5 Things We Learned - Round 16

The Western Bulldogs have reclaimed top spot on the AFL ladder for the first time since defeating St Kilda in round 10 following their 29 point victory over North Melbourne on Sunday evening in front of 18,216 people at Marvel Stadium.

It certainly wasn't our best performance of the season but nonetheless, four points are four points and it continues our winning ways in 2021 and it was probably the effort of a team that has spent plenty of petrol tickets after what has been a tricky month and a half.

You can't play every game perfectly and Sunday evening was a testament to that but we all know that what we served up isn't a scratch on what we are capable of delivering.

It wasn't pretty but we got the job done in "Doc's" 150th AFL game against North Melbourne by 29 points at Marvel Stadium. Source: AFL Photos.

1) Where The Match Was Won

A few weeks ago I brought up the predictability of our goal scorers and that we have been a fair bit reliant on Naughton and Bruce to make up the bulk of our scoring. This isn't a bad thing by any means as both players have kicked over 30 goals this year and are putting together career-best seasons but the idea was more about the support cast to ease the load on them.

Knowing there would be a greater focus on Josh Bruce and Aaron Naughton (understandably), it was brilliant coaching to clear the forward line and at times go with an undersized forward combination that would see our medium-sized players in Weightman, Hannan and Mitch Wallis feature as the deepest options.

Since coming into the side in rounds seven and nine, Mitch Hannan and Cody Weightman have been targeted inside 50 a total of 81 times (40 and 41) with the pair targeted 16 times (eight and eight) on the weekend. Wallis on the other hand has had the ball kicked in his direction 16 times this year and four occasions against North. Although this is a clear chasm from the number of times the focus has been on Naughton and Bruce (144 and 134), it is good to see a few other players providing the forward support required to keep opposition defenses guessing.

Another factor that played a key part in us acquiring the four points was our efficiency in converting inside 50 entries into shots at goal and marks inside 50. Against North Melbourne, the Bulldogs converted its 50 inside 50s entries into a season-high 38% for marks inside 50 (19).

When you also factor in that we distributed the ball at 67% kicking efficiency in our forward half, it helped us accrue 31 shots at goal which we converted into 28 scores (90%).

Even if it did come against the 18th place side it does show that even if we aren't "on" we are still rather capable of playing good football and punishing teams. In the past if we weren't to standard we would most likely lose so to see us get the win in such a situation holds us in good stead.

2) The Clearance Duel

On Sunday evening the Bulldogs defence got a taste of what it was like when the midfield wasn't able to protect it from the centre square after there were several fast entries kicked into our defensive 50.

Fast ball movement will always make defenders panic and make them worry more about their direct opponent and their positioning than the ball itself.

It was only the third time this year that the Dogs had been usurped (29-36 vs North) when it comes to winning the clearances after losing the statistic against Brisbane (41-43) and Fremantle (33-37) in rounds four and 12 but the thing that stood out is that we went down by seven (7) in the centre square (10-17).

Interestingly it was the only time this year that we had dipped below 30 total clearances in a game and it is something that hasn't happened (in 20 minute quarters plus time on) since round 17 2019 against Melbourne where we also gathered 29.

North's midfield by any means isn't an amazing one but it certainly deserves respect as it has a strong foundation with gun contested ball winner Ben Cunnington, Tarryn Thomas (who is a genuine star on the rise) and Luke Davies-Uniacke, who combined for 24 of their 36 clearances.

It isn't a huge concern seeing as we have a large body of work that says we have the players to combat it but it did raise a few eyebrows considering the different strengths each of those three players have: aggression and size, class and burst speed from the contest and a strong balance between winning the inside and outside ball.

3) The Lewis Young Conundrum

Beveridge mentioned a few weeks ago that the re-introduction of Ryan Gardner into the side was done with the intent to combat the tall timber we would be set to encounter in the weeks ahead and to get the side used to playing three key defenders. With Gardner set for an extended period on the sidelines due to an injury to his AC Joint, a forgotten man was once again given an opportunity to make his mark.

