Preview Western Bulldogs vs Sydney Swans - Grand Final. Saturday, October 1st 2:30pm

[ManOfClay]

Nearly 3am. Girlfriend and I are driving from Mildura. Melbourne here we come

Road trip survived. Hotel found.

Girlfriend meets all stereotypes re: giving directions and map reading. But we got here

 

[compact72]

Roughead is a selfish prick and should let Campbell come in , cat of a footballer as well goes off the ground every quarter injured and then comes back on within 20 minutes absolute weak as piss

You're the biggest flog here

Roughead over Campbell any day

 

[Bonts1000]

You forgot the norm smith medallist L Hunter

Would want to improve has been average the last few weeks , Dalhaus stringer or bonts will get it if we win

 

[Bonts1000]

You're the biggest flog here

Roughead over Campbell any day

Roughead is shit there are at least 10 rucks in the comp I would take before him

 

[striker]

Wow I got an infraction from the Swans board for telling someone to not be so one eyed. Very touchy lot those Sydneysiders, I wonder why they are so nervous and touchy?

At first I thought you said you got an infection from the swans board....been known to occur.

 

[Libba39]

Will Hamling/Roberts also take Naismith when he goes forward?
Who will Wood play on? Richards?

I think Hamling will play on Richards. Here's how I see it.

Roberts - Tippett / Naismith
Hamling - Richards
Morris - Franklin (with help closer to goal)
M.Boyd / Biggs - Papley
Wood - Heeney (partial defensive role)
JJ - Zak Jones (playing defensive Forward)

I'm also predicting Hunter will spend more time across half back without any other left-footers down there.

 

[mcgleereturns]

Feel like a kid going to Disneyland this morning️. Hate parades but this is more than a parade-it's a life changing experience! GO DOGGIES!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Libba39]

Roughead is shit there are at least 10 rucks in the comp I would take before him

Worst troll attempt of all time. As subtle as a sledgehammer. P155 OFF!

 

[Number37]

I think Hamling will play on Richards. Here's how I see it.

Roberts - Tippett / Naismith
Hamling - Richards
Morris - Franklin (with help closer to goal)
M.Boyd / Biggs - Papley
Wood - Heeney (partial defensive role)
JJ - Zak Jones (playing defensive Forward)

I'm also predicting Hunter will spend more time across half back without any other left-footers down there.

Heeney doesn't play half forward anymore. Plays on the wing & rotates through the middle but I suspect him playing forward will be one of our hail mary moves.
What about Rohan? How quick are Hamling and Roberts?

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Do you think the ruck duel will have an impact this time around? I think we had Sinclair and Nankervis against you last time but we've got Tippett and Naismith now which is a considerable upgrade for us. You've got Roughie and a much improved Boyd who did a pretty bloody decent job against Mummy last week. How do you see it going?

You'll win the hitout stats easily and both Naismith and Tippett are much better, more traditional ruckmen than either of Roughead or Boyd, but I feel both sides have good enough midfields to mitigate (or at least minimise) ruck contest advantages. From what I've seen of Naismith though he has very little presence around the ground and both of our rucks thrive on opponents like that. They love to get involved in general play whether that be as a link in the chain or as a target and I think that's something that Naismith will have to find a way to counter. Tippett is much, much more threatening and we probably don't have an answer for him, but I would imagine that you don't want Naismith forward for long periods.

Overall I don't expect the ruck battle to have much of a bearing on the result, but I expect that battle to boil down to hitout dominance vs. presence outside the contest.

 

[The Gong]

You'll win the hitout stats easily and both Naismith and Tippett are much better, more traditional ruckmen than either of Roughead or Boyd, but I feel both sides have good enough midfields to mitigate (or at least minimise) ruck contest advantages. From what I've seen of Naismith though he has very little presence around the ground and both of our rucks thrive on opponents like that. They love to get involved in general play whether that be as a link in the chain or as a target and I think that's something that Naismith will have to find a way to counter. Tippett is much, much more threatening and we probably don't have an answer for him, but I would imagine that you don't want Naismith forward for long periods.

