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Gday Woofers, apologies it’s come in earlier without the teams, Thursday and Friday’s pretty hectic with my Uni so I had to pump it out tonight. Hope everyone’s having a good week.
Round 21 Western Bulldogs vs Adelaide Sunday August 18 4.40 E.S.
With the Crows sitting 12th on the ladder and a game out and percentage out of the perhaps prized 9th position, media in Adelaide over the last couple of weeks have started to float the idea the Crows may yet still participate in the business month of the year. Whilst this is a long shot for them they would see their run home as 3 they can win should they get games on their terms. They play us, Melbourne at home, and as it stands now pending 2 weeks of results a potential play off against West Coast in the last round to push for a finals birth. Whilst a lot still has to go their way, their most recent win against North has kept them in it and they obviously need to beat us to keep that pulse alive.
The Western Bulldogs have come off the best 5 weeks of their tenure under Coach McCartney and has the competition starting to stand up and take notice of the path that is gathering momentum out west. Surpassing last year’s total of 5 wins with a win against Carlton last week it came across as a unit that when challenged said to themselves, “we’ve been in this situation far too often in the last 5 weeks (and 18 months) to not tolerate an honorable loss”. With the last 3 weeks of the year presenting games against a crow outfit at home, a fragile off field Brisbane Lions trip, and a game to show the Melbourne football club how much things can change in 2 and a half months of football, we look to build on this form and finish off the year with optimism and spring to launch into a huge off season at the trade, draft and training track.
Form
Having seen the crows most recently live against Collingwood at the G about 5 weeks ago, fielding a really youthful line up, they have a bright future. One that in recent weeks has been rewarded with rising starts to both Rory Laird and Mitch Grigg. With a young team and proving so that night they can have lapses and they certainly got opened up after qtr time that night. Since then a really strong determined win against the Cats at home as well, a highly favourable KPI game against Freo away which saw them go down, a game against port where if Sando didn’t put the Red vest on all his blokes with 5 minutes to go would have won, and a game against the Roos last week that mirrored our game vs Carlton in a lot of ways. After getting out to a really strong start they were challenged in the 3rd, and ended up doing the basics well enough for longer in the last that ensured they come into this week with a pretty reasonable form line.
The same weekend I saw the crows vs Collingwood game, was also the last time I saw the Bulldogs live. Even though we lost, that game and the Hawthorn game you could see we were just starting to get more into the game, by that I mean hung in for longer, put more scoreboard pressure on, defended better and to me without knowing exact numbers it feels like our kicking efficiency has sky rocketed (which complementing high contested ball numbers, is a big deal). I’m not just talking dinky kicks sideways, I’ve seen us go through the corridor at times and play on a lot more after marks, which not only has brought excitement to me and the fans but also has made everyone else more predictable to each other (and opposition finding it hard to set up because we haven’t chipped in the back half for 3 minutes). It gives us more time to set up the ground better, and not leak goals on the back of not being able to set up after someone’s missed a basic 30 m pass. That along with belief and hunger to win has been the big light for me in the last 5 weeks.
Match ups
Wallis to Crouch
I don’t want this kid Crouch given any space at all, has certainly slipped under the radar of other clubs. Is exceptionally clean with hand in the contest on the ground and by foot. This is a game I want Mitch Wallis to use what he’s got from Hodge, Kennedy, and Marc Murphy and give this kid a shake up and let him know that for the next 10 years we play against each other you’re going to have your work cut out every time. It’s going to be Mitch’s relentless pressure inside and discipline that will not only curtail Crouch influence but also hurt him going to other way, something eventually Mitch should be looking to do more often. Ps really liked Mitch’s last month, credit to him and looking forward to it continuing.
Libba and Sloane
I give my Crow mates stick saying Rory is just a poor man’s Libba. Both cracking young kids and I’m optimistic Libba will continue on his clearance warehouse way this week and give Rory an education on how to play at a stoppage. Jokes aside Libba’s ability to work back has been so impressive this year and off the back of what was obviously a huge summer, his willingness to get back and help in defence has been astoundingly impressive (something that hasn’t been acknowledged enough) and this week will need to be no exception as Sloane does have the ability to push forward and create options.
Koby vs Dangerfield (When Danger is in the midfield)
Not sure this will happen but this is what I’d like. Koby is a really well built kid who off a horrible run at injury and OP at West Coast has played majority of games this year. I’d like to see him go to Dangerfield and just see how this pans out. Not only for a good education, Danger isn’t on full cylinders at the moment and after coming back from the shoulder he spent a lot of time forward last week with bursts in the mids. Koby has enough discipline from what I’ve seen to put work into an opponent , tackle hard (big strength) and work off with spread, has the ability to go through the corridor and get in dangerous space himself (thinking that stoppage that started on half back last week and ended up him kicking to Wood). Dangerfield loves to break tackles so there’s going to need to be relentless time put into him to minimize this weapon.
