AFL end of season report card: Western Bulldogs


READ MORE

Grade: C-


Record: 8-14


The Dogs will enter 2019 with a vastly different list to the one Luke Beveridge started with in 2015.

The Dogs will enter 2019 with a vastly different list to the one Luke Beveridge started with in 2015.


Photo: AAP

What went right? The Dogs became one of the youngest sides in the competition, and there were positives with many of the kids. Ed Richards looks a serious player off half-back, Billy Gowers was regularly a forward threat and ended up topping the goalkicking, Patrick Lipinski emerged as a likely type, and Aaron Naughton performed solidly in an often-undermanned and inexperienced defence. Meanwhile, Toby McLean continued to establish himself and Josh Schache showed glimpses to suggest he could still live up to the expectations of being a No. 2 draft pick.


What went wrong? This was the year it became clear 2017 wasn’t just a premiership hangover. Having already lost a handful of 2016 premiership players through retirement and trading, the Dogs were unable to get several more on the park for much of the season. Liam Picken didn’t play at all as he battled concussion, while Tom Liberatore went down in the first game with a knee injury. For much of the season the Dogs were faced with an enormous injury list, highlighted by the fact only two players – McLean and Jason Johannisen – played all 22 games. Other flag heroes, like Luke Dahlhaus and Caleb Daniel, were inconsistent, while for the second straight year the Dogs struggled to find a reliable goalkicker.


Likely best and fairest? Jack Macrae was unlucky not to win the Charlie Sutton Medal last year, but he should be hard to beat in 2018 after averaging more than 32 disposals across 19 games, having missed three through injury. McLean, Lachie Hunter, Johannisen, Marcus Bontempelli and Zaine Cordy should also feature prominently in the count.


The one thing they need? On-field stability. So much of the last two seasons has been spent chopping and changing, with players losing their spots in the team due to form and injury. With a raft of free agents and experienced players out-of-contract, plus premiership players Shane Biggs and Clay Smith having already retired, the Dogs will enter 2019 with a vastly different list to the one Luke Beveridge started with in 2015. There is promise, though, and the Dogs loom as one of next year’s intriguing sides.


Article source: http://smh.com.au/nsw/woman-25-found-dead-in-alley-near-chatswood-train-station-20171008-gywrz5.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World Cup Central: Dhoni, Akhtar, Botham in All Blacks all-time cricket XV

READ MORE Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print World Cup fever has crossed platforms. There was Harry Kane sneaking into India’s training sessions to meet Virat Kohli. And now there’s the All Blacks picking a XV made up of past and present cricketers. With the @cricketworldcup underway in England, we’ve taken a look at all the best players from past and present to select the ultimate Cricket XV! SQUAD NOTES https://t.co/B3rnj5OBuJ #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/KuUtPU77PT — All Blacks (@AllBlacks) June 2, 2019 And they’ve got some pretty cool reasons for picking some pretty cool players. Curtly Ambrose : If anyone wants to argue with this selection then take it up with Sir Curtly himself. We dare you. MS Dhoni : The Richie McCaw of Cricket. Enough said. Dwayne Leverock : Famous for his one-handed catch at the 2003 World Cup, the 130kg Bermudian would surely make just as big a splash on the rugby field. Jofra Archer runs in to bowl  Get...
Read more

Banned Bancroft's journey of self-discovery

Image
READ MORE © Getty Images Spanish lessons, yoga and a host of community work have all been part of the path taken by Cameron Bancroft since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. The Australia batsman has been looking to seek the sort of perspective and self-knowledge that will prevent him from following the kind of instructions issued to him by David Warner in the Cape Town dressing room. Bancroft spoke in Perth on Saturday ahead of his return to cricket via Twenty20 and 50-over appearances in the Northern Territory, where he will also endeavour to work closely in developing local talent. It’s the next step on the path away from Newlands as Bancroft serves a nine-month ban from the game imposed by Cricket Australia under its code of conduct. Perspective on life was greatly needed as Bancroft, Warner and the former captain Steven Smith pondered what evolved in South Africa, and Bancroft said he had spent plenty of time devoting himself broadening his own knowledge and also to...
Read more

Drones to become the new naval mine hunters under Morrison pledge

Image
READ MORE Advanced navies worldwide are increasingly turning to drones to do mine hunting and clearing work at sea. Marcus Hellyer, a former Defence Department official and now a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that using autonomous and unmanned sea vehicles allowed the crewed ship to stay at the edge of a minefield, keeping naval personnel safer. The Morrison government has promised if re-elected to fast-track the building of two new mine hunting naval ships. Credit: Nine Newspapers “Common sense has prevailed,” he said of the decision. “Rather than keeping going down the path where you have old technology being extended at great cost, this will introduce new technology more quickly and that’s a good thing. “The current path does keep the human at the centre of the minefield, but the new approach lets them stay outside the minefield and let autonomous vehicles go in and do the dangerous work.” Article source: https:/...
Read more