by Pembleton
There is a lot of angst about the dogs out there on the various footy forums. It's understandable, because the disastrous run of 7 games without a win to finish the season will be the freshest thing in everyone's memory until the '08 season. We all make an emotional investment in the club, and as such we all have emotional reactions to the team's results. Going from 9-6 after playing every team once, to comfortably missing the finals at the end of the season, will very rightly make supporters angry. My advice is not to let it make you irrational as well.
You can learn a lot in 7 weeks. You get good insight into a group of players when things are going against them. A bad injury run and hard draw are reasons for struggling, but not for playing dead. However, If your view of the team is consumed by those 7 weeks, you are bound to get it wrong. In the previous season and 15 games, we had a 23-16 win loss record. You shouldn't let your anger make you forget that.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Not More of the Same
by Pembleton
There are many and varied issues surrounding the club that interest those who care about it. This blog has previously taken a journalistic approach, which has not worked very well, because it is no different to what you can get through numerous other sources. However, there are very few sources for pieces with more depth. So if anyone reading this would like to see a particular issue addressed in depth, please contact me on the email address below.
pembletonbulldog@gmail.com
There are many and varied issues surrounding the club that interest those who care about it. This blog has previously taken a journalistic approach, which has not worked very well, because it is no different to what you can get through numerous other sources. However, there are very few sources for pieces with more depth. So if anyone reading this would like to see a particular issue addressed in depth, please contact me on the email address below.
pembletonbulldog@gmail.com
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wet Weather
by Pembleton
We don't see much wet weather footy these days. The reasons for this are tha a large chunk of our games are at Sponsor Dome, Australia has been in drought for quite awhile, there are no longer games on suburban grounds with dodgy drainage, and the MCG now uses drop in cricket pitches, which means we don't even get a boggy centre at games played their after some rain like we used to. Despite all of this, lots and lots of rain can still conspire to make a good old wet weather game in Melbourne, and at Sunday's game against North, if you squint just right, and ignore the lack of mud, you might be able to pretend that its some time before 1998, and the Dogs are in a typical slog at Western Oval*.
The point of this blog is not to romanticise about the days when we would spend an afternoon watching 36 grown men mud wrestle for the football. As we don't usually see wet weather games, i thought it would be timely to brush up on some wet weather footy fundamentals.
-Clean ball handling stands out more because it is more rare.
-Good contested ball winners are more valuable because the ball spends more time in contested situations.
-Hard work takes on even more importance, because of the increase in contested situations.
-As the ball moves around the ground slower, there is more physicality. There will be pack after pack of large groups attacking the ball. Hardened bodies that have the stamina to keep going for the full game are important.
So what does this mean for our game vs North?
-Players such as Akermanis and Higgins have the clean ball handling that make them potential match winners.
-West and Boyd will have a lot of work to do in the absence of Cross.
-The speed and slickness of Lynch and Harbrow could be a big bonus, and conversely their smallness could be to our detriment if they struggle to create space.
-It's a good game to have Chris Grant's clean handling, good disposal and large body back in the team.
-Despite the potential positives, the wet will favour North. It is a game where they will have huge motivation to work as hard as possible because of Archer's 300th, and beyond that, they pride themselves on being consistently hard working. They are also a team that has more 'hard bodied' players than we do.
It will be tough for Footscray to overcome North Melbourne on Sunday if the bureau of meteorology forecast is accurate for the next few days. A game in the wet against the team with 'shinboner spirit' in the 'shinboner of the century's' 300th game could be a defining moment for the '07 Bulldogs.
PS. If this game ends up being played in perfect conditions, making this entry obsolete, then blame the BOM (Check that link for the latest weather forecast).
*Now Whitten Oval ofcourse, but I was pretending its the old days.
