Season 2019 - Western Bulldogs

Football Discussion Non Essendon Stuff
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Western Bulldogs

Coach – Luke Beveridge

2018 –
Points For – 14th
Points Against – 13th

Top 5 Best and Fairest

  1. Lachie Hunter

  2. Jack Macrae

  3. Marcus Bontempelli

  4. Aaron Naughton

  5. Josh Dunkley

2018 Rising Star Noms

Ed Richards (Round 10)

Aaron Naughton (Round 23)

Ins – Sam Lloyd, Taylor Duryea, Bailey Smith, Rhylee West, Laitham Vandermeer, Ban Cavarra, Will Hayes, Lachie Young, Jordan Street

Outs – Luke Dalhaus, Jordan Roughead, Marcus Adams, Shane Biggs, Kieran Collins, Nathan Mullenger-McHugh, Clay Smith, Jack Redpath, Mitch Honeychurch, Tom Campbell

My Prediction

Hard to believe they won a premiership so recently. Talk about the tiniest premiership window in history, it was open for a month and they managed to take it. The list movements look again this year like they are weaker than the year before which has to be a concern, there were some good signs last year but also some pretty big concerns as well.

They found a ripper last year with Naughton and need him to continue his growth. It is a concern that Dale Morris is still important to their backline. Johannisen set his reputation up with a stellar finals series a couple of years ago but his chaos ball style seems to have been found out and he is way too easily taken out of the match. Wood has also struggled to find his best form again and they will need both him and Johannisen to find their very best form.

The middle is interesting, there is talent there, the Bont is top shelf talent but he himself seems to be able to be tagged effectively. Dunkley found some serious touch in the middle last year. Macrae and Hunter were really impressive as well. The top end of their talent is good, but overall their midfield needs to be beefed up. They cant match it with the best teams at the moment.

The forward line performed better than I thought it would and after everything he has been through, it was good to see Schache start to find the ball and realise his potential. Tom Boyd is probably still getting a game but he was terrible last year and they need him to find consistent form. I have Richards as a forward although he looks handy wherever he plays. He looks like a gun and love to watch him play. They will miss Dalhaus and need to find quality forward pressure players because the ball came out too easily last year.

I don’t know who will ruck next year. I haven’t been following English closely but he still looked pretty raw last time I saw him. Boyd has trouble getting a game and the rest of the rucks are gone. Looks pretty dire unless English has put on some size. I feel like Beveridge has managed to avoid scrutiny and a premiership should buy you a couple of years grace but this year that may start to change if he doesn’t get results.

I don’t see their list strategy and I am not sure what the plan is as far as the rebuild goes. They have a lot of average players across their list and not many elite. They need to ensure they hold onto the talent they have but they look a long way from making their way back up the table. I think this year will be another slide and they may find themselves in the bottom 4. I think 14th to 16th is where I see them this year.

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Irrelevant side. Around 12-14th

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I actually don’t mind their list

Sounds like they had some pretty serious ‘cultural’ issues after the flag year and it appears a lot of the trouble makers have moved on

They have a good core of talent that they should be able to rebuild around.

Bont
Macrae
Hunter
McLean
Daniel
Dunkley
English (love this kid)
Schache

Etc

They have also picked up some good kids in last draft and this one.

They need to get Bont back in the middle and stop ■■■■■■■ around with him up forward.

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They still have Libba

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Nothing like an arsey flag to paper over the cracks. That month in 2016 was incredible, but that’s it.

At the end of each H and A season under Beverige they have finished 6th, 7th, 10th and 14th.

I think their president is a wanker who goes way beyond his remit and a lot of their troubles stem from there.

Looked a bit better on field late last year but can’t see how they crack the eight again until at least 2021.

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I wonder if they’d be in better shape now (albeit without the flag) if they’d kept McCartney.
It seems the list was very well setup for Beveridge

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From outsider looking in it appears to me that Beveridge thought he was going to have a career like his mentor in Clarkson.

He moved a few players around in position, moved some others on, and seem to think it was all just going to be far too easy.

Their forwardline is nonexistent and they are undersized all over the ground.

If they don’t find the hunger to run and run and scrap for everything then they will struggle again this year.

I would start by moving Zaine Cordy to CHF again. He’s small but I thought he showed some promise with his running patterns a couple of years ago but then after some average performances they moved him back.

Schache has to step up this year. I’m not a huge fan but he’s really all they have that’s got any decent height down forward.

