Review Round 12, 2015 - Bulldogs vs Brisbane Lions

[royboys4eva]

Left half way though the last quarter. First time i have left early - that's how disgusted i was.

These are the questions i pose :

What is our game plan? I don't know it and i'm not sure the players do either or they don't posses any confidence in the plan.

We are told by Leppa he wants us to switch and take risks. That never happened last night. When Clarke or any other tall defender (Gardiner Bourke Beasley Papa Andrews) takes a mark or wins a free kick in our back half - they look at the first option down the line where its normally a 1-1 or 2-2 match up. They ignore that option and spend 5 seconds looking for other options and then finally decide to kick to the first option. By this stage the opposition knowing very well what we will do have spent those valuable 5 seconds to get 4-5 more players to the contest. We did this last night at least 20 times. Playing right into their hands.

When the Dogs won the ball deep in defence the first thing they did was switch to the other side where they had 2-3 players waiting for it or running into space. We can't do this because Leppa picks 4 tall defenders and we only have two running players (maybe 3 if you include Papa).

Harwood needs to play simply for his ability to give us run out of the back line. I would play Rich down back and give him an assignment because he was awful last night. If he is injured don't play him. Play him down back and get him to do the kick in's and take some risks. He should also be running past the likes of Clarke and taking the hand ball. Generate some off the back line.

Also why is it that a team that we beat last year and since then have lost Griffen Cooney - (Libba Crameri Injured) and got a new coach in able to beat us by last nights margin. The Dogs new their game plan from the first pre season game. We have had 33 games and 6 pre season games under Leppa. I want Leppa to succeed like the rest of us and injuries are relevant excuse but their are parts of our game that are very alarming.

We still cannot win contested ball out of centre. Last night the Dogs strolled out of the centre with out lack of tackling / defensive pressure. Mitch Wallis has played 63 games and yet he owned the centre clearances.

Only positives were mcStay taking some nice marks and kicking 3. I actually thought Zorko tried his guts out. We need to put him in the middle and use his pace. He looks very frustrated. Big Stefan played his usual great game. Squizzy gets plenty of the ball but he is to scared to give the first option and goes backwards more often than not and we have missed the chance.

Disappointing night is understatement.

 

[jackess]

Anyone have any idea why Lester didn't spend more time in the midfield?

 

[royboys4eva]

Redden what's happened to him? Peaked in his first 50 games and stagnated. Doesn't have the pace or skills to be a damaging midfielder. He need to go to half back where we can use his tackling ability - he is a decent mark and can find space.

O'Brien isn't good enough for AFL football. Limited skills and decision making is non existent. Lester should start in the centre square and then wander down to the forward line.

Also i noticed last night players coming on and off had no idea where they were suppose to be.

 

[Gibbo_88]

I remember one U16's game where we were missing the two guys that played key forward and a few others for a month. To fix the problem 2 tall players were brought in from the lower team who would have to run around in the shower just to get wet. I think we lost all but one of those games, some of them we dominated the midfield for most of the game but no one had any confidence of kicking to the forwards and they just never lead to where they should.

Not surprised that we're putting out the results we are considering who is making up our forward line atm. We might get lucky with a few wins but until we have forwards that have the proper skills and know what to do we are going to look like a pathetic team.

 

[OldLion]

..but we do have the talent. I am now questioning the coaching.

Injuries aside, too many of our players have gone backwards.

Why?

Onfield leadership - no Rocky , no grunt. Look at Rob Murphy's first quarter - slaughtered us.

 

[lions27]

I was screaming at my dog because of this. Taylor and a massive shocker all game with regards to this and a Berger classic early on was the icing on the cake. They work hard to get the ball on a wing and then an overlap develops but they don't use them instead look to hold onto the ball for a few seconds too long and forced to go sideways or most commonly backwards. Our team plays best when we take the game on.

How did your dog pull up this morning?
Really need him to be on his game over the next month

 

[FFB1]

Not surprised that we're putting out the results we are considering who is making up our forward line atm. We might get lucky with a few wins but until we have forwards that have the proper skills and know what to do we are going to look like a pathetic team.

