I can't remember ever being this excited for a game I'm pretty sure we will lose. I think the Bulldogs right now could be a great barometer of how far we've come, and if the progress we've seen in recent weeks is as real as we hope it is. They're an imposing matchup and a side that we've struggled badly against in the recent past, but they're also a side that good teams this year have been able to account for. They're coming off the bye (As Melbourne were too, great fixturing guys) and will have been watching our development closely over the past couple of weeks. They should beat us, would reasonably be expecting to beat us, and need to beat us to keep their finals hopes alive. Which is a great recipe to potentially give them a scare. I'm sure they'll be expecting it given what we almost did to Collingwood and Melbourne.
Xerri vs. English is the first matchup I'll be watching closely. Now that X has managed to go with Max Gawn and break even, this will be the final test before I'm sure X can be a premier ruckman of the competition. English is all the things X has struggled with in the past: He's taller, he's an artist at the hitout to advantage, and he has explosive burst speed and skill that can really hurt his opponents. For all those reasons, the last time X came up against English we had to put Goldy back in the ruck as damage control. A lot has obviously changed since then. If X can beat English or even break even while mitigating his hurt factor, it will go a long way to winning the midfield battle, which is obviously going to be pivotal to the outcome of the game.
Archer vs. Weightman is the other one. North Melbourne would be Cody Weightman's absolute favourite side to play against. He's kicked so many easy bags against us in the past and I think he's a uniquely difficult and challenging matchup that will show us how versatile Arch can be, and if he's ready to be relied upon to shut down the types of small forwards that have really hurt us in the past. I reckon Cody would've taken note of the way Bobby Hill repeatdly used Arch as a stepladder and would be looking to do the same himself; this will show us how much Jackson has learned from that humbling experience, and if he can avoid those positioning mistakes again and maybe use his own contested marking that we saw against Fritsch to hurt them the other way. Additionally, it'll be a challenge for Arch's temper when Weightman gets his typical flopping free kicks, whether he maintains his composure or gets tilted and makes the situation worse. Generally, Weightman is a jet who always has a big day out against us and if Archer can stop him or even just hold him to a couple of goals, it will make a massive difference.
Weirdly, the thing I'm most interested to see is what the response will be if this game is a backslide from recent form, we drop our bundle and end up down by 30 or 40 points. They've been a bogey side for us in recent years, so it's hardly an unthinkable outcome. Will the heads drop, and we keep losing for the rest of the game and then maybe the rest of the year, or will they have the composure and belief to fight it out, make them earn it and be back next week to go again? The way they cracked in and refused to go quietly against Melbourne has me feeling that something has changed permanently, but it needs to be backed up over a longer period now.
Xerri vs. English is the first matchup I'll be watching closely. Now that X has managed to go with Max Gawn and break even, this will be the final test before I'm sure X can be a premier ruckman of the competition. English is all the things X has struggled with in the past: He's taller, he's an artist at the hitout to advantage, and he has explosive burst speed and skill that can really hurt his opponents. For all those reasons, the last time X came up against English we had to put Goldy back in the ruck as damage control. A lot has obviously changed since then. If X can beat English or even break even while mitigating his hurt factor, it will go a long way to winning the midfield battle, which is obviously going to be pivotal to the outcome of the game.
Archer vs. Weightman is the other one. North Melbourne would be Cody Weightman's absolute favourite side to play against. He's kicked so many easy bags against us in the past and I think he's a uniquely difficult and challenging matchup that will show us how versatile Arch can be, and if he's ready to be relied upon to shut down the types of small forwards that have really hurt us in the past. I reckon Cody would've taken note of the way Bobby Hill repeatdly used Arch as a stepladder and would be looking to do the same himself; this will show us how much Jackson has learned from that humbling experience, and if he can avoid those positioning mistakes again and maybe use his own contested marking that we saw against Fritsch to hurt them the other way. Additionally, it'll be a challenge for Arch's temper when Weightman gets his typical flopping free kicks, whether he maintains his composure or gets tilted and makes the situation worse. Generally, Weightman is a jet who always has a big day out against us and if Archer can stop him or even just hold him to a couple of goals, it will make a massive difference.
Weirdly, the thing I'm most interested to see is what the response will be if this game is a backslide from recent form, we drop our bundle and end up down by 30 or 40 points. They've been a bogey side for us in recent years, so it's hardly an unthinkable outcome. Will the heads drop, and we keep losing for the rest of the game and then maybe the rest of the year, or will they have the composure and belief to fight it out, make them earn it and be back next week to go again? The way they cracked in and refused to go quietly against Melbourne has me feeling that something has changed permanently, but it needs to be backed up over a longer period now.
