Most of us expected Carlton & the Dogs to win but we all seemed to forget that stat that 73% of the time since 2000 the team that finished higher wins.
Kurt Tippett along with Porplyzia have kicked over 50 goals this year to give their forward line more potency.
Adelaide defeated Essendon by 96 points
This was a non event, unless your an Adelaide supporter. Essendon made one of the worst Finals decisions ever by not playing a ruckman and the Bombers where smashed in the clearances and ruckman Maric looked like Polly Farmer as good as his taps were for his midfielders.
Essendon and Adelaide were even at quarter time but after a 8 goal second quarter the game was all over at half time and this time no “velvet sledge hammer” could save the day. The game got even worse with another 8 goal final quarter which gave Essendon their biggest loss in a final ever in over 100 years.
For Adelaide there forward line was given even more applause with another dominate game by Porplyzia and Tippett (first time two Crows scored over 50 goals) with Burton, Knights & Hentchell giving good support. For Essendon, captain Watson had another quite game, so quite that I did not see him after he tossed the coin at the start of the game. If he wants to be captain, he needs to stand up when counted.
Geelong defeated Western Bulldogs by 14 points
They call the 3rd quarter the premiership quarter but just as important is the way you start the game. Geelong started it beautifully and the Dogs looked awe shocked, as Geelong outscored them 6 goals to 2. While the Dogs managed to get within 8 points in the 3rd quarter after Aker kicked two in a row, the game never seem out of hand for Geelong.
As was pointed out in our tips article, the Dogs would finish better as Geelong had a few players under done in fitness and the Dogs had their chances to storm home and kick themselves into a preliminary final. However they kicked 4.6 and five off those behinds where all gettable and I mean really really gettable.
While the Dogs should be able to defeated Brisbane next Friday, the loss see’s them having to play against St Kilda if they want that place in the Grand Final. Again their downfall especially in the first quarter when they where most pressured was finding a target inside the 50m arc, surely enough is enough. What gets me is that it took 10 minutes into the last quarter for Lake to go forward and by this time the game was almost over. Surely Eade needs to rethink his strategies…
Brisbane defeated Carlton by 7 points
After this game I was a bit like Fevola just shaking my head and asking how did they loss this game? They where 5 goals up with 12 minutes to go and they still managed to lose.
The defeat ended up being the biggest come back to win margin at 3/4 time in over 50 years, did coach Ratten put his cue in the rack to early by resting Judd in the last quarter or are they in fact the biggest “down hill skiers” and do not work hard enough to get back to help their defense?
Has been labelled as a down hill skier & his first final did nothing to squash the label.
The biggest difference was that in the last quarter Brown and Bradshaw kicked 2 goals each while Fevola and the rest of the forward line only managed one between them all.
Rich was quite for most of the night but the last quarter saw him almost double his stats and get several important kicks and clearances including that 50m goal. While the young Carlton guns (Gibbs & Murphy) went missing and it was left to Judd to again try and lift his team up – no wonder he has dodgy shoulders…
St Kilda defeated Collingwood by 28 points
This game was boring, so boring I ended up falling asleep during it.
Collingwood looked like they would match the Saints but after the half way mark off the second quarter, St Kilda kicked into action which saw captain Riewoldt kick 3 goals and get in front. After that, the Pies resistance went down hill and if it was not for St Kilda butchering the ball the margin would have been much worse.
Coach Malthouse is known for selecting big game players but besides Cloke, none of his other match winners in Didak (13 possessions), Davis, Pendlebury (broken leg), Lockyer & Swan provided anything worthy of writing about.
While both St Kilda and Geelong won their games, they where not impressive at all, they did enough to win but if Collingwood, the Dogs or Adelaide can get their act together, the final series is still alive.
Week Two Matches – Semi Finals:
- Western Bulldogs v Brisbane – MCG Friday Night
- Collingwood v Adelaide – MCG Saturday Night
Finals Week One Talking Points
Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below or add your own talking points. The questions will be asked in bold and my response will be un-bold under them. Your input and comments help us make Kick2Kick a better website, so please express your opinions.
