The start of the 2018 season hasn't been too kind for the Western Bulldogs so far. Despite recording a nice victory over the Essendon Football Club on Sunday, they were comprehensively beaten by both Greater Western Sydney and the West Coast Eagles in the first two rounds, and that drew a lot of criticism from both supporters of the club and media experts – I won't name names here, but I'm pretty sure my fellow Bulldog supporters know who I am talking about.
A thought popped into my head last week leading up to the Essendon game – how would the young Bulldogs fare against some of the worst Bulldogs players we've seen from the 21st century? I'm talking draft busts, trade acquisitions that didn't work out and general players that got opportunities but didn't fully take them. For the 'Young Pups' I've included everyone who was drafted from 2012 to now and they must've played at least one senior game to be selected.
On first glance, you'd think the young Bulldogs of today would have them covered, but inexperience often hurts in senior footy, which is why I found it interesting to compare the two teams, when I put the teams together. Which is why today on Bulldogs Centre, I have a look and ask the question: “Could The Young Pups Of Today Beat Some Of The Worst Bulldogs Of This Century?”
The Young Pups Of Today
Taking a look at the young Bulldogs' of today, it's astounding to think that there is not a lot of experience in this side, but yet, eight of this 22 have already got a premiership medallion to their names.
Folks such as Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae and even Lachie Hunter have been touted as guys to take the club forward, so it's no surprise that they are the first ones picked in this side. We all know that 'The Bont' is a one-of-a-kind player. One that can dominate in the middle and can have such a presence up forward as well. Macrae is ultra consistent in terms of finding the footy and using it pretty well and Hunter is one that has proven to be a ball-winner and a forward option throughout this time as well. This trio are the most experienced players of this group, playing a combined total of 277 games – an average of 92 games between the three.
Only one other player in this side has recorded over 50 games, that being Caleb Daniel, who is a smart decision maker and a brilliant user of the ball. On the flipside of things, eight of the 22 have played under 10 games. This includes first-round picks from last year's AFL Draft – Aaron Naughton and Ed Richards and the first round pick from the 2016 AFL Draft – Tim English. All three have already shown enormous upside. Lewis Young can be play either forward or back, whilst Kieran Collins off the bench can play defence and allow Zaine Cordy and/or Marcus Adams to go up forward.
The forward line consists of a 'Twin Towers' that most supporters have already fantasised about, but questions remain about top-two draft picks from years gone by in Josh Schache (2nd Overall in 2015) and Tom Boyd (1st Overall in 2013) – Are they fit enough? Do they have the desire in them to make an impact in games? But they have the smalls around them to do a little bit of damage. Billy Gowers has proven to be a handy pickup in his first year, Pat Lipinski – from just one game – looks like he could be something, whilst Josh Dunkley, Toby McLean and Bailey Dale have been proven goal-kickers as well – what works well is that these three can also play midfield and provide good depth. The most intriguing players come from the likes of those on 20-30 games. Mitch Honeychurch gets unfairly criticised for his disposals and decision-making at times, but he absolutely puts his body on the line in every contest. Lukas Webb has found himself in and out of the side since being drafted. Marcus Adams has been pretty handy since his debut, but he finds himself injured more often than not and Bailey Williams is just starting to find his spot as a rebounding half-back flanker.
Overall, the talent on this list is solid, but the average games of the 22 is a little concerning – averaging just under 30 games per player. The Team
B: Zaine Cordy (33 games), Aaron Naughton (3), Rourke Smith (2)
HB: Bailey Williams (21), Marcus Adams (21), Lukas Webb (20) C: Lachie Hunter (87), Jack Macrae (102), Bailey Dale (33)
HF: Josh Dunkley (25), Josh Schache (27), Patrick Lipinski (1) F: Billy Gowers (3), Tom Boyd (49), Caleb Daniel (55)
FOL: Tim English (4), Marcus Bontempelli (88), Toby McLean (41) INT: Lewis Young (7), Ed Richards (2), Mitch Honeychurch (25), Kieran Collins (1) Average Games: 29.5
WB's “Worst" of the 21st century Despite the fact that this team averages 10 games more than today's young pups, this team features a lot of disappointing recruits and first-round draft picks on every line. Whether it be due to laziness or the fact that they just couldn't achieve in the top flight, it's the worst of the worst that makes this side and it's not to disrespect any of the people here, but it's just for comparison.
It's also worth noting that I've only counted the games that these players played for the club and not overall. Of the 22 selected in this side, eight of them played 50 games or more.
The defensive six is headlined by current Carlton player Liam Jones, who despite not playing any of his games as a backman at the Bulldogs, has thrived in defence for the Blues since last year. Overall he was a very mediocre forward and was exposed greatly following the retirement of Barry Hall. 2006 first-round pick Andrejs Everitt is also named after struggling for years before being traded at the end of 2010. Rounding out the defensive six includes former Port Adelaide player Scott Bassett, Shane Birss, Stephen Tiller and Cameron Wight who all found themselves in and out of the team at one point or another.
The on-ball brigade features three first-round picks that turned out to be massive busts. Sam Power and Farren Ray played a combined 159 games for the club and are amongst this team's most experienced players, but from where they were picked (Ray 4th Overall in 2003 and Power 10th overall in 2001) they could've got much, much better players. The other first-round pick being Christian Howard, who the Dogs took with the 15th pick in 2009 – the problem being they could've snared future Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe with this pick instead.
Cameron Faulkner – who was once touted to be the next Andrew McLeod, along with disappointing ex-Lion Justin Sherman round out the starting midfield, with Peter Street starting ruck. Personally, I reckon a ruck duel pitting Street and Tim English would be an interesting spectacle to see, but overall I think English would have him covered in terms of skills and ability to cover the ground. I'd like to see Wayde Skipper – who I've named on the bench – go head to head as well.
Up forward has a number of much-maligned players. Naming Jade Rawlings at full-forward after his 2004 season was a no-brainer of a choice. How he kicked seven in one game and then struggled afterwards is beyond me. Josh Hill once had potential, but now fails to find himself in an AFL list for 2018, likewise Jarrad Grant, who was selected in the first round of the 2007 AFL Draft ahead of Patrick Dangerfield and Alex Rance. Father/Son selection Ayce Cordy is lined up at centre-half forward, after failing to make much of his opportunity with the club, whilst Patrick Bowden and Brennan Stack round out the forwards of this team.
The Team
B: Stephen Tiller (21 Club Games), Cameron Wight (36), Scott Bassett (15)
HB: Andrejs Everitt (36), Liam Jones (66), Shane Birss (51) C: Cameron Faulkner (18), Farren Ray (75), Christian Howard (20) HF: Jarrad Grant (81), Ayce Cordy (27), Patrick Bowden (50) F: Josh Hill (66), Jade Rawlings (29), Brennan Stack (21) FOL: Peter Street (61), Justin Sherman (24), Sam Power (84) INT: Nathan Djerrkura (21), Kieran McGuinness (26), Steven Koops (11), Wayde Skipper (45)
Average Games: 40.3 It would be interesting to see these two sides match up, the young Bulldogs have the talent, but overall, the Bulldog rejects have the experience. Who do you think can win this match?