Western Bulldogs face up to unholy trinity with destiny in their own hands

[bornadog]

Jonathan Horn from Guardian

Goran Ivani?ević used to speak of the ?Three Gorans?, the unholy trinity that tortured him, bewildered others and merged and mashed in one fortnight in 2001 to produce a Wimbledon title. Bad Goran was the raving lunatic who?d smash rackets and lose to qualifiers. Good Goran was the big-serving, sure-volleying man whose ceiling was usually the quarter-finals. Emergency Goran was the man possessed who?d emerge from a rain delay a completely changed player, who?d fire down aces like mortar shells, and who was capable of annihilating any tennis player in the world. There has always been a touch of that about Luke Beveridge?s Western Bulldogs. The Bad Bulldogs walk on to the football field like ghosts, are smashed in the contest, and leave all the heavy lifting to their captain. The Good Bulldogs hunt from pack to pack, strip the ball back off the opposition, handball laterally to create space and relieve pressure, and move the ball quickly and decisively to their crop of star young forwards. The Emergency Bulldogs take the best of the Good Bulldogs, and add almost a spiritual quest, a missionary zeal, a short campaign where everything just flows, where no matter where they are on the ladder they look like the best team in Australia. It only lasted a month in 2016, but a month was enough. In 2021, the Emergency Bulldogs were quarantining, being shunted from state to state, speaking like yoga instructors and working like stevedores. The Dogs find themselves in a familiar position this weekend. They have the second-best percentage in the competition. Their best player may well be the All-Australian captain. They?ve knocked off most of the major contenders. Their midfield is ferocious and peerless on its day. Their forward line is capable of slamming on big scores like no other team.

Sam Darcy walks from the field after booting seven goals against North Melbourne. Photograph: Morgan Hancock/AAP

But there?s every possibility they won?t make it. They have to beat one of the in-form teams in the competition, an opponent they have considerable history with, an opponent that brings pressure like no other, an opponent with at least two home finals at stake. Unlike the Dogs, you know exactly which Giants team is going to turn up. At least their destiny is in their own hands. Last year, for the second year in a row, their finals fate was wedded to Carlton. They beat Geelong and then stewed for 24 hours. They gathered on the Sunday. They sipped their waters and pointed the Bulldog bone at GWS, who had everything to play for. They watched a crackerjack first half. They watched Carlton, who would finish fifth no matter what happened, take their foot off the peddle. They watched the Giants skip away to a five-goal win, and sink their season. In the end, it was the losses to Hawthorn in Tasmania and West Coast at Docklands that did them in. With cows grazing in the background, Tim English, looking as always like he should be solving mysteries in a Famous Five book, completely fluffed a kick in. He had a fine season, but this was his Benny Hill moment. It was nothing compared to what they dished up against West Coast a week later ? the quintessential Bad Bulldogs on display. That?s what be will tattooed on the minds of the Bulldogs? supporters who head to Ballarat on Sunday. The rest of us can marvel at their captain and their young forwards. But the fans know how quickly it can all flip. If the Bad Bulldogs turn up, you can bet Beveridge will cop the brunt of the criticism. He really can?t win either way. When they smash teams, his detractors say ?see, that?s what you should be doing with that amount of talent?. When they lose, it?s down to his stubbornness, his weirdness, his unwillingness to come down from the clouds. Ultimately, they hate him because he won?t play their game. The AFL media ecosystem is predicated on picking fights, and then making up and moving on. But that?s not his way. And he makes himself an easy target because of it. There?s another scenario ? they don?t need Emergency Bulldogs on the weekend. Good Bulldogs is enough. Bontempelli, Libba, Darcy, a competitive ruck, a cohesive backline ? it?s enough. You can usually tell within a few minutes whether the Good Bulldogs have turned up. If they do, this finals series will be all the more interesting and unpredictable for their presence.

[azabob]

I really like Jonothan Horn style of writing in these short sharp pieces.

[bornadog]

I really like Jonothan Horn style of writing in these short sharp pieces.

thanks for putting me on to his news letters

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I really like Jonothan Horn style of writing in these short sharp pieces.

This is the first time in a long while the content of an online sports article has seen me bother to even glance at who the author may be. Some nice writing in that piece, and he totally gets the Bulldog's propensity to find a way to sit on their own balls when all looks set up for victory.

Let's hope this weekend is a positive contribution towards changing the veracity of that established narrative.

[comrade]

I feel like this guy must be a Dogs fan or at least watch us very closely.

[azabob]

Horn has written a very similar article on Beveridge a month or two back which I posted, very similar vibe.

