Bulldogs Season Review

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Hey guys, as many of you know I am running an AFL Blog for this season and I am currently writing season reviews for all 18 AFL clubs. To start with I have done the Western Bulldogs. I thought I would post it here so everyone can get a look at it and you can also have your say on the Dogs' season.

Western Bulldogs Season Review

Season in a Snapshot

Ladder Position: 15th - 5 wins, 17 losses (67.01%)
Most Disposals: Matthew Boyd (721)
Most Goals: Daniel Giansiracusa (28)
Played Every Game: Liam Picken, Matthew Boyd
Debutants: Fletcher Roberts (2 games), Michael Talia (4 games), Daniel Pearce (5 games), Clay Smith (16 games), Tory Dickson (17 games)

Stat Leaders:

Kicks: Matthew Boyd (374)
Handballs: Matthew Boyd (347)
Tackles: Liam Picken (119)
Hit Outs: Will Minson (667)
Clearances: Matthew Boyd (139)
Contested Possessions: Matthew Boyd (308)
Uncontested Possessions: Matthew Boyd (412)
Inside 50s: Ryan Griffin (106)
Rebound 50s: Robert Murphy (85)

Best & Fairest:

1. Matthew Boyd (168)
2. Ryan Griffen (150)
3. Liam Picken (110)
4. Luke Dahlhaus (91)
5. Mitch Wallis (88)
6. Robert Murphy (86)
7. Tom Liberatore (81)
8. Tory Dickson (60)
9. Daniel Cross (59)
10. Brian Lake (57)

NAB Rising Star Nominations:

Mitch Wallis - Nominated for his round 4 performance against the Melbourne Demons. He picked up 22 possessions, laid 7 tackles and had 3 clearances. He finished 3rd in overall voting for the NAB Rising Star Award, receiving 19 of a possible 45 votes.

How did the Season go:

This season was never going to be a really successful one for the Bulldogs in terms of winning games and it is fair to say that we saw that throughout the year. New coach Brendan McCartney came in and they were always going to be struggling with injuries in defence to key players like Dale Morris and Tom Williams, while up forward they lacked a key target who could play consistent football. They started off with 3 bad losses, the worst a 63 point loss to the Saints, before they got back to back wins against the Demons and Giants. They were competitive against Geelong and Collingwood, won easily against Gold Coast and enjoyed a very good team win over North Melbourne. A 90 point loss to Sydney took them into the bye. Things went downhill from there, with their round 12 win against the Power their last for the year. They managed to get some key player back like Tom Williams and Brian Lake which were encouraging signs. Lake did spend a lot of time forward though to compensate for the lack of a real target up there. A lot of youth was used in the backline, with Roughead, Wood and Markovic given the key defence roles each week. They got carved up back there a lot of time, but they will get better with devlopment. They have uncovered some real gems in the midfield in the likes of Mitch Wallis, Tom Liberatore and Clay Smith, who have all had an impact on the game since debuting. The forward troubles continued, with Giansiracusa, Dahlhaus and Dickson being the main source of goals, none of them tall targets. The team is certainly improving, but still has a long way to go before it is playing consistent football that can put them into finals contention.

Excitement of the Season:

The excitement for the season for the Bulldogs would have to be Mitch Wallis. After playing only 6 games of AFL last year, the talented teenager cemented his place in the Bulldogs best 22. At the club, he finished 3rd overall for disposals, 4th for tackles, 3rd for contested possessions, 4th for clearances, kicked 7 goals and finished 5th in the club Best & Fairest. He also received a NAB Rising Star Award Nomination in Round 3 and finished 3rd in the overall award. A father-son selection taken at pick 22 in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft, Wallis exploded this year and provided a lot of run through the midfield. He was strong in the clearances and was usually quite effective in his disposal work. He will be a mainstay in the Bulldogs midfield for a long time to come.

Another who could win this award is Tom Liberatore. He has an almost identical story to Wallis, being a father-son pick drafted in 2010 and has really made his mark this year. His record was tarnished when he was arrested by police for drug possession and missed the last couple of months of the season from a club suspension. He should come back next season a better person and player.

Another I just had to mention is of course Luke Dahlhaus. He really broke into the side last season, but his work this year in the fledgling Bulldogs forward line has been phenomenal and really deserves a mention. He has always been around, kicking goals and getting in the faces of his opponents. He makes a very dangerous small forward who can push up the ground and get some possession as well. His season was cut short as well by injury, but he will return for a full pre-season.

Disappointment of the Season:

The disappointment at the Bulldogs this season for me has been Liam Jones. With Barry Hall retiring at the end of last season, someone needed to step up to take the key forward role. After playing 20 games last year and having somewhat of a breakout season, it was thought that he would be able to step up and play a bigger role. He disappointed though, with 12 games this year, interrupted by form and injury issues, only yielding 9 goals and only one game with multiple goals.  It was not a good season for him, but to be fair it would've been hard taking some of the best defenders in the league every week and not really having many tall bodies around him to help. He only played 1 game from rounds 15-23 as injury hit him and other tall players like Brian Lake and Tom Williams were used in tall forward roles instead with greater effect.

Another one who has had a tough year is Dale Morris, though through no fault of his own. Morris broke his leg in a sickening clash late in 2011 and was expected to return to the side sometime late this year. He made a return to the VFL mid way through the season, but could only manage a quarter of football before he felt soreness in the leg and has since had many more complications with it. The All Australian full back has no doubt been missed by the Bulldogs this season down back with the youngsters left to hold down his old position. He is hoped to be able to return to full training sometime near the end of the pre-season and the by then 30 year old should be able to play again.

Where is the club heading next year:

Next year looks encouraging for the Bulldogs. They should get back experienced defenders Tom Williams and Dale Morris to full fitness to provide a bit of strength down the spine of the team so the younger players can develop around them. Brian Lake will not be at the club however, with it today being announced that he is being traded to Hawthorn, along with the Bulldogs second round national draft pick, pick 27 for picks 21 & 41 from Hawthorn. This ensures that the Bulldogs will be able to get in some quality youth from a strong draft, and the loss of Lake should not be too great, seeing as he only has a couple of years left in him to play AFL. This leaves the club with 6 picks in the top 50, which will be able to see them get some quality youth players into the side. They are definitely a club on the rebuild and with a group of experienced players around them, these youngsters should develop into fine AFL footballers. One thing the Dogs should look at in trade week is another forward target, possibly someone like Chris Dawes or Scott Gumbleton. This would provide another strong body and stability to the side when they really need it. It looks to be an encouraging year next year for the Dogs, who are a young side on the rebuild with a new coach and new outlook. Expect them to be more competitive next year and to win a few more games. I would say somewhere around 8-10 wins would be the club's target and a placing around 12th on the ladder would be a pass mark.

Final Say:

The Bulldogs are a club on the rebuild and this year will probably be their lowest year as they get in a good group of youth and start to slowly rise again. They did well in their first half of the season to win 5 games, but after the bye they were disappointing, with only 1 more win to the tally. Given injuries to key players and a lack of personnel up forward, you could still say that they have had a decent season, but they have certainly had their low points that they would like to forget. I give the Bulldogs a C+ for season 2012.

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