Bulldogs Can't Compete Due To Drafting Mistakes
When it is all working perfectly there is no better team to watch, but for the Bulldogs and their array of short forwards all the kicks do have to be perfect or it all breaks down. They don't have big forward targets and this is due to the philosophy of their recruiting department and their coaches.
1997
Mark Alvey, they obviously weren't watching out at Waverley when Goodes was dominating for Victoria Country, before being injured. Not that Goodes didn't show what he could do later on when he starred in the TAC Cup Grand Final on the MCG. Other players who were bigger, and better, than Alvey and could have been drafted by the Bulldogs include Dean Solomon, Ian Perrie, Andrew Kellaway and Nathan Thompson. The philosophy, that still exists, about trying to win with small forwards was very evident as they traded picks 15, 31 and 38 for small forwards Matthew Robbins and Simon Garlick. Picks 15 and 31 would become premiership players too.
1998
Luke Penny, they actually tried to find some height but it fell apart for Penny and the Bulldogs, and then his knee fell apart at the Saints. Considering they drafted Nicky Winmar, at pick 30, it shows that attitude problems were not an issue with their recruiting. A couple of players dropped in the 1998 AFL draft due to that concern, Danny Jacobs who marked everything and Brendan Fevola who kicked a lot of goals in the TAC Cup. Ken McGregor went very late in that draft too.
1999
They may have made several successful picks, but they were only for the small players. They went big with a couple of Patricks, Wiggins and Bowden, but that didn't work. They could have had Hille or Biglands. The Bulldogs were still trading away picks and players to acquire small forwards, at this time they traded for Eagleton, which helped the Power assemble a bit of their future premiership side. The Bulldogs did try to bring in some bulk, they acquired Trent Bartlett and sent out another draft mistake, Michael Martin who was pick 14 in 1994.
2000
While Carlton really went bad in this draft, with Livingston, Sporn and S Wiggins in the early picks, the Bulldogs also wasted a couple of high picks on McMahon and Birss. Bulldogs fans don't need to be reminded about how great Drew Petrie can be, and he could have been theirs. The Bulldogs did find someone tall who is actually still on their list, Skipper went at pick 70.
2001
What were they doing taking Sam Power at pick 10, Ashley Hansen would have been a much better choice. Matt Maguire, Mark Seaby, even LRT would have been A-OK. Brad Miller and Damon White went late in the draft, and that is also where the Bulldogs found their current full back, when they drafted Harris at 71.
2002
At least they tried to go a bit big in this draft, but without a lot to show for it yet. Minson at pick 20 is something they did well, but they don't play him enough, that is something that needs to change and he should be playing every game in 2008. A few picks earlier they went for their usual running player, this time it was Faulkner. Jared Rivers, Paul Johnson or even Daniel Merrett would have given the Bulldogs more height, Merrett would have also helped in the strength department that the Bulldogs are lacking in. But the Bulldogs struggle to identify the best of the tallest, Walsh at pick 4, ahead of Hamish McIntosh, is not looking good. They did draft Cameron Wight at this time, and while he does measure well when it comes to height he does have a problem with bulk and strength.
2003
They had two picks in the top 4 and added some more midfielders, nothing wrong with taking Cooney but Ray is a disappointment. While there wasn't a great amount of height available in this draft, Ryan Murphy would have been someone who could take marks and kick a lot of goals. They also could have had Hudson a lot sooner, they wasted pick 50 and Hudson went shortly after that to the Crows.
2004
Another bad year brought about more picks in the top 10. Hawthorn had the right idea, loading up on key position players, although it would have been better to pick Franklin and then Roughead. The Bulldogs missed on Franklin. They did take Tom Williams, another phenomenal athlete, and he might become an important tall defender but he may never be strong enough to battle the best forwards of the AFL. Later in the draft they missed out on forwards like Rusling and Newton, and while they did take Tiller he is another player who isn't a real key position player.
