What’s wrong with the dogs?

[Frank Gallagher]

Well both sides won the same number of games in the home and away season with a near identical percentage and then had a barnstorming finals series.

2016 September Dogs were more or less unstoppable, same for tigers the next year. Difference is our opposition showed up on Grand Final day.

Just my opinion mate, and i went on record at the time stating both qualy winners would lose their prelims because of the extra break.

 

[PetterdHoisted]

They got hot and had everything go there way over a month or two.

They aren’t actually that good of a team and this is closer to what they consistently have been the last few years, as opposed to a premiership team.

Also, they have literally no decent talls... like none, zilch.

why on Earth would you want decent talls?
thats 2016 talk, get with the program, speed kills.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

Pretty much how they've played for the last five years except for four games at the end of 2016 where, with massive assistance from the umps, they played completely above themselves. I believe Tom Boyd even play his one career very good game in that block of four.

They are an irrelevance, one of the Melbourne clubs that should have been sent north to save us from the blight of GCS & GWS!

They have a more recent premiership than 16 other clubs. And they achieved more in that block of 4 games than the Crows have in their last 20 odd seasons.

Hardly irrelevant

 

[Smithdogmaddog]

Their side has changed a lot since the 2016 premiership.

In 2016 they still had players left over from the Rodney Eade era, senior experienced finals players that was coupled with young talented players from the drafts that gelled well and it all came together at the right time.

Now they are back to a team mid rebuild. Keep adding talent through the draft and plug holes with targeted trading and free agency and they’ll be right back up there in a few years time. It took the hawks 3 years to make a prelim again after 2008 in a very similar situation.

 

[Bulldog1954]

Consider what we have seen over the years, when the split round was first introduced many years ago almost every team coming off the break lost, remember the Dogs played sides who played 1 game in 3 weeks on their way to the granny, IMO it had a major impact.

Sides? The Giants and who else had played one game in three weeks?

 

[The_Flying_Egg]

Just my opinion mate, and i went on record at the time stating both qualy winners would lose their prelims because of the extra break.

And 2017 where the teams with 1 game in 3 weeks both won was what?

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

For an irrelevance we do seem to rather get you worked up.

Just salty that your team of battlers stole a flag from 7th while his all conquering powerhouse meekly rolled over and spread their cheeks on GF day

 

[Ron The Bear]

Youngest teams of 2018

Avg Age|Cb|Rd|Opp|Res|Mgn
\22.57|WB|8|Br|W|14
\22.60|WB|7|GC|W|9
\22.97|WB|6|Ca|W|21
\23.26|WB|2|WC|L|51
\23.30|WB|5|Fr|L|54
\23.56|WB|3|Es|W|21
\23.62|WB|9|Ad|L|37
\23.62|Br|6|GWS|L|34
\23.78|GC|7|WB|L|9
\23.82|WB|4|Sy|L|7
\23.88|WB|1|GWS|L|82
\23.99|GC|8|Me|L|69
\24.02|Br|5|GC|L|5
\24.03|Fr|7|Ri|L|77
\24.07|Br|2|Me|L|26
\24.13|Br|3|PA|L|5
\24.15|Ca|4|NM|L|86
\24.17|Br|4|Ri|L|93
\24.26|Br|7|Co|L|7
\24.29|Co|2|GWS|L|16

The likes of Brisbane and Gold Coast have been excused for years due to their youth, so why not the Bulldogs? They're actually performing above expectations for a team of this age (partly a legacy of recent premiership success perhaps, but also due to above average young talent).

 

[WCErevival]

The Bulldogs rolled us because after losing Naitanui we tried to compensate by playing the tallest team in history.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

Nope, just that you are now a recent premiership team without really deserving it. Just had unbelievable good fortune for that month, AFL introduces a bye week and you get all your injured players back refreshed, umps weren't pinging your blatant throwing of the ball, umps were paying the played for high contact - how is that spring headed McLean going?

So worked up no, annoyed yes, but looks like you'll need to bask in the glory of 2016 because I don't see your team going anywhere in the next few seasons/decades.

They won 19 games for the year. The Crows have never won 19 games in a season in their entire history.

Best was 18 in 2005 and 2012.

 

[The_Flying_Egg]

Pretty much how they've played for the last five years except for four games at the end of 2016 where, with massive assistance from the umps, they played completely above themselves. I believe Tom Boyd even play his one career very good game in that block of four.

They are an irrelevance, one of the Melbourne clubs that should have been sent north to save us from the blight of GCS & GWS!

Irrelevant ...

 

[Frank Gallagher]

And 2017 where the teams with 1 game in 3 weeks both won was what?

Not much iirc.

 

[Scary_Foot_9]

Nope, just that you are now a recent premiership team without really deserving it. Just had unbelievable good fortune for that month, AFL introduces a bye week and you get all your injured players back refreshed, umps weren't pinging your blatant throwing of the ball, umps were paying the played for high contact - how is that spring headed McLean going?

So worked up no, annoyed yes, but looks like you'll need to bask in the glory of 2016 because I don't see your team going anywhere in the next few seasons/decades.

LOL mate you you had a great win tonight why are you agonising over a few games two years ago that you weren't even tangentially involved with.

I honestly don't understand the psychology some footy followers. The state of anger and outrage needs to be constant apparently.

