co-incided with the team's demise.

Gia is too slow to dispose of the ball and this allws opposition defenders enough time to man up. His kicking lacks penetration and is generally dreadful under pressure. His contested work has been already well scrutinised by all and sundry. One piece of play said it all. North bombed long to a 3 on 3 contest (despite the fact all 18 of our players were in the defensive 50 and only 12 of their were) Gia was in the contest and fell over and didn't get up. Suddenly 3 v 2. They won the loose ball, used the extra man, result goal. Once the goal was scored he got back up like a soccer player does after feigning injury. I was livid.

[Go_Dogs]

Bit harsh on Wight there Doc. Granted it wasn't a fantastic game by him by any stretch of the imagination, but he was OK in the ruck and did a few alright taps. I still have hope for him developing into something. What I'm not too sure. If he could add some size to his aerobic ability, and be more confident above his head, he'd be a damaging player. I think we will, and should, persist with him.

[GVGjr]

Bit harsh on Wight there Doc. Granted it wasn't a fantastic game by him by any stretch of the imagination, but he was OK in the ruck and did a few alright taps. I still have hope for him developing into something. What I'm not too sure. If he could add some size to his aerobic ability, and be more confident above his head, he'd be a damaging player. I think we will, and should, persist with him.

Sorry M#23 but I'm with Doc on this. Wight turned the ball over a bit too much for my liking and really had no positive impact on the game.

[LostDoggy]

... Gia is too slow to dispose of the ball and this allws opposition defenders enough time to man up. His kicking lacks penetration and is generally dreadful under pressure. His contested work has been already well scrutinised by all and sundry. One piece of play said it all. North bombed long to a 3 on 3 contest (despite the fact all 18 of our players were in the defensive 50 and only 12 of their were) Gia was in the contest and fell over and didn't get up. Suddenly 3 v 2. They won the loose ball, used the extra man, result goal. Once the goal was scored he got back up like a soccer player does after feigning injury. I was livid...

OMG (as the youngsters say)! I had forgotten about this till now. I was ranting to my father "We've got all our players in their FF!" And then they scored a bloody goal!! Livid. I was foaming at the mouth. I know bugger all about the technicalities of football and couldn't agree or disagree about Gia's contribution, but honestly - to have your entire squad flooded back and concede a goal was just awful.

My question to the more astute posters here - what was going on with our play "off the ball". As it was (at times) too horrible to watch what was going on around the ball (I saw McMahon pull his arms in towards his chest during a contest which can only be described as "flinching"), I turned my goggles towards players that weren't in the immediate contest. Not a lot going on - a lot of stationary players. Is this how it should be?

[Bulldog Revolution]

Sorry M#23 but I'm with Doc on this. Wight turned the ball over a bit too much for my liking and really had no positive impact on the game.

Wight did not have a good game - based on what I saw I dont think he is a centre square ruckman. Hes played his best senior footy as a centre half back, rebounding defender - but at this stage Williams looks a better player. Cam is well down on confidence and still needs an enormous pre season of weights and marking work. It was amazing how much lighter and shorter he looked than Hamish McIntosh - who made me green with envy the way he covered the ground and kicked goals.

[The Underdog]

Sorry M#23 but I'm with Doc on this. Wight turned the ball over a bit too much for my liking and really had no positive impact on the game.

The worst part of it was MacIntosh continually getting the ball running into the 50 or the front of the centre square. I mean I know Wight's not a ruckman but he is supposed to be a mobile tall. He just had no idea of what he was doing

[Twodogs]

The worst part of it was MacIntosh continually getting the ball running into the 50 or the front of the centre square. I mean I know Wight's not a ruckman but he is supposed to be a mobile tall. He just had no idea of what he was doing



A bloke sitting behind me on sunday said that we should draft Scott Wynd back next season just to stop opposition ruckman running around doing what they please.

[Go_Dogs]

Whilst Wight still has a lot of work to do to become a permanent player in the side, I still think he has enough to persist with. He's played some good roles at times early this year and late last year, he has a bit of mongrel and aggression in him too. I think he really just needs to nail a position and put on another 4-5 kgs - I'm still hopeful.

[Mantis]

Whilst Wight still has a lot of work to do to become a permanent player in the side, I still think he has enough to persist with. He's played some good roles at times early this year and late last year, he has a bit of mongrel and aggression in him too. I think he really just needs to nail a position and put on another 4-5 kgs - I'm still hopeful.

