2026 Preseason

[imuninformedtwo]

Hanners is commentary is great. He just slotted the 2016 GF gift goals to the Dogs.

[dejavoodoo44]

Hanners is commentary is great. He just slotted the 2016 GF gift goals to the Dogs.

What did he say?

[dejavoodoo44]

It seems that McDonald is looking really sharp. Which really pleases me. After the extensive foot surgery that he had, which included a bit of bone removal, I was worried that he might only get back to about 90-95% fitness. Which is fine for every day life, but for an AFL forward, it would probably greatly limit your ability to separate from your opponent on the lead. Now he still seems to have the potential to become elite.

[imuninformedtwo]

What did he say?

Just that they were gifted a batch of goals, and he gave Dil McLaughlin a little drive by on the way through.

[dejavoodoo44]

Just that they were gifted a batch of goals, and he gave Dil McLaughlin a little drive by on the way through.

I'm sure that would've went down well with around 50% of the audience. The other 50, not so much.

[imuninformedtwo]

Some encouraging signs in that. You'd expect the usual suspects like Errol, Curnow, Lizard, Mills and Isaac to do what they did.

But I liked:

- The forward set up. They gave each other space and prospered from it.
- The recruits in Rosa and Serong. The first was super busy, and the second was both good aerially and by foot. Look like a pair of good finds. Rampe showed he ain't going down without a fight, but Mills and Serong are probably ahead of him at this stage.
- Bice got back to running hard and kicking longer, and dropping the dinky kicks. Let's see how he goes under pressure and heat, but fingers crossed he learned a few lessons from last year.
- And the big one, Logan. Always rated him, but moved and marked well. Good to see.

A few blokes like Melican and Sheldrick were messy with their disposal, and Corey Warner did nothing to help himself.

But the main thing too, no injuries. Take it all and move on.

[lwjoyner]

they need to improve inone area. Kicking fwd to own team, how many toimes did they either pass to a dog or missing thw swan by metres. McCarin one of the worste. Dogs kicked a lot of goals from these sort of turnover. Cant do that against a good side.

[Nico]

they need to improve inone area. Kicking fwd to own team, how many toimes did they either pass to a dog or missing thw swan by metres. McCarin one of the worste. Dogs kicked a lot of goals from these sort of turnover. Cant do that against a good side.

Agreed. But it was their first real hit out. I thought the defence was very good but that kick by McCartin was sloppy and gave the dogs momentum. Blakey also was a bit too cute at times.

If we can win our fair share of clean centre clearances then look out up forward. Errol's kicking into the forward line is elite. Logan is an absolute bonus. Charlie Curnow looks to have slotted in well and his goals came from inside 30 metres.

Errol is a genuine star and I would love to see how many kicks he had.

The new centre ruck rule didn't seem to bother Grundy. I thought he was very good.

We had a few out and so did the dogs, but the margin was good enough.

I thought Sheldrick was ordinary and his kicking disposal still lets him down. I can't see Corey and Cleary being in our best 23.

[stevoswan]

Just that they were gifted a batch of goals, and he gave Dil McLaughlin a little drive by on the way through.

Good on Hanners! Fairypup fans need to be reminded of their faux flag to their graves.

[Thunder Shaker]

Solid win, a bunch of goals to our forwards, no injuries. Very good to see.

they need to improve inone area. Kicking fwd to own team, how many toimes did they either pass to a dog or missing thw swan by metres. McCarin one of the worste. Dogs kicked a lot of goals from these sort of turnover. Cant do that against a good side.

I like the subtle sledge implying the Dogs are not a "good side".

The kicking needs improvement, but it's good to identify these problems early so they can be addressed. Better to find problems in a preseason practice match than a final.

[dejavoodoo44]

Agreed. But it was their first real hit out. I thought the defence was very good but that kick by McCartin was sloppy and gave the dogs momentum. Blakey also was a bit too cute at times.

If we can win our fair share of clean centre clearances then look out up forward. Errol's kicking into the forward line is elite. Logan is an absolute bonus. Charlie Curnow looks to have slotted in well and his goals came from inside 30 metres.

Errol is a genuine star and I would love to see how many kicks he had.

The new centre ruck rule didn't seem to bother Grundy. I thought he was very good.

We had a few out and so did the dogs, but the margin was good enough.

I thought Sheldrick was ordinary and his kicking disposal still lets him down. I can't see Corey and Cleary being in our best 23.

Not sure how many kicks Errol had, but they said he had over thirty possessions. I only saw the highlights, but he seemed to have a little bit more inside toughness. Although maybe it just seemed that way, because the Bulldogs were missing most of their first choice midfield. But he did spend a lot of time as an inside mid, during his academy years. Well, he spent a lot of time everywhere during his academy years, but he did win plenty of contested possessions.

I also loved seeing his delivery to the forwards. I wonder if our recruiters showed Charlie Curnow some Errol highlights packages, when they were trying to lure him away from Carlton? Perhaps interspersed with some of the crap service that he got from the Carlton mids?

Can't really get to carried away with a preseason win against an understrength side, but there was plenty to like.

[Sandridge]

Just that they were gifted a batch of goals, and he gave Dil McLaughlin a little drive by on the way through.

Hanners has every right to bring up the injustice of that game. Our team were cheated out of a premiership and Hanners himself was never the same after being taken out illegally

[Dow]

Good Hit out against and undermanned opponent- some real positives- 2 players surely under massive pressure to hold spot Sheldrick and. Campbell

[Nico]

Not sure how many kicks Errol had, but they said he had over thirty possessions. I only saw the highlights, but he seemed to have a little bit more inside toughness. Although maybe it just seemed that way, because the Bulldogs were missing most of their first choice midfield. But he did spend a lot of time as an inside mid, during his academy years. Well, he spent a lot of time everywhere during his academy years, but he did win plenty of contested possessions.

I also loved seeing his delivery to the forwards. I wonder if our recruiters showed Charlie Curnow some Errol highlights packages, when they were trying to lure him away from Carlton? Perhaps interspersed with some of the crap service that he got from the Carlton mids?

Can't really get to carried away with a preseason win against an understrength side, but there was plenty to like.

I think Errol played midfield all game. He got a number clean centre clearances. Just reads where the ball is going.

[KSAS]

No injuries.....big tick!
New recruits fitted in well.....tick.
Logan's successful return.....tick.

Win was a bonus, but as others have stated it was against a depleted WB team. Nevertheless, it was still a good hard contest.

Interesting, that Armatey was tried out as 2nd ruck instead of Ladhams. Can't recall if Maclean had a stint there?

I'm hoping we rest all our big guns next week against GWS, so they have a rest before the season opener the following week. This will allow the rest of the squad to have a run and give the likes of Ladhams and Sheldrick more game time, the latter more so to polish up his disposal skills.

it was mentioned that Papley is set to also have a run next week, which is good news. Hoping same with McInnery, Dattoli & Hanily if fit.