5 Things We Learned - Round 7

The Western Bulldogs returned to the top eight (albeit briefly) after a 42 point victory over the Essendon Bombers at Metricon Stadium - their sixth win in a row against them. There are 16 other opponents in the competition but there is something about defeating the Bombers that just brings that much more satisfaction to the table.

1. Kick to Handpass Ratio (2.0)

Across their previous six games in the 2020 AFL Season, the Western Bulldogs have had an average Kick to Handpass ratio of 1.13:1 with a best of 1.4 kicks per handpass coming against the GWS Giants in round three.

After last week’s debacle against Carlton who tactically outsmarted us, adapting better to a wet ball game there surely would be some adjustments.

Statistically, there wasn’t a huge change in the kick to handball department as we went at 1.33:1 compared to round sixes 1.22:1, but when you consider we reached 180 kicks for the first time this season, it is clear last round's defeat to the Blues gave the boys food for thought.

Such ball movement also allowed us to not only be more direct with our ball movement and create, but it also invites less pressure on the ball carrier and his release options to dispose of the ball.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the higher the ratio the more likely you are to win, as there many other factors that determine how sides move the ball, including how much pressure the opposition enacts, the dimensions of the ground, the structure of the side named, weather and how the opposition set up.

But we need to be flexible and not always focus on Plan A as it can and has lead us into trouble against sides with particular strengths that we find more difficult to negate. Stick to our strength but respect that there are other ways to go about moving the ball.

Kick To Handpass Ratio from Round One to Seven:

2. Our First Round Draft Selections

Since 2012 the Western Bulldogs have used their first round draft picks on Jake Stringer, Jackson Macrae, Marcus Bontempelli, Tim English, Aaron Naughton, Ed Richards, Bailey Smith and now Cody Weightman. With all bar one currently on our list and majority of them heavily entrenched in our best line up the challenge is now up to Cody Weightman to join them on a regular basis. Sure, it was just the one game but he did look like he certainly belonged last Friday.

Last October in the Trade Period, both Adelaide and St Kilda requested several times that our 2019 1st round pick be involved in bringing in Alex Keath and Josh Bruce, and it is clear to see why, although not as deep a draft as some others, still had some gems. Keath and Bruce are certainly very handy footballers and have settled in nicely at the Kennel, but they aren’t the type of footballers that you would trade a first-round pick for, regardless of the strength of the draft. Some clubs talent identification is better than others and ours is clearly one of the best; our recent history with nailing selections even later in the draft is clear evidence of that.

In a draft era where youngsters are making an impact on their side’s fortunes quicker than before, why not just back yourself to develop them? Especially when you have a quality eye for talent identification.

This is not saying to never trade your first round picks, but you have to have a true understanding of where you sit on the premiership clock and whether it’s worth the opportunity cost. Flag teams and dynasties are built off the back of several drafts which are generally lead by the cream of the crop and with us continuing to add top talent to a core of already talented players; it certainly helps increase our chances of such dreams.

Regardless, well done to Cody Weightman on a fine debut, and welcome to the first kick first goal club!

3. Mitch Wallis

Going back to the 2018 season, there was a genuine chance Mitch Wallis wasn’t going to stay at the Kennel considering the larger offers tabled to him from the Brisbane Lions, the Gold Coast Suns and the Essendon Bombers. It wasn’t from Wallis not being good enough to remain at the Bulldogs, but more due to the rise of Josh Dunkley, the unfortunate leg break he suffered two years earlier which cost him what little speed he had and that the Dogs did not want to tie up a portion of its cap space on more than one limited rotation midfielder.

Many players would have potentially spat the dummy at the lack of minutes in their preferred position, but Wallis took it in his stride, understood that it simply was for the betterment of the team and worked his backside off to hold his place in the side and show he had extra weapons in his arsenal. After spending much of 2018 with his future up in the air, his promising late-season form convinced the Bulldogs to keep him, and they duly rewarded him with a three year contract.

Since reinventing himself as full time medium-forward, Wallis has adapted beautifully and has turned himself into a very effective versatile player. Currently equal-first at the Bulldogs for goals (nine) with recruit Josh Bruce, Wallis has strong leading patterns, is always committed to doing the team thing and is an extremely safe shot at goal, which at the Bulldogs is worth a premium.

Wallis is one of the most professional players and leaders at the Kennel and although he might not be a star he is still an extremely undervalued commodity and one who deserves to be back in finals action and taste success for his loyalty.

Mitch Wallis has worked hard to reinvent himself and become an integral part of the Bulldogs forward line. Source: Getty Images

4. Defensive Press Still Need To Be Ironed Out

We might have conceded just the 51 points on Friday night against Essendon, but in the opening half and especially the first quarter, there were moments the Bombers were able to slice open our press and zone to generate six scoring shots from their first 12 inside 50s.

With us playing a high defensive press and zone with the intent of locking the ball in the forward half of the ground, this has left us vulnerable down back in two ways over recent years. The first of these ways comes in the shape of one-on-one contests, and secondly via fast ball movement on the counter attack leaving us exposed to conceding some of the easiest out the back goals you’ll ever see on a regular basis.

Admittedly, we have improved this season when it comes to the former, thanks to some fine high marking defenders but in combating the latter we still leave ourselves open to such ball movement. Ultimately this comes often from our forward half turnovers (like last week conceding 68 points from the turnovers) which leave our back six caught out of position. Whether this derives from over-possession of the ball or from our aggressive zone which can over commit at times, it came unstuck in the first quarter and almost did in the second term which resulted in us coughing up some relatively simple chances.

It is no surprise that this gung-ho and high risk approach which, while certainly capable of working, can also unravel with disastrous results. This is evident by our average scores conceded in our four wins (40.25) and three losses (92.33) to date so far this season.

5. Sharing The Goals Around.

When you only name two full time forwards with over 50 games experience in Josh Bruce (120) and Bailey Dale (57), coupled with a debutant in Cody Weightman, you had better be hoping for some goals from the midfield or from some unlikely avenues.

For the first time in season 2020 and first time since Round 23 last year against Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs found a way to have 10 goal kickers. Having an even spread is an important skill for any team to master as it not only creates unpredictability but it highlights the growing chemistry both the forwards and midfielders have with one another.

Across this season we have steadily increased our amount of goal kickers per game before a lull against North Melbourne and Carlton, and as such you can’t always rely on linear progression so you still need to back your strengths to get the job done, our midfield.

Against a weakened midfield division, the Dogs were licking their lips and made the most of it controlling the contest (+35) and clearances (+7 overall, +8 from stoppages) and converted its 12 centre clearances into 26 points, +18 above the competition average. Not only did our midfield click but our transition from half back featured prominently as they contributed 18 points from kick-ins, +16 above competition average.

Ed Richards was one of many midfielders who drifted forward to get on the scoresheet last Friday. Source: Getty Images