Morris vs Dangerfield (When Danger is forward)
Our best defender, quick, can play on tall or small. He’s there most dangerous player and scoreboard impact is huge. Morris just takes him out of the game.
Tom Lynch vs Robert Murphy
This match up in a weird way will be one of the most influential of the game for mine. Lynch at 30 goals for the year is the leading goal kicker down west lakes....”yes 10 goals against GWS is still a cringe and get’s mentioned by crows fans whenever he is spoken about over here”. However this guy is much improved, and a real strength of his is he takes a lot of marks up the ground roaming. I’m backing Murph in to not only negate this up field influence but also be super damaging the other way, something that has seen Murph play some of the best footy I’ve seen him play.
Van Berlo to Griffen
Obviously a match up I like the look of, one that Griffs output will have a significant baring on the result of the midfield battle. In what should be an All Australian year, this bloke is finally starting to get the media applause he deserves (should be more but has improved) and should also fair incredibly well on Brownlow night. Van Berlo won’t hurt too much offensively but is a battler disciplined and I liken him to the midfield version of Nick Maxwell. Providing Minson continues his good work, I’m expecting another strong output from someone who’s fast becoming a club icon.
Douglas to Cooney
Head to head, I think it’ll be fairly even. I’m hoping for our sake we get a scoreboard victory in this one. I’m backing Cooney to put in good meters gained this game. One thing playing him at times over half back this year, it has showed him defend first mentality at a premium. Douglas is a much underrated player and really tough over it and damaging by foot. I expect Coons to bring the defend first mentality and not play Russian roulette. I want Coons in the midfield though as long as possible, not half back, not half forward. MIDFIELD!
Players to watch
Adelaide
Mitch Grigg – Don’t give this bloke space to use the ball, he’ll slice us.
Lewis Johnston- Incredibly good set shot, defenders if you’re going to give him a forward 50 mark it would want to be near the boundary.
Talia- He did really well on Petrie last week up the ground in particular. Really want some front and centre forwards crumbing at his air contests.
Bulldogs
Dalhaus- Loving the increased time in the midfield, work rate is up, looking forward to him getting off the leash this Sunday.
Tom Young- His body position in both air and on ground against his opponent is seriously to be admired, I've got no doubt Matty Scarlett has had a big say in this kids improvement. His work to take the ball in hand and have a bounce has been refreshing.
Forward line- Funny how we haven't heard about not being able to kick a score in the last 4 weeks, 16 goals 21 last week, with apparently no key forwards, i'm cool with that.
Big shout out to Jarrad Grant - his form has been nothing short of what we hoped he could and wished he would, and it was just so good to hear Macca speak about him in last weeks pressa the way he did. I really hope he continues this until the end of the year, we all do, keep up the good work big fella!!
At the start of last season when both Macca and Sanderson took over these clubs, I thought we were in fairly similar positions (in that we were both going to struggle first year). Living in Adelaide and they make the Prelim last year, it was a rude shock, boy did we hear about it. From the off season with the Kurt Tippet saga to about a month ago, with Walker going down and them looking just a shadow of the team they were displaying to be last year, it has bought us SA doggies some relief. This whole year for us has been an increase on last year. We have certainly learnt how to stop the damn wall from imploding and as mentioned the last 5 weeks has shown a big spike in our form. I somewhat think we have had similar 5 weeks us dogs and the crows. There are going to be times in on the weekend where we are in a position of momentum and unlike the first qtr where we torched these opportunities last week, I am looking for us to take them. There’ll be times when we are behind and challenged and it’s the lessons we’ve been getting all year and the confidence we should take from the West Coast and blues situations that we should believe we can respond. Not only that but NOT TOLERATING GETTING BEATEN.
Last time we met was round 4 at Aami, we had 2 goals on the board with 5 minutes to play, it pissed down the whole game, Crows supporters are about as easy to have a conversation with as a person who doesn’t speak english, it was my 2nd worst experience at Aami ever. A lot has changed since then however and from a selfish point of view, this is my Grand Final, but from a whole point of view, this is a chance to set another foot and building block forward. To continue this spike in progression and take some serious momentum into the off season.
Unfortunately I’m not making the trip over but I encourage all Western Bulldogs faithful to get along and support the lad.
My heart says we are winning and my head thinks we will play better for longer again.
