'08 Bulldogs vs '07 Cats

[fred cook]

My mail is quite different, and we are still working out internal issues. When volunteers at the club are being told to "keep your heads down" you know the air isn't yet clear.

Im hearing the same thing

God I hope it isnt true or it good be a long season

 

[jeemak]

i think that there are lots of differences and similarities. It is too easy to say "the Doggies will be the 2008 Geelong"......that's almost as problematic as people in 2007 say Doggies should make the top 4. The similarity is that the Doggies like Geelong, UNDERPERFORMED in 2007 and like Geelong had some off field issues which may or may not be resolved. However a BIG difference between the 2 sides are the make up of the teams. Geelong last year were physically bigger and had more inside players prepared to go and get their own ball. The Doggies whilst moving in this direction are yet to be really proven in this area so it remains as a question mark.

Bang on.

At the start of the year there would have been a few Cats players not rated as highly as some of the guys we have on our list, but history shows they were prepared to put their nut over the ball and win it hard. That's what we need to do to be successful.

 

[ozdevil1978]

Not for one minute do I expect that we'll match Geelong's premiership performance this year, but my old man and I started a conversation the other day that turned interesting.

My Dad had asked me, "do you think we have the ability to do a Geelong?"

I knew exactly what he was talking about, and after having a couple of seconds to ponder, I answered, "yeah, we have the potential, but it would be very unlikely."

The conversation paused there for a couple of minutes, but during that time my brain was working overtime. I was considering ways in which we could emulate Geelong's 2007 heroics, noting we have a similar side to them on paper, and if every player steps up and has a better 2008 season than they had in 2007, we'll be well on our way.

I continued the conversation a couple of minutes later, asking my Dad, "Which Geelong player does Brad Johnson remind you of?"

Immediately, my Dad answered, "Steve Johnson", even though I was thinking Paul Chapman. My Dad disagreed with me, saying Chapman would be a better comparison for Cooney, and I disagreed with my Dad saying Steve Johnson would be a better comparison for Murphy.

We compared our players to Geelong's of '07 for a good half an hour, and I thought it would be a good discussion for me to start on this forum.

Everyone get involved, which of our players compares best to the 2007 Geelong premiership team?

2007 GRAND FINAL TEAM
B: Tom Harley, Matthew Scarlett, Josh Hunt
HB: Andrew Mackie, Darren Milburn, David Wojcinski
C: Joel Corey, Jimmy Bartel, Corey Enright
HF: Steve Johnson, Cameron Mooney, Joel Selwood
F: Paul Chapman, Nathan Ablett, Mathew Stokes
FOLL: Brad Ottens, Cameron Ling, Gary Ablett Jr.
Interchange: Steven King, Shannon Byrnes, James Kelly, Max Rooke

Tom Harley: Tom Williams
Matthew Scarlett: Brian Harris
Josh Hunt: Lindsay Gilbee
Andrew Mackie: Andreis Everitt
Darren Milburn: Dale Morris
David Wojcinski: Farren Ray
Joel Corey: Matthew Boyd
Jimmy Bartel: Daniel Cross
Corey Enright: Adam Cooney
Steve Johnson: Robert Murphy
Cameron Mooney: Will Minson
Joel Selwood: Daniel Giansiracusa
Paul Chapman: Brad Johnson
Nathan Ablett: Scott Welsh
Matthew Stokes: Shaun Higgins
Brad Ottens: Ben Hudson
Cameron Ling: Scott West
Gary Ablett: Ryan Griffen
Steven King: Wayde Skipper
Shannon Byrnes: Nathan Eagleton
James Kelly: Mitch Hahn
Max Rooke: Tim Callan

Go on, get involved.

wheres aker and hargrave

 

[Nineteen_Fifty_Four]

Im hearing the same thing

God I hope it isnt true or it good be a long season

Elaborate what exactly are you hearing?

 

[X_box_X]

wheres aker and hargrave

 

[#1 Dogs Fan]

lol i dont understand why you are laughing at his question please fill me in

 

[X_box_X]

Hargrave alone will be lucky to be in the Bulldogs best 22 this year, let alone a combined team of Geelong and Bulldogs.

Aker's form last season definitely does not warrant selection in a combined team.

