5 Things We Learned - Round 11

It was billed as the match of the season but unfortunately, there were two key absentees on the night. The crowd and the Western Bulldogs.

It was our worst performance of the year as we went down by 28 points, 8.11 59 to 13.9 87 with the loss also made worse with debutant Riley Garcia ruled out with a head knock late in the first quarter.

We looked lethargic and bereft of energy throughout the night despite the obvious challenge before us and I don't think I've seen our half-backs kick the ball worse than they did on Friday night.

We might have been beaten by the better side on the night but it wasn't the dominant victory it was made out to be as we were only outscored after quarter time by a solitary point.

Losing is never good but it happens so we have to take the performance in our stride and focus on next week's game against Fremantle. Despite the loss, I am still very confident that the result will be a very different one when round 20 arrives.

It was a disappointing night for the Western Bulldogs in a top-of-the-table clash with Melbourne. Source: AFL Photos

1) Where The Match Was Lost

According to Melbourne senior coach Simon Goodwin the Western Bulldogs were the number one team in the league to score through the corridor, so shutting down that part of the ground would be essential in stopping us.

And that's exactly what they did.

The Demons were brilliant defensively as they were able to clog up the corridor and block our run and carry from half-back but it just seemed like we allowed the threat that May and Lever provide to dictate terms, even when we weren't going forward as we went into our shell and played rather conservative football switching the ball constantly.

It was predictable and slow and would have to make our forwards reset their leading patterns plenty of times, and the occasions that we did get the chance to move the ball quickly, it just fell right into Melbourne's hands who were already set up ready to pounce on the turnover. I'd be willing to bet there were at least 10 more switches than kicks down the line to a contest which emphasises the cautiousness on how we moved the ball.

The slow ball movement gave Melbourne plenty of time to set up defensively and this is evident as they took seven defensive 50 intercept marks, with Jake Lever (13 intercept possessions) taking four of them which brought his season tally to 49.

The Demons positioning within the corridor also created great separation of our players which removed one of our biggest strengths and preferred way to move the ball: running in waves using handbells to link the play. This is evident by our low kick-to-handpass ratio which is the 17th lowest in the AFL (1.26kph), while on Friday night the figure was 1.49, almost 20% more than our season average and on top of that, the Demons nullified our greatest strength in contested football (118-136).

Coming into the game the Bulldogs were the highest scoring side in the competition in regards to punishing turnovers, regularly kicking 10 goals from that source each week this year yet it was this source that cost us immensely.

We conceded 64 points (10.4) from some pretty cheap turnovers, especially in the opening quarter as it put us on the back foot for the first time this season with the Demons kicking 37 (6.1) of their first 41 (6.5) points from turnovers. Their average scores from turnovers this year have been just 31 points across games.

Ironically, Melbourne actually recorded more clangers on the night than us (46-57) but it was their ability to punish our turnovers (we had 76 to 70) in an efficient manner that was the difference in the game.

2) Prime Time Footy - Are we potentially Deers in the Headlights?

For those who aren't able to attend games, watching the Western Bulldogs play on Prime Time television is still an enjoyable experience and one of the highlights of the week for many. In what was our ninth broadcasted match of the season the Bulldogs have had a fair share of televised games with a few of them being marquee games but how have we gone under the spotlight in recent years.

We stood up quite well in 2019 with plenty of eyes viewing us as we built a 9-3 record but one of those losses includes the Elimination Final to GWS which still bloody hurts.

Since 2019 the numbers do show that we have upheld our end of the bargain in recent years (24-9) but when it does come to the grand exposure that Friday night presents itself we have a 5-5 record.

The interesting set of numbers is our Friday night games since 2017 where we have gone 10-13. Admittedly nine of the overall 23 games were played in 2017 alone but we have gone 7-7 since the start of 2018. When you factor in the overhauling of the list through player retirements, trade and free agency departures as well as regenerating the list in the draft it isn't a bad record.