Playing under the lid should help us immensely.
Dogs by 16 points. [/RIGHT]
[/LEFT]
Round 21 Western Bulldogs vs Adelaide Sunday August 18 4.40 E.S.
With the Crows sitting 12th on the ladder and a game out and percentage out of the perhaps prized 9th position, media in Adelaide over the last couple of weeks have started to float the idea the Crows may yet still participate in the business month of the year. Whilst this is a long shot for them they would see their run home as 3 they can win should they get games on their terms. They play us, Melbourne at home, and as it stands now pending 2 weeks of results a potential play off against West Coast in the last round to push for a finals birth. Whilst a lot still has to go their way, their most recent win against North has kept them in it and they obviously need to beat us to keep that pulse alive.
The Western Bulldogs have come off the best 5 weeks of their tenure under Coach McCartney and has the competition starting to stand up and take notice of the path that is gathering momentum out west. Surpassing last year’s total of 5 wins with a win against Carlton last week it came across as a unit that when challenged said to themselves, “we’ve been in this situation far too often in the last 5 weeks (and 18 months) to not tolerate an honorable loss”. With the last 3 weeks of the year presenting games against a crow outfit at home, a fragile off field Brisbane Lions trip, and a game to show the Melbourne football club how much things can change in 2 and a half months of football, we look to build on this form and finish off the year with optimism and spring to launch into a huge off season at the trade, draft and training track.
Form
Having seen the crows most recently live against Collingwood at the G about 5 weeks ago, fielding a really youthful line up, they have a bright future. One that in recent weeks has been rewarded with rising starts to both Rory Laird and Mitch Grigg. With a young team and proving so that night they can have lapses and they certainly got opened up after qtr time that night. Since then a really strong determined win against the Cats at home as well, a highly favourable KPI game against Freo away which saw them go down, a game against port where if Sando didn’t put the Red vest on all his blokes with 5 minutes to go would have won, and a game against the Roos last week that mirrored our game vs Carlton in a lot of ways. After getting out to a really strong start they were challenged in the 3rd, and ended up doing the basics well enough for longer in the last that ensured they come into this week with a pretty reasonable form line.
The same weekend I saw the crows vs Collingwood game, was also the last time I saw the Bulldogs live. Even though we lost, that game and the Hawthorn game you could see we were just starting to get more into the game, by that I mean hung in for longer, put more scoreboard pressure on, defended better and to me without knowing exact numbers it feels like our kicking efficiency has sky rocketed (which complementing high contested ball numbers, is a big deal). I’m not just talking dinky kicks sideways, I’ve seen us go through the corridor at times and play on a lot more after marks, which not only has brought excitement to me and the fans but also has made everyone else more predictable to each other (and opposition finding it hard to set up because we haven’t chipped in the back half for 3 minutes). It gives us more time to set up the ground better, and not leak goals on the back of not being able to set up after someone’s missed a basic 30 m pass. That along with belief and hunger to win has been the big light for me in the last 5 weeks.
Match ups
Wallis to Crouch
I don’t want this kid Crouch given any space at all, has certainly slipped under the radar of other clubs. Is exceptionally clean with hand in the contest on the ground and by foot. This is a game I want Mitch Wallis to use what he’s got from Hodge, Kennedy, and Marc Murphy and give this kid a shake up and let him know that for the next 10 years we play against each other you’re going to have your work cut out every time. It’s going to be Mitch’s relentless pressure inside and discipline that will not only curtail Crouch influence but also hurt him going to other way, something eventually Mitch should be looking to do more often. Ps really liked Mitch’s last month, credit to him and looking forward to it continuing.
Libba and Sloane
I give my Crow mates stick saying Rory is just a poor man’s Libba. Both cracking young kids and I’m optimistic Libba will continue on his clearance warehouse way this week and give Rory an education on how to play at a stoppage. Jokes aside Libba’s ability to work back has been so impressive this year and off the back of what was obviously a huge summer, his willingness to get back and help in defence has been astoundingly impressive (something that hasn’t been acknowledged enough) and this week will need to be no exception as Sloane does have the ability to push forward and create options.
Koby vs Dangerfield (When Danger is in the midfield)
Not sure this will happen but this is what I’d like. Koby is a really well built kid who off a horrible run at injury and OP at West Coast has played majority of games this year. I’d like to see him go to Dangerfield and just see how this pans out. Not only for a good education, Danger isn’t on full cylinders at the moment and after coming back from the shoulder he spent a lot of time forward last week with bursts in the mids. Koby has enough discipline from what I’ve seen to put work into an opponent , tackle hard (big strength) and work off with spread, has the ability to go through the corridor and get in dangerous space himself (thinking that stoppage that started on half back last week and ended up him kicking to Wood). Dangerfield loves to break tackles so there’s going to need to be relentless time put into him to minimize this weapon.