- Is it a Geelong and St Kilda Grand Final already?
- On form, Bulldogs will play St Kilda and Collingwood would play Geelong and I cannot see them matching the two on how they played on the weekend.
- Will Pendlebury’s leg injury hurt Collingwood?
- Yes, it puts the pressure on Swan and forces Didak & Davis to play more midfield which robs them off 2-3 goals.
- Will Judd be suspended for his “eye gouge”?
- This is the second time he has ‘done it’ and I would be worried.
- Can the Dogs bounce back and has their forward line again been exposed during the finals?
- We all know my opinion on this matter and once again they where exposed when under pressure. Finals is a different game, much different.
- Will Stevie Johnson get back to play in the prelim?
- He is a freak and if he plays – even 80%, he will be a huge boost but how many 80-90% fit men can Geelong carry? Chapman in last years Grand Final comes to mind…
- Are Adelaide the smokies in this years final series?
- Still do not rate them against a top side with less than a 50% winning record against top 8 teams this year (including their last two wins).
Loading ...
September 7th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
the most disappointing thing for me was the fact that after talking the talk all week the dogs were unable to walk the walk, all this talk of controlling our destiny and this being ‘our time’ was swept aside in 30 minutes of unbelievable football. Jermayn you have not surprised me in criticising the forward line yet again but you cant kick goals if the ball isn’t there right? i think the fact that geelong absolutely monstered the dogs in the centre clearances was the reason the cats jumped out of the blocks and had nothing to do with the forward line. and btw how did brian lake do when he was in the forward line? did he take a mark???NO, did he kick a goal???NO. i have no doubt that having Riewoldt in the forward line would make the dogs near on unbeatable but players of his quality are few and far between and as we saw with collingwood being top heavy just for the sake of it can cost you just as dearly…
as i wrote earlier last week, i expected the dogs to lose finals because they are not mentally ready and this proved to be spot on. guys like griffen, hill, eagleton(again), harbrow, hargrave and giansiracusa played nowhere near the level that they have performed at consistently all year. the good news is we had a chance and lost by 14 points to a side that has won 61 of its past 68 games with their best players, Ablett, Corey, Bartel, Scarlett, Enright, Milburn, Mooney, Chapman and Ling all having super days. the gap has closed and both collingwood and the dogs are capable of upsetting both geelong and st.kilda IF they get there. You mentioned guys like Didak, Swan, Davis and Pendelbury all having dirty days for the pies and if these guys and Johnson, Cooney, Murphy and Griffen for the dogs all play near their best then they becomes 50-50 games.
for the record i too think that it will be a st.kilda and geelong GF but refuse to write off anyone other then the Lions…
[Reply to Comment]
September 7th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
once again jerm i disagree with your opinion on the bulldogs forward line.
we lost because our forward line could not kick accurately, and because our midfielders/half backline were well down on their kicking efficiency and couldn’t hit a target anywhere on the ground. the cats pressure was good but did anyone notice that when the bulldogs ran forward and took risks they scored freely, but when they held up play and chipped around they were unable to get past the half forward line.
it had absolutely nothing to do with the lack of a Key Position Player, it is possible that a KPP may have helped a bit but i fail to see that it is the answer to our problems.
i know one thing the dogs do need to do at the end of the year, if we don’t win the flag.
I’m sorry to all western Bulldogs fans out there but…
Ryan Griffin has got to go. he has barely ever done anything for us and we need to trade him. i cannot see how he is an important part of our team any longer. he should be dropped this week, and Sam Reid should be brought back in.
To win the falg all the dogs need to do is play their natural game.
i cannot beleive that we lost another final to geelong because we could not kick straight. Unbelievable.
Mike´s last blog ..Threadless Tshirt Giveaway at jaypeeonline.net
[Reply to Comment]
September 8th, 2009 at 4:12 am
was the first thing that crossed my mind straight after the siren too mike. Griffen simply is not up to it and at least young Reid would have put his body on the line…time to go back to adelaide Griff…
[Reply to Comment]
September 8th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Sorry about not replying sooner, had to buy a new computer as my old one died straight after posting this article, talk about timing…
First of all, I was actually saving Griffen for the Bulldogs season report as he could be a handy trade bait for a forward option.
