5 Things We Learned - Round 18

It wasn't the most convincing of wins as the Western Bulldogs defeated the Gold Coast Suns, 14.6 90 to 11.13 79 at Metricon Stadium last Saturday night but it was filled with enough quality to see the Bulldogs notch up their 13th win of the year and firm its hold on its top-four spot and second placing on the AFL ladder.

At times it appeared quite a tough, grinding game whilst being a frustrating one altogether as it was more akin to a team that was trying to hold its place in the top eight than one meant to be challenging for a premiership but it's still four more points added to our tally and that will do for now.

The middling performance kept our 2021 interstate record in top shape (5-0) with just a probable trip to Tasmania (pending COVID-19) to come to make it a clean sweep, the first time ever for us in the current 18 team environment.

On another positive note, we kicked more goals than behinds for the ninth time this season!

The Western Bulldogs secured their 13th win of the season thanks to the brilliance of Marcus Bontempelli (centre). Source: AFL Photos

1) Where The Match Was Won

The midfield is always an essential part of any game of football and it proved to be the case once again not just simply in getting the rewards from dominating it but the pendulum effect it has the other way by halting the opposition too.

Although the Suns kicked 40 points from stoppages, the fact we were able to restrict the number to just 22 after quarter-time and just the seven points between the second and third terms, emphasises our midfielders ability to get on top of that part of the game and this can be seen via our clearance dominance across the middle two quarters (12-8 & 14-8).

We seemed to click into gear when we were required after trailing by 12 points late in the first term to kick six of the next seven goals and nine of the next 13 all up to take a 28 point lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Suns kept coming at us but we were always able to respond to the challenge thrown at us and seemed to lift when we needed to.

Although we aren't always going to be playing our best brand of football across the four quarters it would be nice to see us kick into action without needing to be pushed to do so. That said what this does highlight is that this team is capable of waking up from its slumber and is quite deadly when it is up and about, making up for lost time.

A little-known fact to some is that the Gold Coast defense is probably one of the more unheralded backlines going around the competition, as they have conceded the seventh-lowest amount of points this year. Having key defenders like Sam Collins, Jack Lukosius and Charlie Ballard is a more than handy starting point for any backline and they made all three of our key forwards work for their goals.

Despite our main key forward duo being rather quiet, their presence allowed number-one draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan to get off the chain taking five marks - four of those inside 50 and kicking three goals.

Even though the Bulldogs converted just 37% of their 46 inside 50 entries before three-quarter time, the fact we kicked 11.5 from 17 shots at goal (65%) was quite important as it helped us build a three-goal buffer heading into the final quarter which proved enough to stave off a determined Gold Coast outfit.

Against the Suns the Bulldogs kicked quite accurately, going 70% (14.6 90) which was well above our season average of 56.3% - ranked 11th in the competition. The Bulldogs also recorded a kicking efficiency of 66% in the forward 50 which was 19% higher than the Suns.

2) The Forward Set Up

With Jamarra Ugle-Hagan displaying just what he was capable of after kicking three goals, the equal most on the ground with Suns forward Alex Sexton, do we bring up the question of what is our forward set up over the next few weeks.

After a blistering start to the opening half of the season, key forwards Josh Bruce and Aaron Naughton who combined for 63 goals up till round 12 (24 games combined) have been a bit sedate as of late with the duo pairing for just the 12 goals in following nine combined games since (five for Bruce, four for Naughton).

In more immediate rounds, Bruce has kicked just the four goals over the past four weeks, taking only 12 marks in that time, Naughton has returned from a rib injury and concussion in the past month has slotted seven goals from 18 scoring shots while English has been playing more as a sole ruckman in that time.

Playing two rucks alongside two key forwards was no doubt rather successful in the first half of the season as it saw us average 103.3 points up to round 10 but interestingly we have scored an average of 83.72 points from that point onwards. This has potentially come about with the Bulldogs going with the sole ruck option since round 14, with their preference to pair English with Stefan Martin made clear with the former only paired twice with Jordan Sweet despite Martin's absence in 10 matches this year.

Furthermore, in the opening 10 rounds, we kicked 15 or more goals on six occasions while we have just reached that tally once from rounds 11-18, which came against North Melbourne.

We all know the benefits of playing two rucks this season as this has allowed English to not only have more stamina for him to take ruck duties throughout the four quarters but it has helped him become a damaging forward as well.

Do we decide to stick with three key forwards (Bruce, Naughton, and Jamarra) and play two pressure-based small forwards (Garcia and Weightman) or the two rucks and two key forwards which would not only allow a bit more structure but a contingency plan as well?

Interestingly there have been rumours that Martin might actually be unavailable for the remainder of the season but that is just speculation. Perhaps after not featuring in the AFL side for the opening 16 rounds, Jamarra just might have the opportunity to lock down a spot in the coming weeks and potentially have an impact in September...

After Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was deemed "Not ready" following last week is there now a case for playing three key forwards? Source: AFL Photos

3) Why Was There A Lack Of Communication Down Back?