We don't see much wet weather footy these days. The reasons for this are tha a large chunk of our games are at Sponsor Dome, Australia has been in drought for quite awhile, there are no longer games on suburban grounds with dodgy drainage, and the MCG now uses drop in cricket pitches, which means we don't even get a boggy centre at games played their after some rain like we used to. Despite all of this, lots and lots of rain can still conspire to make a good old wet weather game in Melbourne, and at Sunday's game against North, if you squint just right, and ignore the lack of mud, you might be able to pretend that its some time before 1998, and the Dogs are in a typical slog at Western Oval*.
The point of this blog is not to romanticise about the days when we would spend an afternoon watching 36 grown men mud wrestle for the football. As we don't usually see wet weather games, i thought it would be timely to brush up on some wet weather footy fundamentals.
-Clean ball handling stands out more because it is more rare.
-Good contested ball winners are more valuable because the ball spends more time in contested situations.
-Hard work takes on even more importance, because of the increase in contested situations.
-As the ball moves around the ground slower, there is more physicality. There will be pack after pack of large groups attacking the ball. Hardened bodies that have the stamina to keep going for the full game are important.
So what does this mean for our game vs North?
-Players such as Akermanis and Higgins have the clean ball handling that make them potential match winners.
-West and Boyd will have a lot of work to do in the absence of Cross.
-The speed and slickness of Lynch and Harbrow could be a big bonus, and conversely their smallness could be to our detriment if they struggle to create space.
-It's a good game to have Chris Grant's clean handling, good disposal and large body back in the team.
-Despite the potential positives, the wet will favour North. It is a game where they will have huge motivation to work as hard as possible because of Archer's 300th, and beyond that, they pride themselves on being consistently hard working. They are also a team that has more 'hard bodied' players than we do.
It will be tough for Footscray to overcome North Melbourne on Sunday if the bureau of meteorology forecast is accurate for the next few days. A game in the wet against the team with 'shinboner spirit' in the 'shinboner of the century's' 300th game could be a defining moment for the '07 Bulldogs.
PS. If this game ends up being played in perfect conditions, making this entry obsolete, then blame the BOM (Check that link for the latest weather forecast).
*Now Whitten Oval ofcourse, but I was pretending its the old days.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Rocco Jones Report: The season so far
I haven’t written a report for awhile, so it’s with great irony that it comes back the week we actually didn’t play a game. This report will try and make up for all the weeks I have missed with a look at the season so far.
The good bits
- Brian Harris has been in remarkable form. He is both nullifying and offensively exposing his opponents. He looks a totally different player when he is confident and attacking the ball rather than simply trying to stop his opponent from getting it.
- Daniel Cross was further cementing his place at the elite level. He is just about the safest bet in the league to appear in his club’s bests each week.
- We are 3-1 against the top 4 and really look like we match up relatively well against them all. We are also just a game off second despite not being at our best.
- Hahn and Darcy should improve as the season goes on and hopefully Bobby will be able to get enough games under his belt.
- Tom Williams is playing
- Harbrow and Lynch look like great finds
The bad bits
- We seem to be missing that default base performance that gets you enough wins to finish in the top 4. Our game relies on hard running and we have been unwilling and/or unable to run hard enough a few times this year. We beat the Swans and
- Will Minson is struggling and Luke Darcy is a 31 year old ruckman coming off missing two years of footy. Street deserves his spot in the side but we are giving most sides a decent head start in the ruck.
- Forward line still seems too reliant on Johnno. Bobby’s injuries are hurting us in half forward transition and we are lacking a power forward.
- Akermanis has been serviceable at best. He looks to be lacking that explosive pace. The most worrying aspect for me is that he hasn’t been up and down but consistently just satisfactory most weeks. The trade has always been about what he can do for us in the big games, especially in the finals, so I will reserve any real judgement until the end of the year.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Grant to Return
By Pembleton
When Chris Grant had surgery in April to remove bone spurs, i thought we may never see him play again. I am like that with Chris. Anytime he goes off the ground injured, I worry that i am seeing him leave the ground for the last time. It's not just because he is an ageing champion that i am so paranoid. One of my early football memories is of watching Grant play his first game. When Grant stops playing for Footscray, a major link between the club that I loved as a kid and the team that I follow as an adult will be severed. Thankfully, Grant has now got through three games in the VFL, and will be considered for this week's game against North. Glenn Archer will be playing his 300th, a wonderful achievement, but I will be focussed on a different ageing champion.
