5 Things We Learned - Round 19

It was an extremely important victory to the Western Bulldogs as they defeated the Melbourne Demons by 20 points, 13.7 85 to 9.11 65 under Saturday night lights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground making a statement to its top four threats.

There probably have been more clinical victories or greater performances by the Western Bulldogs this year but make no mistake this win over Melbourne carries far greater significance and re-establishes our premiership credentials. To win with several crucial members of our team as well as playing two men down speaks volumes of just how much fight there is in our beloved Bulldogs.

The ledger is now squared at one apiece this season and if there is a third encounter I would be backing us to take the lead in this duel.

PS - The Salty Bulldog is exceptionally sorry for perhaps jinxing Alex Keath last Monday on our Podcast... It is also disappointing news that Ed Richards will be out for 12 days under the mandatory concussion rule after showing such promise in the first half.

Another week. Another win. Another blasted injury or two.

The Western Bulldogs dug deep to record its 14th win of the 2021 AFL Season. Source: AFL Photos.

1) Where The Match Was Won

"Despite the loss, I am still very confident that the result will be a very different one when round 20 arrives."

I wrote these words following our round 11 defeat to the Demons and at the time I probably envisioned our return victory coming in more clinical, free-flowing fashion built off dominating the centre square filled with many of our players coming back from injury.

The victory was there but it was certainly in different circumstances not just simply for the fact we secured the four points but that the game was actually played in round 19 instead of round 20.

As simple as it sounds, it was a win more of efficiency than being harder and tougher for longer but that isn't to say we were outmuscled on the night by any means but when you kick the ball 16% better in the forward half (54-38) and 13% better in the defensive half (67-54) it no doubt plays a huge part in the win.

In round 11, the Western Bulldogs scored just 22 points from stoppages from its 6 clearances but on this occasion, we were able to register 46 points from 49 clearances. Against Melbourne, we scored 13 more points from this source, just below our season average of +13.9 points per game which is the best difference in the competition.

As well as that after giving up 64 points in turnovers to the Demons earlier this year, the figure was reduced to just 32 points. This can be attributed to us forcing Melbourne to play more man on man with our forward line which in turn opened up space in the corridor, giving us better ball movement.

In round 11 the Dogs suffered their worst contested ball differential, losing the statistic by 18.

On Saturday night against the same opposition, the differential was further south (-23) but it didn't seem to matter as our forward half turnover game was on song against the Demons, scoring five goals from forward 50 stoppages. This was a huge result, especially when most teams generally are lucky to kick two goals through such a method.

2) Determination and Dedication To The Jumper

I touched on the topic at the end of the previous "Lesson" but it was interesting to see that for just the sixth time this year we had lost the contested possession count.

When sides lose that statistic by such a margin, it generally means a disaster has occurred so for us to record a 20-point victory over the previously first-placed Melbourne Demons was rather impressive and it highlights the attitudes and strength that the team plays with.

The smother count which we lead 17-11, epitimises the scrap and fight that the team has in them and it hasn't just been on display on Saturday night, but throughout the course of the season whenever adversity has come.

It's a small thing but it shows that although there are challenges thrown at us in different ways, we are certainly going to take it on like a bull.

There is something more of a steely resolve about the Western Bulldogs who haven't shied away from physical encounters like the one against Melbourne, this season.

You could see it in the eyes of Bontempelli, Hunter, Macrae, Smith and Liberatore but you could see it too in many other Bulldogs including Garcia, Bruce and Daniel as well as they came from everywhere to be involved in the melee before half-time following Mitch Hannan's goal.

The great sides of the modern era no doubt were physical and intimidated opposition sides and although we aren't exactly like that, it's more the fact that everyone was in it together and unified.

You take on one.. You take on all of us! Source: AFL Photos

3) Josh Schache The Centre Half Back???

