The Friday Final Word - Round 1

Well, it's been a long time coming, but we're finally here: Round 1 of the home-and-away season. After securing our first Premiership in 62 years, we enter the season as the reigning Premiers for the first time since 1955, and boy, doesn't it feel good?

But before we start our Premiership Defence, let's see if we can get a few more words in before the big game:

Last Time…

Round 21, 2016 Western Bulldogs 14.11.95 d Collingwood 14.8.92 Etihad Stadium

It was the second time these two had been involved in a classic encounter, and it was the second time the Bulldogs emerged on top. After trailing by 18 points midway through the third term, Marcus Bontempelli lifted the tempo, and guided the Bulldogs to a narrow three-point win, as The Bont collected three more Brownlow votes. Darcy Moore kicked 3 goals for the Pies, and Steele Sidebottom had 18 disposals in the first half, before being quelled to great effect by Liam Picken after half time.

Marcus Bontempelli was influential against the Pies last year. Souce: Getty Images

The Opposition

Make no mistake, Collingwood have a lot of talent in their team, particularly in the midfield. Any side with names such as Pendlebury, Treloar, Sidebottom, Adams and Grundy is likely to be put at an advantage, and it is going to be a good challenge for our young midfield brigade. They may be lacking in other areas of the ground, but their key forward in Darcy Moore has caused us massive headaches in previous encounters. Fletcher Roberts has come on in leaps and bounds under Beveridge, but will have to be at his best to keep Moore under wraps.

The pressure has been put on the Magpies to deliver this season, and we have to be on our guard, as they’re bound to be firing on all cylinders to start the year, despite some off-field controversy during the week.

The Omissions

What we've discovered over the last couple of seasons is that Luke Beveridge certainly hasn't been afraid to roll the dice at the selection table. In 2015, we would often see him make as many as six changes even after a win, whilst last year we blooded 39 players throughout the entire season, ranked equal-fourth in the competition behind Brisbane (41), Richmond and Gold Coast (both 40), although this could arguably be explained by our extensive injury list last season. Regardless, mass changes were still at critical junctures, most notably the five players we brought back from several different ailments in preparation for the Elimination Final against West Coast.

For all the talk of the immense depth that the Bulldogs possess, there are always going to be players who would consider themselves unlucky to miss out on a Round 1 berth. The player that initially springs to mind is Clay Smith. After returning from three knee reconstructions, Smith finally got some much-needed continuity in his game last year, and gained the Midas Touch during the finals, kicking 8.1 and laying 39 tackles - the second-most in a finals series since 1999 (eclipsed only by Lenny Hayes' superhuman feat of 42 in 2010). Smith only played the two games in the JLT Series, and didn't have the impact that he had during the finals. He notched up 15 disposals in each game, but kicked just the one goal, and looked rusty at times. But everyone has their moments during the pre-season, and I initially felt that Smith was unlucky to find himself sitting out. But it just goes to show that even after winning a Premiership, Beveridge doesn't hold any name sacred - if you don't perform, you don't play.

This though makes the case of Josh Dunkley a very interesting one. Like Smith, he played in only the two games, but was absent from our "full dress rehearsal" against the Suns. He was quiet against Melbourne in the first game, but was easily one of our best players against the Lions, leading the line in a very young team with 23 disposals and six tackles in a strong outing. But as Beveridge noted during the dress conference on Thursday, some players will consider themselves unlucky to miss out. So clearly Dunkley is a victim of terrific depth and promising JLT form, but we'll get onto that a bit later.

The Inclusions

There are a lot of them, perhaps the most important being the triumphant return of our fearless leader, captain Robert Murphy. Murphy hasn’t starred in his two JLT Series appearances, but certainly didn’t look out of place, and will definitely benefit from the match fitness he will have gained from that. Additionally, he’ll take the pressure off the likes of rebounding defenders such as Jason Johanissen, Shane Biggs and Easton Wood. The heart of our game comes from our ability to rebound from half-back, and Murphy’s return is pivotal to our fortunes this year.

Another player that hasn’t failed to draw the headlines over the off-season is former Magpie Travis Cloke, and after many were critical of the Bulldogs decision to prize him from Collingwood during the summer, the decision appears to have been vindicated – at least for the short term. Cloke’s solid pre-season form has secured him a Round 1 berth against his old side. Whilst many have doubted his ability to kick 50-70 goals in a season anymore, what people don’t realise is that we didn’t bring him in for that specific reason. Whilst seeing Cloke challenge the likes of Lance Franklin and Josh Kennedy for the Coleman Medal would be exciting, what we saw during the Preliminary and Grand Finals last year was a high number of intercept marks being taken in the Bulldogs forward 50. In the Preliminary Final, Nick Haynes floated across six times to intercept the ball throughout the match, whilst in the Grand Final, it was Heath Grundy who dominated the aerial duels. Cloke’s job is to provide a presence that Tom Boyd is not yet fully equipped to do, and bring that ball to ground, and deny the opposition a chance to win the ball back so easily. If he manages that, it brings the likes of Jake Stringer, Tory Dickson, and Stewart Crameri into play, the latter of which is also making his return following a season-long ban as a result of the controversial Supplements Saga.

Crameri’s return has been largely unheralded, but he remains an important part of the Bulldogs forward line. Whilst he struggled greatly in the first half of 2015 (and was ultimately demoted to the VFL), once he learnt how to play the Beveridge way, he became a vital cog in our forward setup, forming an almost unstoppable partnership with Stringer. Both Crameri and Stringer are very similar players – big, strong-bodied forwards with elite aerobic capacity to be able to push up the ground to great effect. They’re very unique players, and that makes them very difficult to match up on, as you might be able to have one defender who can do the job both physically and ability-wise, but two defenders might be too big an ask. This also benefits Stringer, as it means that the return of Crameri and the introduction of Cloke give opposition coaches more holes to plug, and Stringer might capitalize playing on a lesser-quality defender.

In another world, I’m sure that Lin Jong would be at another club by now, but he decided to sign on, and I’m so glad that he did. In my opinion, he was the clear standout performer for the Bulldogs across the three games of the pre-season. Against the Lions, he kicked two very important goals in the third term when we were trying to get back into the match, and his contested marking was outstanding as well. Against the Suns a week later, he was impressive again, recording 23 disposals and helping himself to another goal as well. His second half was good, but it was his first half that stood out the most for me. With the Dogs trailing by as much as 49 points at one stage, he was one of the few who could hold their heads up high, with his constant attack on the ball a real feature. Thoroughly deserves his opportunity at AFL level this week.

Fun Friday Fact

The Western Bulldogs have won the last four matches against Collingwood. The last time this happened was in 1946. The Bulldogs have never defeated the Magpies five times in a row.

So that’s my Friday Final Word as we seek to kick start our first Premiership defence campaign since 1955. We also started the season against Collingwood in that year, with an eight-goal haul from the great Jack Collins enough to secure us a 35-point win. I’m not sure how you take it, but it sounds like a good omen to me. Go Dogs!!