Overall I don't expect the ruck battle to have much of a bearing on the result, but I expect that battle to boil down to hitout dominance vs. presence outside the contest.

Yeah Naismith is a great tap ruckman but he's not that slick in general play. He can still take a grab and is handy when resting forward. It'll be interesting to see how much time Tippett spend in the ruck or in the forwards. I guess it'll depend if Naismith can hold his own against Roughead and Boyd who are a lot more coordinated in general play.

 

[Libba39]

Heeney doesn't play half forward anymore. Plays on the wing & rotates through the middle but I suspect him playing forward will be one of our hail mary moves.
What about Rohan? How quick are Hamling and Roberts?

Oh yeah Rohan....

We'll definitely go a smaller type on him. Wood, Morris, Boyd, Biggs.

The Bulldogs defense is definitely a team / zone. I was at the game last week and was hardly aware as to who was on who for most of the game.

 

[VogonProsthetnic]

Oh yeah Rohan....

We'll definitely go a smaller type on him. Wood, Morris, Boyd, Biggs.

The Bulldogs defense is definitely a team / zone. I was at the game last week and was hardly aware as to who was on who for most of the game.

Hamling is very quick and Roberts is slow. Roberts will play on Tippett for sure.

 

[VogonProsthetnic]

Yeah Naismith is a great tap ruckman but he's not that slick in general play. He can still take a grab and is handy when resting forward. It'll be interesting to see how much time Tippett spend in the ruck or in the forwards. I guess it'll depend if Naismith can hold his own against Roughead and Boyd who are a lot more coordinated in general play.

I reckon the smack in the head 3 weeks ago had a big effect on Tippett. Has he recovered yet?

 

[Valentino]

Apologies if this has been already been posted, but what a great gesture by Christabel, a Port Supporter.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-...ler-footscray-footballer-given-ticket/7883810

 

[TMoney22]

You forgot the norm smith medallist L Hunter

I was meaning centre bounces. But around the ground yes we have heaps more.

 

[Mutt]

Apologies if this has been already been posted, but what a great gesture by Christabel, a Port Supporter.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-...ler-footscray-footballer-given-ticket/7883810

Footy is magical when it brings people together. Thanks to Christabel. And thanks Valentino for posting that.

 

[Fossie 32]

KB: Vika and Linda Bull were great in Black Sabbath

 

[bungwahl]

Our strength in the midfield is the number of rotations we can put through there without a huge loss of quality. Sydney have 6 gun rotations i'm not sure there are any others that can go through the middle.
As some have said, i see Stringer playing a bit more midfield than the last few weeks.

Kennedy, Hannebury, Parker, Jack, Mitchell, Heeney
v
Bont, Libba, Dahlhaus, Macrae, Smith, Dunkley, Picken, Stringer

our second strength is our handball. Our first 4 players above ate just about in the top 5 hand ballers in the league.
we get first hands to the ball leaves there gun mids caught between inside and out.


In the forward line i'd be looking working to get Stringer/Laidler match up. Stringer going to the middle a few times per quarter then pushing forward while Cordy is off might get that

Sydney rotate a few more through the middle too - McVeigh, Lloyd, Hewett, McGlynn, Jones, etc. Even Buddy tends to go in to the midfield for short bursts.

 

[TiAn_]

We're big underdogs, like we have been the last three weeks. Will take something really special again from boys to overcome their stars and bring home a flag. Do it boys!

 

[gangsta deluxe]

 

[Bonts1000]

Gary rohan is a very average footballer

 

[gangsta deluxe]

Gary rohan is a very average footballer

Please, continue with your insightful analyses, they are so nuanced and informative.

 

[Norm De Guerre]

Nearly 3am. Girlfriend and I are driving from Mildura. Melbourne here we come

You really need to set a met and greet with the multitude of bigfooty opposition fans that you have whilst you are in town. The Melbourne convention centre would probably be just big enough for the occasion. I'd go I reckon It'd be a real hoot.

 

[Zgope1]

with Tippett not back in the ruck form he had early in the year, our ruck duo is better. Roughy was slapping Mummy around like a biatch last week before Boyd handled him just fine too. Ruck is an advantage for us and not just for ruck work