Grant Thomas is spot on!

[mocco hill]

Grant Thomas might be a tool but he's right about one thing, the bulldogs are mentally soft!Too many players arn't self motivated too many are front runners eg Eagleton ,Gia(its easy to kick goals when the heat has gone out of the game), and Ray.there are a few more so called leaders in this catagory as well,When it takes a kid like Callan Ward to show the way and put his head over the ball or do a sacrificial act where in big trouble,If things dont changed soon our finals campaign has straight sets written all over it!

 

[blowesy]

All you so called supporters are simpletons. there is a name for you guys bandwagon supporters. How quickly you all jump off and criticise every little aspect of a game which means NOTHING... forget about this momentum going into finals forget about all this crap cause if we win every game from now on it means nuthin. it doesnt put us into a grand final it means nothing. I'm all for us trying out different thigns giving more game time to younger players because i gurantee that fierce tackling bulldog team will be back with us in septemeber and so will all these bandwagon supporters as they always are after a win..

 

[hoianbulldog]

All you so called supporters are simpletons. there is a name for you guys bandwagon supporters. How quickly you all jump off and criticise every little aspect of a game which means NOTHING... forget about this momentum going into finals forget about all this crap cause if we win every game from now on it means nuthin. it doesnt put us into a grand final it means nothing. I'm all for us trying out different thigns giving more game time to younger players because i gurantee that fierce tackling bulldog team will be back with us in septemeber and so will all these bandwagon supporters as they always are after a win..

Well said..

 

[Bodicifer]

Grant Thomas might be a tool but he's right about one thing, the bulldogs are mentally soft!Too many players arn't self motivated too many are front runners eg Eagleton ,Gia(its easy to kick goals when the heat has gone out of the game), and Ray.there are a few more so called leaders in this catagory as well,When it takes a kid like Callan Ward to show the way and put his head over the ball or do a sacrificial act where in big trouble,If things dont changed soon our finals campaign has straight sets written all over it!

Gia got us back into the game yesterday and has had a great year.

The way some people on this forum write you would think we are 13th or something. The fact is we are going to finish 2nd or 3rd for a reason, because we are a good side this year. We will be firing to go for the finals. Hopefully we will have Tommy, Huddo and Westy back for the finals and with Johnno starting to hit form and the fact we have a lot of improvement in us and a heap of recent fitness work, we will be doing some good things in September. An AFL season is not judged on one or two games yet some "supporters" take that view when they criticise.

 

[TedDougChris]

All you so called supporters are simpletons. there is a name for you guys bandwagon supporters. How quickly you all jump off and criticise every little aspect of a game which means NOTHING... forget about this momentum going into finals forget about all this crap cause if we win every game from now on it means nuthin. it doesnt put us into a grand final it means nothing. I'm all for us trying out different thigns giving more game time to younger players because i gurantee that fierce tackling bulldog team will be back with us in septemeber and so will all these bandwagon supporters as they always are after a win..

I agree.... and I disagree.....

It's all well and good for the supporters to commit through thick and thin, but it's not ok for us to expect the players to bring the same desperation and intensity to the game each week ?? It's not unreasonable to expect the guys to put in some effort is it ??

I played hockey yesterday, we were 2 players down, then one guy got a hockey stick to the jaw and had to go to hospital, the other teams coach was umpiring (any predictions on how biased that was ??) and yet we still fought it out to the end... Why the hell can't the players that get paid an absolute fortune do the same thing..... Too much is left to too few.....

But having said that, there is far too much sensationalism and over-the-top reactionism here sometimes.....

 

[Bodicifer]

I agree.... and I disagree.....

It's all well and good for the supporters to commit through thick and thin, but it's not ok for us to expect the players to bring the same desperation and intensity to the game each week ?? It's not unreasonable to expect the guys to put in some effort is it ??

I played hockey yesterday, we were 2 players down, then one guy got a hockey stick to the jaw and had to go to hospital, the other teams coach was umpiring (any predictions on how biased that was ??) and yet we still fought it out to the end... Why the hell can't the players that get paid an absolute fortune do the same thing..... Too much is left to too few.....

But having said that, there is far too much sensationalism and over-the-top reactionism here sometimes.....

Well said...all we want is effort. You can cop losses if you put 100% in and just aren't good enough.

 

[Sedat!]