Morris vs Dangerfield (When Danger is forward)
Our best defender, quick, can play on tall or small. He’s there most dangerous player and scoreboard impact is huge. Morris just takes him out of the game.
Tom Lynch vs Robert Murphy
This match up in a weird way will be one of the most influential of the game for mine. Lynch at 30 goals for the year is the leading goal kicker down west lakes....”yes 10 goals against GWS is still a cringe and get’s mentioned by crows fans whenever he is spoken about over here”. However this guy is much improved, and a real strength of his is he takes a lot of marks up the ground roaming. I’m backing Murph in to not only negate this up field influence but also be super damaging the other way, something that has seen Murph play some of the best footy I’ve seen him play.
Van Berlo to Griffen
Obviously a match up I like the look of, one that Griffs output will have a significant baring on the result of the midfield battle. In what should be an All Australian year, this bloke is finally starting to get the media applause he deserves (should be more but has improved) and should also fair incredibly well on Brownlow night. Van Berlo won’t hurt too much offensively but is a battler disciplined and I liken him to the midfield version of Nick Maxwell. Providing Minson continues his good work, I’m expecting another strong output from someone who’s fast becoming a club icon.
Douglas to Cooney
Head to head, I think it’ll be fairly even. I’m hoping for our sake we get a scoreboard victory in this one. I’m backing Cooney to put in good meters gained this game. One thing playing him at times over half back this year, it has showed him defend first mentality at a premium. Douglas is a much underrated player and really tough over it and damaging by foot. I expect Coons to bring the defend first mentality and not play Russian roulette. I want Coons in the midfield though as long as possible, not half back, not half forward. MIDFIELD!
Players to watch
Adelaide
Mitch Grigg – Don’t give this bloke space to use the ball, he’ll slice us.
Lewis Johnston- Incredibly good set shot, defenders if you’re going to give him a forward 50 mark it would want to be near the boundary.
Talia- He did really well on Petrie last week up the ground in particular. Really want some front and centre forwards crumbing at his air contests.
Bulldogs
Dalhaus- Loving the increased time in the midfield, work rate is up, looking forward to him getting off the leash this Sunday.
Tom Young- His body position in both air and on ground against his opponent is seriously to be admired, I've got no doubt Matty Scarlett has had a big say in this kids improvement. His work to take the ball in hand and have a bounce has been refreshing.
Forward line- Funny how we haven't heard about not being able to kick a score in the last 4 weeks, 16 goals 21 last week, with apparently no key forwards, i'm cool with that.
Big shout out to Jarrad Grant - his form has been nothing short of what we hoped he could and wished he would, and it was just so good to hear Macca speak about him in last weeks pressa the way he did. I really hope he continues this until the end of the year, we all do, keep up the good work big fella!!
At the start of last season when both Macca and Sanderson took over these clubs, I thought we were in fairly similar positions (in that we were both going to struggle first year). Living in Adelaide and they make the Prelim last year, it was a rude shock, boy did we hear about it. From the off season with the Kurt Tippet saga to about a month ago, with Walker going down and them looking just a shadow of the team they were displaying to be last year, it has bought us SA doggies some relief. This whole year for us has been an increase on last year. We have certainly learnt how to stop the damn wall from imploding and as mentioned the last 5 weeks has shown a big spike in our form. I somewhat think we have had similar 5 weeks us dogs and the crows. There are going to be times in on the weekend where we are in a position of momentum and unlike the first qtr where we torched these opportunities last week, I am looking for us to take them. There’ll be times when we are behind and challenged and it’s the lessons we’ve been getting all year and the confidence we should take from the West Coast and blues situations that we should believe we can respond. Not only that but NOT TOLERATING GETTING BEATEN.
Last time we met was round 4 at Aami, we had 2 goals on the board with 5 minutes to play, it pissed down the whole game, Crows supporters are about as easy to have a conversation with as a person who doesn’t speak english, it was my 2nd worst experience at Aami ever. A lot has changed since then however and from a selfish point of view, this is my Grand Final, but from a whole point of view, this is a chance to set another foot and building block forward. To continue this spike in progression and take some serious momentum into the off season.
Unfortunately I’m not making the trip over but I encourage all Western Bulldogs faithful to get along and support the lad.
My heart says we are winning and my head thinks we will play better for longer again.
Playing under the lid should help us immensely.
Dogs by 16 points. [/RIGHT]
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