[MrMahatma]

He nailed it. Even down to being able to tell in the first few mins if we’re on.

[bornadog]

He nailed it. Even down to being able to tell in the first few mins if we’re on.

Very true. You can tell from the body language, but I want to know why this happens? How can teams be more consistent.

[Axe Man]

He nailed it. Even down to being able to tell in the first few mins if we?re on.

Very true. You can tell from the body language, but I want to know why this happens? How can teams be more consistent.

I think this is a bit of a myth. Of course when you start the game well you are a better chance of winning but to say you can tell within a couple of minutes how the game is going to play out I think is quite often untrue.

Three examples this season I can think of, just off the top of my head -

1. Round 1 v Melbourne - started well, kicked 2 quick goals and Melbourne only tightened things up with 2 late goals in the first quarter. We looked on early and end up playing poorly.

2. Hawthorn game - We kicked 3 goals in the first 5 minutes, if you could tell we were a bit off from that I'll have tonight's Powerball numbers thanks.

3. On Sunday I thought we looked a little bit lethargic early. In fact it probably took until halfway through the second quarter to get going. Sure the opposition wasn't much but if we weren't on it could have easily been a grinding 30 point win, it wasn't.

Of course there will be examples like the Adelaide game where the start is reflective of the game, and maybe it is more often than not, but it would only be by a small margin at best.

[comrade]

I think this is a bit of a myth. Of course when you start the game well you are a better chance of winning but to say you can tell within a couple of minutes how the game is going to play out I think is quite often untrue.

Three examples this season I can think of, just off the top of my head -

1. Round 1 v Melbourne - started well, kicked 2 quick goals and Melbourne only tightened things up with 2 late goals in the first quarter. We looked on early and end up playing poorly.

2. Hawthorn game - We kicked 3 goals in the first 5 minutes, if you could tell we were a bit off from that I'll have tonight's Powerball numbers thanks.

3. On Sunday I thought we looked a little bit lethargic early. In fact it probably took until halfway through the second quarter to get going. Sure the opposition wasn't much but if we weren't on it could have easily been a grinding 30 point win, it wasn't.

Of course there will be examples like the Adelaide game where the start is reflective of the game, and maybe it is more often than not, but it would only be by a small margin at best.

Yeah, I think it is a bit of an old wive's tale, the myth of not being on. But still, with us it kind of feels true.

[bornadog]

I think this is a bit of a myth. Of course when you start the game well you are a better chance of winning but to say you can tell within a couple of minutes how the game is going to play out I think is quite often untrue.

Three examples this season I can think of, just off the top of my head -

1. Round 1 v Melbourne - started well, kicked 2 quick goals and Melbourne only tightened things up with 2 late goals in the first quarter. We looked on early and end up playing poorly.

2. Hawthorn game - We kicked 3 goals in the first 5 minutes, if you could tell we were a bit off from that I'll have tonight's Powerball numbers thanks.

3. On Sunday I thought we looked a little bit lethargic early. In fact it probably took until halfway through the second quarter to get going. Sure the opposition wasn't much but if we weren't on it could have easily been a grinding 30 point win, it wasn't.

Of course there will be examples like the Adelaide game where the start is reflective of the game, and maybe it is more often than not, but it would only be by a small margin at best.

Whilst I agree with your argument, I sometimes feel that after a few minutes we are going to lose. I certainly felt it after the two Adelaide games where we looked lethargic. I didn't feel that way in the North game, as I felt North were just being their competitive selves.

[macca]

The season is on the line and the players know it. I expect the good bulldogs or the emergency Bulldogs to turn up.

Win and we play in finals. Lose and it will mean rely on other results.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

The season is on the line and the players know it. I expect the good bulldogs or the emergency Bulldogs to turn up.

Win and we play in finals. Lose and it will mean rely on other results.

The last time we were in this scenario we put in a very poor performance to the lowly hawks in Tasmania.

Let's hope the mentality has well and truly turned around.

[jeemak]

I can tell if we're on if the gap between clean disposal and dirty disposal from the opposition is in our favour. We can get our set ups wrong and get a few kicked on us, but if that's there eventually we grind ourselves to a chance of winning as our set ups adjust.

Our system based metrics in team defence and offence are elite this year. Massive kudos to the coaching staff turning us around from individual based awesome to team based awesome. Stats, lies and anything in between, irrespective of where we end up this year has demonstrated some pretty awesome attributes.

Every media outlet or most rate us as the best side in the competition statistically. Familiar tale.

[bornadog]

Every media outlet or most rate us as the best side in the competition statistically. Familiar tale.

Champion data rated us this week as Premiership favourites.