March 14 Melbourne at Casey Fields

[scooter600x]

BEST
Melbourne: Green, Jones, McDonald, Jetta, Buckley, Garland.
Western Bulldogs: Cross, Gilbee, Griffin, Hill, Boyd, Higgins



Still no word on how Williams went

We were discussing during the last quarter how poor Gilbee and Boyd had been.

Williams did little but got through the game.

Cooney and Murphy looked like blokes coming back from injury with no pre-season. Don't expect much from either of them for a fair while yet.

Seriously wet with rain in the last quarter coming in almost horizontally. I'd suggest this game had no bearing whatsoever on what might happen under a roof at the Dome.

Despite the conditions it was a much better match to watch than the St. Kilda game. Far more direct and open.

 

[dogs balls]

AFL.COM.AU

THE WESTERN Bulldogs have recorded their first victory of the NAB Cup/Challenge series with a 38-point win over Melbourne at Casey Fields on Saturday.

The Bulldogs kicked five to goals to nil in the last quarter to win the NAB Challenge match 14.17 (101) to 10.3. (63).

It was some established names that got the Dogs over the line after they went into three-quarter time with a lead of just two points.

Matthew Boyd, Daniel Cross, Daniel Giansiracusa, Dale Morris and Nathan Eagleton all made im-pressive returns for the red, white and blue.

Despite the Bulldogs struggling at times in the wet and slippery conditions - a stark contrast to the comfort of the Docklands roof - the dash of Ryan Griffin and Daniel Cross across the middle excited the crowd gathered at Casey, while Shaun Higgins’ hard work in the Bulldogs forward line had fans confident of a stellar season beckoning in 2009.

Josh Hill lit up the third term, kicking three goals under the gloomy skies at Cranbourne as he and others looks to cement a berth in the Bulldogs round one clash against Fremantle at Subiaco.

Star forward Robert Murphy and reigning Brownlow medalist Adam Cooney were also solid after pre-seasons curtailed by injury.

The Demons will be disappointed to have let the margin blow out in the final term, but of more concern to coach Dean Bailey will be the health of three of players forced to leave the field.

Aaron Davey, who began the match as a dangerous combination across half forward with Neville Jetta, hobbled off the ground early in the final quarter with a foot injury.

Ricky Petterd left the ground in the third quarter with a rib injury after accidental contact in an awkward contest. The tough midfielder spent the rest of the match icing the injured area, while Daniel Bell also came off in the third quarter with a hand injury.

The Demons next match is their season opener against North Melbourne, while the Bulldogs travel to Perth for the clash with Fremantle.

Melbourne 2.1 (13) 7.3 (45) 10.3 (63) 10.3 (63)
Western Bulldogs 2.7 (19) 5.10 (40) 9.11 (65) 14.17 (101)

GOALS
Melbourne: Green 3, Miller, Jetta, Newton, Davey, McLean, McDonald, Jones
Western Bulldogs: Hill 3, Johnson 2, Higgins 2, Griffin 2, Akermanis, Hahn, Harbrow, Cross, Ward.

BEST
Melbourne: Green, Jones, McDonald, Jetta, Buckley, Garland. Western Bulldogs: Cross, Gilbee, Griffin, Hill, Boyd, Higgins,

INJURIES
Melbourne: Petterd (ribs), Bell (hand), Davey (foot)
Western Bulldogs:

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Kennedy, Mollison, Stewart.

Crowd: 2500 (approx) at Casey Fields



Still no word on how Williams went

Williams played and move quite in very wet and slippery conditions.

He played about half of each quarter.

He got some touches but more importantly seem to come through uninjured.

Hill was on fire in the third quarter and should be in the team in the first game.

Cooney and Murphy both moved well but did not have great influence on the game.
But we know what they can do so it is about match fitness for them.

Higgens got a heavy knock in second quarter and went off but came back on later and seemed ok.

It was very wet conditions but came away feeling good about were we are at.
It was very hard to have a high standard of game.

Welsh did not play.

 

[Lightning_Mcqueen95]

Sounds good. I hope Murphy's knee comes up.

 

[dogs balls]

Me and my wife had quite a good day there even though we got wet.

Some more than others..

She got to meet Russell Robertson and wanted to take him home.

I think I killed any chances of that when i started asking him questions about any possible
young players for my Super Coach team.

He was quite helpfull and I came away with a couple of possibilities.

 

[The Coon Dog]

Great to see footy played in wind & rain, reminded me of a bygone era.

Caught up with firstdogonthemoon who continues to terrorise my son, Rocco Jones, Cyberdoggie & Scooter600x & we all got thoroughly soaked.

I was impressed with Gia today, really used his body well in tricky conditions. I thought the longer the game went the better Skinny Everitt got, his kicking was much better today. Crossy was in everything & was just so determined.

To give you an idea of how tricky the wind was, both Aker & Gilbee kicked out on the full.

I thought Eagleton was terrific today & used the ball well most times. Griffin & Higgins were fantastic!

Steve Tiller did some nice things & he's pushing very hard for a spot in round 1. Mitch Hahn took a terrific mark tright infront of us, he's a massive unit.

Josh Hill capped off some clever work up the ground & scored 3 third quarter goals.

I'm slowly thawing out!

 

[bobmurphy2]

i reckon griffin is in for his best year yet. watch him explode this year!