Wouldn't matter who was in our forward line, we can't get our hands on the footy from the centre to give them a chance.

 

[bato]

Did they mention what happened to Beams last night? Thought he did well for someone who's going in for shoulder scans this week...

 

[David Schwarz]

The key difference is not talent, its leadership. It was obvious last night that the bulldogs players had better leaders across the ground. Murphy, Boyd (midfield Boyd), etc lead the bulldogs team well, whilst Lions had no leadership at all. Having Rich as a leader is a concern, and further concern is Adcocks ability to lead since he was removed from captain. I dont see him directing like he used to. Then add in Zorko and he is not the same since he had more leadership duties.

This is not an ability issue, to me this is leadership and a confidence issue as a result of the lack of leadership.

It doesnt help having Rockliff out, but i think Merrett, Adcock etc need more leadership responsibilities when they are back on the park and need the vice captains role instead of Rich, Zorko.

We just call him Moyd, easier to distinguish him from Toyd

 

[irish]

I thought Bourke did well for a boy ! Shows promise

 

[lionbear]

I'm having serious doubts about our coaching squad.

Massive injuries have cruelled us I know, but our highly talented players (and they are highly talented) seem to have gone backwards....unless they are all injured as well.

Can't help thinking what might have been had Vossy still been coach. Also, what difference there would be if Lethal was coach......and how much input he has into coaching methods.

..I have mentioned a long time ago, how Lethal once said during his stint, that he doesn't coach the boys much, they knew what they had to do and how to play. I know our current lot are very young, but they also know how to play or they wouldn't be at this level.

Perhaps give them more free reign to play their natural game. Couldn't be any worse than they are now.

Perhaps they are too bogged down with instructions.

I understand the frustration with the coaching and injuries, but the reality is the following:

We play on a cricket ground, where the groundskeeper number one priority is to keep the pitches in the best condition possible while at the same time just making sure it passes an AFL test.

We play in outdated training facilities while at the same time Hawthorn have moved into state of the art facilities during our last change and have in the last month said they have outgrown them and are moving again, we are now 2 upgrades behind alot of clubs.

We have a club down the road who has greatly affected our ability to grow members and also generate local talent with no compensation whatsoever.

We have no proper off season base to set up and train from.

While this continues to happen we weill continue to have inuries and will struggle both on and off the field.

 

[POBT]

Yes it has been going on for ages.....but the time has come for it to be stopped. For them to be more professional in their broadcasts.

Time for lesser struggling clubs (us in this instance) to be shown more respect, and not ridiculed or ignored in the telecast.

We will never get respect if we don't take a stand. This is just one example towards getting that respect back. Stop being a pushover by the media.

Enough is enough. Last night sickened me on so many levels, this one the most.

If I were a neutral supporter, I wouldn't want the commentators talking about the Lions. We were boring, soft and incompetent. The only things they could have said were highly negative because we played terrible footy.

What frustrates me more is that we get the chance to be seen on free to air on a Saturday night and we serve up uncompetitive crap. If we want to be respected by morons like BT, then we need to bloody well start to play footy that deserves respect.

We have no-one to blame but ourselves.

 

[Simbatheking21]

Yes it has been going on for ages.....but the time has come for it to be stopped. For them to be more professional in their broadcasts.

Time for lesser struggling clubs (us in this instance) to be shown more respect, and not ridiculed or ignored in the telecast.

We will never get respect if we don't take a stand. This is just one example towards getting that respect back. Stop being a pushover by the media.

Enough is enough. Last night sickened me on so many levels, this one the most.

I'm on your side mate and you're right that we should take a stand. I'm just used to hearing dickheads like BT and Darcy. Makes me hate football

 

[iBeng]

Did they mention what happened to Beams last night? Thought he did well for someone who's going in for shoulder scans this week...

Commentators seemed to just put it down as a stinger, for the 15 seconds they spent on it, before swapping back to The Package Stringer Love Fest.

If hes going in for scans...He played the rest of the game out, surely there cant be to much damage?

