Autopsy Bulldogs challenge convention that goals are better than behinds, comfortably defeat Great Waste of Space

[Struggle]

I missed the pre game, did Haynes get sent to intimidate us at the toss again?

 

[Charlie Bucket]

Maybe for the fans and the media, but for coaches and players it gains mega respect - it's amazing how many "stars" think it is below them to do the 1 percenters on the field.

Fans take a different view on this when it’s VDM doing the small things.

No doubt Bont doing these things is important. As it is for all players. He was down on his regular output though.

 

[Sheikh from Boggy Creek]

Garcia has a great move where he holds the ball as if the kick but then sidesteps into open space.
It's a sweet little maneuver that turns a rushed possession into a positive delivery.
He's quickly turning into a nice little player.

On Pixel 7a using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Proffessor]

If you’re using “Taps to advantage and clearing space” to defend a players performance then it’s a sign they’ve had an ordinary night.

You can paint it which ever way you want, but for his high standard games, that was underwhelming (better?). He’s the best player in the comp at prime age. He’s not a 35 year old Pendles.

Not sure about you, but if Bont was to play out the rest of his career, playing that game each week, I’d be disappointed.

On the flip side, not that long ago I think we could all agree that playing a game with an underperforming Bont and no Libba, we’d have pencilled in a 10 goal loss. We’re in new territory. It’s exciting.

Great win, with a lot of the bottom end players holding up well.

I appreciate where you’re coming from, my issue is that there is a lot more to the game than the number disposals a player gets.

Bont’s presence around stoppages was immense yesterday under heavy scrutiny and in very tough conditions. How many fewer possessions does little Treloar and co. get if big Bont isn’t doing the hard work, attracting the bulk of defensive pressure, and tapping to ball out for them to run onto?

It is too easy to underestimate his impact because he is playing a different role but it is no less important than his normal one, just different.

We smashed GWS at stoppages yesterday and Bont was a key factor in that.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

I appreciate where you’re coming from, my issue is that there is a lot more to the game than the number disposals a player gets.

Bont’s presence around stoppages was immense yesterday under heavy scrutiny and in very tough conditions. How many fewer possessions does little Treloar and co. get if big Bont isn’t doing the hard work, attracting the bulk of defensive pressure, and tapping to ball out for them to run onto?

It is too easy to underestimate his impact because he is playing a different role but it is no less important than his normal one, just different.

We smashed GWS at stoppages yesterday and Bont was a key factor in that.

You’re preaching to the choir Proff. I’m all about the extras players do. Including those at the bottom end that get hounded for not being up to it.

Bont adjusted because he had a tag for parts and as someone else mentioned, may have a niggle. So although the things he did do contributed to the rest of the outfit performing well, his output was well below his standard.

I wonder if this is leading to a potential weeks spell for him, at some stage. No doubt the coaches are more comfortable making that decision now, since the team have found a way to play well without him at his best. Seemed a pipe dream only a couple of weeks ago. How things can quickly change.

 

[Proffessor]

You’re preaching to the choir Proff. I’m all about the extras players do. Including those at the bottom end that get hounded for not being up to it.

Bont adjusted because he had a tag for parts and as someone else mentioned, may have a niggle. So although the things he did do contributed to the rest of the outfit performing well, his output was well below his standard.

I wonder if this is leading to a potential weeks spell for him, at some stage. No doubt the coaches are more comfortable making that decision now, since the team have found a way to play well without him at his best. Seemed a pipe dream only a couple of weeks ago. How things can quickly change.

Fear you my be right about the niggling injuries, though doubt we will rest him.

Regarding the role change, I think he is also partly compensating for Libba’s absence.

 

[dogwatch]

Finally got to watch the replay.

Not sure if anybody has mentioned this but what struck me from the very start as something we’ve rarely done under Bevo was the clear intent in the wet to put the ball to boot immediately or just scramble it forward any way possible. A crude territory-gaining game. In the past we’d flip the ball around by hand, or chip it by foot, or try to take or break the tackle. On wet days or dry.

It was refreshing and effective. It created a sense of urgency and it had GWS players scrambling in defence. It contributed to our weight of f50 entries, even if we squandered many of them.

In the wet, with clean handling difficult, it minimised the impact of our fumbles and increased the benefit to us if GWS failed to handle cleanly. That was compounded by the pressure we exerted. It was the sound percentage play in the conditions. By contrast GWS played more of the chip kick possession game you’d expect on a dry day.