 

[wian]

i went with a mate and we got totally saturated in the last 1/4... we had sooo much fun though !

i loved the fact that you were so close to the action and you could hear all the players talking and barking out instructions which gave us a totally diffrent perspective on the game

overall, i was very impressed with our boys

cross - was awesome
griffen - was explosive and ran hard
everett - did a heap of good things and contributed well
tiller - was great and defended and punched well and did the disciplined thing 95% of the time...
ward - did some great things
higgins and hill - were great up forward
williams - didnt do much but it was great to see him run out the full game injury free and his presence definitley makes the backline way stronger
hahn - did some tough things and locked it in the forward line well
eagle - seemed to have a lot of it

overall, a great hitout and looking forward to round 1 now

cooney and murph - were a bit under done, but ok

cheers

 

[Bulldogsroar]

stood on the scoreboard wing , in front of the North Melbourne palyers and coaching staff.

a few thoughts

Cross sensational hard running got the ball all day
Gia very good
Everitt looked good had a influence
Lake mopped up too strong for his opponent
Williams had no effect
Johno still love a goal
Hill exciting
Minson gave away too many frees in the ruck
Played our best team except Welsh
No untried players played
No Wight or Skipper
Higgins got a knock in 2nd qtr , did not notice any injuries
Melb Supporters 75 % plus of the crowd


Great surface but a schlepp from Caulfield , so from the western suburbs a real trek , p

 

[always bet on black!]

i went with a mate and we got totally saturated in the last 1/4... we had sooo much fun though !

i loved the fact that you were so close to the action and you could hear all the players talking and barking out instructions which gave us a totally diffrent perspective on the game

overall, i was very impressed with our boys

cross - was awesome
griffen - was explosive and ran hard
everett - did a heap of good things and contributed well
tiller - was great and defended and punched well and did the disciplined thing 95% of the time...
ward - did some great things
higgins and hill - were great up forward
williams - didnt do much but it was great to see him run out the full game injury free and his presence definitley makes the backline way stronger
hahn - did some tough things and locked it in the forward line well
eagle - seemed to have a lot of it

overall, a great hitout and looking forward to round 1 now

cooney and murph - were a bit under done, but ok

cheers

it was a great hit out and i agree with all except eagle. yes he gets the footy but got stuck on his right side quite often, as we all know, but he certainly is loosing pace. more a pitch hitter role if any for him this year. the younger blokes will start to make more of an impact. certain last year

also aker and johno seemed very frustrated out there. leading and demanding the ball in dead pockets and useless positions, then getting angry when the ball isnt delivered to them. as senior players they need to support and remain positive!

 

[Slash_LP]

One thing I have to get off my chest about today, if you are going to sit around the fence, don't bring an umbrella out every time it starts raining. If you feel the need to hide everytime a bit of water comes into contact with you then wouldn't it just be easier to go undercover, rather than bringing out an umbrella that shades the view of others watching from behind.

end rant

 

[jeemak]

^^Perfectly valid rant LP. I hate it when people do that.

Would have loved to get to the game, because as Wian said, the opportunity to see the players up close at ground level would have been great.

Good to see we kicked away in the last quarter. Can't help but think that a few conversions early would have made the game and the result a lot more clear cut.

Bring on round one.........it's gonna be a tough trip and so will the next one, but if we can win a couple over in the west early then our season will be set up, particularly if we put in a good performance on the return games in Melbourne.

 

[paul scholes]

Lot more scoring shots,so pleasing victory. Melbourne were by all reports pumped for thisNo injuries,Williams is not injured,kicking with a 150knot wind[according to one]We're 2.00 Freo 1.80!

 

[St 07]

sorry to say he didn't make it... Went up for a mark in the 3rd and twisted his heart on the way down

LOL

Bloody hell, his heart now too. More surgery

 

[fred cook]

We're 2.00 Freo 1.80!

I cant believe that

 

[slater54]

Scott Welsh not playing gives Grant the advantage-did he play for Williamstown yesterday??

ff-Harbrow ,Johnson, Minson

hf-Gia ,Hahn ,Higgins

c-Hill,Cross,Eaglton

hb-Addison,Williams,Hargraves

fb-Gilbee,Lake,Morriss(Pavlich)

Hudson ,Boyd,Griffen

Grant
Aker
Cooney
Callam

emerg-Ward,Welsh,Everitt

 

[Tom Fraser]

Scott Welsh not playing gives Grant the advantage-did he play for Williamstown yesterday??

ff-Harbrow ,Johnson, Minson

hf-Gia ,Hahn ,Higgins

c-Hill,Cross,Eaglton

hb-Addison,Williams,Hargraves

fb-Gilbee,Lake,Morriss(Pavlich)

Hudson ,Boyd,Griffen

Grant
Aker
Cooney
Callam

emerg-Ward,Welsh,Everitt

if his fit wouldn't they start him in the middle?

 

[BenF]

if his fit wouldn't they start him in the middle?

No, Cooney is clearly not cut for AFL level

 

[The Original Swooper]

Scott Welsh not playing gives Grant the advantage-did he play for Williamstown yesterday??

ff-Harbrow ,Johnson, Minson

hf-Gia ,Hahn ,Higgins

c-Hill,Cross,Eaglton

hb-Addison,Williams,Hargraves

fb-Gilbee,Lake,Morriss(Pavlich)

Hudson ,Boyd,Griffen

Grant
Aker
Cooney
Callam

emerg-Ward,Welsh,Everitt

Williams will NOT play R1 according to Eade. Him & Murphy probably looking at R2.

 

[slapper]

If Murphy doesn't play round 1 the Welsh would be a certainty to play, he only missed playing against Melbourne because of the flu. The same situation occurs if Williams doesn't play but his spot is up for grabs between Tiller and Everitt. Both these players could play if selectors elect to leave Tim Callan out of the line up.

 

[slater54]

Good sides have the luxury to use champions of the bench!

We are now a good side dont you think

 

[Pigdog]

Williams will NOT play R1 according to Eade. Him & Murphy probably looking at R2.

My mail tells me that Murf is a good chance to play rd 1.