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lindsay_bulldogs

lindsay_bulldogs

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Apr 12, 2007
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Seems to be two Schools off thought out there in Bulldog land.

A/ Those that are worried our pre-season has been poor and we will carry this form into the season proper. We have fallen behind a number off teams. Giving us a poor start we may never recover from.

B/ Those that think our pre-season is on track for a great year with our coaching staff ensuring the players are cherry ripe and ready play at peak fitness. Not rushing players under done and looking after the older players to make sure that we don't have any pre-mature injuries.

Where do you stand?
 
Confident :)
We need good solid pre season , every year we start to fade out. I think it's smart that we do heavier stuff to get ready for the season.
 

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Very confident

I believe the pre season form is of little consequence. I remember losing to Essendon in the NAB cup in 08.

We need to be playing good footy after round 4, when we have our early difficult travelling behind us. 2 wins by round 4 would be terrific.

We have a better side than 08.

Higgins will be better
Ward/Wood/Reid/Grant/Everitt - at least one of these will make an impact in 09.

The established players only need to perform at 08 levels.

Go Doggies!!!!!
 
Confident - We are five weeks behind this year compared to last year thanks to making the prelim:thumbsu:. I would rather us peak around round 16 - 18 and carry this form into the finals, then peak in march when it does'nt matter. Last year we played crap in the preseason too, the players are'nt going 100%, the coaches don't want to give to much away and the results don't matter.
 
Confident. Rounds 2 and 3 are wins for sure. The Doggies wouldn't let me down. I haven't seen them lose since Round 7 vs Collingwood 12 May 2002. I've seen five wins in a row on my visits. That streak will extend to six on Sunday 5 April against North and seven on Monday 13 April against Richmond! :D
 
I am half way between the two, so more of an unsure category.

I am not in the bit worried about our practice match losses. Couldn't care less about those. But I am still unsure how well we will go this year. Many supporters are expecting us to carry on from where we left off last year. IMO a top four position is no certainty. We have to have a lot of things go right, and until Grant, Cordy etc develop in a couple of years, we are still a KPP forward missing. I am expecting us to finish top 8 and hopeful of top 4, but wouldn't be suprised if we went down a rung or two in the short term.
 
I am in two minds so I picked Worried.

On one hand we have seen good improvement in the kids during some the preseason games.

On the other hand I have seen the older players really not ready to pull on the boots as yet. I have concerns over Lake, Williams, Cooney, Hahn, Murphy, Welsh, Akermanis, and even Reid. I have also been a little disappointed in the lack off any improvement in the likes off Wight and Skipper. Wight especially for me is a disappointment.

This weeks game at Casey against Melbourne should see most off our first round team playing so I will be most interested to see how this turns out. Another poor showing will only add to my worries for round one.
 
Lightning_Mcqueen95 said:
I have been a little disappointed in the lack off any improvement in the likes off Wight and Skipper. Wight especially for me is a disappointment.
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I get the impression that Wight and Skipper are fill in players only. If we have to rely on these guys, then we are really in trouble.

For me, for us to get better or even maintain our position, we have to have at least 3 or more players to really take a step up in their level from last year. We have a number of second and third players with no or hardly any games between them. We really need a couple of these to become regular players. We also need some C grade players to jump to B graders and 1 or more B grader to jump to an A grader. Because lets face it, we have many players on our list who are not going to get better. Johnno won't get better, either will Aker, Welsh, Hudson and some others. So our improvement has to come from our young second and third tier players, at least until Grant and Cordy are ready to step up.
 
The Boy From Brasil said:
I get the impression that Wight and Skipper are fill in players only. If we have to rely on these guys, then we are really in trouble.

For me, for us to get better or even maintain our position, we have to have at least 3 or more players to really take a step up in their level from last year. We have a number of second and third players with no or hardly any games between them. We really need a couple of these to become regular players. We also need some C grade players to jump to B graders and 1 or more B grader to jump to an A grader. Because lets face it, we have many players on our list who are not going to get better. Johnno won't get better, either will Aker, Welsh, Hudson and some others. So our improvement has to come from our young second and third tier players, at least until Grant and Cordy are ready to step up.
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I agree with this as each year 4 or 5 players must improve in order to maintain a decent list. The young guys in Reid, Wood , Ward, Cordy, Roughead, and Grant look like a great group. We just need the likes off Higgins, Williams, Lynch, Stack, Harbrow, and Hill to make there mark this year.
 
Bulldog Joe said:
Very confident

I believe the pre season form is of little consequence. I remember losing to Essendon in the NAB cup in 08.