When Chris Grant had surgery in April to remove bone spurs, i thought we may never see him play again. I am like that with Chris. Anytime he goes off the ground injured, I worry that i am seeing him leave the ground for the last time. It's not just because he is an ageing champion that i am so paranoid. One of my early football memories is of watching Grant play his first game. When Grant stops playing for Footscray, a major link between the club that I loved as a kid and the team that I follow as an adult will be severed. Thankfully, Grant has now got through three games in the VFL, and will be considered for this week's game against North. Glenn Archer will be playing his 300th, a wonderful achievement, but I will be focussed on a different ageing champion.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Free Hit Policy
by Pembleton
In the AFL, you are allowed to punch opposition players. The only qualification is that your punching hand has to simultaneously hold onto to the punching target's jumper. I don't think this is explicitly written in the rules, so it must be one of the AFL's infamous 'interpretations'. Admittedly, a 'jumper punch' is generally less damaging than a 'normal' punch, but allowing it to be a 'free hit'? That is surely not a good idea.
Chris Tarrant punched Nathan Eagleton last Saturday night, but because he is an experienced combatant in on field (and off field for that matter) 'i am a really really really manly man' posturing, he was savvy enough to meet the AFL's requirements for a 'free hit'. Eagleton, when he was punched, reacted in a reasonably normal manner, by throwing a punch of his own straight back. It wasn't a bad punch, as whilst it didn't have Alastair Lynch in the '05 GF type velocity on it, it did have what Lynch's flurry lacked, accuracy. Eagleton gets into more than his share of such scuffles these days, but he still lacks Tarrant's experience, and as such, he did not bother to make use of the AFL's 'free hit' policy, so he is now facing a 2 match suspension.
This all seems a bit unfair to me. Tarrant probably wouldn't have punched Eagleton if he thought he would get suspended himself, and Eagleton wouldn't have punched Tarrant if he hadn't been punched himself, so the whole thing stems from the AFL, via its match review panel and tribunal, allowing the 'free hit' loopole to exist.
Eagle will face the tribunal next Tuesday (delayed due to the week off), where he will presumably argue that being punched in the face is reasonably provocative, and thus he should receive leniency. It will be interesting to see the outcome.
In the AFL, you are allowed to punch opposition players. The only qualification is that your punching hand has to simultaneously hold onto to the punching target's jumper. I don't think this is explicitly written in the rules, so it must be one of the AFL's infamous 'interpretations'. Admittedly, a 'jumper punch' is generally less damaging than a 'normal' punch, but allowing it to be a 'free hit'? That is surely not a good idea.
Chris Tarrant punched Nathan Eagleton last Saturday night, but because he is an experienced combatant in on field (and off field for that matter) 'i am a really really really manly man' posturing, he was savvy enough to meet the AFL's requirements for a 'free hit'. Eagleton, when he was punched, reacted in a reasonably normal manner, by throwing a punch of his own straight back. It wasn't a bad punch, as whilst it didn't have Alastair Lynch in the '05 GF type velocity on it, it did have what Lynch's flurry lacked, accuracy. Eagleton gets into more than his share of such scuffles these days, but he still lacks Tarrant's experience, and as such, he did not bother to make use of the AFL's 'free hit' policy, so he is now facing a 2 match suspension.
This all seems a bit unfair to me. Tarrant probably wouldn't have punched Eagleton if he thought he would get suspended himself, and Eagleton wouldn't have punched Tarrant if he hadn't been punched himself, so the whole thing stems from the AFL, via its match review panel and tribunal, allowing the 'free hit' loopole to exist.
Eagle will face the tribunal next Tuesday (delayed due to the week off), where he will presumably argue that being punched in the face is reasonably provocative, and thus he should receive leniency. It will be interesting to see the outcome.
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