Again we have this argument and again I point to the fact that finals is a different game, its higher in pressure and the fact is that again the Dogs have failed to match the pressure needed especially their forwards. Griffen, Cooney, Murphy etc have played enough finals for inexperience not to be an excuse anymore.
Yes in the first quarter they where monstered by the Cats but the fact is that in the whole game they simply did not have the option who could mark the ball (save Aker in the 3rd quarter). All the winners on the weekend had at least one tall target who could take a contested finals mark (Tippett, Brown, Bradshaw, Mooney, Riewoldt & Kosi). I bet your forwards contested mark tally was down inside 60m.
Yes Lake did not score a goal but my query is why not try him up forward for more than 10 minutes? Not many players can impact in just 10 minutes alone. You moved Hahn & Welsh down back so why not bring Lake forward? He is one of the best contested marks (#2 most marks) in the competition.
[Reply to Comment]
September 8th, 2009 at 11:04 am
jermayn the simple fact of the matter is, is we would have won if we had of kicked straight. simple as that. the lack of a KPP had nothing to do with why we lost. if we had of won not many people would say anything about the lack of a power forward. we lost because we didn’t kick straight when it mattered. St Kilda lost to North Melbourne because they couldn’t kick straight. do they have a KPP? yes they have two. the bottom line is, we did not lose because we didn’t have a power forward. we lost because we were beaten initially but when we controlled the ball we were unable to convert on the scoreboard.
KPP HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!
Mike´s last blog ..Threadless Tshirt Giveaway at jaypeeonline.net
[Reply to Comment]
September 8th, 2009 at 11:06 am
by the way. a quote from an ‘expert’ (the coach of the bulldogs)
Eade lamented his side’s unforced errors, sloppy start and uneven effort for their loss to the Cats, which cost them a preliminary final berth and a week off.
“[Our kicking] was poor. I think the worst part of the game was the first quarter for us, and Geelong’s skills were fantastic,” he said.
“People talk about our forward line, but really, our forwards had no chance with the way we kicked the ball.
“There were a lot of times where our forwards were out or they had space, and we kicked it over their heads or we dropped some chest marks.
Mike´s last blog ..Threadless Tshirt Giveaway at jaypeeonline.net
[Reply to Comment]
September 8th, 2009 at 11:09 am
and how was your forward line when you where beaten earlier in the game? It was non functional expect the 3 minute burst from Aker. My point is that your forward struggled when under pressure and yes a KPP does not guarantee success (never said that) but it gives you a back up plan when things are not going your way.
To win finals you need a back up plan, Geelong lost last year because they had none and the Dogs continue to loose the big pressure cooker final matches because your forward line has no back up plan.
[Reply to Comment]
September 8th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
jermayn you have to take your blinkers off mate, you seriously have a severe case of tunnel vision when it comes to this issue. things are not always so black and white. All teams have strengths and weaknesses and the best teams are those that can exploit other teams weak spots and play the game on their own terms. This has been a trademark of Geelongs play in the last 3 years and of the Saints this year and stretches back to all successful sides that i can remember. the cats play a high possession game that starts from the backline where their defenders get an unprecedently high number of statistics, they use their backline as a springboard and relish when teams kick the ball in high and long and the best way to force teams to do this is by applying massive amounts of pressure through the midfield(ditto st.kilda). Guys like Harley, Taylor and Scarlett are so good at reading the opposition and players such as Enright, Kelly and Mackie have so much confidence that once the ball is on the ground they take off and become their sides most dangerous players. This is why they have been so successful and the reason why they can beat teams with a small forward line(dogs) and teams with KPP’s(beat the Brown and Bradshaw lead Lions by 90 points earlier this year). the dogs’ biggest weapon is by far their foot skills and forward efficiency. they possess some of the most skillful players in the league and as has been mentioned(many times) a variety of forwards who are as good in the air as they are on the ground. This combination has made them the highest scoring team in the competition in ’09(second in ’08) and amongst the top teams for both marks and contested marks inside the f50.
