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2017 season review: Western Bulldogs

4th September, 2017
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Jason Johannisen (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Editor
4th September, 2017
17
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No reigning premier in recent memory was picked to slide out of the eight more than the Western Bulldogs, and in the end, those predictions rang true as the Dogs finished 10th.

Was ultimate success in 2016 really just a flash in the pan for Luke Beveridge’s list? Or will 2017 prove be just a road bump in an ongoing doggy dynasty?

What I predicted
“With a healthy crop of players in the prime of their careers and an even scarier list of players who still have the ability to improve, Luke Beveridge’s charges have more than a fair chance of lifting the cup again this year.”

Prediction: 1st

What actually happened
The Bulldogs appeared to be on track for at least a return to the finals early on, with five wins from their first seven games putting them in good stead.

But there were some cracks during that period. They really struggled to put away some bottom sides in North Melbourne and Brisbane, while wins over Sydney and Richmond were assisted largely by some questionable umpiring decisions.

Eventually, those cracks became serious issues as the club slumped through an eight-game period that yielded just the two wins.

They rebounded with a four-game winning streak to get them to 11-8 and within striking distance of a September return, but they just weren’t good enough to get the job done from there.

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One of the biggest problems for the Bulldogs in 2017 was the complete and utter dysfunction of their forward line.

While they weren’t a high scoring team in their premiership campaign, the club slipped into the bottom four in points per game in 2017.

Travis Cloke proved to be an unwise recruiting decision, Tom Boyd couldn’t recapture any of his grand final magic, while form and fitness wreaked havoc on the seasons of Jake Stringer, Tory Dickson and Stewart Crameri.

The Dogs struggled to take marks inside 50, but the set-up was so impacted that they plummeted from fifth to tenth in tackles inside forward 50.

Many of their more damaging midfielders were forced to spend too much time up forward to combat this, resulting in an even more dramatic drop in clearances.

The Dogs fell from sixth to 16th in clearances, while also ranking second last in centre clearances.

Best win
Round 7: Western Bulldogs 11.14 (80) def. Richmond 11.9 (75)

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It’s somewhat telling that finding a standout victory for the Dogs this year was a challenge.

Round 7 was memorable, however, with the club recovering from a 26-point quarter time deficit to slowly reel the Tigers in to just two points at the last break.

They stole the lead with three straight goals in the fourth quarter before hanging on for a thrilling five-point triumph.

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Worst loss
Round 13: Western Bulldogs 8.8 (56) def. by Melbourne 17.11 (113)

After a thumping loss to the Swans at the SCG, the Bulldogs needed to make a statement against the up and coming Demons on their home deck.

Unfortunately, they played even worse than the week before.

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Melbourne comfortably outclassed the reigning premiers in every quarter to run out 57-point victors.

The result brought the Dogs back to 6-6 after a 5-2 start, seriously questioning their finals chances.

What needs to happen next year?
Restoring their terrifying pressure inside forward 50 is essential for the Dogs if they want to recapture their form of 2016.

It may seem to be as simple as get Cloke, Boyd, Stringer, Dickson and Crameri on the park more, but with Cloke and Dickson on the wrong side of 30 next season and Crameri thereabouts, the problem may not be so easily fixed.

The smalls and the runners do their job just fine at the moment for the Bulldogs, but they really need their talls to stand up – and not just up forward.

The Bulldogs had the worst contested mark differential in the competition by some margin in 2017 and, if they continue to be outclassed in the air, the rest of their gameplan will struggle to get going.

Early prediction
In some ways it may seem the Dogs were always going to slide given the bad luck they encountered in the personnel department.

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But with so many ‘ifs’ around how much the talls can actually turn it around next year, there may be more for Beveridge to sort out in 2018 than we may think.

Prediction: 9th-12th

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