2005
Higgins and Addison may have skills, a lot of them when it comes to running and kicking an exciting goal or two, but they are not the types of player that the Bulldogs need. The Bulldogs are way over their quota for midfielder/small forwards. Max Bailey, Robert Warnock and Trent West would have brought them size, even very late in the draft Joel Patfull was still available.
2006
They went for athletes again, and they didn't need players like Stack, Hill and Lynch. They may all be able to play at AFL level but the Bulldogs needed size. In the first round, taking A Everitt was not a bad move but he is not the marking key position player they need. Mitchell Brown or Jack Riewoldt up forward would have given the Bulldogs someone to kick to. There was also size in the back half available with Mackenzie and Renouf.
2007
Coach Eade said he got the best available talent, that doesn't make sense when the team needed players with bulk and height.
Jarrad Grant is not someone that a forward line can be built around, he is more of a complimentary piece. McEvoy would have been a huge body to place at centre half forward and then to add parts around him. The Saints did well, as did the Lions who took big Henderson. If Jarrad Grant was drafted by the Lions, and teamed with Jonathan Brown, he would be a lot more effective than being the number one forward option that some at the Bulldogs think he could be.
The Bulldogs went for another midfielder, but a strong and smart tall defender was available. Adding Pears to the back line would have improved the Bulldogs a lot. Collier and Otten were also there to pick. The biggest of all, Dawson Simpson, was there too. In some of the post-draft reporting, there have been suggestions that the Bulldogs were hoping for Tarrant at pick 19, if this is correct then that means that some at the Bulldogs realized they needed to stock up on key position players.
The Bulldogs could have also added Thompson from Geelong's VFL side with their next pick, instead of yet another midfielder. They just traded away Jordan McMahon, but then drafted someone who plays just like him.
The Bulldogs must have spent plenty of time looking at Dandenong's TAC Cup players, but they didn't identify the one who plays like a real key forward, Scott Simpson. If there was one player in this draft that had more than a few similarities with Chris Grant it was probably Scott Simpson.
While they did take height late, there were other players available who might have been better than Boumann.
Another midfielder/forward went with their next choice, Melbourne were one of the teams who won the draft and after the Bulldogs took G O'Keefe they found a tall defender in McNamara.
Ben McEvoy - Jarrad Grant
Tayte Pears - Callan Ward
Scott Thompson - Sam Reid
Scott Simpson - Easton Wood
Dean Putt - Jarrad Boumann
Tom McNamara - Guy O'Keefe
They do have a preseason pick, which they are expected to use on Scott Welsh, as well as some rookie selections but it will be another season at the Bulldogs when they go into battle undersized, and it looks like it will take someone new at the Bulldogs to change how they recruit and play. The Bulldogs have not made it to a Grand Final during the era of AFL drafts, so that points out how ineffective they have been when selecting players.
1997
Mark Alvey, they obviously weren't watching out at Waverley when Goodes was dominating for Victoria Country, before being injured. Not that Goodes didn't show what he could do later on when he starred in the TAC Cup Grand Final on the MCG. Other players who were bigger, and better, than Alvey and could have been drafted by the Bulldogs include Dean Solomon, Ian Perrie, Andrew Kellaway and Nathan Thompson. The philosophy, that still exists, about trying to win with small forwards was very evident as they traded picks 15, 31 and 38 for small forwards Matthew Robbins and Simon Garlick. Picks 15 and 31 would become premiership players too.
1998
Luke Penny, they actually tried to find some height but it fell apart for Penny and the Bulldogs, and then his knee fell apart at the Saints. Considering they drafted Nicky Winmar, at pick 30, it shows that attitude problems were not an issue with their recruiting. A couple of players dropped in the 1998 AFL draft due to that concern, Danny Jacobs who marked everything and Brendan Fevola who kicked a lot of goals in the TAC Cup. Ken McGregor went very late in that draft too.