They have a plethora of tall defenders so one of them has to go forward to provide a target. It’s theur biggest weakness.

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Need to trade Bont to EFC.

Will finish 14-15.

Not much to say.

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The Bont is not only their best talent, but he is their hear and soul player. If they lose him for any length of time, they are gawn. Like other I am surprised that Picken is still on their list. A quality player when he is up and about, but for his long term health l hope he pulls the pin and retires. The Doggies would be seriously in breach of their player duty of care, if they play him again, just too many concussions.

l think mention also needs to be made of their post GF celebration culture. Stringer was made to bear the brunt of the blame for any and all happenings, but l am sure he was made a scapegoat and not alone in sampling the fruits of success. Beverdige still has a lot of work to do to get this list back into a functioning unit. Back to being largely irrelevant.

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I would love to hear the story behind why the team fell away so badly after the flag. clearly a lot of inner turmoil. ill be looking forward to reading it in Tom Liberatores autobiography.

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On paper they had Hawthorn 2008 written all over them but they’ve made some shocking decisions both coaches and player wise (enjoying it too much) since the flag. They had the world at their feet yet ■■■■■■ it mostly away. Bottom 4, excellent sun up :+1:

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I think their list rebuild is tracking nicely…helped by things like ridiculous compensation for Dahlhaus…cheap access to West as a father-son…and I seem to recall there being more father-son prospects coming through…

They won’t be relevant in 2019…but they should be aiming for finals from about 2021 onwards.

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Like you, Jack, i am amazed Picken is still on the list.

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Should be a cracking read. If a short one.
“The last six months were a blur”
“Somehow I found myself in Vietnam / the gutter”
“Apparently one day at training…”

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Another excerpt from “Libba: the Unauthorised Autobiography”

“January 2017.
Bevo had called an emergency meeting of all players & staff, describing it as vital for the future of the club.
It was a 10.00 am meeting, and I didn’t want to miss it so I made sure I was still partying till 9.30.
When I got there the colours were amaaazing.
I watched the blood pulse in the veins of my hand for a while. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.
I looked up and there was a giant two-legged wombat at the microphone.
I remember thinking it would be really cool, if only I could speak wombat.
…”

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Whatever happens with the Dogs in 2019 in comparison with us… we are not only due to beat them but to absolutely whack them.

2015 - 87 points
2016 - 40 points
2017 - 30 points (when both sides were playing for a spot in the 8 and they couldn’t miss)
2018 - 21 points (arguably our worst game of the year and we had a few to select from)

We’ve been rubbish for a while but this mob has turned into a bogey side more than most. Beveridge never lost as coach against Essendon.

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I’m more bullish on the Dogs than most. I see natural improvement in their forward line, they have some very good young kids due natural progress, and think they will be close to make finals.

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Bulldogs midfield will keep them competitive.
If the forward line can click they will win a few upsets, and should account for the bottom teams.
If Wallis and Libba can turn back the clock and get into better form, then that will help the depth of their list as when they are up and running they are decent.

Best 22
B: Morris Trengove Suckling
HB: Wood© Naughton Johannisen
C: Dunkley Liberatore Hunter
HF: Gowers Schache Daniel
F: McLean Boyd Picken
FOLL: English Macrae, Bontempelli
I/C: Dale, Wallis, Crozier, Williams

EMG: Ed Richards, Tory Dickson, Lin Jong

Depth: Taylor Duryea, Sam Llolyd, Fletcher Roberts

Could probably argue Ed Richards in for Picken, or Roughead in for Boyd, or Fletcher Roberts instead of Trengove.

They should have drive off half back with Wood, Suckling and Johanissen.
Solid Midfield, probably needs some zippy pace through there, as they will miss Dalhaus bursts.
Forwardline Key talls once were highly rated and smalls probably seen more are smaller mids resting forward that can pinch hit in midfield, not forward pocket specialists, so they will need the midfield to pump lots of ball down there to get the job done, or have fast movement. But have Dickson and Lloyd as forward specialists if required.
They would love Boyd to pull his finger out so they could play the Bont as a midfielder rather than a forward.
I think he should be 80 mid /20 forward

Side looks solid, expect finish outside of 8, but will be in contention for much of the season.
Finish - 10th to 15th

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They will play like garbage most of the season but raise their game to a whole new level when they face us. So pretty much like the last few seasons

10th-14th

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We literally choose not to beat them.
Like the Lions, but worse.