I don’t know how you all feel, but I am so happy to have football back – even if it is in the form of a practice match, with the real thing still less than two weeks away. Football is Football and I’m just pleased to have it back.
With the sun shining down on Whitten Oval on Saturday morning, I went down to have a look at the AFLW practice match between the Western Bulldogs and Geelong. Aside from supporting the team, the main reason I found myself down in Footscray on a Saturday morning was to see how this Western Bulldogs’ team travelled against a team that should find itself in the mix for Finals in conference A this season.
Now granted, history has shown us that practice games shouldn’t be taken too seriously and that the results mean little. This was the Western Bulldogs’ second practice match, having had one a week earlier against Richmond down at Punt Road. However, because it was closed to the public, fans couldn’t get a look at what this team could do. But from all reports, the Dogs showed a ton of promise last week and outscored the Tigers significantly.
Like many others, this was my first serious look at the new Western Bulldogs’ team - a new coach in Nathan Burke, you’d assume a new game style, and plenty of new faces in the red, white and blue for the year ahead. For me, this is an important game just to try and assess where the Dogs are at ahead of 2020. The expectations are at a minimum, but I walked out of Whitten Oval this afternoon happy with what has happened and quietly confident that the Dogs can cause a few headaches for opposition sides this year.
Can they make a push for Finals this season? Well, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here - as good as they were, there is room for improvement for this side, but the early signs are positive. There’s a bit to take out of this game, which is what this article is all about.
The Game Plan
From the first bounce, you could just tell that the Dogs will be looking to move the ball as quickly as they can. The first few minutes of the game showed that they were looking to run up the middle of Whitten Oval as much as they can. Sometimes it worked a treat and other times they were caught red-handed by Geelong players all throughout. But, I don’t think new head coach Nathan Burke will mind too much, as long as they have a crack and show the endeavour - the rest should work itself out.
When it worked a treat, they were able to get players running inside 50 with no defender between them and the goal - this is how they got their first two goals. By having that ability to press up the ground and then having the speed to burn their defenders. It was exciting to watch when the skills were on full display. Unfortunately, as my next point will say, the skills that were showed in the 80 minutes of football left a bit to be desired.
The Skills
Now, every side will make mistakes. This is a given and to put it simply - it’s football, doesn’t matter what grade you play. But after the Dogs kicked two on the trot in the opening term, the Cats managed to stifle the Dogs’ momentum through their own ball movement. The Dogs coughed up a late goal in the opening quarter due to clumsy free kicks and in doing so, also coughed up the lead at quarter time.
A big benefactor in the shift of momentum was the Dogs’ skill errors in the second term. Too may kicks went everywhere but the designated target. Which can be frustrating to watch from the stands, but again, as long as the endeavour remains consistent, that is an issue that should fix itself in due time. A lot of Bulldogs got into the right spots, particularly when they got the ball off half-back. It was just the execution that was let down.
The State Of The Captain
It was on the Friday morning that it was announced that Ellie Blackburn would take on the duties of the full-time captain in 2020, after being named co-captain last year and stand-in captain the previous two years when Katie Brennan was unable to. In my honest opinion, she is the right woman to lead this team into the new era, her leadership qualities are extraordinary and after all, she did lead the club to the 2018 flag.
After starting the game strong in the opening term, shrugging tackles and winning clearances in the middle. She found herself in the hands of the trainers midway through the second term clutching her arm and ran off the ground. She would not come back to the game and taken to hospital in what looks likely to be an injury that could derail her season before it even begins. Fingers crossed for Ellie and hopefully she can come back into the side this season.
With her absence in the middle, it was up to the likes of Kirsty Lamb, Aisling McCarthy, Gabby Newton and others to do the job in the middle, and I think the result of the match told the story. I thought those three in particular stood up when they needed to in the second half and there were plenty of others that got a run in there that will be given the credit that they deserve.
The Bounce Back
Down by five points at half time, the Bulldogs conceded two goals in the space of the opening four minutes in the third quarter. They looked seemingly out of it, the Cats had their way in the centre in the opening minutes and they were able to put it on the scoreboard and open a 17-point lead in the early stages. Not since the opening term had the Doggies looked a serious threat and the chances of walking into round one with some confidence was slipping.
However, after the first five minutes, the Dogs got the game back on their terms, they were running, and they were consistently putting the ball inside 50. I didn’t count how many times the ball found it’s way inside 50, but I’d wager it would be over a dozen times. The only thing that I found disappointing was the lack of finishing. After kicking 2.5 in the opening half, they would kick a further 2.5 in the third term to tie the scores up at three-quarter time when they should’ve really been ahead. A lot of missed opportunities both made by the players and through the luck of the bounce.
Fortunately, they found themselves ahead in the opening minute of the last quarter and never let go of the lead from then on out. They showed that they could run out the game exceptionally well and had the game sewn up midway through the quarter. A couple of late goals turned what was a 24-point lead into a bit more of a respectable result for the Cats, but those at the game will know that they were well-beaten in the second half.
The Kids
So a key point of interest of mine heading into this morning was how the kids were going to adapt at senior level. Newton showed at numerous stages why she was so highly rated in the under-18s last year - there was a lot of class when she had the ball in her hands. Another highly rated youngster that impressed was Elisabeth Georgostathis, particularly in the second half. There were a couple of times she highlighted her pace and burned a few Geelong players, she set up a handful of goals in spectacular fashion and was strong in contested spaces.
Hannah Munyard, who was signed on by the Bulldogs following the AFLW Draft showed plenty of potential along the wing and half-back. She’s got pace to burn and used the footy well at times. Amelia Van Oosterwijck played predominantly forward and when the footy was around, she was busy, she tackled well all throughout the game and will only get better in time and Nell Morris-Dalton will get better with more games I believe - she didn’t get a lot of it on Saturday, but when she did, she looked good with it and was a menacing presence without it.
The Established Players
Three players that have been on the Bulldogs’ AFLW list for the past few seasons caught my eye on Saturday for the right reasons.
The first one is Kirsten McLeod. I’ve always been impressed with her pace and as she has got games into her the past few years, she’s slowly turning into that player who knows where to be and how to be a dangerous small forward. On Saturday, she kicked 2.3 and looked like she’ll be in for a big year. Of course, the big disappointment is the finishing as she probably should have had three or four, but overall, it was really pleasing to see her consistently get in the right spots and be a serious threat.
The second player is Bonnie Toogood. She played as a key forward and the result showed that she kicked three goals for the match - all of them coming in the second half. What those that weren’t at the game won’t know is that she did a bit of running up the ground and was very dominant in the air, taking several good grabs. There’s always been flashes of potential with Toogood, either as a key back or forward, but I like seeing her playing forward a bit more permanently.
Last, but certainly not the least, is Bailey Hunt. In the first season of AFLW, she was named a Rising Star nominee in round one. But following that, she has been in and out of the team a fair bit. I thought that what I saw from her today was some of her best football, playing a bit further up the ground. She consistently got her hands to the football and looked dangerous when she had the ball in her hands.