Grant Thomas might be a tool

You lost me after this

 

[#1 Dogs Fan]

All you so called supporters are simpletons. there is a name for you guys bandwagon supporters. How quickly you all jump off and criticise every little aspect of a game which means NOTHING... forget about this momentum going into finals forget about all this crap cause if we win every game from now on it means nuthin. it doesnt put us into a grand final it means nothing. I'm all for us trying out different thigns giving more game time to younger players because i gurantee that fierce tackling bulldog team will be back with us in septemeber and so will all these bandwagon supporters as they always are after a win..

Great Post.

I agree totally but don't say this out loud to mates or other posters because people think im using an excuse as to why we are not playing so well lately.
We have lost 3 of the past 4 and in all honesty I have not once been upset about any of the losses because we showed something in every one of those games.
Bring on September because as far as I can remember finals are won in September and not in August !

 

[stefoid]

Practice how you want to play, and the way we are 'practicing' for the finals, we are going to get creamed.

 

[Touched]

Grant Thomas might be a tool but he's right about one thing, the bulldogs are mentally soft!Too many players arn't self motivated too many are front runners eg Eagleton ,Gia(its easy to kick goals when the heat has gone out of the game), and Ray.there are a few more so called leaders in this catagory as well,When it takes a kid like Callan Ward to show the way and put his head over the ball or do a sacrificial act where in big trouble,If things dont changed soon our finals campaign has straight sets written all over it!

I know I should respond to someone who quotes a tool but...

So all the mental toughness we've showed to get to the position we are in now is quickly forgotten or marginalised base on a couple of slack games

 

[immortalmike]

All you so called supporters are simpletons. there is a name for you guys bandwagon supporters. How quickly you all jump off and criticise every little aspect of a game which means NOTHING... forget about this momentum going into finals forget about all this crap cause if we win every game from now on it means nuthin. it doesnt put us into a grand final it means nothing. I'm all for us trying out different thigns giving more game time to younger players because i gurantee that fierce tackling bulldog team will be back with us in septemeber and so will all these bandwagon supporters as they always are after a win..

Totally agree dogs fans are the biggest bunch of whingers in the world. Its like everyone is determined to be miserable no matter the circumstances. Its been an awesome year whether we win the flag or not.

 

[_STREET_]

All you so called supporters are simpletons. there is a name for you guys bandwagon supporters. How quickly you all jump off and criticise every little aspect of a game which means NOTHING... forget about this momentum going into finals forget about all this crap cause if we win every game from now on it means nuthin. it doesnt put us into a grand final it means nothing. I'm all for us trying out different thigns giving more game time to younger players because i gurantee that fierce tackling bulldog team will be back with us in septemeber and so will all these bandwagon supporters as they always are after a win..

Well said..

agreed.

but on the bandwagoners... every team has them really.. just gotta expect them to show their faces when we do good, then when bad, no1 would know their a doggies fan. like in 2000... every second person you met was an essendon fan. now everyones a geelong or hawthorne fan.

 

[Zvim]

Is this the same guy that said the only side that can beat Geelong are the Saints?

 

[SCRAY72]

Totally agree dogs fans are the biggest bunch of whingers in the world. Its like everyone is determined to be miserable no matter the circumstances. Its been an awesome year whether we win the flag or not.

You are easily pleased.If the club continues to self destruct and go out in straight sets then the year cannot be classed as "awesome"

I,like thousands of others,mark the team harder.

A legacy of following them for several decades of heartbreak.

 

[SCRAY72]

Grant Thomas might be a tool but he's right about one thing, the bulldogs are mentally soft!Too many players arn't self motivated too many are front runners eg Eagleton ,Gia(its easy to kick goals when the heat has gone out of the game), and Ray.there are a few more so called leaders in this catagory as well,When it takes a kid like Callan Ward to show the way and put his head over the ball or do a sacrificial act where in big trouble,If things dont changed soon our finals campaign has straight sets written all over it!

Don't find to much wrong with this post, just an emotional response after another disappointing loss.

No need for name calling,members are entitled to an opinion.

 

[Before I Die]

I,like thousands of others,mark the team harder.

A legacy of following them for several decades of heartbreak.

So what makes a successful year? If anything short of a premiership is failure then I am glad I am not you. This year is already a successful year, but it may also be a disappointing year if we don't go all the way. It is also exciting because I believe our premiership window is opening, not closing.

 

[Ant_]

You lost me after this

Yep agree, what a ****ing joke to listen to anything that ******** has to say about us.

