Autopsy Doggies Woof all over Cats by 47 points.

[geelong_crazy26]

Repeatedly refusing to play in front, repeatedly refusing to run with our opponents, repeatedly standing off waiting for someone else to do it, repeatedly kicking blindly, repeatedly letting our opponent mark uncontested.......

It all started in the contest.

We played the best contested midfield team in the afl on a wet slippery night and the contrast was obvious. One side bullied the other from start to finish around the contest.

It was a simplified game that suited luke beveridge who is not much of a tactician, but has a simple game based off contested footy.

It suited their strengths and disadvantaged ours.

We are not going to beat top contested sides at a contested game of footy. Just not capable with who we have.

 

[Catsace]

Has this cost us top 4? I can't even be bothered doing the math.

Possibly not yet, but it's an 8-point game we just gave away, another one at home against similar ranked sides like Port and GWS too. Although last night we were just not in it. Like I said it was shades of those games in the 70's and 80's against the likes of Hawthorn, Carlton, norf and Essendon in particular back in that era when we would often be belted. Last night was a belting, I'd hate to see the expected score.

Mind you I might bet that Sydney smash the Dogs next week as there's always a 'week after playing Geelong' factor at play. Freo away looks very hard, the Crows are no gimme, and if norf apply themselves like they had against the Pies, Suns and others in recent times they will be no pushover. Maybe a what seems to be a disinterested WCE in the last round is one you could chalk down, but last night has created a bit of trust issues with me.

 

[cats_09]

I just don't think we are a wet weather team at all now.

Too many players either no good or reduced effectiveness in the wet.

It ended up a perfect storm so to speak.

Not being able to use one side of the ground because it was a mud pit was terminal.

Guys like Dempsey, Miers and Knevitt who use their running capacity to offer the option on the open side all effectively become ashtrays on a motorbike.

Dogs can just set up with English and their key backs on one side of the ground and force us to kick long to them. Rohan will have a bit of crack for you in a pack marking contest but is undersized against the opponents and Cameron and Henry will go AWOL on the long down the line kick in a pack situation.

We accounted for both Brisbane at the GABBA & Essendon at the MCG in wet weather matches

Maybe we're not a KP type team anymore - our game plan seems better suited to bigger grounds and we haven't really adapted it to the narrower KP

 

[kickazz]

Ollie Henry is probably the worst. Couldn’t win a hard ball to save himself. Had an opportunity to run back with the flight of n the past quarter but just didn’t want to do it.
Brad Close is a front runner.

Agree on Henry but I thought Close worked very hard last night.

 

[And_ROOS]

Too cute by half. I think it was a bit of an aberration and we can look forward to a response next week.

Its weird because we were poor, they tweaked a few positions so we get on a winning run but the structures largely stayed the same, but then this week we totally went for a short team and got smashed.

This isn't the 80s, most tall players are good with the ball at their feet plus Neale is super athletic. Plus as the great coaches say, in matches that are a slog players can get slower but the tall players never get shorter.

If we pull this sort of shit again, North will roll us next week.

2 KPF, and give Stanley a game. Killed it in the VFL, what more do you want?
Blicavs on Larkey is a good match up, Stanley and SDK alternate ruck, Cameron/Neale KPF and Henry back to sub for when Neale gets leggy.

 

[RegHickeyStand]

I often come on here after a bad game a blather on about skills (lack of) in our team. Just basic stuff. Not kicking over team-mates heads would be nice. Hyper coached running patterns are nice and all, but in the end, skillz pay the bills.
Remember the 2007-11 teams, and how they played in the wet. Clean as. Clean hands in the wet is the empitome of a skilled team. Its just training.

 

[And_ROOS]

2013, 2019, this year...

 

[Play it Sam]

Closey just lost the handball n Ch 9. That figures, dirty weekend smashed around the ball.
Failed to adjust to conditions against a better team on the night.
Moving on like them, without the wrist slashing.

