Round 7 - Western Bulldogs

[Big Al]

I was at the Doggies match on Saturday and was impressed by the speed of their transition game. However there were patches in the game when West Coast were able to sustain physical pressure on the Dogs and as a result the Dogs looked ordinary and made errors. However the Eagles didn't have the manpower to take advantage of the Doggies lapses.

On the smaller SCG I think we may be able to force the Dogs into enough errors to win the match. Swans by 15

[swansrule100]

So am I the only person who rated Smith's debut?

i just like breaking things

[BSA5]

I think our lack of forwards is a big issue ATM and Davis is one of the forwards we need. He's bound to find the footy sooner or later.
I'd also like to see Smith, in the team as I thought he looked OK, but I don't think he could replace a forward like Davis.

But we have two forwards that have spending time in the midfield, in Barlow and White. I say drop Davis, and rotate those two through the forwardline, and have Smith play in the midfield.

[schwattasboots]

dose anyone know if there will be a celebrity match on sunday if so can some one email me at [email protected]\
ta tim

[swantastic]

From what I have seen of the Doggies this year they are a very fast,good side.We will need our quickest players on the field.

Bring back Crouchy,dump Davo bring in Smith and oh i forgot dump B!

[Plugger46]

Why not? If you ask me, Smith's debut has been better than the average of Davis' games. Smith is also better suited to the Dogs' style of play.

Could be wrong, but based on his first game - he didn't look ready to me.

[RogueSwan]

Why not? If you ask me, Smith's debut has been better than the average of Davis' games. Smith is also better suited to the Dogs' style of play.

Why o' why do we have to worry about the Doggystyle of play? Why can't we put out our best and force Rocket to worry about our tough, relentless style (with the occassional fast break from Irish and Leapin' each quarter)?
I actually think the SCG will assist the Dogs, their transition will be even quicker with less ground to cover.
I didn't see their last game, is Griffen still playing well? I hope not he could be a real pain in thear se.

[BSA5]

Why o' why do we have to worry about the Doggystyle of play? Why can't we put out our best and force Rocket to worry about our tough, relentless style (with the occassional fast break from Irish and Leapin' each quarter)?
I actually think the SCG will assist the Dogs, their transition will be even quicker with less ground to cover.
I didn't see their last game, is Griffen still playing well? I hope not he could be a real pain in thear se.

So you're saying we should just ignore the strengths and weaknesses of our opposition? Newsflash: in order to shut down our opposition (our style of play), we need to know HOW to. We need to take into account the relative strengths and weaknesses of our opposition. Davis isn't going to be able to shut down Griffen, for example, and he hasn't done enough forward (regrettably) to prove that he can make up for that drawback.

[BSA5]

Could be wrong, but based on his first game - he didn't look ready to me.

I thought he looked perfectly ready. He knew how to find the ball, he was hard at it, and overall his decisions were good (just a couple of handpasses under immense pressure didn't find their mark, and considering the fact that that is the sort of mistake every member of our team makes, I wasn't too worried).

[Rob-bloods]

In: Everett, Brennan
Out: LRT, Davis

Looks a bit strange, but I think this is the right move for this game.

There is no good matchup for LRT, since the only tall forward for the Dogs is Will Minson who backs up in the ruck. Minson is a good match for White in size and position. Although LRT would be okay when Minson plays forward, LRT has not done much in the ruck, so would have about a half a game with no one to defend against. Probably wouldn't play much more that Everett in any case.

Everett comes in to play against Hudson. Jolly plays half the game at FF, giving Lake something to think about. Jolly is the best kicking tall on the team at this time. We can rotate White, Everett and Goodes through FF when Jolly goes into the ruck or rests.

Brennan in for Davis mainly for the matchups. The bulldogs have a lot of players that Brennan matches up well against. Can play a mainly defensive role against the likes of Johnson and Griffen, without giving away pace and size. Lots of good players around Brennan's size and speed level for the dogs. If there is a game he can shine in, I think this should be it.

After the break, Playfair and Grundy should be available for selection and we can reevaluate the forward structure.

Some good points here however Hudson's strength is more his second efforts than his tap skills, I believe he is 6ft 4 or 5 so perhaps LRT is better for this contest. I would not mind Spida getting a little more fitness in his legs.

They run from everywhere the Doggies so playing both Davis and Micky is a risk, I'd stick with Micky and rotate a defensive small through the forward line. White could be tried as a conventional FF but again would they run him off his legs?

Our selection panel may need to innovate a little more than usual this week!

[RogueSwan]

So you're saying we should just ignore the strengths and weaknesses of our opposition? Newsflash: in order to shut down our opposition (our style of play), we need to know HOW to. We need to take into account the relative strengths and weaknesses of our opposition. Davis isn't going to be able to shut down Griffen, for example, and he hasn't done enough forward (regrettably) to prove that he can make up for that drawback.

Thanks Zoolander
"Earth to BSA5" (sorry couldn't help myself)
Alternatively, the Doggies look at us a see Davis in the forward line a think "he would more often than not beat a Griffen in a marking contest, should we play someone else there?". I really don't want to start another Davis argument, but I do think he has quite good one on one marking ability, not really in jumping, more body positioning.

[sWAns63]

I don't think we can carry to White & Everitt into the match we can't have both of them against the doggies White is a bit slow & Everitt is returnig from injury
White out Everitt in.

[Cheer Squad]

Well done (unfortunately) to RogueSwan, swantastic, and tasswan. You either saw it coming, or guessed very well.