The Western Bulldogs' forward thinking

You make the boldest and biggest move in your club’s recent history – to overpay a young and supremely talented forward to be the linchpin of your next successful side – so then what?

Well if you are the Western Bulldogs you go to the draft and build around him.

It is hard to know if the Bulldogs’ draft strategy changed with the recruitment of Tom Boyd, but the clear direction in the 2014 draft was to build a forward line of the future with Boyd as the focal point.

The first four picks of the Bulldogs’ draft were taken on medium-sized forwards with midfield capabilities in a clear step towards building a forward line in one off-season.

Typically it is rare for a club to take the step of focusing entirely on one area of the ground in one off-season. The standard is that you will improve a little bit across the board, trying to counter losses with ongoing development. Again though, the Bulldogs’ case is different in that by making a move with Boyd the need is there to surround him with talent that grows and develops with him.

Western Bulldogs have had an unusual strategy in building a list, albeit it has been changed on the fly by player departures. But in essence after years of focusing and building a young and strong midfield the attention has gone to their forwards. Jake Stringer showed some form late in the year and seems to be one forward locked in, along with veteran Stewart Crameri and the aforementioned Boyd. The rest though is up in the air and that is where the 2014 draft has its value for the Bulldogs.

Toby McLean and Lucas Webb were taken with consecutive picks in the 20s and both should see time in the forward line during 2015. McLean had a strong 2014 season, showing himself to be a real goal kicker and a player who could find the ball. Webb had a couple of standout games and appears to have a strong read on the mental side of the game. With differing body sizes, McLean and Webb can work together in the same forward line and give a different look to what the Stringer-Crameri-Boyd combination does.

What is interesting is that the next two picks, Declan Hamilton and Bailey Dane, have similar skillsets to the earlier two. Hamilton may end up being more suited as a midfielder because of his endurance and Dane is a little smaller, but still with these two picks it is hard to get a read on whether Western Bulldogs have done this for back up on the first two, i.e. multiple picks in the likelihood that one hits, or whether Dane and Hamilton are also part of a best-look forward structure.

If the latter concept is what Western Bulldogs are thinking it is alarming but at the same time exciting that their forward line may look like Stringer-Crameri-Boyd-McLean-Webb-Hamilton-Dane at some point in 2015. Of that group of seven forwards only two were at the club last year and three years ago none were. It is indeed a fast rejuvenation of the forward line.

Western’s final two picks were used on Caleb Daniel, who himself could be another part of the Western Bulldogs forward line of the future as a small forward, and Zaine Cordy, who fans will hope has a better start to his career then brother and fellow father-son pick Ayce Cordy.

With this last pick Western Bulldogs perhaps showed their hand at next year’s draft, where the need to build a defence will be the greatest requirement. Cordy has shown to be an outstanding prospect as a key defender in underage football and it was a genuine surprise that Western were able to get him with pick 62.

There are still holes on the Western Bulldogs’ list, and it has been an unusual way in which to build, but on pure excitement it is there for these Bulldogs.

They may not win as many games as they would hope in 2015, but they may still surprise a few people with how they go about the game. Youth has a habit of doing that.