While it’s nothing revolutionary it struck me as a significant departure from past tactics.

Why did this tactic suddenly appear? Is this something brought by the new coaching staff or has Bevo independently gone back and reassessed his tactical approach?

 

[Next Waiting]

Finally got to watch the replay.

Not sure if anybody has mentioned this but what struck me from the very start as something we’ve rarely done under Bevo was the clear intent in the wet to put the ball to boot immediately or just scramble it forward any way possible. A crude territory-gaining game. In the past we’d flip the ball around by hand, or chip it by foot, or try to take or break the tackle. On wet days or dry.

It was refreshing and effective. It created a sense of urgency and it had GWS players scrambling in defence. It contributed to our weight of f50 entries, even if we squandered many of them.

In the wet, with clean handling difficult, it minimised the impact of our fumbles and increased the benefit to us if GWS failed to handle cleanly. That was compounded by the pressure we exerted. It was the sound percentage play in the conditions. By contrast GWS played more of the chip kick possession game you’d expect on a dry day.

While it’s nothing revolutionary it struck me as a significant departure from past tactics.

Why did this tactic suddenly appear? Is this something brought by the new coaching staff or has Bevo independently gone back and reassessed his tactical approach?

Like you, I didn't see the game till yesterday on replay. I think it was a just a simple tactical to play the conditions as they found them ... wet. And they had Harmes, VDM and West fwd all willing to exert pressure at every opportunity ... and garcia ...I like Garcia's urgency ... and Williams might have played has best game for us.

Bont has copped criticism for his game. I didn't see it that way. He was masterful and selfless in the conditions. Whatever possessions he officially had, you can double it for knock ons to our advantage that he won't get credit for....plus defence and 1%ers.

 

[stefoid]

That time of year to post one of my favourite doggies photos. The GWS after party from the 2016 prelim.

hey now, have some compassion - they had been struggling for over 3 years without a premiership.

 

[The Slitherin' Snake]

I would say that his problem is likely to be technical and some sort of off-site specialist diagnostic coaching may help. He is certainly putting in effort and occupies an opposing defender.

Therefore his value outweighs the lack of personal goals. Many good players go through these sorts of patches.

I thought his effort for the first 2.5 quarters yesterday was a abysmal. He went up a gear in the 3rd, but gee he needed to.

 

[Ghenghis]

Finally got to watch the replay.

Not sure if anybody has mentioned this but what struck me from the very start as something we’ve rarely done under Bevo was the clear intent in the wet to put the ball to boot immediately or just scramble it forward any way possible. A crude territory-gaining game. In the past we’d flip the ball around by hand, or chip it by foot, or try to take or break the tackle. On wet days or dry.

It was refreshing and effective. It created a sense of urgency and it had GWS players scrambling in defence. It contributed to our weight of f50 entries, even if we squandered many of them.

In the wet, with clean handling difficult, it minimised the impact of our fumbles and increased the benefit to us if GWS failed to handle cleanly. That was compounded by the pressure we exerted. It was the sound percentage play in the conditions. By contrast GWS played more of the chip kick possession game you’d expect on a dry day.

While it’s nothing revolutionary it struck me as a significant departure from past tactics.

Why did this tactic suddenly appear? Is this something brought by the new coaching staff or has Bevo independently gone back and reassessed his tactical approach?

I suspect that Bevo, looking for tactical inspiration, watched an under 9's match on Saturday morning. Essentially 18 on-ballers kicking the ball as long as they can as soon as they get it.
Oh the places we'll go.
Did think it was a nice touch when after the game he awarded Treloar a Hungry Jacks voucher for being best on ground.

 

[BEaston]

Don't want to speak too soon, but Keath seems to have had his brain re-inserted into his head after he completely lost it last year.
He's just not doing any of the dumb mistakes he was routinely doing each week last year. Back to just playing the %s and winning or halving contests.

Could be a big addition to the backline if he can keep it going.

 

[Mojorisin]

I thought his effort for the first 2.5 quarters yesterday was a abysmal. He went up a gear in the 3rd, but gee he needed to.

The biggest issue I have with his game (apart from his goal kicking action) is his attitude and body language on the field.
It's abit of chicken and thr egg but at the moment his form is down and his body language sucks, need to fix one to fix the other.