 

[BIGANT]

Didn't watch it or listen too the game just followed scores through the afl app and keeping an eye on here and X. My conclusion!? The MC may have outsmarted themselves with selection or non selection ? The players had spoilt brat/child mindset of seeing the weather. Seeing it and how rough it was and like a naughty little infant was forced to go out and play in it but just wanted it over and done with. That's the frustrating part was it sounded like they weren't trying despite them knowing the dogs would be up and about.

 

[D BRIDGE]

O Henry what a joke! Shouldn’t be in the team. Has an opponent won’t get near the ball…. Out the backer has been found out!

I have some gut feels about Henry of late (probably wayyyy wrong) but these have been my instincts/thoughts when things have happened.

I almost feel like he was dropped a few weeks ago and wasn't injured... Just said injured to save face.

Scott came out and then said he was in our best forward line... but It seemed fishy to me and I almost felt as if he was saying that just to make Henry believe it.

Then Henry was sub two games in a row... Not the thing you do with a B22 player.

Then the call to not play Neale last night... Deep down I felt that Henry would be the better choice to not play.

How can CS not play Neale with Lobb in the Doggie's backline... We have no size in the forward line at all without Neale.

I think if Ollie hadn't been sub twice in a row of late that Neale would have stayed in the side. Possibly we risked playing Henry over Neale to not crush Henry's confidence.


Maybe I'm being a bit of a conspiracy theorist here to pass the time.


Either way... Henry isn't B22 and people are starting to see his limitations now, once the goals have dried up.

 

[The_Koulouriotis_Fan]

The over the top responses on this board to a loss is ridiculous. We’re not a consistent side, but outside of Sydney, there isn’t a consistent side in the competition. I do believe the Dogs have the talent to match it with Sydney, but can they maintain it? Is the question.

Every time we have a loss, people basically say ‘I can’t see us winning again’ Calm down, we have won 11 games this year, we’re not losing to North, Saints and Adelaide.

 

[Klink]

2013, 2019, this year...

That is very, very generous.

This is more of a 2014 / 2018 year IMO. I don't think we will make a prelim, having said that, this is a very even and weak comp and that in itself is the reason why we were equal second on the ladder before this round.

What did we lose - 5 out of 6 at one point? Can't say I have seen many top 4 teams do that over the years. We have lost 3 games on our own turf this year.

I actually think we're tracking along okay as we transition the last - but we aren't a top 4 team - the best part of three 10 goal losses this year. 30 scoring shots to 13 last night - should of been 80+ win to the Dogs. A genuine flogging.

 

[cats_09]

Mitch Knevitt is just not up to the level yet. How he gets a game in front of say Mitch Hardie who’s form in the VFL has Knevitt covered is puzzling.

Simple - Knevitt & Hardie aren't competing for the same spot

Knevitt came into the team play on the opposite wing to Dempsey and last night just wasn't his night

Hardie isn't going to be sitting on the wing - in the VFL he's either playing as an inside mid or at times they throw him forward to rotate others through VFL midfield. Not sure he's replacing anyone in our senior forward line, and as for that midfield core, he'll be competing with the likes of Atkins, Bruhn, Dangerfield & Stewart, with Bowes & Holmes also running through there during matches

Hardie is a nice player, but maybe it's a case of not being the right player for where the team is currently at

 

[Hinkley29]

If that's is the case, I'd do it .... when does his contract finish?

On that contract he is a negative value player. If the dogs could just cut him for nothin they would. The only way we should take him is if the dogs throw in picks of value.

 

[allrighty]

I tend to think that Humphries, Bruhn, Dempsey, Mannagh etc are all pretty resilient. Getting smashed in a prelim wouldn't be the worst thing

Double take - I thought your avatar was a young Scarlo for a moment!

 

[foxdog50]

Massive contract playing as sub in a side with a lot of big contracts falling due for renewal. 3rd rounder I would guess but I don't known if he's the right player for us

I personally think we need that player like McRae in our side. Like calder_daddy said we dont have that player can regularly find the ball 30 plus...

