The Western Bulldogs finished off last year with a bang. They put up some big scores and beat some good teams before falling over once the finals started. They showed though that their best football is entertaining and capable of mixing it with the best teams.
The backline needed strengthening last year and they went and got Keath. I am not sold on Keath yet although he played some good football at Adelaide, they seem to make KP players look good with their system. Cordy has been good down back and they have Wood as the third tall. They have Johanissen for run as well as Crozier and then they have Suckling for commentator to talk about his foot skills before he turns it over.
The midfield is where the resurgence came from last year. Dunkley played some great football and put up huge numbers playing in the shadow of the Bont who was almost unstoppable. Macrae and Hunter have been getting the job done consistently and they have Richards who gives good run and spread. They could still lack a little pace but it is a very good hard working midfield.
The forward line found a lot to like last year, Naughton looks an absolute gun and loves a contested mark. He is the player you build a forward line around. They have added Bruce as a second marking option with smalls like Lloyd, Smith, Dale and Mclean. They are a very good mobile forward line that hold the ball in and find a way to score. I think Bruce is a good upgrade on Schache.
Tim English is probably going to be a good ruckman. They don’t have a lot of depth in this position and rely on a good midfield as much as the quality of the tap work. The coach has won a premiership and then taken a long time to get the team back up and going. There is no pressure on him. I think expectations will be based on the last couple of months of the season with finals expected.
I like watching the dogs play, they are exciting and put some serious scores up in their last few rounds. I think they have quality across most lines and are capable of beating most teams on their day. They have traded well and improved both their forward line and their backline and already have a great midfield. The should be in the eight again this year and are capable of pushing towards the top four. I think 5-6 is about the mark.
Assuming Bruce and Keath push out Schache and Trengrove, bit harsh on schache 24 goals last year but Bruce has had better seasons.
With a fit list the dogs should be pushing to make finals again.
Nervous. They could be good. If they win a flag, bottom out and come good again in the space of four years it really puts our navel gazing into perspective.
They have a monster midfield of Bont, Macrea, Dunkley and Hunter with support from Wallis, Smith, McLean, Daniel, Libba and Richards. It’s one of the best midfields in the comp as seen by their complete demolition job against us and is only coming into their prime. Nabbed a couple of key position players which will help them.
Perhaps won a flag early but I expect them to seriously challenge over the next 3 years.
They won one before they were really ready. Then dropped away after drinking own bath water/partying but the basis of a very strong side was there, in particular their midfield.
They will improve for sure. Bolstered where they needed to mature kpp wise, and also with a gun small fwd in the draft, English is only going to get better as well as so early in his career which furthers strengthens that onball group.
2-4
They have the easiest fixture suited to them.
Pies once (Rd 1 to start the year).
Easy in between to set them up in top 4.
No trip to the GABBA
Blues twice in the first 11 rounds
Rd 19 Tigers (only one time)
Rd 20 Cats (only one time)
Rd 23 Eagles (only one time) @ Marvel
They do need to have their mental attitude right as they’re susceptible to losing to average teams too (lost to both Blues and Suns at Marvel last year), but, it’s definitely there for the taking with them.
Easton wood really looks like the only guy going backwards at any rate. Indeed he’s close to cooked imo but Keith coming in means they can be a bit more flexible with their tall and they will not need to rely so heavily on wood and Cordy as undersized let defenders.
A host of key players still have plenty of from to get better - Dunkley, Naughton, English. You’d expect significant improvement from Smith, Richards and maybe even Daniel too.
Bruce too will improve their forward line efficiency considerably I expect.
you can expect consistent high quality performances for the established core - Bont, McRae, Hunter etc
If they get one more big year out of Libba to provide a nastier edge which is perhaps the one thing the midfield lacks they’re going to go a long way.
As terrible as we were against them last year that was about as perfect display of football from them as I’ve seen from any side ever.