i will agree that finals football brings out a different intensity however as mike made mention, when you make uncharacteristic mistakes under no direct pressure, i.e.continually kicking the ball over leading players head, Welsh dropping the easiest of chest marks,lake dropping any mark, higgins not making the distance from 15m out on the run!!, Hahn kicking out of bounds on the full twice plus Cooney and Johnson’s set shots in the last quarter says to me that our problems run deeper then having a bloke who stands 6ft4 in the goalsquare. i knew we were in trouble when i saw Robert Murphy sucking in the big deep breaths in the race before the first bounce whilst the geelongs blokes had a steely resolve in the eyes. People are entitled to their own opinion but as someone who watches the Dogs closely every week i can hand on my heart say that the Dogs do not need a KPP to win a premiership, what they do need is 22 blokes to put in 100% and be switched on from the very first minute as Geelong and St.Kilda have consistently done all year.
The bottom line is that the Dogs were beaten by a better side(on the day) who forced them into playing a brand of football that was comfortable for them and uncomfortable for the Dogs.i am confident that the Dogs can turn it around this week against the Lions(does having 2 quality KPP’s mean that you will be backing Brisbane Jerm??)whether they have the belief or the hunger to beat the saints remains to be seen and even if they don’t i will not be too disheartened as i feel we have a good 3 or 4 years left in which to contend for that elusive flag.
[Reply to Comment]
September 9th, 2009 at 9:02 am
@Deano & Mike – I am not saying that KPP are the answer for any premiership team, as you point out Brisbane have two of the best and have only made the finals once since 2004. However quality KPP are the cherry on top that can be the difference between playing finals and finishing 3rd to winning that premiership.
Have you read Leigh Mathews latest article?
In the Brisbane v Carlton game. Brisbane in the last quarter reverted to a new game plan. The first 3 quarters they had a kick/ handball ratio of 1.3 kicks to every handball. In the last quarter seeing they where under pressure and their current game plan did not work, they went to plan B. The last quarter they had a kick/ handball ratio of 3.3 kicks for every handball. That is a big difference in todays game.
What I am saying is that in finals at times, it does not go according to plan and you need to have a back up plan and the Dogs do not have one. They rely on kicking the ball into the midget forward line with a high efficiency. Finals you cannot rely on this, you need to be able to kick the ball long and have confidence that they can mark a contested ball and if not, the midgets (and you have some of the best in the competition) can crumb off them.
[Reply to Comment]
September 9th, 2009 at 8:03 am
well said
[Reply to Comment]
September 9th, 2009 at 9:55 am
your argument is ridiculous, the exact same thing happened in the lions and blues game as in the dogs and cats game, both the dogs and the lions were outplayed before both got on top in the middle and moved the ball into the forward line quicker and more efficiently in the last quarter. that the lions were able to convert their opportunities was the only difference, if the dogs had kicked 10 goals straight would they then have a successful plan b? i think not. mate i respect your opinion most of the time but you have lost me on this one, your naivety and ability to be influenced by what the ‘experts’ say and think staggers me…
[Reply to Comment]
September 9th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
@Deano I know this is a fruitless argument with you but the only two people I have ever heard who disagree with me (‘experts’ and ‘lunchbox experts’ like us) is you and Mike.
Again let me stress that tall KPP are not the only answer or solution to win a premiership. I am saying it helps and the Dogs would be imo a better rounded side. I also doubt they can win a premiership with the current forward line and I will go on record with that.
[Reply to Comment]
September 9th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
as i have stated and please read this again just so it sinks in, i have absolutely no problem with your opinion and we have agreed to disagree on this many times. however, my problem lies within the inconsistencies that permeate throughout your argument. my problem with experts is that they get paid to do what they do and often when a story is not there they make one up. It is very easy to sit back after a game and say that this is why that went wrong and so on, Matthews article may prove to be correct but only a day or two earlier he was singing the praises of the Dogs and that their loss to the Cats would not be the end of them and that the gap between the top2 and the chasing pack was closer then he had thought. so which are we to believe? that the dogs have no chance because of a lack of a key forward or that they are closer than ever to the top2?
