Keys to beating the dogs

[older saint]

One thing about being in lockdown has meant I have watched more footy of other sides than normal. This has allowed me to get a better feel for what the Dogs look like when winning - so here is my non expert strategy:

Keys for Dogs:
- Huge drive off half back , Johanisson and Daniel are like mids off half back and the drive is key for them with their lack of power up forward, Johanison cannot handle a tag , which is critical. Geary to play as a defensive forward on him. Serves the purpose of reducing drive , is smart enough to be an option as was shown against the blues, and I wont be nervous with kicks in the backline. Lonie, Butler must make Daniel accountable also but play their own game.
- English - When dogs win he plays well, when he gets beat they get beat. Young version of McEvoy IMO, moves well around the ground, good mark, but not physical and poor at tap work. Ryder and Marshall must jump into him every chance they get. Gabba clearance is critical and this is where we can grab an advantage with first touch. Bruce plays back up ruck and Marshall must dominate hit outs and make them hurt ( like we used to ) when he goes in there.
- Ross to sit on Hunter, Steele head to head with Bont and Jones ( in for Kent) match up with McRae.
- Stretch the defence - Expose Cordy deep as gets nervous under pressure. Keath likes to get up the ground so likely with Membrey
- Wilkie to Bont when he goes forward, Howard on Naughton, Carlisle Bruce and Paton on Mitch Wallis.

Accuracy is the key and pressure their midfield. Play defensively with an extra is not a bad idea as they push back and run, trying to get behind you.

Armchair expert out.

[freely]

One thing about being in lockdown has meant I have watched more footy of other sides than normal. This has allowed me to get a better feel for what the Dogs look like when winning - so here is my non expert strategy:

Keys for Dogs:
- Huge drive off half back , Johanisson and Daniel are like mids off half back and the drive is key for them with their lack of power up forward, Johanison cannot handle a tag , which is critical. Geary to play as a defensive forward on him. Serves the purpose of reducing drive , is smart enough to be an option as was shown against the blues, and I wont be nervous with kicks in the backline. Lonie, Butler must make Daniel accountable also but play their own game.
- English - When dogs win he plays well, when he gets beat they get beat. Young version of McEvoy IMO, moves well around the ground, good mark, but not physical and poor at tap work. Ryder and Marshall must jump into him every chance they get. Gabba clearance is critical and this is where we can grab an advantage with first touch. Bruce plays back up ruck and Marshall must dominate hit outs and make them hurt ( like we used to ) when he goes in there.
- Ross to sit on Hunter, Steele head to head with Bont and Jones ( in for Kent) match up with McRae.
- Stretch the defence - Expose Cordy deep as gets nervous under pressure. Keath likes to get up the ground so likely with Membrey
- Wilkie to Bont when he goes forward, Howard on Naughton, Carlisle Bruce and Paton on Mitch Wallis.

Accuracy is the key and pressure their midfield. Play defensively with an extra is not a bad idea as they push back and run, trying to get behind you.

Armchair expert out.

love your work.

[Saintmatt]

One thing about being in lockdown has meant I have watched more footy of other sides than normal. This has allowed me to get a better feel for what the Dogs look like when winning - so here is my non expert strategy:

Keys for Dogs:
- Huge drive off half back , Johanisson and Daniel are like mids off half back and the drive is key for them with their lack of power up forward, Johanison cannot handle a tag , which is critical. Geary to play as a defensive forward on him. Serves the purpose of reducing drive , is smart enough to be an option as was shown against the blues, and I wont be nervous with kicks in the backline. Lonie, Butler must make Daniel accountable also but play their own game.
- English - When dogs win he plays well, when he gets beat they get beat. Young version of McEvoy IMO, moves well around the ground, good mark, but not physical and poor at tap work. Ryder and Marshall must jump into him every chance they get. Gabba clearance is critical and this is where we can grab an advantage with first touch. Bruce plays back up ruck and Marshall must dominate hit outs and make them hurt ( like we used to ) when he goes in there.
- Ross to sit on Hunter, Steele head to head with Bont and Jones ( in for Kent) match up with McRae.
- Stretch the defence - Expose Cordy deep as gets nervous under pressure. Keath likes to get up the ground so likely with Membrey
- Wilkie to Bont when he goes forward, Howard on Naughton, Carlisle Bruce and Paton on Mitch Wallis.

Accuracy is the key and pressure their midfield. Play defensively with an extra is not a bad idea as they push back and run, trying to get behind you.

Armchair expert out.

Excellent post - I'm much of the same mind. I'd add ...