 

[skooshtamart]

Grant Thomas is spot on!

Sounds like something Grant Thomas would say.


As for the Dogs performance on the weekend, I thought they played well for two quarters. In the first two quarters they could not kick the footy, it was like they were kicking a ball they've never kicked before. It might be time to upgrade the training balls. When Gilbee stuffs up kicks, other forces are at play. (Ball dimensions, surface consistency, inflation pressure etc) interesting that our kicking skills seem down when we play the roos, maybe they are ball tampering.

If the Dogs play well for 2-3 quarters next week I will be satisfied our run into the finals is on track.

I don't believe we are playing to our normal game plan at present, no doubt the Hawks have the spies out at present trying to unlock our gameplan.

Bring on the finals, we only need to win the last 3 games of the year.

 

[SCRAY72]

So what makes a successful year? If anything short of a premiership is failure then I am glad I am not you. This year is already a successful year, but it may also be a disappointing year if we don't go all the way. It is also exciting because I believe our premiership window is opening, not closing.

It is relative. For instance for a team like the Dogs who have played in only two grand finals in 82 years, a grand final appearance would be a successful year.

Limping to the finals, and going out in straight sets would be a failure.

Tell you what if this happens and you get a chance to talk to David Smorgon ask him if he thinks 2008 was a successful year.

 

[kookadog]

We have shown signs of weakness, last quarter v geelong, and last quarter v blues, 1st 15 minutes of the swans game, 1st half against north.

We have also shown signs of strength and an irrisistable will to win albeit not as often lately. We have taken our eye off the ball and are thinking about finals. We have played and beaten some very good sides.

Our best is brilliant and will even push the cats.

We need to get the right team together and playing it's best come round 22, and it looks like we might just do it. No need for panic stations just yet.

 

[duqprint]

I dunno about the team being mentally soft, but I sure am! I can't deal with dwelling on negatives! I agree with everyone to some degree - the confident and the worriers and the cynics and the deluded. When it comes down to it though, flag or no flag, following the team this year has helped me through a pretty rough trot and I'm grateful for that.

And I thought Gia helped put the heat BACK in the game...

 

[Whitten Oval]

Grant Thomas is a w***er!! Who cares about a sacked St Kilda suck who still talks like he is is the coach of the club..........let go you **** and go and suck a bat!!!

 

[The Boy From Brasil]

The main point that Thomas was making about us on SEN was that he thinks we are a physically weak side in comparison to Hawthorn, Geelong etc, and that our lack of big bodies and a finals winning game plan, will mean we won't win finals. He doesn't think we are a bad side, he just doesn't rate us as a genuine premiership threat.

It doesn't really matter what he says or we say, his theory will be answered by our players in September, to the positive or to the negative.

 

[immortalmike]

You are easily pleased.If the club continues to self destruct and go out in straight sets then the year cannot be classed as "awesome"

I,like thousands of others,mark the team harder.

A legacy of following them for several decades of heartbreak.

Oh no I didn't realize that 4 losses in one year and finishing third was a self-destruction. I need the crystal ball you have mine must be broken exactly how many finals did we lose in the past four weeks.
As for the decades of heartbreak I've been there for those as well so has my father but we don't carry on like the world just ended after a couple of losses . Hey you may be right and we will lose two finals in a row and be disgraced and Rocket could be all wrong. But guess what forgive me for not siding with the same people ranting about "the same old Bulldogs" after the NAB cup and siding with a coach who turned a rabble into a top 4 side. The fact of the matter is that win, lose or draw I respect our players for what they achieved this season, and yeah while I may not be thrilled with our form in the last few weeks and may disagree with a few coaching decisions. One thing I won't do is come on here and act all high and mighty calling for players to be dropped and 'marking the team' as if I know the exact game plan and internal issues at the club. Some supporters need to do less coaching and more supporting because lets face it in the big scheme of things we all know absolutely nothing.

 

[Turtle]

You are easily pleased.If the club continues to self destruct and go out in straight sets then the year cannot be classed as "awesome"

I,like thousands of others,mark the team harder.

A legacy of following them for several decades of heartbreak.

I agree with the above, if we dont win a final and people think our year has been Awesome, that is a joke! Hopefully it will turn around, but it's time to stop accepting mediocrity. In my lifetime only 2 teams have never played in a GF, Dogs & Freo, we are overdue!