5 Things We Learned – Round 14
I am still trying to put a finger on what the hell happened on Friday night. It wasn’t as bad as made out to be but at the same time it was bloody diabolical and hurts. You shouldn’t lose a game when your six goals up but it just seemed inevitable midway through the second quarter that the momentum of the game had certainly swung away from us and went to Geelong instead.
The problem isn’t losing, it’s how you lose and we got what we deserved. With the season on the line we blew it and there is no sugar coating it. We should have beaten one of the best sides in the competition and it sums up our year.
1. What went right
At our best we are a very, very exciting team to watch. The way we were able to slice up a top four contender and threat for the flag in the first quarter was a sight to behold, arguably playing our best quarter of footy since 2016.
When you consider we clocked over 1300 (1324) metres gained during the term and moved the ball in defensive transition successfully 43% of the time, well above our season average of 26% it was little surprise to see us light it up. Although the numbers say it isn’t sustainable, the fact we were able to do it successfully, abet for a quarter, says we are capable.
Despite being outplayed since quarter time, the fact the game went down to the final minute, was a credit to us staying in the contest and is probably one of the few things we can take out of the game. It would have meant so much more to snare the win of course but considering our game style was halted after the first term, we desperately defended for the rest of the night against a strong side who has worked out its defensive and forward half games out emphatically.
Aaron Naughton continued to show his progress as one of the best key position prospects in the competition, taking four contested marks and looked incredibly dangerous whenever the ball was in his vicinity, worrying a variety of opponents throughout the night. The only problem is that he wasn’t utilised as the focal point in the forward line, being targeted just the four times
Another positive was the set up of our back six which wasn’t allowed to be spread thin, providing capable support across the defensive 50 to help restrict Coleman medal fancy Tom Hawkins to just the two goals.
Since his return to the lineup against the Brisbane Lions, Aaron Naughton has helped bring back that forward structure we have lacked throughout the year. Source: Getty Images
2. What Went Wrong
Unfortunately we are going to have to ask the question of how our six goal lead disappeared over the course of the night.
Our inability to counter Geelong’s quarter time adjustments was most likely the difference in the 11 point defeat.
With the Cats implementing a short kick based game plan, it took away our biggest strength in creating scoring opportunities: our transition from the back half. This change in style saw our scoring options greatly diminish and it was seen with our ball movement where we successfully moved the ball forward from the defensive half just 13% of the time after the opening quarter.
By playing a conservative, patient, risk free game style the Cats were able to manoeuvre the ball steadily up the ground in an uncontested manner which allowed them to control the flow of the game.
On top of that, we ourselves went very conservative with our ball movement and seemed to second guess ourselves after quarter time.
Some of that no doubt came from Geelong cutting off our potential release options but we went into our shells and accepted the cards dealt to us, inviting the pressure. Such pressure resulted in us conceding five of Geelong’s 10 goals after quarter time.
Having two players in Laitham Vandermeer and Easton Wood also getting injured in the opening half hurt us for sure. Come the final siren we only used 63 of the allocated 90 interchanges, (Geelong 82/90) which hindered our ability to run out the game but it wasn’t one of the major reasons for the loss.
3. Marcus Bontempelli
Averaging the 20 touches this season, there have been some moments that have made us shout “The Bont!” but unfortunately it has been the season we had expected from him.
To be fair to “Bont” he received two coaches’ votes, laid 10 tackles on the night which certainly showed his intent but for him to have just the 14 disposals, two inside 50s and just the five uncontested possessions for player of his talents is criminal.
Three touches in the final term is not what the doctor ordered when we needed him to stand up and pull us through. He’s got plenty of credits in the bank by far but we needed our best player to light it up in our most important game of the season. In comparison to last year you could say there have only been a handful of matches at best where we have seen what he is capable of. Why?
We might have pulled off the great escape last year but is it to little to late for the Bulldogs in season 2020? Source: Getty Images
4. The Ruck Debacle
As much promise English has shown this season, he is somewhat becoming a liability as he has struggled to run out games, leaving us exposed throughout stages of the game. That can also come down to a having no legitimate relief option or the refusal to use one.
With Bruce once again struggling to make an impact up forward, there was the opportunity to move him into the ruck; like last week, to get him involved and neutralise the ruck contests, especially in the centre square but was only seen once there and five times all up.
On top of the 13-49 hit out tally, we lost the hit out to advantage count 2-12 (one of which came from Josh Dunkley’s three hit outs), which resulted in a 28-36 clearance loss proving crucial especially in the last quarter.
If English is going to contest the ruck in just over half of its duels (43/80) then find some genuine support. Sacrificing our best contested ball winner at the expense of the actual ruckman is just a recipe for disaster and currently it’s stagnating and halting the development of both Dunkley and English.
Either use English in the role or don’t pick him.
We made the decision to invest in Tim English, it is well past time to do it properly before we burn him out and turn him into Josh Fraser 2.0.
5. What the hell has happened to Josh Bruce
Coming into the 2020 season, Josh Bruce was one of the more underrated forwards in the competition with 171 goals in 113 games including 2.3 marks inside 50 per game.
He was a big presence and a ready made forward which is something that we haven't had for quite some time and it was quite exciting to see how Bruce would pair with Aaron Naughton.
Evening allowing for a revised game time and a COVID affected season, Bruce certainly has not had the impact many thought he would as the mature key forward, averaging career lows in goals, disposals, marks, tackles, uncontested possessions and goal assists.
Bruce was targeted nine times on Friday night, resulting in two marks inside 50 as well as two points from gettable shots.
Bruce might have been targeted five more times than Aaron Naughton but it was pretty clear to see who was worrying defenders and appeared irrepressible at times. It made no sense.
2020 has clearly been his worst season since his debut in 2012 and there have been certain factors that have contributed to this indifferent season from a good footballer but he's had plenty of chances this year. Time to bring back Josh Schache.