5 Things We Learned - Round 5
We go into the Hub life on the Gold Coast with three wins on the bounce and now there is an air of confidence and optimism on what can be achieved this season after another emphatic defensive display which saw the Dogs hold another side to less than 40 points.
With Carlton and Essendon to come in the next two rounds and a number of eight point games for many sides hovering around the top eight, it is a perfect opportunity for us to stamp our authority on season 2020 and put some ground between us and the rest of the pack.
1. The Father Son Impact
The Western Bulldogs have traditionally done quite well with its Father-Son selections at the draft over the past decade with names like Wallis, Liberatore, Hunter and Cordy joining the list. In the 2018 AFL National Draft, the Dogs were able to add the son of seven time Club Best and Fairest Scott West in Rhylee West to the kennel matching Melbourne’s second round bid to the delight of many fans.
Against the Kangaroos, West’s ferocity and appetite for the contest was on display knocking up 13 pressure acts, eight of those in the defensive half. Playing as a small pressure forward, that is exactly what West was brought in to do but he also was one of one of the main instigators in our third quarter blitz collecting six possessions, equal second most for the Dogs behind Tom Liberatore.
West also is starting to make a habit of having maximum effect from his possessions, recording seven score involvements from his 15 touches. With four of Father-Sons currently finding themselves in the best 22, the question is will the lists fifth Father Son in Lachlan Hunter return to the line up in on Thursday night, one would suspect so.
One of many sons of guns at the club, Rhylee West has made an impact upon his introduction into the side. Source: Getty Images
2. Clearance Work
After the demolition job Collingwood’s midfielders gave us in round one and the negating tactics St Kilda put to use in round two, it was quite a step back from one of the league’s top midfield units.
Going into Saturday night’s game, North Melbourne lead the competition for total clearances (148 @ 37 per game), ahead of Port Adelaide (135), Sydney (134) and the Gold Coast Suns (132) as well as having the best clearance differential in the recording 34 more clearances across their four games. The Bulldogs on the other hand sat 15 th in total clearances (102, 25.5 per game), total clearance differentials (-15) and 12 th for contested possession (446 at 111.5 per game) in their opening four rounds.
With Marcus Bontempelli having an up and down season, Lachlan Hunter still serving his club-imposed suspension, Josh Dunkley suffering a syndesmosis injury and young midfield tyro Bailey Smith suffering a concussion early in the game, it was a strong response from Patrick Lipinski, Tom Liberatore, Toby McLean and Caleb Daniel who found himself further up the ground. Together those four combined for 87 possessions (20, 23, 22 and 22), 26 score involvements and 14 intercept possessions which for a collective of hybrid midfielders is a respective amount and played a large part in keeping North to a season low 26 clearances.
Admittedly, North Melbourne’s contested king
in Ben Cunnington wasn’t at full fitness but that shouldn’t take away from the fact our next midfield unit stood up when required.
McLean also once again did a fantastic job on limiting the influence of a key figure in the opposition side, this time curtailing North Melbourne midfielder Shaun Higgins influence to just the two clearances, 14 touches and two marks, restricting his ability to find space.
McLean’s offensive tagging scalps have included Lachie Whitfield (before concussion), Stephen Coniglio and Jake Lloyd on his return to the line up have been nothing short of crucial in our three consecutive victories.
3. Most Improved Players - Ed Richards, Bailey Williams and Zaine Cordy
After an impressive 2018 where Ed Richards received a Rising Star nomination, the 2019 AFL season was rather indifferent for him as he battled his way through form across his 20 games but this year he has put it all behind him. Sure Richards isn’t finding the ball as much as he would like (averaging just the 11.8 touches) but his impact has been more then reasonable from a third year player.
The Western Bulldogs have been crying out for an attacking wingman since the days of Adam Cooney and with Hunter’s suspension it has given Richards the opportunity to put his best foot forward and display his daring run and carry that turn defence into attack.
We’ve mentioned Bailey Williams before in previous articles but he really has come on in leaps and bounds and has returned to the form he displayed in 2017 and especially 2018. After an inconsistent 2019, Williams has established himself in the Bulldogs back six and its designated kicker to bring the ball back into play following a behind, highlighting the team’s confidence in his sound decision making. It is a rare combination to find a medium defender who is very capable in the air (rated above average for intercept marks, one percenters and spoils), rather sound by foot, especially in pressure situations where space isn’t always easily found yet still have such an offensive game style (five score involvements and three inside 50s). Williams form has also allowed Caleb Daniel to play higher up the ground where his precision delivery can be better utilised than as a defensive escape route.
Zaine Cordy last year was statistically the worst one on one key defender in the competition, losing roughly 40% of his one on one duel’s against the league’s best key forwards. Now that he has returned to a more familiar role as the second key defender where he has had better success in the past against key forwards (26% and 25% in seasons 2017 and 2018), Cordy is now at a career best 20% rate in one on one contests. Cordy isn’t by any means irreplaceable but he is still an important cog in our defence and someone who is capable of playing on a variety of opponents.
Ed Richards is one of several Bulldogs who have improved greatly this season. Source: Getty Images
4. Tim English is starting to officially blossom.
In the opening two rounds Tim English was given a hiding by Magpies star ruckman Brodie Grundy and Saints duo Rowan Marshall and Paddy Ryder and there were questions (from me too) about whether he needed some additional support in the shape of Jackson Trengove.
In the past three weeks he has responded beautifully to those remarks displaying the best form of his short career to date. We all know his influence at ground level and his ability to follow up contest to contest so it is nice to see him starting to get some victories in his ruck duels over the past three
weeks, which hasn’t been the case largely throughout his career. Goldstein still had an impact on the game but probably for the first time against a top tier ruckman, English was able to relatively neutralise the duel and was even rewarded with a vote in the AFLCA Champion Player Awards.
There still might be some questions about English’s physicality when it comes to ruck contests, but when presented with an opportunity to run and leap at the ball he pleasingly backs himself and takes the ball at its highest point. English is first in uncontested possession (46), equal fifth for contested marks (10), both the highest of any ruckman in the game and is third in the league for intercept marks (16) behind GWS Giants Nick Haynes (20) and Gold Coast key defender Sam Collins (18), highlighting his ability to outwork other rucks and use his large aerobic capacity.
5. Marking Power and Ball Movement.
Since 2017 the Bulldogs have finished 15th , 16th and 15th in the league for contested marking but in 2020 we are currently fourth with 53. It has been quite a long time since there was such marking prowess at the club, especially in the shape of key position players.
Having players who are able to take pack marks is worth its weight in gold as it not only helps break down defensive zones across the ground but it allows for more confident, daring ball movement by foot and when paired with our quick, fluent chain of handpasses it becomes a lethal weapon. This was quite evident to see on Saturday nights destruction of North Melbourne.
With two of last season’s top six contested marks on the list in Aaron Naughton and Josh Bruce and players like Hayden Crozier, Easton Wood, Lin Jong, Bailey Williams and now Tim English capable of taking marks in that fashion, we should see plenty flair in the years to come . Unfortunately, Naughton and Jong are injured for the medium term but there is still plenty of aerial power left to hold their own in marking contests and give our players the confidence and assurance to move the ball in an aggressive manner.