Bulldogs pushing for top 4! Where do we stand?

[Earl Hood 6,152]

The Bulldogs are flying, yet we beat them some weeks ago. They are looking at top four, probably won't get there but gee statistically they are a chance. They have some great older players, their captain playing off half back comes to mind but who else, Farren Rae? Morris, who else? They have some good young midfielders but why are they so far ahead of us?

One thought to me is their coach comes from the Dawks and he has gone straight into the offensive game plan and it seems to be working in the short term anyway. Whereas we are working on defence and it is taking us for ever it seems.

Is it about the players you have or the way they play?

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

Farren plays for the Aints

[Earl Hood 6,152]

Farren plays for the Aints

Whoops good point. But my point is who do the Dogs have as senior players who are setting them up for their success? They seem to have drafted well by picking who was there at the time, while we have been trading early picks in search of mature, proven mids.

I am still hanging out or a midfield.

[grazman 7,537]

Whoops good point. But my point is who do the Dogs have as senior players who are setting them up for their success? They seem to have drafted well by picking who was there at the time, while we have been trading early picks in search of mature, proven mids.

I am still hanging out or a midfield.

They're probably about 18 months ahead of us in terms of recruiting/development. (taking a blue skies approach)

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

They're probably about 18 months ahead of us in terms of recruiting/development. (taking a blue skies approach)

I agree with this

We have a couple gun mids but the reality is the rest are good kids but the majority haven't even played 50 games

As much as people hate hearing it - we're developing

[Bates Mate 4,511]

They nailed picks in recent drafts and Beveridge is a guy who galvanises a group will be top 8 team for next 5-6 years at least

[Moonshadow 17,678]

Bulldogs have collected a fine midfield nucleus. Plenty of future guns there developing nicely. A good, functioning midfield makes winning more likely.

[M C 221]

A lot of it seems to be the attacking mindset the new coach has brought. Their ball movement from half-back has been great, oddly, we seem to have been one of the few teams that have been able to shut it down

When the new coach came in he pretty much told Picken and Wallis that their tagging days were over - Seems to have paid off too

[Je Roos Salem 661]

We played the Dogs and Tigers into form.

[rjay 25,355]

As I've posted elsewhere...they have senior players at the club who have experienced a lot of success albeit without the ultimate success.

We have none and have had to buy in experience, that experience doesn't have real ownership and it has also cost us draft picks and therefore young talent.

[praha 11,253]

They will smash us on current form. 10+ goals.

[Earl Hood 6,152]

As I've posted elsewhere...they have senior players at the club who have experienced a lot of success albeit without the ultimate success.

We have none and have had to buy in experience, that experience doesn't have real ownership and it has also cost us draft picks and therefore young talent.

I was taking that into account Rjay having read your earlier posts, thus my reference to their older players. I counted Bob Murphy, Morris but who else? My thinking is they don't have a heap of mature aged champions leading their kids forward. Some of their kids have matured quickly perhaps but I believe their offensive game plan is making them very competitive at the moment.

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

Macca was there for a couple years as well. He's only been at the mfc 8 months?

We all want us to be better now... But sadly it doesn't work like that

[The Song Formerly Known As 6,479]

Amazing what belief, drafting and desire etc. does:

[dee-luded 2,959]

Whoops good point. But my point is who do the Dogs have as senior players who are setting them up for their success? They seem to have drafted well by picking who was there at the time, while we have been trading early picks in search of mature, proven mids.

I am still hanging out or a midfield.

they've had a foundation set for years now, culture wise, thru the admin of David Smorgon, & the team development under Eade... they were primed for 10 years of being a settled club whilst building the list...

then a couple of father sons & some good draftees, & a happy team.

they have worked hard for this, & thoroughly deserve the success they are so far enjoying.

we have made a lot of mistakes in the past 15 years, & the worst was not realising the culture was off & the players soft. it was on display for 5 years after 2000, & we went out to get one player to be a tough guy????? miller? one guy to make up for a list of softness?

we had probably 3 or 4 tough guys after 2003. Neitz, Jnr, Whelan, & now I'm struggling to think of any others. but there was a huge amount of soft, nice, lazy, footballers.

