Opinion Expectations 2023

[Optimistic Dog]

Yes there is still some chance we make finals in 2022 but we all know we are short of the better teams. Bring on 2023.

The first thing is most of us have been frustrated with Bevo this season a lot of it emotion after defeats myself included. However a flag, GF and making finals, 15,19, and 20 is a pretty good coaching performance and we need to back him in to get the best out of list that can challenge in 2023.

If strong rumours are true:

Bevo gets better assistants in 2023 maybe Leon Cameron

Leon Cameron

Age

51

Ht

185cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.2

4star

K

12.4

5star

HB

4.7

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

0.9

3star

No current season stats available

D

20.8

5star

K

14.4

5star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

0.8

3star

Lobb and Jones are coming to the dogs
We will probably lose Dunkley for a first round pick

My expectations are very high for the following reasons

JUH will be the a high quality leading forward we need now that he has cemented himself in the team. Combine that with Astro, Lobb and Cody we are looking good up forward.

Jones will add marking strength down back. Buku looks a talent, Keath has been banged up this season and will improve a lot in 2023 if he stays injury free and Gardiner can pay the total defensive role. Then add Red, Dale and Caleb for some flair.

English and Darcy could be an awesome ruck combo.

Bont has carried injuries all season and will be much better in 2023

Love to pick up a super quick wing or midfielder in the draft.


Bevo will change his game plan with a better list in 2023 and I am saying we will be one of the teams to beat in2023.

 

[ScragCity]

If we continue the status quo with our coaching set up then I anticipate a bottom six finish. Probably around 12th-14th.

If we overhaul our coaching structure, come up with a coherent gameplan, and get buy-in from the players again then the sky is the limit.

I don't think personnel changes will matter at all. We have enough talent to be a strong side already. We could bring in six All Australians through the trade period, but if we stick with this shit gameplan and the players aren't playing for the coach then we won't improve.

 

[BIG_BONTS]

Have to make Top 4 next year and PF otherwise Bevo bows out.

The player and coaching personnel changes are going to be a big help for that.

We’re a solid B grade team this year. Nothing more nothing less.

 

[BulldogMuscle]

If we continue the status quo with our coaching set up then I anticipate a bottom six finish. Probably around 12th-14th.

If we overhaul our coaching structure, come up with a coherent gameplan, and get buy-in from the players again then the sky is the limit.

I don't think personnel changes will matter at all. We have enough talent to be a strong side already. We could bring in six All Australians through the trade period, but if we stick with this s**t gameplan and the players aren't playing for the coach then we won't improve.

+1 This.

The team could be AA State of Orgin all-star level, with our current game plan and coaching they'd be beaten by the U/18 Metro squad. Things need to change at the top before any personal upgrades.

IF we do things right and shuffle coaches/get in new assistants and work on our problems + recruit some key areas, than top 4 is the bare minimum with a prelim. IF we just bring in Lobb/Jones and nothing else, I don't expect us to be any higher than 10th next season.

Everything falls onto Grant and Bevo this off season and how they want to tackle it, hopefully the heat from above them is enough to kick their asses into gear.

 

[Dogs Rule]

Agree with the posts above if we continue with this horrendous, brainless, nonsensical, ridiculous gameplan we will go nowhere.

If we actually do a proper review, hire at least one if not two experienced assistants, a new football boss (sorry Chris, love you as a player, but we need someone tough in this position) and seriously strengthen our defence, a game plan which focuses on pressure and doing the simple things right, then we're a shot at top 4.

 

[X_box_X]

This will be very difficult to measure, but I'd love to see someone compile a list of the top 100 underachievers in the history of the VFL / AFL.

The criteria of this list being formed by an equation that includes the playing squad and on field performance.

I reckon Bulldogs 2022 would feature high on the list. It would possibly go close to being ranked #1 for any previous Bulldogs side.

Although we failed to make the finals in 1955 after winning the flag the previous year, I don't believe we underachieved that much. We were extremely unlucky to miss finals that year (perhaps the unluckiest of all time), given we had a superior win/loss record and a superior percentage to what we achieved in our premiership year.

1986 may also be worthy of a mention, and 2017 to a lesser extent, but IMO they rank below Bulldogs 2022.

It's obvious to many supporters that our assistant coaches and inferior game plan have cost us many games this season. Surely this has been addressed and we see changes in this area leading into 2023.