Collectively, the players who we would deem defenders on our list have played 125 matches from a cumulative total of 204 with Taylor Duryea, Alex Keath and Bailey Dale combining for 51 games and are the only ones to have not missed a match this year.

What has gone under the radar though is that over the past half dozen weeks there has been plenty of instability across the backline.

In that time we have gone from playing two key defenders to three before returning once more to two. We have moved certain players higher up the field like Caleb Daniel while others like Anthony Scott have featured down back in small spurts. Jason Johannisen has spent more time than usual this season behind the ball over the past few weeks while there has also been the return of Ed Richards and Hayden Crozier who was dropped for three games and the absence of Ryan Gardner who too returned after a lengthy layoff.

Concerningly our spoiling efficiency was just 52%, which highlights a fault in the method of spoiling incorrectly or indecision for who is going up to kill the contest.

Gardner isn't a household name for sure but he fills an important role in the side and it is one he excels in as he averages the second most spoils of any Bulldog since 1965 (6.72), behind premiership Bulldog Joel Hamling (6.78). Of course having other renowned players in this skill like Easton Wood being absent through injury certainly hurts, as does the up and down form of Hayden Crozier who had been a rock down back the previous three years.

That assurance gives clarity to the rest of the defense, knowing what they are meant to be doing and that they can focus solely on their job at hand.

There were at least four occasions against the Suns throughout the game that resulted in goals where there was an apparent confusion on who would be spoiling or coming off their man before ultimately an error would occur. Indecision is a killer and that type of uncertainty displays a lack of assurance and it could have potentially prove costly against a better side.

4) Macrae The All-Round Maestro

I have been hoping to have a "Lesson" dedicated to Jackson Macrae for quite some time and this is probably the most appropriate week to do so.

We all know just how good Macrae has been over the years but he has taken his game to another level this season. Interestingly though he is strangely not getting as many plaudits for the improvements as it appears he isn't as underrated as before.

Macrae is seventh in the competition for total clearances with 110 (average 6.5 per game), but it is in the centre square where he excels, as he is third in the league for centre clearances (3.1 per game). This of course is what we have come to expect from the star Bulldog but what is pleasing is how he has definitely become more of an offensive weapon this year.

To prove what type of weapon he has become, 2021 has seen Macrae average a career-high 4.82 inside 50s per game (rated above average), sit 11th for average score involvements (7.3), and seventh overall (124) for total score involvements, while he also leads the competition for goal assists with 21, three more than Bulldogs, Marcus Bontempelli, and six more than Lachie Hunter respectively.

Macrae has also added extra penetration to his kicking and this is reflective by averaging 10.9 effective kicks per week to go with his 26 effective disposals. This has resulted in him becoming one of the best players in the competition this year to deliver the ball inside 50 which has resulted in marks inside 50, featuring alongside teammate in Marcus Bontempelli as well as opposition midfielders in Zach Merrett and Dayne Zorko.

Macrae returned to his customary 30+ disposals that we have seen so often over the years against the Suns, becoming the fastest V/AFL player to reach the 5000 disposal mark, doing so in 176 games, two quicker than Greg "Diesel" Williams and has reached 30+ disposals in 28 of his past 29 games (round 13 2019 onwards) which have come during the standard 20 minute plus time quarters.

I think it's pretty clear to see that Jackson Macrae has become an even better footballer in 2021. Source: AFL Photos.

5) Key Defensive Depth Needs A Boost In The Off-Season

This ain't a groundbreaking point by any means but it follows on from my third point and the lack of a second key defender is still our biggest whole on the ground. In this instance, it was not from a key forward giving us nightmares during the game in one on one duels but more so when there is intense pressure brought upon our defensive half.

All teams that are competing for the premiership have well and truly established who their preferred defensive combinations are and although we have to an extent, they still leave us with our hearts in our mouths at times.

Melbourne has Steven May and Jake Lever while Brisbane has Harris Andrews and Marcus Adams. Tom Stewart and Lachie Henderson for Geelong, David Astbury and Dylan Grimes for Richmond and Tom Barrass and Jeremy McGovern for West Coast, and lastly, the Swans have Dane Rampe and Tom McCartin (who we made look like a prime Matthew Scarlett last week). Not all of those players are stars but they are essential members of those sides' defensive setups.

Obviously, there is a common theme and it is clear to see that these teams are currently or have been at the pointy end of the ladder over the past few years and it is a quality defensive pair - an interceptor with a lockdown defender.

When you look at the Western Bulldogs you say Alex Keath and a mixture of Zaine Cordy, Ryan Gardner, and Lewis Young or even undersized medium defender.

Currently, we have four players that you would identify as key defenders but only one of them would you say is certainly an above-average footballer in Keath.

It is still our Achilles heel but as I mentioned following our defeat to Geelong, I am still confident that our defence is capable of helping us achieve premiership success this year but if anything were to happen to Keath, forget how good our midfield is we'd be absolutely stuffed down back.