1999
They may have made several successful picks, but they were only for the small players. They went big with a couple of Patricks, Wiggins and Bowden, but that didn't work. They could have had Hille or Biglands. The Bulldogs were still trading away picks and players to acquire small forwards, at this time they traded for Eagleton, which helped the Power assemble a bit of their future premiership side. The Bulldogs did try to bring in some bulk, they acquired Trent Bartlett and sent out another draft mistake, Michael Martin who was pick 14 in 1994.
2000
While Carlton really went bad in this draft, with Livingston, Sporn and S Wiggins in the early picks, the Bulldogs also wasted a couple of high picks on McMahon and Birss. Bulldogs fans don't need to be reminded about how great Drew Petrie can be, and he could have been theirs. The Bulldogs did find someone tall who is actually still on their list, Skipper went at pick 70.
2001
What were they doing taking Sam Power at pick 10, Ashley Hansen would have been a much better choice. Matt Maguire, Mark Seaby, even LRT would have been A-OK. Brad Miller and Damon White went late in the draft, and that is also where the Bulldogs found their current full back, when they drafted Harris at 71.
2002
At least they tried to go a bit big in this draft, but without a lot to show for it yet. Minson at pick 20 is something they did well, but they don't play him enough, that is something that needs to change and he should be playing every game in 2008. A few picks earlier they went for their usual running player, this time it was Faulkner. Jared Rivers, Paul Johnson or even Daniel Merrett would have given the Bulldogs more height, Merrett would have also helped in the strength department that the Bulldogs are lacking in. But the Bulldogs struggle to identify the best of the tallest, Walsh at pick 4, ahead of Hamish McIntosh, is not looking good. They did draft Cameron Wight at this time, and while he does measure well when it comes to height he does have a problem with bulk and strength.
2003
They had two picks in the top 4 and added some more midfielders, nothing wrong with taking Cooney but Ray is a disappointment. While there wasn't a great amount of height available in this draft, Ryan Murphy would have been someone who could take marks and kick a lot of goals. They also could have had Hudson a lot sooner, they wasted pick 50 and Hudson went shortly after that to the Crows.
2004
Another bad year brought about more picks in the top 10. Hawthorn had the right idea, loading up on key position players, although it would have been better to pick Franklin and then Roughead. The Bulldogs missed on Franklin. They did take Tom Williams, another phenomenal athlete, and he might become an important tall defender but he may never be strong enough to battle the best forwards of the AFL. Later in the draft they missed out on forwards like Rusling and Newton, and while they did take Tiller he is another player who isn't a real key position player.
2005
Higgins and Addison may have skills, a lot of them when it comes to running and kicking an exciting goal or two, but they are not the types of player that the Bulldogs need. The Bulldogs are way over their quota for midfielder/small forwards. Max Bailey, Robert Warnock and Trent West would have brought them size, even very late in the draft Joel Patfull was still available.
2006
They went for athletes again, and they didn't need players like Stack, Hill and Lynch. They may all be able to play at AFL level but the Bulldogs needed size. In the first round, taking A Everitt was not a bad move but he is not the marking key position player they need. Mitchell Brown or Jack Riewoldt up forward would have given the Bulldogs someone to kick to. There was also size in the back half available with Mackenzie and Renouf.
2007
Coach Eade said he got the best available talent, that doesn't make sense when the team needed players with bulk and height.
Jarrad Grant is not someone that a forward line can be built around, he is more of a complimentary piece. McEvoy would have been a huge body to place at centre half forward and then to add parts around him. The Saints did well, as did the Lions who took big Henderson. If Jarrad Grant was drafted by the Lions, and teamed with Jonathan Brown, he would be a lot more effective than being the number one forward option that some at the Bulldogs think he could be.
The Bulldogs went for another midfielder, but a strong and smart tall defender was available. Adding Pears to the back line would have improved the Bulldogs a lot. Collier and Otten were also there to pick. The biggest of all, Dawson Simpson, was there too. In some of the post-draft reporting, there have been suggestions that the Bulldogs were hoping for Tarrant at pick 19, if this is correct then that means that some at the Bulldogs realized they needed to stock up on key position players.