Libba is the heart and soul of the Dogs. When he has more than 4 tackles they win >80% of their games. I think the person who has to make him accountable is Hanners; not tag ... but make him responsible / not just roll-off from contest to contest where he can tackle and get involved.

If Naughton doesn't come up - I think Carlisle might be superfluous. In that case - Howard to Bruce and Jones in for Carlisle. If Naughton plays ... Jones in for Kent and Carlisle to Bruce

Keath is an intercept marking machine and also needs to be made to play on man. Nick Haynes has been the best defensive intercept mark for 4 years and didn't take a single 1 on Friday night. The reason? Josh Battle. So there's the solution for Keath - make him accountable for defending Battle - that instantly negates Keath's aerial strength.

If Kent plays - it's going to be incredible important to crack in to Caleb Daniel. Use his nugget of a body to get in the way and pound him - the ball in Caleb's hands with time and space is a dangerous thing.

[WellardSaint]

Saints twitter said Battle kept Haynes to zero intercept marks and he is top of that stat.

I assumed McGovern of WCE was top or near top.
Who did Josh play on in that WCE game when he got 2 touches?

[Saintmatt]

Saints twitter said Battle kept Haynes to zero intercept marks and he is top of that stat.

I assumed McGovern of WCE was top or near top.
Who did Josh play on in that WCE game when he got 2 touches?

The ball was on the ground most of the night and Battle mainly played on a wing. And to be fair ... we still should've won that. 11 pts up with a snap from 15m out would've closed it out. Nek minnit ...

[SaintPav]

First time Haynes has been kept to zero intercept marks.

[stkfc1]

Battle will be super important to keep Keith accountable. Older saint is spot on with his assessment.We will win the ruck contest so we must keep the Doggies HB line in check as they will hurt us on the rebound. I reckon our defence in more than a match for the Dogs fowards so it's up to our mids to maintain tackling pressure to stop their mids kicking goals.

[saintsRrising]

Battle will be super important to keep Keith accountable. Older saint is spot on with his assessment.We will win the ruck contest so we must keep the Doggies HB line in check as they will hurt us on the rebound. I reckon our defence in more than a match for the Dogs fowards so it's up to our mids to maintain tackling pressure to stop their mids kicking goals.

I think Cordy is too short for King, and so I would see Keath and Gardner on King and Marshall.


With Daniel, he has been quite the last two times we played the Dogs under Rats and we have won.

The time prior under Richo the Dogs won and Daniel had a big game.


This year JJ has not been anywhere near as good as he has been in the past, and Daniel is probably amongst the two most important players to keep quiet.

I expect Geary will go onto JJ the same as last time. Daniel I feel they will not have a hard tag on, but they will look to keep him accountable and to deny him the easy ball that he gets by finding space so that his team mates can use him to release to with Daniel's excellent kicking them setting up an attack.


Paddy will beat English in the ruck, but of late English has been pushing forward more as he is quite a good mark and accurate kick on goal. So we do not want a short backline and so I think both Carlisle and Howard will play.

[bigred]

Battle will be super important to keep Keith accountable. Older saint is spot on with his assessment.We will win the ruck contest so we must keep the Doggies HB line in check as they will hurt us on the rebound. I reckon our defence in more than a match for the Dogs fowards so it's up to our mids to maintain tackling pressure to stop their mids kicking goals.

Agree.

We did it to GWS last week. If you have a chance to re-watch that game it is like a death grip that starts across our half forward line. Maybe at the ten minute mark of the second quarter. All of a sudden, it starts to get extremely difficult for GWS to get past our half back line. Need to bring that defensive effort again or they will smash us.

I rewatched the WB game from earlier in the year and really it is the same two teams playing. Our only changes will probably be Hind and of course Gresh.

We absolutely torched them on turnovers and our forward pressure and backline were tip top. Bulldogs ended up over using handball and just coughed it up kicking under pressure. We were 40 points up at 3/4 time.

Guaranteed that Daniel will go to Butler.
We will definitely have ruck dominance. Mids need to get first use.
Forward pressure will bring scoring opportunity.

Extremely winnable game. Extremely winnable.

[SaintPav]

Battle will be super important to keep Keith accountable. Older saint is spot on with his assessment.We will win the ruck contest so we must keep the Doggies HB line in check as they will hurt us on the rebound. I reckon our defence in more than a match for the Dogs fowards so it's up to our mids to maintain tackling pressure to stop their mids kicking goals.

Agree.

We did it to GWS last week. If you have a chance to re-watch that game it is like a death grip that starts across our half forward line. Maybe at the ten minute mark of the second quarter. All of a sudden, it starts to get extremely difficult for GWS to get past our half back line. Need to bring that defensive effort again or they will smash us.