 

[stefoid]

Get it, but don't go too early. Loooong way to go just yet. Promising, but one at a time.

Get through the next month at 4-0 (highly unlikely), 3-1 (possible), 2-2 (likely in current form).

3-1 and we get to 8-6 and give ourselves a shot given we play North twice on the run home.

exactly. still trying to embed a game plan only this year that should have been embedded at least 2 years ago.
thrilled to beat GWS, but it seems they are overrated, having a similar season to us - their scalps include North, West Coast, Suns and St Kilda.

Some good indications that we may be turning the corner, though.

 

[Unorth]

Don't want to speak too soon, but Keath seems to have had his brain re-inserted into his head after he completely lost it last year.
He's just not doing any of the dumb mistakes he was routinely doing each week last year. Back to just playing the %s and winning or halving contests.

Could be a big addition to the backline if he can keep it going.

Agreed. We also seem to be making an effort to NOT attempt to switch through him or otherwise give him the ball in pressure situations. His inclination last season to get the ball, play on and immediately run into an opposition player or turn it over was woeful.

This is probably a last gasp effort and not sure if he can keep it up the whole season but we’ll take what we get while he’s presumably at the end of his career. Duryea is kind of similar, was looking rough for a bit but has had a bounce back. Especially important given we don’t have anyone else that can do what he does defensively.

Would expect both to retire still but it’s noticeable how they’ve both lifted.

Will be interesting to see if Sydney try and fool us into switching through Keath like Melbourne used to do with Cordy.

 

[Mojorisin]

Agreed. We also seem to be making an effort to NOT attempt to switch through him or otherwise give him the ball in pressure situations. His inclination last season to get the ball, play on and immediately run into an opposition player or turn it over was woeful.

This is probably a last gasp effort and not sure if he can keep it up the whole season but we’ll take what we get while he’s presumably at the end of his career. Duryea is kind of similar, was looking rough for a bit but has had a bounce back. Especially important given we don’t have anyone else that can do what he does defensively.

Would expect both to retire still but it’s noticeable how they’ve both lifted.

Will be interesting to see if Sydney try and fool us into switching through Keath like Melbourne used to do with Cordy.

The personnel around him is also very different, worryingly he was one of the better options to have switching the ball. Now he doesn't have to take on more then he is capable of.

 

[lachy]

The personnel around him is also very different, worryingly he was one of the better options to have switching the ball. Now he doesn't have to take on more then he is capable of.

True. We had Gards and Bruce down there with some height obsession, forgot about good ball users

 

[Unorth]

True. We had Gards and Bruce down there with some height obsession, forgot about good ball users

We never had a chance with that trio. Or even 2/3. Especially in this turnover based era.

Jones isn’t a good kick but he understands his limitations and what he has to do with ball in hand (most times). JoD is a better kick but also understands the assignment.

Those three last season were so nervous with ball in hand they lost all reason when making a decision.

Busslinger is a good kick for his position too. If we lose him we need a replacement that isn’t a liability with ball in hand like Gardner.

 

[Scotch N Coke Monatore]

I would say that his problem is likely to be technical and some sort of off-site specialist diagnostic coaching may help. He is certainly putting in effort and occupies an opposing defender.

Therefore his value outweighs the lack of personal goals. Many good players go through these sorts of patches.

He was going for the ball and the opposition, with intent. So much intent, I was concerned he was going to cross the line and get reported. Looked very frustrated.

 

[Anja_Nees]

I’m happy with him and Gallagher as later picks. I mentioned Milesi hasn’t really done much to think he’s above average as a recruiter, but potentially hitting with these later picks is gold.

I’m heavily biased because I’ve known Dom since well before he was a recruiter but I think conscientiousness is a big part of the job and he is extremely conscientious. Does a lot of homework on candidates.

Obviously he hasn’t been given much to play with given the multitude of father sons which have swallowed a lot of our capital but I think over the long term he will do well.

 

[Anja_Nees]

Finally got to watch the replay.

Not sure if anybody has mentioned this but what struck me from the very start as something we’ve rarely done under Bevo was the clear intent in the wet to put the ball to boot immediately or just scramble it forward any way possible. A crude territory-gaining game. In the past we’d flip the ball around by hand, or chip it by foot, or try to take or break the tackle. On wet days or dry.