Jermayn, this is where my main problem with your argument lies, on the one hand you are adamant that finals pressure is what brings the dogs undone and that they can’t compete against the big teams without a KPP in the forward line yet you picked them to beat the Cats. How can you have such strong views about our september ability yet still tip us to beat a team hell bent on redemption? i by no means class myself as an expert(as is evidenced by my prediction of the st.kilda side) everybody gets things wrong at times and i have been guilty of this many times in my life but there is one thing for certain that i know and that is that players and teams alike do not lose their ability, football does not change in finals you still have to run, chase, kick, handball etc, what changes is the physical pressure that gets applied and the mental pressures that lie within individuals. whichever team can apply the most physical pressure and cope with the mental side of things generally comes out on top. if this were not the case then someone like Greg Norman would have as good a record as Tiger Woods. Greg did not lose his ability to hit a golf ball, he was the best in the world for near on 15 years, what he did lose was his ability to keep his cool under intense pressure whereas Tiger would put on his red shirt and send a collective shudder throughout the chasing pack. And before anyone says that individual sports are different to team sports they are not. individuals exist within teams as well and if there are any weak links within teams then they get found out. in essence it is the team with the least amount of weak links that gets the job done. it is my opinion that the Dogs had to many weak minded individuals on the weekend and i would like to re-iterate that i predicted that this would be the case(over the finals series). i also predicted that to win the dogs would have to withstand the opening barage(which they did not), be within striking distance at 3qtr time(not close enough.) and that jermayn would pull out the old ‘dogs lacking a key forward’ card(again, despite picking them himself).
again i have no problem with your theory but at least have the courage to stand by it. to start pulling out quotes from other peoples thoughts just shows how small minded your own thoughts on the game are(and you did not reply to my thoughts on this planb theory.) that Rich was able to bust through a couple of tackles and snag a bomb from outside 50 and Bradshaw was able to pull a goal from his ass is the reason why the Lions are still alive and has nothing to do with any planB. the fact of the matter is they ran harder, tackled harder, kicked inside 50 more efficiently and kicked more goals then points. The dogs ran harder, tackled harder, kicked inside 50 more efficiently but kicked more points then goals. if this argument seems fruitless to you then so be it but i have strong theories on the psychology of the game(and sport in general) and will stand by them despite what you, leigh matthews or anyone else has to say. perhaps it is time you followed suit…
btw why did you tip the dogs and are they fast becoming your most hated team???lol
[Reply to Comment]
September 9th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
man that was a long comment….
I appreciate you taking the to argue with me and as Mike & Princess will know, I never back down from an argument
If you read my tip from last week, I said:
I admit I thought they would win but in watching the game, I said to my wife. I have been saying this all season (about their forward line inefficiency) and I should have stuck with my season long opinion.
[Reply to Comment]
September 10th, 2009 at 8:03 am
wow deano i commend your effort. arguing with jermayn is like trying to get water out of a rock. it doesn’t matter how right we are, and what the experts say. his mind will never be changed.
i do find it interesting that Leigh Matthews, Robert Walls (two of the games experts) both seem to think the Bulldogs are able to win a premiership with the forward line they currently have.
i do agree that a KPP would be handy, but again it is NOT pivitol to winning games, especially finals.
The big question i would like to ask…
If The Bulldogs Had of Beaten Geelong (which they should have) Would Jermayn Still Be Complaining About Our Forward Line???
Mike´s last blog ..Threadless Tshirt Giveaway at jaypeeonline.net
[Reply to Comment]
September 10th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Until the Dogs win a premiership or two and undoubtedly show that they can win finals and tight matches with the current forward line I will not budge from my opinion.
I hope for your guys sake I am wrong but Walls is a clown and a ‘has been’, so I would not guarantee a premiership based on his comments.
The proof is in the pudding, if you had won by kicking 8.2 instead I may have still questioned your forward line efficiency in the first 1/2 of the game. The win would have glossed over my questions over the forward but the loss highlights it even more imo.
[Reply to Comment]
September 10th, 2009 at 8:41 am
no trying to change his mind…
[Reply to Comment]