I rewatched the WB game from earlier in the year and really it is the same two teams playing. Our only changes will probably be Hind and of course Gresh.

We absolutely torched them on turnovers and our forward pressure and backline were tip top. Bulldogs ended up over using handball and just coughed it up kicking under pressure. We were 40 points up at 3/4 time.

Guaranteed that Daniel will go to Butler.
We will definitely have ruck dominance. Mids need to get first use.
Forward pressure will bring scoring opportunity.

Extremely winnable game. Extremely winnable.

Not according to our ex.

[bigred]

Who's our ex?

[Ape_Man]

- English - When dogs win he plays well, when he gets beat they get beat. Young version of McEvoy IMO, moves well around the ground, good mark, but not physical and poor at tap work. Ryder and Marshall must jump into him every chance they get.

I am a ruck tragic, but I do seriously believe that our ruck combo is key to finals success.

Our midfield lacks depth of quality, so it makes our ruck work that much more important.

We need Ryder to do Ryder things and dominate the ruck contests for 60-70% per quarter then release Marshall to unleash hell against the second ruck.

When testing forward Marshall can be a terrifying prospect for the opposition and Ryder shall not be ignored.

[saynta]

- English - When dogs win he plays well, when he gets beat they get beat. Young version of McEvoy IMO, moves well around the ground, good mark, but not physical and poor at tap work. Ryder and Marshall must jump into him every chance they get.

I am a ruck tragic, but I do seriously believe that our ruck combo is key to finals success.

Our midfield lacks depth of quality, so it makes our ruck work that much more important.

We need Ryder to do Ryder things and dominate the ruck contests for 60-70% per quarter then release Marshall to unleash hell against the second ruck.

When testing forward Marshall can be a terrifying prospect for the opposition and Ryder shall not be ignored.

People keep repeating that our mid field lacks depth and others start to believe it but it is pure bulls***. We actually should have won 14 games this year and finished in the top two or three on the ladder. You can't do that with a crap midfield.

Marshall, Ryder, Ross, Jones, Hanners, Steele, Sinclair and Clark are all very good midfielders. Classy even.

[samoht]

People keep repeating that our mid field lacks depth and others start to believe it but it is pure bulls***. We actually should have won 14 games this year and finished in the top two or three on the ladder. You can't do that with a crap midfield.

... Ross, Jones, Hanners, Steele, Sinclair and Clark are all very good midfielders. Classy even.

Steele is our standout midfielder. Clark is rotated through the midfield - Hanners is either recovering or playing under duress - Sinclair is good on the outside. We missed Gresham - but he's not the most direct player, he zig zags too much. Ross is too hit and miss with his kicking - he skies and rushes a lot of his kicks and doesn't always look for a team mate.

Kelly from WCE emphatically showed us what we lack - that X factor player - a Dangefield/Dustin Martin/Bontompelli/Steele Sidebottom with exquisite skills - even a De Goey type would be handy.
Someone who could really impact a game, and provide bullet passes to our forwards.

We make up some ground with our ruckman combo ... they are usually better around the ground than their opposition counterparts.

Midfield must remain our focus - our recruiters need to be single-minded in their focus - and get us the best young available talent from now on.
We've been lucky that Steele has remained healthy - we don't really have the depth of other top sides - we are lucky that it hasn't been really tested.

[MC Gusto]

Our recent history against the dogs is good having beaten them in the last couple of encounters

Think we have the wood on them this season although the sides are very evenly balanced.
Should be a cracker of an elimination...wish we didn’t have to wait another week!!

[bigcarl]

People keep repeating that our mid field lacks depth and others start to believe it but it is pure bulls***. We actually should have won 14 games this year and finished in the top two or three on the ladder. You can't do that with a crap midfield.

Marshall, Ryder, Ross, Jones, Hanners, Steele, Sinclair and Clark are all very good midfielders. Classy even.

I agree. Ryder, Marshall and Steele are A-grade midfielders (you could argue elite). Gresham and Clark will be. Hannebery has been and could be again if his body allows it.

Ross is underrated. Jones is more than handy. Sinclair is improving. Dunstan, who I rate quite highly, can’t get a look in.

At full strength, our midfield isn’t as bad as some would have you think.

[Scollop]

If we go into the match with a priority to nullify their strengths we will lose. The key is to back ourselves when going forward. Have a positive attacking game plan that ensures healthy i50 numbers with multiple opportunities.

Yes, you have to defend and protect the corridors and control the centre of the ground, but I remember countless finals where one team comes out focussing on the opposition and the other team comes out focussing on the footy and guess who wins?

So, as far as the niggle and the push and shove and the show of strength are concerned, the coaches need to ensure that our players have the ball as their primary focus. Win each contest and show your strength on the scoreboard.