It was mainly for the comment about Hargrave.

 

[Pigdog]

Hargrave alone will be lucky to be in the Bulldogs best 22 this year, let alone a combined team of Geelong and Bulldogs.

Aker's form last season definitely does not warrant selection in a combined team.

It was mainly for the comment about Hargrave.

I think there is a bit of confusion here.

I think ozdevil was referring to the OP where Aker and Hargrave were missed not from the combined team.

 

[#1 Dogs Fan]

Hargrave alone will be lucky to be in the Bulldogs best 22 this year, let alone a combined team of Geelong and Bulldogs.

Aker's form last season definitely does not warrant selection in a combined team.

It was mainly for the comment about Hargrave.

lol ozdevil was referring to your first post of the thread. You mist putting in aker and Hargrave to compare against Geelong players

 

[X_box_X]

To be honest, I don't think Geelong has a trash talker like Aker. They concentrate more on their on field ability than their ability to speak their mind and get involved in the media.

I deliberately left Hargrave out.

 

[surpstar]

the 08 bulldogs will have some comparisions with the 07 cats

- both will play 22 H&A games

and.. that's about it

There is a huge difference between the quality of these 2 teams.. bulldogs are not even finals contenders for 08

 

[Gauci]

the 08 bulldogs will have some comparisions with the 07 cats

- both will play 22 H&A games

and.. that's about it

There is a huge difference between the quality of these 2 teams.. bulldogs are not even finals contenders for 08

And I suppose Richmond is. Richmond aren't even contenders for the 'nine' this year.

 

[acker]

Hargrave alone will be lucky to be in the Bulldogs best 22 this year, let alone a combined team of Geelong and Bulldogs.

Aker's form last season definitely does not warrant selection in a combined team.

It was mainly for the comment about Hargrave.

Wrong...give him the right conditions late in the game, and include "the Eagle" in that.

They can deliver "killer/knockout" "goals/punches" that are crippling late in a game.

But we need the team to have us in striking distance, for our finisher's (aker & eagle) to deliver the fatal blow to the beast.

A bit hard when you fail to get them any closer than it's ass.

 

[jeemak]

I'd have Aker in a combined side (although I can understand why some have doubts). He is still a superstar and after a year of settling in I am confident we will see a vast improvement from last year, which I rated about a five or six out of ten. Under pressure he can come up with a couple of things that can change a match. That is rare.

 

[acker]

I'd have Aker in a combined side (although I can understand why some have doubts). He is still a superstar and after a year of settling in I am confident we will see a vast improvement from last year, which I rated about a five or six out of ten. Under pressure he can come up with a couple of things that can change a match. That is rare.

Why are we having a combined side ?

I thought that crap post was locked ?

 

[jeemak]

Why are we having a combined side ?

I thought that crap post was locked ?

This thread still seems to be open and there are other references to a combined team of Geelong and Bulldogs players within. Sorry if I have missed the point.

 

[surpstar]

And I suppose Richmond is. Richmond aren't even contenders for the 'nine' this year.

And the bulldogs are?
Doggies will struggle to get out of the bottom 4 this year

Too small and one dimensional.. very easy to beat and match up to

 

[X_box_X]

How are the Bulldogs easy to beat?

Round 4, M.C.G., 20-Apr-2007
Richmond 4.2 5.5 8.13 14.16 100
Western Bulldogs 6.4 10.8 12.11 20.12 132

Round 18, M.C.G., 05-Aug-2006
Richmond 0.6 4.10 6.14 10.18 78
Western Bulldogs 5.2 9.4 13.9 15.10 100

Round 1, Docklands, 31-Mar-2006
Western Bulldogs 6.4 9.11 18.13 25.17 167
Richmond 3.2 5.6 6.6 7.10 52

Round 20, Docklands, 14-Aug-2005
Richmond 5.3 11.7 14.8 16.11 107
Western Bulldogs 5.2 8.4 15.7 18.11 119

Oh, you mean before those past four meetings between us?

 

[surpstar]

^^^^^^

Clutching at straws board.
Tigers are way in front of Bulldogs in terms of rebuilding

 

[#1 Dogs Fan]

And the bulldogs are?
Doggies will struggle to get out of the bottom 4 this year

Too small and one dimensional.. very easy to beat and match up to

Mate you are simply a troll and unwanted here if you have nothing good to say.