 

[hutchy31]

This will be very difficult to measure, but I'd love to see someone compile a list of the top 100 underachievers in the history of the VFL / AFL.

The criteria of this list being formed by an equation that includes the playing squad and on field performance.

I reckon Bulldogs 2022 would feature high on the list. It would possibly go close to being ranked #1 for any previous Bulldogs side.

Although we failed to make the finals in 1955 after winning the flag the previous year, I don't believe we underachieved that much. We were extremely unlucky to miss finals that year (perhaps the unluckiest of all time), given we had a superior win/loss record and a superior percentage to what we achieved in our premiership year.

1986 may also be worthy of a mention, and 2017 to a lesser extent, but IMO they rank below Bulldogs 2022.

It's obvious to many supporters that our assistant coaches and inferior game plan have cost us many games this season. Surely this has been addressed and we see changes in this area leading into 2023.

This is where it's been so disappointing. I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't expect a flag or a GF or even a PF. But I sure as hell expected to be better than 10-10 at this stage, and safely ensconced inside the eight. Without a horror injury run (which we haven't had, even though we have missed some players at times - so do most clubs), then that was the pass mark.

It's also the way it's happened - completely avoidable things like poor team selection/match ups, insane defensive gameplan and retreating from the mark etc. that many of us have lamented consistently.

Ultimately it may be for the best, as if we had scrambled across the line a few more times (Carlton, Richmond, Adelaide, Port, maybe one of the cats games) then we'd be 5th/6th and at least looking to a home final. This way there may be more of the soul-searching required.

As for 2023, I think statements likely need to be qualified. My expectations if we bulk up the list (KPD and ideally some pace on the wing/small forward), have a coaching group shake-up and throw away the ludicrous and unaccountable defensive approach are that we finish top 4 - particularly if we miss finals and get an easier draw. If we go into next season with broadly the same personnel (playing and coaching) and a similar approach to team defence, then finishing outside the eight again will be my expectation.

 

[Doggy]

Why do people fail to grasp that missing finals won't prompt more change?

The issues are obvious whether they make it or not so why keep hoping they don't? It's a ridiculous attitude

 

[Dale4captain]

Rodney Eade pretty blatantly savaged Bev’s coaching and game plan in the most polite way possible in the latest Danny Boyd podcast. Pretty much said they haven’t adapted and have fallen behind the modern game.

That’s a fair indictment if a dinosaur like Eade can see something so bleedingly obvious but Bev hasn’t identified the same issue.

 

[Northernsoul74]

Rodney Eade pretty blatantly savaged Bev’s coaching and game plan in the most polite way possible in the latest Danny Boyd podcast. Pretty much said they haven’t adapted and have fallen behind the modern game.

That’s a fair indictment if a dinosaur like Eade can see something so bleedingly obvious but Bev hasn’t identified the same issue.

I’m concerned Leon Cameron is also more dinosaur and unlikely to address the issue? He seemed lost and completely out of ideas at GWS and made some equally head scratching positional changes as Bevo.

 

[ScragCity]

I’m concerned Leon Cameron is also more dinosaur and unlikely to address the issue? He seemed lost and completely out of ideas at GWS and made some equally head scratching positional changes as Bevo.

Hard Agree. I don't think Cameron is the answer.

 

[ossie_21]

Flagdogs 2023

 

[Golden_6]

Hard Agree. I don't think Cameron is the answer.

Also agree. I've been particularly unimpressed with him over the past few years. The doco last year he was featured in quite a bit did him absolutely no favours.

GWS had enough talent to win multiple flags and they didn't really come close.

 

[FoochPackage]

If we continue the status quo with our coaching set up then I anticipate a bottom six finish. Probably around 12th-14th.

If we overhaul our coaching structure, come up with a coherent gameplan, and get buy-in from the players again then the sky is the limit.

I don't think personnel changes will matter at all. We have enough talent to be a strong side already. We could bring in six All Australians through the trade period, but if we stick with this s**t gameplan and the players aren't playing for the coach then we won't improve.

i think if we added
Shai Bolton
Max Gawn
Tom Stewart
Jeremy Cameron
Clayton Oliver and
Steven May to the team then we might improve.

 

[hutchy31]

Also agree. I've been particularly unimpressed with him over the past few years. The doco last year he was featured in quite a bit did him absolutely no favours.

GWS had enough talent to win multiple flags and they didn't really come close.