There are many Western Bulldogs supporters (the team at The Salty Bulldog included) who have plenty of faith in Lewis Young and his ability at AFL level so to see him make a return to the senior side was a very pleasing one.

With star key forward Aaron Naughton ruled out after halftime following concussion we got to see Young move from centre half back to centre half forward and he didn't do too bad a job in the role.

It was a promising performance from the fifth-year key position player, who collected 13 disposals, took six marks (two contested) and had eight kicks, two rebounds and five one percenters, the equal most on the ground with Zaine Cordy. Young even attended 17 ruck contests and registered seven hitouts with four of those to advantage. How about that for versatility!

That said, it would be nice to give Young some stability in where he is played as well as consistent game time, especially when you consider that Tim English; who was a part of the same 2016 draft class, has played 58 games of a possible 90 since his debut (49 of the past 56), while for Young its just the 19 games spread across five years of a possible 85.

Provided Young remains in the line-up, it will be interesting to see where he is played over the next few matches and whether it is enough to convince him that his future lies at the Western Bulldogs.

There is plenty to go in 2021 and Young will potentially have a huge say in how far we go, not only this September but hopefully in the years to come as he remains an important part of the Club's vision going forward as it tries to return to the Promised Land.

On another note, the team at The Salty Bulldog was devastated when the ball was taken from his hands by the umpire in the last quarter and given to Josh Bruce after he took what was a fantastic contested mark 20 metres out, robbing him of the chance for a maiden AFL goal. Utterly disgraceful!

Lewis Young once again donned the famous sleeves as he put in a promising performance against the Kangaroos. Source: AFL Photos

4) A Favourite Son Back In The Frame

After returning to the Western Bulldogs line-up as the medical sub against Geelong two weeks ago before once again donning the vest in last week's demolition job over West Coast, Mitch Wallis played his first full game in the red, white and blue since round two against the Eagles in Melbourne.

It was Wallis's fifth game of the season and I thought he was rather serviceable throughout the course of the game, gathering 12 disposals, five marks (two of those inside 50), kicked three goals and had eight score involvements.

Following Naughton's concussion, Wallis seemed to play a fair bit deeper in the forward line as an undersized key forward, returning to the role he played admirably in 2020 which saw him kick 25 goals.

Unsurprisingly, in terms of where he spent the majority of his time on the field, Wallis gathered 10 of his 12 disposals (83%) in the forward half of the ground.

It was a promising game from Wallis who still remains the Vice-Captain at the Club but remains out of contract at the end of this season. I am still quite confident a deal will be struck for him to stay at the Bulldogs for the rest of his career before he moves into a coaching role at the club.

How good would it be to see him on the podium in September, collecting a premiership medal? We can still dream.

Mitch Wallis celebrates with Toby McLean after slotting one of his three goals on the weekend. Source: AFL Photos.

5) Maturity In A Different Sense

Unfortunately lightning didn't strike twice this season against North Melbourne as the Western Bulldogs fell 99 points short of its round three winning margin earlier this year but I don't think people can appreciate just how hard it can be for professional athletes to always be mentally engaged with what is in front of them.

This was evidently the case for us coming into Sunday's game as we sat second on the ladder with our opponents in 18th and we put up a poor pressure rating across the four quarters (171 - Below Average). Such types of games can be quite difficult to self-motivate yourself for or bring the best out onto the field of play.

It is hard to take many things out of such a flat game with not much at stake but the fact we were always able to respond when required; admittedly through bursts and moments of brilliance than the collective performance we have become so accustomed to this year, as we didn't let North once kick more than two goals in a row.

As strange as it might sound, considering what we put forward against North it wasn't that poor of a win.

Although it comes against the 18th placed side, there has been a different vibe to the Kangaroos as they have been putting in rather plucky performances in recent weeks against Brisbane, GWS, Essendon and St Kilda so for us to secure the win despite not playing anywhere near our best after a tough six-week stretch speaks volume of the group and its ability to keep going.