 

[a mayes ing]

I was screaming at my dog because of this. Taylor and a massive shocker all game with regards to this and a Berger classic early on was the icing on the cake. They work hard to get the ball on a wing and then an overlap develops but they don't use them instead look to hold onto the ball for a few seconds too long and forced to go sideways or most commonly backwards. Our team plays best when we take the game on.

I remember specifically in the 1st quarter when Taylor was kicking the ball forward to players. The kicks were risky but came off really well which set up a goal scoring opportunity. Not sure why u didn't see this.

 

[Balony_pony16]

Left half way though the last quarter. First time i have left early - that's how disgusted i was.

These are the questions i pose :

What is our game plan? I don't know it and i'm not sure the players do either or they don't posses any confidence in the plan.

We are told by Leppa he wants us to switch and take risks. That never happened last night. When Clarke or any other tall defender (Gardiner Bourke Beasley Papa Andrews) takes a mark or wins a free kick in our back half - they look at the first option down the line where its normally a 1-1 or 2-2 match up. They ignore that option and spend 5 seconds looking for other options and then finally decide to kick to the first option. By this stage the opposition knowing very well what we will do have spent those valuable 5 seconds to get 4-5 more players to the contest. We did this last night at least 20 times. Playing right into their hands.

When the Dogs won the ball deep in defence the first thing they did was switch to the other side where they had 2-3 players waiting for it or running into space. We can't do this because Leppa picks 4 tall defenders and we only have two running players (maybe 3 if you include Papa).

Harwood needs to play simply for his ability to give us run out of the back line. I would play Rich down back and give him an assignment because he was awful last night. If he is injured don't play him. Play him down back and get him to do the kick in's and take some risks. He should also be running past the likes of Clarke and taking the hand ball. Generate some off the back line.

Also why is it that a team that we beat last year and since then have lost Griffen Cooney - (Libba Crameri Injured) and got a new coach in able to beat us by last nights margin. The Dogs new their game plan from the first pre season game. We have had 33 games and 6 pre season games under Leppa. I want Leppa to succeed like the rest of us and injuries are relevant excuse but their are parts of our game that are very alarming.

We still cannot win contested ball out of centre. Last night the Dogs strolled out of the centre with out lack of tackling / defensive pressure. Mitch Wallis has played 63 games and yet he owned the centre clearances.

Only positives were mcStay taking some nice marks and kicking 3. I actually thought Zorko tried his guts out. We need to put him in the middle and use his pace. He looks very frustrated. Big Stefan played his usual great game. Squizzy gets plenty of the ball but he is to scared to give the first option and goes backwards more often than not and we have missed the chance.

Disappointing night is understatement.

The whole switch play needs players who can delievr by foot quickly... Rich looked great when playing down back and needs to play that Sam Mitchell role for us for this to work. Keep hanley in the middle as he can better handle the tag

 

[Panthera]

Onfield leadership - no Rocky , no grunt. Look at Rob Murphy's first quarter - slaughtered us.

I can't believe we didn't put a strong tag on him from the start...he's their best back half ball user by far and we gave him free reign

 

[a mayes ing]

I can't believe we didn't put a strong tag on him from the start...he's their best back half ball user by far and we gave him free reign

Yep, this is down to the coaching just thinking that Zorko could play on him and try to hurt him the other way. However Zorko kept getting sucked into the contest and refused to play on him. At least they made the chance and put Bewick on him.


Btw, can't seem to find the "5 things we learnt" from the game.

 

[Panthera]

I thought Bourke did well for a boy ! Shows promise

If Gardiner comes in next week, with Merrett potentially the week after, that may well be the end of Bourke; don't feel he's done enough for a spot on our main list after 3 seasons on the rookie list

 

[Skoob]

Btw, can't seem to find the "5 things we learnt" from the game.

The way we play sometimes, I struggle to find 5 things we've learnt in the last 5 years.

