Round 5 - Western Bulldogs V Brisbane Lions - Sat 12/4/25 Norwood Oval, Adelaide 4:15PM AEDT

[kruder]

Did anyone notice anything different that we did to stop another run on? English pushed behind the ball a little? Anything else?

[Sedat]

39 tackles for the whole game is not at the pressure level required against a team like Brisbane. They are elite ball movement team - you need to dial up the pressure without the ball to curb their transition.

We took steps back today. Not a disaster but we need an immediate response, especially pressure wise, next week.

[kruder]

39 tackles for the whole game is not at the pressure level required against a team like Brisbane. They are elite ball movement team - you need to dial up the pressure without the ball to curb their transition.

We took steps back today. Not a disaster but we need an immediate response, especially pressure wise, next week.

Its been a issue for a long time under Bevo, I remember having 30 odd tackles in a final against the Saints.

[angelopetraglia]

They broke so many tackles in that second half. We looked fatigued, slow and weak.

For a large stretch it felt like we lost every contest. Rayner outmarked Jones. Hipwood took a chest mark in between Jones and Lobb. They walked it out out congestion on the wings. The game just flipped.

[Rocket Science]

I don't know about you blokes but I can't bear f**king losing a game like that!

Look, fantastic effort but what does a f**king fantastic effort mean? It doesn't get us anything! We don't get diddly squat! We don't get a point. They don't just give us something for just f**king getting close! It means nothing! If you think that I'm going to be happy walking into this room when we get beaten still, we can't be! We just can't accept it! I don't know about you guys, but if I see one bloke walk out of here, getting a pat on the back from people out there for a good effort, I'll spew up! Because it's just not acceptable!

We were a rabble in that second half, absolutely bloody disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful. yeah, for a half we were worked our arses off, we worked our backsides off to dictate the game, but the game is about 120 minutes of footy, and that was the most winnable one that we get for a long time, and we just pissed it down the drain. We absolutely pissed that game down the drain. Don't any one of you forget about it. Take away one thing from this game. You have the ability to play in this competition and to play it very very very well. We cannot got from that which we've displayed right in first half, back to what we displayed in the second half ever again. Ever again.,

Now go and have your showers, we'll see you back at the social club.

[jeemak]

I don't buy into that. We started with the same amount of players and were good enough to get a 38 point lead. It's important to not focus on what we're missing but how we lost that lead and the game. I'm kind of happy we're competitive but bitterly disappointed about dropping the game. It's a weird time right now.

The Lions wouldn't have been happy with the influence they allowed our on ball brigade to have in the first - their pressure was well off the mark. All the indicators showed we were up, and they were down and I called out on a WhatsApp family chat that they were going to rally hard and it would be tough to stop.

Going down a player in the first ten minutes, especially given we rolled the dice with selection of two underdone players in Hynes and JJ (maybe Cleary as well), and retaining Dolan meant there was going to be a tipping point where fatigue hit our players before it hit theirs - especially given the player we lost was the highly experienced Harmes. Additionally, the squad they took in had ~34% more experience than ours did. Once their quality got a sniff it was going to be hard to contain them, and they have genuine quality all over the ground.

We hadn't played on that ground before, they had. It worried me going into the game because defending long and narrow grounds should be easy on paper, but there's always either space in front, or space behind depending on how you set up, and we got caught out a few times. So how does it break down? You don't cover the wide, they take the width. You compress too much, they take the length, you stand back, they take the short and then the lateral. Think about every time an ill-equipped or prepared side we've fielded has been smashed at Geelong, and that's what we got today.

Very disappointed, but not surprised. If that makes sense.

[Grantysghost]

The Lions wouldn't have been happy with the influence they allowed our on ball brigade to have in the first - their pressure was well off the mark. All the indicators showed we were up, and they were down and I called out on a WhatsApp family chat that they were going to rally hard and it would be tough to stop.

Going down a player in the first ten minutes, especially given we rolled the dice with selection of two underdone players in Hynes and JJ (maybe Cleary as well), and retaining Dolan meant there was going to be a tipping point where fatigue hit our players before it hit theirs - especially given the player we lost was the highly experienced Harmes. Additionally, the squad they took in had ~34% more experience than ours did. Once their quality got a sniff it was going to be hard to contain them, and they have genuine quality all over the ground.

We hadn't played on that ground before, they had. It worried me going into the game because defending long and narrow grounds should be easy on paper, but there's always either space in front, or space behind depending on how you set up, and we got caught out a few times. So how does it break down? You don't cover the wide, they take the width. You compress too much, they take the length, you stand back, they take the short and then the lateral. Think about every time an ill-equipped or prepared side we've fielded has been smashed at Geelong, and that's what we got today.