 

[The_Flying_Egg]

Not much iirc.

So major impact when the Dogs won but no impact the next year?

 

[ManOfClay]

Youngest teams of 2018

Avg Age|Cb|Rd|Opp|Res|Mgn
\22.57|WB|8|Br|W|14
\22.60|WB|7|GC|W|9
\22.97|WB|6|Ca|W|21
\23.26|WB|2|WC|L|51
\23.30|WB|5|Fr|L|54
\23.56|WB|3|Es|W|21
\23.62|WB|9|Ad|L|37
\23.62|Br|6|GWS|L|34
\23.78|GC|7|WB|L|9
\23.82|WB|4|Sy|L|7
\23.88|WB|1|GWS|L|82
\23.99|GC|8|Me|L|69
\24.02|Br|5|GC|L|5
\24.03|Fr|7|Ri|L|77
\24.07|Br|2|Me|L|26
\24.13|Br|3|PA|L|5
\24.15|Ca|4|NM|L|86
\24.17|Br|4|Ri|L|93
\24.26|Br|7|Co|L|7
\24.29|Co|2|GWS|L|16

The likes of Brisbane and Gold Coast have been excused for years due to their youth, so why not the Bulldogs? They're actually performing above expectations for a team of this age (partly a legacy of recent premiership success perhaps, but also due to above average young talent).

Excellent rational post. Lots of people here keep kicking us when we are down largely out of jealousy at recent success

 

[Frank Gallagher]

Well both sides won the same number of games in the home and away season with a near identical percentage and then had a barnstorming finals series.

2016 September Dogs were more or less unstoppable, same for tigers the next year. Difference is our opposition showed up on Grand Final day.

Just my opinion mate, the first and second highest qualifiers got beat for the first time in AFL history iirc, it was also the first time they added the extra bye, call my cynical if you like.

 

[Frank Gallagher]

So major impact when the Dogs won but no impact the next year?

Yes, clubs adapt.

 

[Righteo]

They're in one of the more enviable positions I'd have thought, recently won a flag yet still have a very young team that has their best footy yet to come.

I detect some bitterness from the OP.

 

[Sedat!]

They were a much better side in 15-16 over those whole seasons than they are now.

People just change narratives to suit what is happening currently.

19-7 in 2016, just like the Hawks in 2015. But yeah, shit club, umpires, week off, yada yada yada.

Supporters of some other clubs in this thread can only dream of such a complete September performance at the business end like ours in 2016.

For most of this year we've been around the 22.5 age average and 55-60 games average per player. This is GWS/GC levels when they started, teams that won 1-3 games a season. Forget 2016, we brilliantly took our chance but that team is ancient history.

 

[ossie_21]

It’s pretty funny injury crisis is an excuse for teams other than us. A lot was made about how many the Crows has missing, almost nothing with us.

Lots of classy supporters of the Bulldogs. I often wonder how much it damages your club in the long term.

At least we have lots of supporters

 

[Brunswick Trap King]

This was one of their better performances recently given the higher quality of opponent than recent weeks.

It's hard to say much other than '16 was a fluke.

 

[Deadly Darcy]

Lots of classy supporters of the Bulldogs. I often wonder how much it damages your club in the long term.

Let me show you the damage you missed out experiencing ....

 

[Acinath]

Timed a perfect 4-6 week period at the end of 2016 and won a flag. Lucked into it, but honestly 18/18 teams would take the exact same thing.

Other than that, pretty much a middle of the row team that has now lost that experience in Boyd, Murphy, etc and has to make up for it.

My biggest issue with them is that are soft, blokes like Hunter, Suckling who just float around the edges.

And I’ve been saying it for years, Macrae is a star.

 

[Happy_Neale]

Youngest teams of 2018

Avg Age|Cb|Rd|Opp|Res|Mgn
\22.57|WB|8|Br|W|14
\22.60|WB|7|GC|W|9
\22.97|WB|6|Ca|W|21
\23.26|WB|2|WC|L|51
\23.30|WB|5|Fr|L|54
\23.56|WB|3|Es|W|21
\23.62|WB|9|Ad|L|37
\23.62|Br|6|GWS|L|34
\23.78|GC|7|WB|L|9
\23.82|WB|4|Sy|L|7
\23.88|WB|1|GWS|L|82
\23.99|GC|8|Me|L|69
\24.02|Br|5|GC|L|5
\24.03|Fr|7|Ri|L|77
\24.07|Br|2|Me|L|26
\24.13|Br|3|PA|L|5
\24.15|Ca|4|NM|L|86
\24.17|Br|4|Ri|L|93
\24.26|Br|7|Co|L|7
\24.29|Co|2|GWS|L|16

The likes of Brisbane and Gold Coast have been excused for years due to their youth, so why not the Bulldogs? They're actually performing above expectations for a team of this age (partly a legacy of recent premiership success perhaps, but also due to above average young talent).

I assume these are means, do you have medians? When you take Hodge out of our team we drop almost eight months some weeks.

 

[Bulldog1954]

Just my opinion mate, the first and second highest qualifiers got beat for the first time in AFL history iirc, it was also the first time they added the extra bye, call my cynical if you like.

They also got beaten in opposite ways, Geelong were blown away early whilst the Giants were overun late. But both outcomes were due to having to overcome being to rested?