So much talk about this player or that, not being good enough, and how we need to draft or trade in so & so, but I don't see that as the real issue. Players like Rich, Taylor, Redden, Zorko do all have the goods, we've seen it. They are either unable or refusing to do as asked. When there is a choice in option for disposal, they are taking the wrong one, when it is a choice to get involved or get the ball, they are unsure. At times, a good chunk of our team look like the dumbest blokes to take the field, but that simply isn't the case. Why then, are they taking the wrong options? Why, do they hesitate to go in hard and get involved when it's their time to go? It appears soft and lazy, but that is not their true character. They are capable of much more, so why aren't they bringing it? Taught not to, or confused about what's required? Are they all being hampered from playing a natural instinctive game? Or is there something affecting their collective attitudes?
Then you look at a player like Robertson, who as much as I love him, would consider more limited than some. He has come on in leaps & bounds this year, while his draft class were streets ahead at the start. He is now a shining light in terms of cracking in and having a go. Hard, desperate, hungry football, acting on instinct. See ball, get ball, advance ball. It's refreshing while others, more experienced, appear to hold back, seemingly weighing up options and making decisions that they only need to worry about if they had the ball, when they don't.
It's in the head, and maybe they haven't decided if what they've been asked to do is going to work. But it isn't up to the players to approve a plan, they need just to do as they're told, and it doesn't look like that's the case. Yes the coach has to make them believe, but the players must take responsibility for getting on board and giving it a crack. They aren't.

 

[patfullfankezz]

I'm probably going to get a lot of stick for this, but a lot of these older players were there during the horrid end of 2013, when we almost got there and didn't, and ended up falling back down the ladder again. You think WE'RE annoyed? Imagine how these guys feel. They've watched a coach get knifed on a hunch that we could get something better(whether they liked him or not, it's not something you like to see), and then watched that something better laugh at us and rack off to Melbourne, they've seen 5 team mates jump ship (six if you count Patfull, which could be a bit more destabilizing than we realise), and now they're back down the bottom AGAIN. They might not be consciously thinking it, but you would have to think there's a bit of a culture of distrust and disillusionment around the place. They probably love Leppa to bits, but after the disaster is over everyone is on edge. The thing is, is the disaster over yet?

 

[iBeng]

Its pretty clear Adcock is punching in, punching out and thats it. Im pretty confident this will be his last season here, and he'll be leaving because he WANTS to get out.

 

[Big Lion]

Its pretty clear Adcock is punching in, punching out and thats it. Im pretty confident this will be his last season here, and he'll be leaving because he WANTS to get out.

He was all smiles at the family day, that means his staying doesn't it

 

[POBT]

I'm probably going to get a lot of stick for this, but a lot of these older players were there during the horrid end of 2013, when we almost got there and didn't, and ended up falling back down the ladder again. You think WE'RE annoyed? Imagine how these guys feel. They've watched a coach get knifed on a hunch that we could get something better(whether they liked him or not, it's not something you like to see), and then watched that something better laugh at us and rack off to Melbourne, they've seen 5 team mates jump ship (six if you count Patfull, which could be a bit more destabilizing than we realise), and now they're back down the bottom AGAIN. They might not be consciously thinking it, but you would have to think there's a bit of a culture of distrust and disillusionment around the place. They probably love Leppa to bits, but after the disaster is over everyone is on edge. The thing is, is the disaster over yet?

If you are right, then they are the softest minded footballers in the comp.

 

[patfullfankezz]

If you are right, then they are the softest minded footballers in the comp.

It really, REALLY pisses me off when people call others soft because of how things affect them.

How frustrated were YOU when McBurney screwed up our chance to get in the finals? How livid were you when the go-home 5 left? How devastated were you when we had a poor 2014? How sad were you when injuries started to mount up? I can tell you from personal experience that LITTLE THINGS ADD UP. It's easy for us to brush these things off, because footy isn't our life. We can go to work and we have our own lives away from the game. These guys don't. These things might not be in the forefront of these guys minds, but I'll bet each time some new drama happens, the boys feel a little more dejected. Add to that the fact that we have the shittiest facilities in the league and I reckon anyone would be performing poorly.

If our boys are soft, then I must be the biggest marshmallow alive and should give up now.