I'm not a massive Cameron fan, but if I'm playing devil's advocate I'd say there have been some coaches recently who were pretty ordinary in their first head coaching role who have then been assistants with some success at least - Voss, Richardson, Leppitsch, Bolton, Pyke (probably a few others).

Just because the big job got the better of him doesn't mean he couldn't be an asset in a role within the footy department.

If it's true then I'd be at least encouraged that the dogs aren't looking for unproven/inexperienced coaches to fill roles for next year and beyond.

 

[TiAn_]

Rodney Eade pretty blatantly savaged Bev’s coaching and game plan in the most polite way possible in the latest Danny Boyd podcast. Pretty much said they haven’t adapted and have fallen behind the modern game.

That’s a fair indictment if a dinosaur like Eade can see something so bleedingly obvious but Bev hasn’t identified the same issue.

The part I thought was interesting was the suggestion (this is paraphrasing) that we appear to double down on our Plan A rather than acknowledging opponents may have it figured out and adapting.

 

[doggies ftw]

Also agree. I've been particularly unimpressed with him over the past few years. The doco last year he was featured in quite a bit did him absolutely no favours.

GWS had enough talent to win multiple flags and they didn't really come close.

I don’t think it would necessarily be easy to win a flag at a club like GWS, even with the talent.

It’s a plastic, manufactured environment with a revolving door of talent. List turnover was huge with guns leaving every single year - that’s no way to build a cohesive list. Too many super stars all wanting big dollars - would actually be a nightmare environment for a coach IMO.

In reality he’s taken them to 2x semis, 2x prelims & a GF in the past 6 seasons

Plus we’re not hiring him as a coach, his head coach results are irrelevant - look at Bolton, Leppitsch, Richardson who are keys at their current clubs who had much much worse senior coaching careers than Leon.

He ran successful lines with us through our prelim years & a part of Hawks at the start of their successful period.

So over the past two decades he’s been a part of 2x GFs, another 6x PFs, another 4 or so finals series and in that time has also been involved in our Rhode years & GWS first few years which obviously weren’t making finals.

I’m pretty sure the bloke knows what it takes to run a successful footy club

 

[AFDogs]

Top 4 finish IMO.

Can't believe the shit we've served up this year.

 

[hutchy31]

Top 4 finish IMO.

Can't believe the s**t we've served up this year.

Think the disappointing thing is it's not like we've dropped games against bad teams that much (Adelaide at Ballarat being the exception). I think we're 3-8 against top 8 sides, and 7-2 against the bottom 10 (losing only to both Adelaide teams, and losing to Port away isn't terrible) - so we're exactly where we should be basically.

Given we're playing 13th and 16th in the next two weeks that should give us confidence that we finish 12-10, and maybe in finals if Carlton stutter. With a better draw, couple of additional players and some better defensive coaching and application there is no reason why we shouldn't improve by 4 wins. Sounds simple, but rarely is though.

 

[Lex22]

Rodney Eade pretty blatantly savaged Bev’s coaching and game plan in the most polite way possible in the latest Danny Boyd podcast. Pretty much said they haven’t adapted and have fallen behind the modern game.

That’s a fair indictment if a dinosaur like Eade can see something so bleedingly obvious but Bev hasn’t identified the same issue.

Tactically, Rocket is no fool.

While it wouldn’t happen for us, I think someone like him still has plenty to offer in an assistant/coaching director role.

I’d take him back.

 

[Walsh Bay]

My principal expectation is that we will put a concerted effort into winning the ball back in the middle of the ground next year.

I don't want to see chains of oppo passes like last week ever again.

 

[maddog37]

Sam Darcy Brownlow.

 

[Next Waiting]

That we'll get off to a slow start due to a Premiership hangover.

 

[Pugz89]

Top 4 and prelim as a bare minimum. Our list is a top 4 list. No more excuses!

 

[Optimistic Dog]

Assuming we win 12 this season it more than reasonable to think we can win another 4 games and make top 4. The top reasons for this are

Darcy's development
JUH development
Bont playing injury free
Liam Jones

19

Liam Jones

Age

33

Ht

199cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.4

2star

K

6.5

3star

HB

2.9

3star

M

4.3

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

134.5

2star

D

7.6

2star

K

6.1

3star

HB

1.4

1star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.4

2star

MG

116.3

2star

D

9.4

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

2.0

2star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

/Lobb recruitment
New game plan