 

[Mr Meow]

No. Could easily still lose to freo and finish third.
The real question is, in this form is there any point?

Form is fickle, and the standard of teams 2nd through 8th will be low.

So of course there is a point. For any team that makes finals this year.

Obviously any team that goes on a run would need Sydney to somehow implode. But it can happen.

 

[cats_09]

The over the top responses on this board to a loss is ridiculous. We’re not a consistent side, but outside of Sydney, there isn’t a consistent side in the competition. I do believe the Dogs have the talent to match it with Sydney, but can they maintain it? Is the question.

Every time we have a loss, people basically say ‘I can’t see us winning again’ Calm down, we have won 11 games this year, we’re not losing to North, Saints and Adelaide.

One could even ask a few questions of Sydney in regards to their 3 losses this season:

• Against Richmond at the MCG; the team currently in last place who has only won 2 matches this season
• Against Fremantle at the SCG; which would be up there as Freo's best win of the season and not a match you would have expected Sydney to lose
• Against St Kilda at Marvel; again a team who's down the bottom of the ladder & unlikely to play finals

I know Sydney is a couple of games clear at the top of the ladder, but this does seem to be a season where majority of the teams can win on any given day - just all down to who executes better

 

[Hinkley29]

The conditions didn't impede the Dogs though.

The conditions didn't affect their ball handling, their thoughts process, or their intent.

They wanted it. They came to compete.

We didn't give so much as a yelp.....we couldn't be bothered, and we played dumb. Our bodies turned up without our heads and hearts.

Ok

I don’t tend to react strongly either way to just one game, but I understand that others can.

I think we are the same team we were before yesterday, and the dogs are the same flaky team they were before yesterday.

We played badly and they played well, but the conditions were bizarre and not good for our style.

The game has had no impact on my opinion of either team.

 

[cats_09]

I personally think we need that player like McRae in our side. Like calder_daddy said we dont have that player can regularly find the ball 30 plus...

Then are we sure that Macrae is that player?

He's played 16 games this year (including 2 as the starting sub, both against us ) Across the season he's averaging less than 19 disposals this season, had 30+ disposals once, only one other game of 25 disposals and in 6 of his full games he's had less than 20 disposals

He's clearly fallen out of favour as a key component in the Bulldogs midfield and that's obviously a contributing in his decreased output this season, - but the question is why has he fallen out of favour and is he still capable of regularly playing games of 30+ disposals or is that a factor in his shift away from that core midfield group?

 

[STPer18]

If there was such a thing as trying too hard to adapt to the conditions from both selection and the way we played, that's exactly what it'd look like I bet. Removing this game from the memory bank ASAP.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Agree with cats 09 about Neale throat hit -may have impacted more than thought and been a reason for his absence. Atkins is a talismanic player especially when the chips are down.
Underrated what seeing him busting his guts does to inspire others to lift.

 

[Finknottle]

The over the top responses on this board to a loss is ridiculous. We’re not a consistent side, but outside of Sydney, there isn’t a consistent side in the competition. I do believe the Dogs have the talent to match it with Sydney, but can they maintain it? Is the question.

Every time we have a loss, people basically say ‘I can’t see us winning again’ Calm down, we have won 11 games this year, we’re not losing to North, Saints and Adelaide.

I can't see how you could be confident we would win any of those games. Adelaide is up and about, North is not an easybeat anymore and the Saints at Marvel Stadium would like their chances.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I personally think we need that player like McRae in our side. Like calder_daddy said we dont have that player can regularly find the ball 30 plus...

Macrae is ok but hes contracted til 2027 on big money same as daniel which is why they cant afford to keep smith. Id only take him on if the dogs gave us a pick upgrade.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I can't see how you could be confident we would win any of those games. Adelaide is up and about, North is not an easybeat anymore and the Saints at Marvel Stadium would like their chances.

Because all of those sides are very average.