[johnearljames]

People keep repeating that our mid field lacks depth and others start to believe it but it is pure bulls***. We actually should have won 14 games this year and finished in the top two or three on the ladder. You can't do that with a crap midfield.

Marshall, Ryder, Ross, Jones, Hanners, Steele, Sinclair and Clark are all very good midfielders. Classy even.

I agree. Ryder, Marshall and Steele are A-grade midfielders (you could argue elite). Gresham and Clark will be. Hannebery has been and could be again if his body allows it.

Ross is underrated. Jones is more than handy. Sinclair is improving. Dunstan, who I rate quite highly, can’t get a look in.

At full strength, our midfield isn’t as bad as some would have you think.

Agreed. It would be nice to recruit a couple of more mids though.

Plus draft the best mid available with our first pick.

[saynta]

People keep repeating that our mid field lacks depth and others start to believe it but it is pure bulls***. We actually should have won 14 games this year and finished in the top two or three on the ladder. You can't do that with a crap midfield.

Marshall, Ryder, Ross, Jones, Hanners, Steele, Sinclair and Clark are all very good midfielders. Classy even.

I agree. Ryder, Marshall and Steele are A-grade midfielders (you could argue elite). Gresham and Clark will be. Hannebery has been and could be again if his body allows it.

Ross is underrated. Jones is more than handy. Sinclair is improving. Dunstan, who I rate quite highly, can’t get a look in.

At full strength, our midfield isn’t as bad as some would have you think.

Ross Lyin said on Footy Classified last night, that Jade Gresham was an A grader. Hard not to agree,

If Bytel and Byrnes come on next year we won't be too far off even if we fail to recruit top mid field talent, which we will anyway.

[freely]

Re improving mids, I wonder if example of Steele will make a difference to those coming up behind. Not just Bytel and Byrnes - what about Langlands? He seemed to be maturing all right.

[saynta]

Re improving mids, I wonder if example of Steele will make a difference to those coming up behind. Not just Bytel and Byrnes - what about Langlands? He seemed to be maturing all right.

Langlands is a keeper imho. Very strong body and quick.

[Scollop]

- English - When dogs win he plays well, when he gets beat they get beat. Young version of McEvoy IMO, moves well around the ground, good mark, but not physical and poor at tap work. Ryder and Marshall must jump into him every chance they get.

I am a ruck tragic, but I do seriously believe that our ruck combo is key to finals success.

Our midfield lacks depth of quality, so it makes our ruck work that much more important.

We need Ryder to do Ryder things and dominate the ruck contests for 60-70% per quarter then release Marshall to unleash hell against the second ruck.

When testing forward Marshall can be a terrifying prospect for the opposition and Ryder shall not be ignored.

People keep repeating that our mid field lacks depth and others start to believe it but it is pure bulls***. We actually should have won 14 games this year and finished in the top two or three on the ladder. You can't do that with a crap midfield.

Marshall, Ryder, Ross, Jones, Hanners, Steele, Sinclair and Clark are all very good midfielders. Classy even.

We have the cattle to beat their mids and it starts with our ruck combo. Both Paddy and Rowan are going to feature in the clearances and both will be important at stoppages. We have to win the contest at ground level and win the clearances rather than try and defend or be second to the ball.

It’s basic stuff. Scoreboard pressure and move the ball forward at every opportunity. The Tigers have done this successfully and won 2 flags. Finals are about winning each contest (whether it’s in the air or a loose ground ball) and you have to work your butts off to support your team mates. Time for our boys to shine.

[Vortex]

Our game plan hasn't changed much this year with the main obvious tweek around increasing our i50 count and creating potential to score opportunities within 25m to 30m of goal. It is now a strength and the two important cogs in that set play are Sebby and Kent. It's clear they are playing the role of two way runners between the defensive midfield and forward line and these two will be important to us beating the dogs by either helping winning the ball of our halfback, linking up through the middle for an i50 and then pressing hard to keep it locked in F50. Any scoring Seb and Kent do is a bonus but it is not their primary role.

[George27]

Our recent history against the dogs is good having beaten them in the last couple of encounters

Think we have the wood on them this season although the sides are very evenly balanced.
Should be a cracker of an elimination...wish we didn’t have to wait another week!!

I am enjoying the week off. We are in the finals. This time next week, whatever happens, we are still in the finals !

[samuraisaint]

Our recent history against the dogs is good having beaten them in the last couple of encounters

Think we have the wood on them this season although the sides are very evenly balanced.
Should be a cracker of an elimination...wish we didn’t have to wait another week!!

Jones is glad that we do.