It was refreshing and effective. It created a sense of urgency and it had GWS players scrambling in defence. It contributed to our weight of f50 entries, even if we squandered many of them.

In the wet, with clean handling difficult, it minimised the impact of our fumbles and increased the benefit to us if GWS failed to handle cleanly. That was compounded by the pressure we exerted. It was the sound percentage play in the conditions. By contrast GWS played more of the chip kick possession game you’d expect on a dry day.

While it’s nothing revolutionary it struck me as a significant departure from past tactics.

Why did this tactic suddenly appear? Is this something brought by the new coaching staff or has Bevo independently gone back and reassessed his tactical approach?

I think there’s a bit of tension between what the coaches believe we should be able to execute and what we actually can, so the question becomes how long do you persist with a plan that should work but doesn’t.

I was frustrated early but what we did mostly worked and if we’d kicked straight it would have been a brutal flogging.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

I think there’s a bit of tension between what the coaches believe we should be able to execute and what we actually can, so the question becomes how long do you persist with a plan that should work but doesn’t.

I was frustrated early but what we did mostly worked and if we’d kicked straight it would have been a brutal flogging.

Arguably our most dominant period of the game was the first 15-20 minutes where we actually found ourselves behind on the scoreboard after they'd kicked their first goal.

Many of the behinds were rushed, but at the same time, the territory gains we got that got the ball right to our goalline (in the wet, when both teams understood territory was key...) has to be worth something, especially as a behind was probably worth more than the typical game because territory>possession more in the wet.

 

[The Inbetweener]

I’m heavily biased because I’ve known Dom since well before he was a recruiter but I think conscientiousness is a big part of the job and he is extremely conscientious. Does a lot of homework on candidates.

Obviously he hasn’t been given much to play with given the multitude of father sons which have swallowed a lot of our capital but I think over the long term he will do well.

Great to hear. For a club like ours we need to have a gun recruiter as we need to draft our own stars given we don’t have the same pulling power as some other VIC clubs with free agents.

 

[Planet Dogs]

Finally got to watch the replay.

Not sure if anybody has mentioned this but what struck me from the very start as something we’ve rarely done under Bevo was the clear intent in the wet to put the ball to boot immediately or just scramble it forward any way possible. A crude territory-gaining game. In the past we’d flip the ball around by hand, or chip it by foot, or try to take or break the tackle. On wet days or dry.

It was refreshing and effective. It created a sense of urgency and it had GWS players scrambling in defence. It contributed to our weight of f50 entries, even if we squandered many of them.

In the wet, with clean handling difficult, it minimised the impact of our fumbles and increased the benefit to us if GWS failed to handle cleanly. That was compounded by the pressure we exerted. It was the sound percentage play in the conditions. By contrast GWS played more of the chip kick possession game you’d expect on a dry day.

While it’s nothing revolutionary it struck me as a significant departure from past tactics.

Why did this tactic suddenly appear? Is this something brought by the new coaching staff or has Bevo independently gone back and reassessed his tactical approach?

Watching the recent Tigers v Footscray game I loved the way the doggies play under Edge.

Finally got to watch the replay.

Not sure if anybody has mentioned this but what struck me from the very start as something we’ve rarely done under Bevo was the clear intent in the wet to put the ball to boot immediately or just scramble it forward any way possible. A crude territory-gaining game. In the past we’d flip the ball around by hand, or chip it by foot, or try to take or break the tackle. On wet days or dry.

It was refreshing and effective. It created a sense of urgency and it had GWS players scrambling in defence. It contributed to our weight of f50 entries, even if we squandered many of them.

In the wet, with clean handling difficult, it minimised the impact of our fumbles and increased the benefit to us if GWS failed to handle cleanly. That was compounded by the pressure we exerted. It was the sound percentage play in the conditions. By contrast GWS played more of the chip kick possession game you’d expect on a dry day.

While it’s nothing revolutionary it struck me as a significant departure from past tactics.

Why did this tactic suddenly appear? Is this something brought by the new coaching staff or has Bevo independently gone back and reassessed his tactical approach?

Maybe he's taping into Stewart Edge's insights. I love the way Edge is coaching Footscray.

 

[Kennel Master]

I really liked this indigenous round white jumper. Much better than the other white jumper with the very low hoops.

Can we use this again when a white jumper is required?

KM