Very disappointed, but not surprised. If that makes sense.

The Lions had a really slow start v the Eagles in round 2 also, down by four goals at qtr and half time at the Gabba and they swung it around.

Seem like a team with supreme confidence that they can win from anywhere against most sides.

Going to be hard to stop.

[Eastdog]

Disappointing to lose again after that great first half in particular the 2nd quarter - 7 goals. We just could not maintain it in the 3rd quarter which ultimately was the difference in the game with the Lions kicking 7 goals to get back. Was great that we fought back again in the last when they got out again but we just could not get the lead back and they ran over the top of us. We looked fatigued in the 2nd half.

You feel like if we had the Bont in there we would win and it just shows you how great a player he is. Libba can't do it all on his own in there.
Happy for Naughton in the first half did really well to have an influence on the game and get some goals. Dropped away in the 2nd half and Payne was the better player in the end.

Loving how West is going and Darcy continues to show why he will be feared by all defenders in the competition.

Sanders played a really good game. I think he is having a really good start to the season and hope he keeps it up.
You simply cannot be too hard on first gamers like Cooper. He will be better for the experience.

[chef]

The Lions had a really slow start v the Eagles in round 2 also, down by four goals at qtr and half time at the Gabba and they swung it around.

Seem like a team with supreme confidence that they can win from anywhere against most sides.

Going to be hard to stop.

They just have gears we don't, sucks to lose but we had a crack and just weren't good enough.

A lot to learn tonight.

[Eastdog]

They just have gears we don't, sucks to lose but we had a crack and just weren't good enough.

A lot to learn tonight.

These are the type of games you learn more from than the ones you win by over 10 goals in.

For example: I don't think you learn much from Carlton today despite the big win they had. The Eagles are a rabble at this moment in time.

[jeemak]

The Lions had a really slow start v the Eagles in round 2 also, down by four goals at qtr and half time at the Gabba and they swung it around.

Seem like a team with supreme confidence that they can win from anywhere against most sides.

Going to be hard to stop.

After last year's finals and in lieu of their quality I don't blame them for feeling confident. Yeah they lost Daniher, but they're the actual meaning of the horrible footy list descriptive term stacked. None, maybe outside of Andrews and Neale are the best in their positions/ roles per the competition standard, but the level of quality across the board is something else when you break them down versus other teams and their levels.

[The bulldog tragician]

Sorry to be a happy clapper but I am proud of the effort and convinced the future is a lot brighter than I expected in 2025 especially with the loss of Bont and Treloar.

In particular I reckon it’s been a gutsy effort, two weeks in a row, to not simply concede and suffer a 10 goal blowout. To claw our way back to within a point when Bris seemed to have our measure showed a lot of character. Skill mistakes, of course they drive me crazy and we made some critical blunders, but…didn’t we look magnificent in the second quarter. There were definite Men of Mayhem moments, and breathtaking moments from a crazily talented Sam Darcy. That is what our best can be, and when we get the superstar back we will have some of the silk and experience that could have led to victories in the narrow losses.

Oh and please…a nervous kid in his first game tried hard but didn’t prove himself to be an instant superstar and doesn’t deserve no 6? We really don’t need to pot a debutant like that.

[Sedat]

It's never acceptable to concede 14 goals in a half, no matter the circumstances and no matter the opposition. We've conceded massive damaging run-ons far too many times to mention (cost us a flag 2021) in the last few years - it has been our downfall and it seems that the problem still exists going by last 2 weeks.

I thought we were past this with our adjustments in game style and defending the ground.

We need to respond next week.

[jeemak]

Sorry to be a happy clapper.

I personally love the juxtaposition of someone self-naming as The Bulldog Tragician, going as far to write thousands of words about being so, and then outing themselves as a happy clapper!

[Eastdog]

It's never acceptable to concede 14 goals in a half, no matter the circumstances and no matter the opposition. We've conceded massive damaging run-ons far too many times to mention (cost us a flag 2021) in the last few years - it has been our downfall and it seems that the problem still exists going by last 2 weeks.

I thought we were past this with our adjustments in game pace and defending the ground.

We need to respond next week.

We need to find an ability to slow the game down when it is going against us and absorb the pressure. We would be one of the worst in this area. It has happened many times now over the years. That final against Freo in 2022 a good example at us losing a strong 45 point lead!