Friday night games are completely different from other prime time matches in the way that not only your supporter base and the opposition's supporters are watching every move you make, but for the most part 16 other support bases are too. This level of external pressure can be quite daunting and when you amplify that in front of a packed crowd the hype truly builds up.

There is of course different levels of prime time games in those that are for the neutrals to enjoy and there are games that help shape a season and determine credentials. A 5-5 record in Friday night games in recent years doesn't justify the calibre of the list we have built.

3) We Need More Avenues To Goal

Against the Demons, we had just the five goalkickers, which is below the competition average of 8 (7.55) with Bruce kicking three, English with two while there were singles to Naughton, Weightman and Daniel. The Demons in comparison had eight goal scorers

With Bruce and Naughton contributing 39% of our goals (61/158) and 47% of our marks inside 50 (44 & 33) and just four players kicking over 10 goals for the season to date it has left us at times a bit predictable with our targets inside 50.

The return of Tim English who has 11 goals and 17 marks inside 50 this year no doubt will create some headaches for opposition defenses like earlier this season but the fact he is only the fourth player on our list with 10+ goals despite missing a month of football is a bit concerning.

We have been this season's number one attacking side averaging 99 points and even removing our two highest scores this year (North and St Kilda) we still average 90 a game so clearly, something is working and it isn't just against lesser sides.

Weightman; who has only played three games, already has six goals and is placed equal sixth with Dale, McNeil, and Hunter while English who has been absent since round six is ranked fourth. The lack of a specialist medium forward to ease the load on our tall timber is hurting us (as well as the absence of key players)

4) The Positives

As poor as we were on the night and arguably deserved to lose by more, the fact we only went down by 28 points says there's plenty of fight in this team even when we aren't playing at our best. The boys kept their heads up, hanging in the contest despite never really ever threatening for four points, and prevented the scoreboard from blowing out. This might sound a bit of a cop-out but it didn't give Melbourne the psychological blow that could be so important come season's end when the real ball game starts.

For all the huff and puff Melbourne showed in the first half, we were just the three goals down at halftime, evening allowing for our uncharacteristic turnovers in the back half. We came out with a better attitude in the third quarter, and if we were able to capitalise on those early third quarter inside 50 entries and put it on the scoreboard we would have brought the margin back to two goals but unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

Not only that, it was only the second time we have got to see English and Sweet paired together in the ruck and although we expectedly lost the hitouts (26-38) they did quite well against the combination of Gawn and Jackson, just losing the hitout to advantage count 8-11. Against a veteran and top-tier ruckman like Gawn, I think it was a rather promising effort by both our guys who don't often get to face such rucks of that calibre.

Even with having a weakened midfield division in the centre square we were still able to acquire a +9 clearance advantage (36-27) which regardless of the quality of entries going inside 50, it still gave us plenty of opportunities to score (52-46 I50s).

Jackson Macrae was prolific as usual collecting another 36 possessions, taking his season tally to 387, the most ever recorded up to round 11 in a V/AFL season. Source: AFL Photos.

5) The Premiership Test

Three tests down. One passed, Port Adelaide. Two failed in Richmond and Melbourne.

With Melbourne ranked first for tackles (66.3) in the league before the game, people might say the Demons brought the heat but it wasn't exactly their pressure (57-46 tackles our way) on the ball carrier which stifled us, it was more of their structural set up around the ground that tamed our ball movement and it brought about pressure in another way. In our mindset.

There is plenty of work to do still but let's not throw the baby out of the bathwater just yet...

We still sit second on the ladder, are a game clear of Brisbane and Geelong, three games clear of West Coast and Richmond.

We have beaten West Coast, Brisbane, GWS, and Port Adelaide who were all in the top eight before the start of this round and have played decent football for the majority of this season.

We still have a host of players out of the lineup who aren't your run-of-the-mill footballers who definitely add a lot more bite to the side.

Personally, I don't believe we displayed our full hand on Friday night and I'm still very confident that our best football is better than anyone else's. We just need to bring it.

Keep the ball rolling forward for now then go hard come September and show the AFL who we really are.