The Bulldogs could have also added Thompson from Geelong's VFL side with their next pick, instead of yet another midfielder. They just traded away Jordan McMahon, but then drafted someone who plays just like him.
The Bulldogs must have spent plenty of time looking at Dandenong's TAC Cup players, but they didn't identify the one who plays like a real key forward, Scott Simpson. If there was one player in this draft that had more than a few similarities with Chris Grant it was probably Scott Simpson.
While they did take height late, there were other players available who might have been better than Boumann.
Another midfielder/forward went with their next choice, Melbourne were one of the teams who won the draft and after the Bulldogs took G O'Keefe they found a tall defender in McNamara.
Ben McEvoy - Jarrad Grant
Tayte Pears - Callan Ward
Scott Thompson - Sam Reid
Scott Simpson - Easton Wood
Dean Putt - Jarrad Boumann
Tom McNamara - Guy O'Keefe
They do have a preseason pick, which they are expected to use on Scott Welsh, as well as some rookie selections but it will be another season at the Bulldogs when they go into battle undersized, and it looks like it will take someone new at the Bulldogs to change how they recruit and play. The Bulldogs have not made it to a Grand Final during the era of AFL drafts, so that points out how ineffective they have been when selecting players.
as an aside, when i was at melbourne uni i spotted sam power around.
It certainly isn't Johnson's or West's fault that they never played in a Grand Final, and now at the end of their careers it looks like they never will get there.
If only the Bulldogs had traded for someone like Richardson, which would have given them a big forward. Or they could have sent some of their veterans to a team that would give them a chance to win a premiership.
The 2008 draft isn't far away, and the Bulldogs may actually get some size next time as they will have a high pick.
You are trying to justify this article by picking out players we should have picked out who were selected 2 or 3 rds after our selections. You could do that with every club.
I agree that the club has made more mistakes than most, but soem of your comparisons are downright pathetic.
Drew Petrie - great??? - He played 2 good games last year, one against us on a day when he played like it was his birthday and now he is a great player- hahaha.
Ryan Murphy - geez he is making an awesome impression with the Dockers isn't he.
Tom Williams -not strong enough?? He is a very big boy and considering he has only played about 40 games of footy in his life he looks a very good prospect - If he is still getting pushed around in two years I will agree with you, but i can't see that happening.
Callan Ward = Jordan McMahon - are you on drugs?? Ever seen the kid play, by these comments I doubt it.
To put Addison and Higgins in the same frame means you haven't seen Addison play.
06 draft - We selected Everitt who looks a very good modern day player. He has excellent kicking skills, runs well and reads the play well. He will be a very good player for the club. The other players mentioned were all gone by our 2nd pick so we had only one chance at these players. I would not swap Everitt for any of them.
To believe that everyone of our selections at this draft and the previous one were huge mistake's is totally unbelievable. Would love you to do a follow up story in 3 years time to see how your theories stand up.
And have you seen the grabs that Grant was taking in the TAC Cup? And you think a forward line can't be built around him? Give me a break.
Watch the Callan Ward video on the AFL website draft tracker, see how he backs into a contest with eyes only for the ball, and then come down with it. After you've watched that, come back and tell me he's exactly like Jordan McMahon.
And have you seen the grabs that Grant was taking in the TAC Cup? And you think a forward line can't be built around him? Give me a break.
It was when describing Sam Reid, and his somewhat disinterested and lackadaisical way of playing, that Jordan McMahon’s name was mentioned.
The new Grant is a long way from helping the likes of Johnson and West. For the forward line of the future there, Grant probably won’t be as effective as Henderson or McEvoy could have been. J Grant may be very fast, but he will never be very big, and that is what the Bulldogs need most.
Geelong and West Coast have the last two premierships, and in the past two drafts they have loaded up on key positions players with height and bulk, so the Bulldogs need to learn from that.