Five years ago a player whose AFL career hung by a thread returned to the team in round 19 against Geelong. That man was Joel Hamling. We now go a full swing into 2021 in round 19 where key position player Josh Schache has been given another chance to make a fist of Aussie Rules.

After barely featuring down back over the course of his previous 57 games, Schache played 89% of Saturday nights game in defence and looked rather sound after collecting 17 disposals, six marks (two contested), seven intercepts, four rebounds but it was the intensity he showed that was rather pleasing, registering 15 pressure acts and four tackles.

Schache and another forward-turn-defender in Bailey Dale combined for 45 goals in 24 games in 2019. Now both are important pieces of our defensive puzzle for different reasons... One has rejuvenated a stagnant career while the other might have just saved his. It is amazing what can happen in the space of 12 months.

A forgotten fact is that the Seymour product still has a contract for the 2022 season after penning a two-year extension; on top of his existing 2020 contract, in November 2019 but there no doubt has been questions raised about whether he is deemed surplus to the Dogs list requirements after just the three games before Saturday night in the past two years.

No doubt there will be bigger tests to come than Ben Brown and Tom McDonald in Finals Football but it was a promising start to a potential career-saving move for Schache.

The team at The Salty Bulldog have always been big fans of Josh Schache and was very happy to see him go well in his second match of the year. Hopefully, things can kick on for him from this point onwards.

A leap of faith for Josh Schache as he faces a new AFL challenge as a key defender. Source: AFL Photos

4) It's Not The Size Of The Dog In The Fight, It's The Size Of The Fight In The Dog.

On a night where many appeared to struggle with ball in hand, Caleb Daniel seemed to be a class above as he seemed to play with a dry footy at times, gathering 34 disposals, a team-high nine intercept possessions, amassed a career-high 16 contested possessions, went at a typically classy 70.6% by foot; which in wet conditions is no mean feat, had 415 metres gained, 26 effective disposals.

To top it all off he too finished with a goal.

Playing now more as a rotation midfielder who floats down back in recent weeks than his customary half-back position of the past few seasons, Daniel has been more involved in scoring chains with 43 of his 76 score involvements coming in the past nine games, compared to 33 in his previous eight from earlier this year.

To further emphasise this positional change, Daniel had acquired 38 rebounds from defensive 50 (average 4.75) from rounds one to eight, while over the past nine weeks the figure is just 26, averaging 2.88 in that time.

Daniel has been always been a damaging player and he has been maneuvered across the ground, after starting as a high half-forward, a wingman, before making a name for himself down back.

Daniel might be a bit below his 2020 Charles Sutton Medal and All Australian form but he is starting to return to the late-season form he displayed in 2019 where he had 11 goal assists in his final eight games. He is still playing an incredibly crucial role for the Bulldogs and has put together another high calibre season.

Caleb Daniel weaves his magic on the MCG. Source: AFL Photos

5) The Grand Scheme Of Things

Generally, now is the time for sides to start putting together their best vein of form and gradually built it up into finals. Under Luke Beveridge the Western Bulldogs have for the most part played its best football in the back half of the season, recording 28 of "Bevo's" 84 victories in the final third of the season, giving him a record of 52/42 from rounds one to 17 across his seven years of coaching.

The last time the Western Bulldogs were this high on the ladder at this stage of the season was coincidentally round 19 in 1998; the 14 wins we have at this point in time are the equal most at this stage of the season since 1985 while of course, our most successful Home and Away seasons are currently 1985 and 1992 where we won 16 games.

The Bulldogs remaining opponents in 2021 are Adelaide, Essendon, Hawthorn, and Port Adelaide and there is every chance we could we witnessing a historical moment for the Club as we hope to set a new record and also win our maiden Minor Premiership.

In 2019 and 2020 we burnt plenty of petrol tickets to just qualify for the finals and were spent when it mattered which won't be the case in 2021. There is plenty left in the tank and now is the time for us to start shifting gears and put the opposition to the sword.