Bundled Out: Giants Give Bulldogs A Reality Check

Western Bulldogs 2.0 5.5 7.6 8.7.55 GWS Giants 3.5 6.9 12.11 16.17.113

Goals

Western Bulldogs: Naughton 2, McLean, English, Suckling, Schache, Lloyd, Richards GWS Giants: Finlayson 3, Kelly 3, Greene 3, Cameron 2, Himmelberg 2, Lloyd 2, Whitfield

Alex Docherty’s Best

Western Bulldogs: Macrae, English, Cordy, Duryea, Lipinski, Wood GWS Giants: Whitfield, Hopper, Taranto, De Boer, Finlayson, Greene, Kelly

Well, that’s the Western Bulldogs’ season done – probably not the way you or I anticipated it, but sometimes it is what it is in football.

I for one, came into this game expecting a belter of a contest and for at least a half of it, it was what we had come to expect. It was a good contest, and despite the Greater Western Sydney Giants controlling quite a lot of the play, it was only 10 points separating the two sides by the half time siren. But after that the Giants found another gear that the Bulldogs could not.

It’s disappointing, it’s frustrating and at times, it was aggravating to watch, but I can certainly tip my hat when I recognize a great performance. And as much as the supporter in me hates to admit it, I can’t help but acknowledge how good the 22 individuals in the orange and charcoal played on the day.

There have been questions asked about this GWS team since the 2016 Preliminary Final, and why they can only win one final every year since then. I have argued for years that it’s a team issue and when push has come to shove, they crumble into their own shells. There was nothing in that on Saturday that suggests my theory rings true – It will make their semi final against Brisbane at the Gabba next weekend all the more stimulating.

What did I take from this game? From the moment Matt Suckling kicked that pearler from outside 50 inside the opening 15 seconds of the game, the Bulldogs found themselves on the back pedal. This was due to the ongoing pressure that the Giants applied in the middle. Contested possessions are a big thing in modern-day football and the fact that the Giants were +15 in that aspect by quarter time alone was alarming.

They were also +12 in the inside 50s and recorded eight scoring shots to two. I can recall saying to myself by quarter time that the fact that the Bulldogs were just 11 points down was very flattering. If you saw the game, you’d know that blokes like Toby Greene and Lachie Whitfield were running around doing what they liked – and that is the key to losing games like these. As they are so damn potent with the footy.

The margin extended to 24 points midway through the second term through Harry Himmelberg and Jeremy Finlayson, before the Bulldogs began their run of three straight goals to get within a kick of them heading into half time, but it was Finlayson again who bobbed up at an important moment in that game – just as the Bulldogs began to press and set the game on their terms. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and looking back, that probably was the punch that sent the Bulldogs on the ropes.

Sure it was Josh Schache who kicked the opening goal of the second half to put the Bulldogs back within a kick, but after that it was the Giants who flicked the switch and continued on their way with 10 of the next 11 goals in the third and fourth quarters to put the game beyond doubt. It was comprehensive beyond belief, they completely harrassed the Bulldogs into submission and denied them to run and carry the ball they would have at times this year.

Was it disappointing? Without question, but when you look back on the year, it was a massive step up from last year, when they finished in the bottom six. It’s even made even more impressive when they made finals and finished seventh when they had only won four of their first eleven games. To me at least, I think that’s the blueprint going into next year.

11 of the Bulldogs’ 22 selected played in their first Final out of the eight teams that played this weekend, the Bulldogs had the least average player experience of them all with an average of 76 games per player. If that doesn’t speak about where the Bulldogs can go beyond 2020, then I don’t know what can. We’ve seen firsthand what this side can do and the scalps it has taken this year. I can’t wait to see them continue to improve in 2020.

Leading The Way

Whilst there were plenty of experienced players that did have the colours lowered, Jack Macrae has been the picture of consistency this year and soldiered on for another good performance in the middle. He had 32 disposals, nine tackles, seven clearances, three inside 50s and three rebound 50s. He was probably the Bulldogs’ best player by the proverbial country mile.

I really enjoyed watching Tim English in the ruck and this was one game that he benefitted from the lack of athleticism from his counterpart in big Shane Mumford. He had 17 disposals, four tackles, three clearances and three marks and kicked a goal that left Mumford in his tracks, but the thing that I took out of this game was that he wasn’t far behind him in the hitouts. Mumford had 39, English had 30.

I thought the defensive unit stood up well when the game was up for grabs. Easton Wood took a few brilliant intercept marks that drew shades of his career best year in 2015. Zaine Cordy has been one player that has been under the microscope at various stages this year, but I thought for the most part, he did a very good job in maintaining Jeremy Cameron – he kept him goalless until the fourth quarter when the game unraveled completely. Taylor Duryea (17 disposals, eight rebound 50s and six tackles) tried hard as well. Also a special mention to Patrick Lipinski (24 disposals and six tackles) who I thought was solid in his first final.

The Opposition

Let’s probably start with their match winners in the middle. Lachie Whitfield had the ball on a string on the wing, posting up 30 disposals, seven marks, six tackles and seven inside 50s, along with a very good goal in the opening term. But the two in the middle that need to be recognized were Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto. 19 of Hopper’s 30 disposals were contested possessions and Taranto had himself 28 disposals, seven clearances, and 11 inside 50s. They were the pacesetters as the Giants dismantled the Bulldogs on contested ball.

We need to discuss Matt De Boer. He matched up on Marcus Bontempelli in round 22 and had his colours lowered on that day. I am not a fan of him or the tagger role in general these days, but you must pay credit where it’s due as De Boer went to him again and learned from what happened a few weeks ago. He shut Bontempelli out of the game completely and restricted him to just 13 disposals and zero impact after half time.

Speaking of villians, Toby Greene played a strong part, particularly in the first half. He kicked three goals and finishing up with 20 disposals, five marks and seven inside 50s and added another dynamic in that forward 50, which is frightening considering that Jeremy Cameron, Jeremy Finlayson and Harry Himmelberg all combined for seven goals. Also need to highlight Josh Kelly’s game, he kicked three goals when he went forward in the second half and tore the defence to shreds – a stark contrast to his first half, when he only had six touches.

Can’t say I’m a fan of what the Giants' planned when they went after the Bont. I hope Greene gets the book thrown at him at the tribunal, and the likes of Harry Himmelberg and De Boer can consider themselves very lucky they didn't get weeks for their off-the-ball hits on Bontempelli. Nonetheless, it's very disappointing that they went for these tactics

#2019 #AFL #WesternBulldogs #GWSGiants #Review #EliminationFinal #AlexDocherty