But at what point do we give up on him? At the end of last year I had high hopes for Wight. His last 6 or so games of 06 were very good culminating in a pretty good game against West Coast when the rest of the team was very poor. This year Williams, Everitt and perhaps even McDougall have gone past him in terms of a tall defensive role. Cam's body shape at present does not lend it's self to well to playing in the ruck. He was very good in the ruck against Fraser earlier in the year, but has been terrible ever since. So where do we play him?

Do we hope and pray that he can bulk up over the pre-season or do we just cut our losses and try again with another 18yo who will take 4 years to get to the same point we are at now?

[GVGjr]

Whilst Wight still has a lot of work to do to become a permanent player in the side, I still think he has enough to persist with. He's played some good roles at times early this year and late last year, he has a bit of mongrel and aggression in him too. I think he really just needs to nail a position and put on another 4-5 kgs - I'm still hopeful.


I think he is a depth player and whilst he probably won't make our best 22 if everyone was available, I think he can still improve a bit and provide us with a bit of coverage.

[Twodogs]

But at what point do we give up on him? At the end of last year I had high hopes for Wight. His last 6 or so games of 06 were very good culminating in a pretty good game against West Coast when the rest of the team was very poor. This year Williams, Everitt and perhaps even McDougall have gone past him in terms of a tall defensive role. Cam's body shape at present does not lend it's self to well to playing in the ruck. He was very good in the ruck against Fraser earlier in the year, but has been terrible ever since. So where do we play him?

Do we hope and pray that he can bulk up over the pre-season or do we just cut our losses and try again with another 18yo who will take 4 years to get to the same point we are at now?



He puts his heads over the ball and takes knocks and gets up. For those reasons alone I reckon we have to keep him.

[Mantis]

He puts his heads over the ball and takes knocks and gets up. For those reasons alone I reckon we have to keep him.

I like him too, I like the way he puts his 'thin' body on the line.

But where do we play him? For me he is best suited as a ruckman, but does not have the body strength to compete in this very tough and demading role. Do we simply hope that he will add size?

[Twodogs]

But where do we play him?



Honestly dont know. What I do know is that we dont have a lot of that type of player and it's possible to teach him a position to play but not to teach blokes to put their head over the ball.

[Raw Toast]

Wight's still a project player for mine, but his disposal and decision-making raise some pretty big question marks regarding his long-term future.

He started the year pretty well, and at his best was taking contested marks in the defensive fifty and adding a bit of physical presence. There were also times when he was our most effective ruck. On the plus side then is that he has the potential to add a lot of versatility, he is very athletic (I remember Eade commenting on his surprise re this in his first pre-season), and he puts his body on the line and has a good agressive streak.

On the minus side, he can lose his confidence big-time and become a liability. His disposal by foot is still v ordinary, by hand his only marginally better, and when hand-passing he tends to choose the wrong option. Maybe we should try and turn him into a forward who can ruck a bit? Sockeye says he runs to the right places as a forward which is an invaluable skill, and he should at least be able to bring the ball down a fair bit. I agree he does look like a depth player at the moment, but I'd give him at least another year.

McDougall played pretty well I reckon. Perhaps the most pleasing thing was that his composure increased as the game went on, and he showed he can dispose of the ball with a bit of vision - it didn't always come off, but he generally chose good options. Also, he gives the appearence of really wanting to make it which is a good sign. Needs to work on his technique sometimes when he appears not sure whether to punch or stay down, but has the potential to become a good to very good player which would be a very gruntling thing indeed.

Was Power played in any tagging role? Couldn't tell from the tv. On the screen it looked like he had an ok game (apart from that awful hand-pass attempt). He kicked long to advantage a couple of times and was more pro-active for mine. I'm still hoping :o

[Go_Dogs]

Power won a few hard clearances too. Just think his whole package isn't where it needs to be at this stage. Again he's one who could survive due to our massive loss of experience and our need for some 'depth', but as far as proving himself as a best 22 tagger, he hasn't done that for me.

[The Underdog]

There's a lot of inbetween guys like Power and Wight who could be with us next year, but if an appropriate trade came along they could just as easily be gone.
I'm just not sure how these guys are valued outside the club and whether trading them would bring us any improvement as far as what we would receive, but it's going to be an interesting offseason.