As we come to the pointy end of the season there are some teams that have just not had the luck this season for one reason or another.
The Bombers losing 12 of their players before the season started, the Suns with injuries, Fremantle with injuries and failed game plan. As for the Lions and Tigers, I just have no idea what went wrong there, and the Dogs have a list of injuries that seems to get worse as the weeks go on.
But the Dogs have pushed on and are still in the eight. Over this season their ability to be able to find a way to keep going and win where other clubs would have curled up and cried itself to sleep due to their injury list.
Part of this is something could be due to Luke Beveridge’s first season as coach. Over the 2015 season he played over 40 different players during the season. With this he was able to give AFL level experience to those players, meaning those players experienced less shock when they came in to replace their injured colleague.
This in part has been a saving grace for the Dogs. The loss of experience in, Luke Dahlhaus, Tom Boyd and Matthew Suckling, along with the loss Robert Murphy, has hurt at times during the season. Not being able to get there best 22 on the field at the same time will definitely begin to take its toll during the final series.
But now think of the Dogs if they are at full strength, with their best 22 on the field. We saw it in the first part of the season with how destructive that can be. It’s a sign of what we can expect to see from them next year. With the addition of some players during the trade and draft period, they will have very few holes in their list.
Talking about the hole in the line up, this is where I make the suggestion that the Dogs may well benefit from, and that would be going after Majak Daw.
Their ruck play is ordinary – has been all season. Daw gives them that stable ruckman they need, along with Roughead as the secondary. It could well be a very dangerous combo and help push them into that top four next season.
They have also been needing an extra goal scorer. Majak’s ability to mark, and improvement each year in front of goal could be what the dogs need,and it also means that Thomas Boyd would be staying more in the forward line and giving that extra tall target.
The Dogs have shown last season and this year that they have teeth and are not afraid to use them. But injuries have stopped their push for that second Cup this year. But with the best 22 on the field next year, there’s plenty to look forward to for Doggies’ fans.
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