[rjay 25,355]

I was taking that into account Rjay having read your earlier posts, thus my reference to their older players. I counted Bob Murphy, Morris but who else? My thinking is they don't have a heap of mature aged champions leading their kids forward. Some of their kids have matured quickly perhaps but I believe their offensive game plan is making them very competitive at the moment.

They also have Boyd and Minson. Wood & Picken where at the club when they were playing off in prelims...There are enough players who have tasted success at the club.

Plus they had Gia and Griffen around for the last few years to help their younger players coming through.

We have no one...

[WhyAlwaysMe 237]

Macca was there for a couple years as well. He's only been at the mfc 8 months?

We all want us to be better now... But sadly it doesn't work like that

Macca was sacked, your kiding yourself if you think the bulldogs would be a chance for top 4 if they didn't make the change.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,110]

The Bullfrogs have drafted mids, mids and more mids for as far back as I can recall. There has been the odd tall thrown in, Stringer being the most notable, but basically they have gone for fast skillful mids at every turn, and when they had too many to use they farmed the extras out for more mid-range picks. They've traded for a FF, and now they're looking like they've got enough talent in the middle to carry them to finals.

[jnrmac 20,307]

The DOgs were a basket case at the end of last year. They lost their CEo their coach and their Captain. They booted out Higgins and a bunch of others wanted out.

No one wanted to go there and coaches pulled out of interviews because they didn't want to kill their career, PLease don't tell me they were well ahead of us. Its simply not true.

What they have done is nothing short of miraculous. I take my hat off to them. It makes our stinking club even worse that for so long we can't drag ourselves off the bottom of the [censored] heap.

[What 18,810]

The Doggies are fantastic at drafting and player development

Not sure what they do thats so different to the MFC but would be nice if we could send a spy down there and see

Edit - we dont need a spy, we have B Mac.

[Lucifers Hero 40,564]

The Bulldogs are doing what Port did in Hinkely's first year.

Their talent was there ready to go.

For various reasons, ours isn't

It was interesting to read the table 'Song' put up. We are 10th for games played.

But games by a handful of players: Lumumba, Cross, Jamar, Vince skews the picture.

We are devoid of a 'generation' of players in the 23 to 26 age group (50 to 100 games).

While I accept we have to be patient till we get that experience there is absolutely no excuse for our pitiful performances of late.

[old dee 24,028]

Holding the Bag!

[titan_uranus 25,212]

The Dogs have had much better senior players than us over the last few years (Murphy, Boyd, Morris, Cooney, Griffin, Gia, Minson) and a much better development coach than us (McCartney). All Beveridge has had to do is switch the gameplan and a few positions and the talent was all there, all McCartney's doing. Hopefully in time he'll work on our list the same way he worked on theirs.

They will smash us on current form. 10+ goals.

I'm sure you said the same thing before our last game, with them coming off a win in Sydney and a competitive game against Fremantle and us coming off a 100 point loss to Hawthorn.

[DeeZee 7,463]

They are also a team full of runners, we'd don't have much genuine pace at all.

Most of our on ballers can get their hands on the footy, but it stops there.

Jones, Viney, Tyson Vince , all good in and under but also all slow.

[bluey 1,118]

The Dogs went for youth, a young coach a young squad that may relate to each other on a number of personal and professional levels..

Melbourne on the other hand went for an old coach and picked up the Dogs ex coach who was deemed unsuccessful to be nice\who could not relate to the young Dog squad..

The MFC have recruited old men and flakey not requireds passed overs by their own clubs who have not gelled, you add that to the appalling recruiting, the only thing they have in common are their large stipends.

Cross, Labumba, Vince, Dawes, Garlett, Michie, Tyson, Frost, Pedersen, Newton, Terlich, Riley

That's more than a quarter of the list, instead of developing players to play a style, they have recruited a hotch potch of makeshift patch ups who have brought a dozen different flaws accumulating in loss after loss, they do not play as a team or for each other, just enough to get paid and hang off the back of the worst list in the proud history off the AFL