The only question i will give you is. When was the last time Richmond beat the bulldogs ?

 

[Jaxon]

If these 2 step up this year, play in the middle which i think they will, and make AA, the dogs will come very close to winning the premirship.

There is along way to go in 2008 to make any calls, but in a way i think we can do a Geelong in way, in that we will come back from a poor 2007, will we win the premirship.....? only time will tell.

For starters, generally the form of a previous year means jack s..t, take Melbourne for example, there up and down like a yo-yo so a new year is exactly that! In saying that, I think it'll be pretty rare that a team has come from well outside the top 8 to win a flag (any quality histortians out there).

In terms of the midfield, there is a poll happening as to which of West, Cross, Boyd and Cooney will miss (yes I know you're talking about the initial starters) although it's quite irrelevant as a number of players will rotate there throughout the season, and it seems to be getting worse each year.

Take last year for example, we had Cross, Boyd, West, Eagleton, Giansiracusa, Cooney, Akermanis, Addison, McMahon, Darcy (yes Darcy as RR), etc. I would love to see Griff and Coons in the middle often although I think it'll be one or the other at times as West, Boyd and Cross will probably share the majority.

There is talk of Griifen coming off half back, although I wouldn't play him as a negating player, but similar to Gilbee and I believe Cooney could do some damage up forward, much like Deledio of Richmond who is explosive and can kick goals when needed.

Today's footy is not the traditional style of the pre 90's of set 18 positions, so I sometimes wonder about all of these comparisons people make because I think it actually comes down to strategy. Take that 'terrible' game between Richmond and Adelaide a couple of years back. Now I thank Eade that we don't play that garbage although there is a lot more to it these days than just one-on-one match-ups.

Thats all.....

 

[Doggies05']

Can we emulate Geelong's transition of 2006 --> 2007?

If you were looking at the list and taking judgement from that.. Id answer Yes.
After comparing the list and players positions, I feel more confident about the coming season because we do have the quality or atleast the potential quality that Geelong portrayed in 2007.

If you had compared the Cat's 2006 list to the Premiers of the year before in West Coast, you would have seen little connection and would never have imagined Geelong to become Premiers just 12 months later.
The difference is.. our list in comparison to Geelong's does not look that far fetched.

Keep in Mind, the dramatic improvement Geelong made and through which players and its obvious why they become a premiership team.
Mooney, Gablett, Bartel, Ottens, S Johnson.
We have that potential sudden improvement in,
Griffen, Higgins, Cooney, Ray, Gia, Murphy (from recent couple years), Hudson, Minson.

The Improvement or potential improvement is blatantly evident, whether we become the side Geelong was in 2007, or even close we rely on dramatic improvement in particular players, just like the improvement Geelong found in the players listed above.

I continually exceeding my excitement for 2008 and the year ahead for the WBFC because I KNOW and i think that WE know the right pre season, the right committment for the talented players to win their own ball and with a bit of luck with injuries, then the Red, White and Blue jumpers may very well be flying closer to the top end of the ladder.. Where we should be.

 

[TigerGlory]

Mate you are simply a troll and unwanted here if you have nothing good to say.

The only question i will give you is. When was the last time Richmond beat the bulldogs ?

I hope you dont think this clown represents all of us.

For the record i like the Doggies as a side, your genuinley quick, and if you guys set up a solid gameplan that plays to that strength, you'll go a long way.

I enjoyed watching you guys in the 06 season, your boys even got me the Tip 8 when i backed you against West Coast in Perth, i won $540 that week.

 

[#1 Dogs Fan]

I hope you dont think this clown represents all of us.

For the record i like the Doggies as a side, your genuinley quick, and if you guys set up a solid gameplan that plays to that strength, you'll go a long way.

I enjoyed watching you guys in the 06 season, your boys even got me the Tip 8 when i backed you against West Coast in Perth, i won $540 that week.

No not all Tiger fans are like that. Your the more mature type going around
Good win with that bet

 

[TigerGlory]

No not all Tiger fans are like that. Your the more mature type going around
Good win with that bet

Its the only Tatts Tip 8 i ever got right actually.

Ive still got the ticket somewhere.