Drew Petrie - great??? - He played 2 good games last year, one against us on a day when he played like it was his birthday and now he is a great player- hahaha.
That is what it is all about, the Bulldogs get killed when faced with someone like Petrie and his combination of height and bulk. It happens year after year, a decade ago it was Croft and Ben Sexton who were given the task of stopping the huge forwards, a decade before that it was Foster and Wallis who were asked to take on bigger players. The Bulldogs never have the size to compete defensively, and they never find enough size for their forward line either.
A “modern day player” with “excellent kicking skills” and “runs well”, that is the Bulldogs press release for their draft picks since 1990. A Everitt is a good player, and will keep getting better, but like the rest of the players running through the middle he does not have a target to kick to.
Everything has already been proven, and it will continue because the recruiting is staying the same. In 1994, people were asking why the Bulldogs went small in the first round with Michael Martin, and others would counter that he had good skills and could run. If the drafting strategy was successful the Bulldogs would be shining their cups.
Thank you for all your comments.
Of the players with 'height and bulk' that you mentioned Geelong and West Coast picking up in the past 2 drafts, how many of them actually played in the aforementioned premierships have plyaed in primeirships? For Geelong, only one player with any sort of height and bulk that is a premiership player is Nathan Ablett, and he was a F/S selection. For West Coast, tell me these premiership players that they've drafted in the past two years that have height and bulk and I'll happily stand corrected.
Now for your reply to Mantis. You say that the Bulldogs get killed whenever they come up against someone with height and bulk.
Hmmm, lets see, Fraser Gehrig has height and bulk and Brian Harris gave him a bath when last they met. Brendan Fevola has height and bulk and he's been Dale Morris' bitch for the last two years. As for Quinten Lynch, do you really think he'd get the service he'd get or kick as many goals as he does without the quality midfield in front of him.
It may surprise you to learn that having the biggest, strongest bloke in the league at Full-Forward does not guarantee you goals. If that were the case we'd just stick Will Minson at Full Forward and he'd kick 10 goals a game.
You refer to Everitt as a player 'running through the middle'. HE'S A DEFENDER FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!!! And if his genetics are anything like his brother's, who started out just as skinny, then he'll be a man mountain in a few years as well. We have a backline that contains Brian Harris, Tom Williams (who you've clearly not seen a photo of in the past 4 years), Dale Morris (he's 190cm in case you weren't aware) Andrew McDougall, Everitt, with Cam Wight in backup, or is 200cm and 100kg not enough height and bulk for you?
I don't mind people having an opinion about the club I love, but when your writing comprises of simply revising every cliche about the bulldogs over the past 5 years and using draft mistakes that every other club including us also made then all you're doing is providing a piss-weak piece of writing that serves no purpose other than to try and make yourself look like some sort of expert on our wonderful game.
That would be great if they did put Minson at full forward and leave him there for 22 games. They are not going to win with Johnson and Akermanis as aerial targets in the forward 50, so get some big bodies up there with them.
There were some VFL games when Minson, McDougall and another tall forward, maybe Skipper, were all marking targets in the forward 50. It wasn't a bad idea to do that.
Johnson the quick option, on the lead and at ground level. Welsh the leading, medium-sized option. Minson the big man. That is a good start around goal. Now they just have to figure out what to do around half forward, maybe Skipper, Murphy and Akermanis.
Hopefully the Bulldogs will have a very different plan than what they had in 2007, and it should include Minson and all the bigger players they can find.
Thank you for your comments.
McDougall? He had ONE good game for Werribee at Full Forward, and he was playing against a bloke who was playing his second senior game. We put him in the backline for the last two rounds and he was serviceable at worst. He gave Tim Boyle a hiding, and by your logic Tim Boyle should be kicking bags every week because he's tall and has bulk.
Skill gets you much further in this game than sheer size.
Thank you for your ill-informed tripe.