We need to be playing good footy after round 4, when we have our early difficult travelling behind us. 2 wins by round 4 would be terrific.

We have a better side than 08.

Higgins will be better
Ward/Wood/Reid/Grant/Everitt - at least one of these will make an impact in 09.

The established players only need to perform at 08 levels.

Go Doggies!!!!!
Click to expand...
What he said..

Go Dogs!
 

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Johnno will be better than last year when he could hardly move. But generally you are right we need improvement from our younger players those aged 20-24. Hill, Griffen, Higgins, Williams, Addision, Harbrow, etc.
 
Confident. Every year has its challenges but I believe we will be better than last year and last year was pretty good. As said by others I think there will be improvement in the younger players- such as Griffen, Higgins, Hill, Harbrow, Cooney; continued strong performances from he likes of Murf, Cross, Boyd, Morris, Gia, Lake, Hargy, Gilbee; and the old pros Jonno, Hudson, Eagle and Aker to be at least as effective as last year.
If we get something from Williams, Grant, Cordy, Ward, etc it will be a bonus.
Not worried about the preseason, but a win this week would be nice.;)

Woof.
 
I guess it all depends on how the coaching staff see things, if they want the side to go out and really have a crack in the NAB Cup and or have good form in the praccy matches to try & get off to a flyer round 1, then you could have a few concerns.

BUT, if we treat the pre season as that, JUST a pre season with wanting to try out some of the new pups, try out different game plans, only give certain players x amount of time on the field etc etc, then it really means nothing, you don't win Premierships in Feb, and going by Rockets comments in the papers, it seems the case.

Most players are rusty with their skills etc at this time of year, no concerns.
 
I am very Confident of finishing top 4

Even though we haven't won a praccy match yet doesnt really mean much. We are just trying some stuff out with tactics, players in different positions etc. If they don't work at least we have tried it and if they do work well it might work in the real season.
 
Confident. The NAB cup is nothing more than a bunch of praccy matches and with a chance for the kids to get a kick. When the top 22 are all on the park again skills will be back up to scratch. Top 4 finish commin up!
 
Last 2 years we have stumbled at the back end of the season.

I'm hopeful we are putting in some extra training miles into the tank now, to improve the sides overall stamina.
 
Very confident. The Who Cares Cup is irrelevent (except for the team that wins it), and we KNOW our squad has got deeper and fitter. My only concern is Eade talking finals, and suggesting that's when we will be at full stride. That is a fair call, BUT, Ummm, if you assume anything in footy, (remember 2007!) we can miss the boat. 2008 he took the "we will re assess when we get to X", now it's "we will get in the top 4 and re-assess from there". We know he's right.......don't we...??

hooroo....
 
Im more worried bout the fact that some of our star players are coming off limited pre-seasons. Losing pre-season matches doesnt bother me that much, but it would be nice to win one.
 
Not worried at all.

Pre-season form is so meaningless. Everyone thought the sky was falling in after we were bad against Essendon last year, by Round 15 we'd lost one game and were 2nd on the ladder.

Even those pricks Carlton manage to win a few Pre-season cups during their tanking dynasty.

If we start to play poorly in the season proper, then worry. Until then, relax.
 
Borgsta said:
if anyone can be bothered try looking up the thread after that Essendon loss last year. It was brilliant.
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There was some gold involved in that one I agree.

Our pre-season this year has been as good as it could be IMO, as it has been shorter than the year before with plenty of interruptions injury wise.

We may have a tough start to the year, and 1-3 is a possibility. But from what I hear from the club (via the media) we are geared up for a tilt at the pointy end, and form in the second half will be vital for this. My only concern is that due to the evenness of the competition any lapse in form or injury in the second half could see us fall into 7th or 8th - and maybe even 9th.

But, unlike other years I have faith in the club and its ability to plan properly. I didn't think they were too far away from managing the campaign last year, yeah we lost a few towards the end and weren't showing the best form coming into the finals, but after the Hawthorn semi we were nearly spot on in how we approached each final. Based on that experience I think we can refine our approach for this year and improve.

Talent wise, I think we are better off as well. Improvements from Addison, Griffen, Callan, Higgo and Harbrow should be consistent, and hopefully Hill and Everitt can put in more consistent efforts throughout the year too.

The key to this year will be a change in our approach to the game mentally. If we show up to play and apply ourselves like we did against the Hawks first time around, or in the prelim against the Cats then we will be in the top four mix again.
 

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