The year after the ultimate victory, premiers often go into single games needing to beat multiple opponents.
So the Bulldogs played last season, not just needing to beat a Fremantle or a Port Adelaide, but a big chunk of the world as well.
The 2016 Dogs played liquid football; the 2017 version were frozen in animation. A team that once played with fervour and violent, infectious joy suddenly became tired and fretful.
The premiership team was special because it was unconscious. The rapid handball chains were inexplicably perfect – the crazed hunting in packs overwhelming and magnetic. They didn’t think, they just tackled, passed the ball and ran, and then they just won – four of the sweetest triumphs the sport has known.
Last year, there was no sweetness, no unconsciousness. There was just this off-tasting, over or perhaps under-thought malaise – a team that spent an entire year trying to remember something.
They had stretches where they looked like what we considered ‘themselves’ – brilliant quarters where you could feel late 2016 again. But, for the most part, they just laboured, a mediocre team inflated by a few close wins and our expectations of what they should have been. They borderline capitulated after the bye, a 5-7 record to finish that could have been 3-7 if North Melbourne knew how to close or Cale Hooker knew how to kick straight.
Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
They seemed to outright give up in games against Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, alleged blockbusters that fizzled out because the champion got knocked to the ground after the first punch to land square.
The proverbial and surely often literal premiership hangover was pointed to, but deeper questions about the list also arose. Outside of Marcus Bontempelli, unequivocal game-destroyer, how many stars do the Bulldogs really have?
Jackson Macrae is probably the team’s second-best player. Macrae is a wonderful player, a runner and accumulator with fine touch, and one of the league’s most underrated midfielders, but he’s ill-cast as the guy next in line to Batman.
Luke Dahlhaus, Lachie Hunter, Mitch Wallis, Caleb Daniel, Tom Liberatore, Toby McLean … they’re all solid to very good players, but they only become special when the chains that link them are special. In isolation, as men standing alone with the ball needing to make a hidden decision that will lead to something magical, they are far from superstars.
Outside of Bontempelli, and Tom Boyd in September, only Easton Wood and Jason Johannisen really look like stars – Wood with his superhero, protector of the Ark-type high horizontal-flying across half-back and Johannisen with his mad, purposeful dashes from the same starting point. Last year, though, Wood was ailing and Johannisen was much more than ailing.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
This year they and everyone have a fresh start. The Bulldogs have gone from being presumptive contenders to realised contenders to expected contenders to now just a team that’s slightly ahead of Hawthorn and Collingwood in the pecking order of teams vaguely in the mix for finals.
The weight has been lifted, with a suddenness that only a year of biting disappointment can produce. They’ll be much younger this year, and surely re-energised. There are already issues with the defence decimated by injuries to Marcus Adams and Dale Morris, a problem compounded by the head-scratching decision to turn Easton Wood into a forward, Exhibit #1093 of coaches feeling compelled to shift players from something they’re definitely good at to something they might be good at.
But a couple of injuries won’t be nearly as much of a burden as the world expecting to you to go close to making impossible happen for a second time.
The opening eight rounds present a favourable draw for the Dogs, and an upset win in Round 1 would launch their season. The opponent will be the Giants, the team they beat so famously to put their hands around impossible, a week before taking it. On Sunday, they start the long journey back to where they so quickly rose.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
We just need Libber back to his best (which sounds like he's on track) and either Boyd or Schache to command a regular spot. Leave the rest to Bevo and The Bont.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
A lot went right? You mean the four finals wins in a row I presume. A heck of a lot went wrong throughout the season. I can't remember a premier ever suffering so many injuries to its best 22 constantly throughout the year - and yet we won 15 H&A games virtually without a backline. We also had Boyd and Cordy blueing off-field. Our premiership side still missed Murphy and Wallis. And our finals draw was viewed by many as very tough. Despite all that, we prevailed. So I guess this is what went right. ?
MattyB
Guest
Paul,good point on Dickson. In his favour last year is he tends to take few weeks to find form after injuries,and he didn't get that,but working against him is the injuries could be catching up with him. I'd say the only natural forwards are Dickson and Redpath,and Redpaths only a moderate player with forward sense. In the reserves there's Lipinski,but he's to unproven to put any logical faith in yet. Greene also shows some forward craft but he's an absolute mile off and he still needs to find more of the footy to be properly considered for AFL.
Paul D
Roar Guru
One player no-one has really mentioned is Tory D1ckson - after 90 goals across 2 seasons in 2015/16, at age 30, 1.84cm - well, it's hard to see him coming back and having a similar sort of impact this year, particularly after injuries Will need some younger players to step up in a back way to replace that sort of output
Kevin
Guest
I must agree . Hunter can be seriously one of the worst kicks in the competition..
Kevin
Guest
Terry Wallace started making then overnight in motels for home games during his reign..as.he believed they better chemistry on away games ..so go figure ..
Baz
Guest
This title: 'Unburdened by expectation' Should be used to cover a story on WCE...
User
Roar Rookie
That injury to nic happened at worse possible point, but credit to the dogs they destroyed us when it counted
anon
Roar Pro
Would the Dogs have preferred to play the Grand Final in Melbourne or Sydney? One city they wake up in their own beds and have a normal routine. The other they have to get to Sydney by Thursday for the parade, lose half a day travelling door-to-door, and then sleep in a hotel.
Cat
Roar Guru
While Richmond proved last year it is not an impossible roadblock to overcome, avoiding teams a club has historically been weak against does increase a sides chance to keep going on.
MattyB
Guest
IAP,if only it was Dahlhouse and Hunter who couldn't hit the side of a barn door. Wallis,Dunkley,Smith,Jong,Honeychurch,Williams,Picken and we have an impressive list of players who struggle by foot and a couple by hand also,and don't even get me started on Sucklings kicking ability despite one sensational pass out of every 20 turnover. The keys going to be manic pressure again to bring opposition disposal levels down to our own. On the plus side McLean seems like he can dispose of the ball to an appropriate level,and if Dale continues to find consistency be can also.
Tom M
Guest
Dogs can finish anywhere from 5-14th, their gamestyle was worked out by opposition sides last year and they need to find a forward who can kick some goals, they miss their million dollar man and need him back and firing.
truetigerfan
Guest
Yeah, I agree 6by6. Backline already a problem for them due to injury and a forward half that may be unsettled for quite a while as they experiment with talls and smalls. Plenty of midfield workers but no point of difference. Cannot foresee a finals berth for the Doggies. Would love to be proved wrong.
I ate pies
Guest
I'd say that it's pretty middling, but then again my maths isn't great.
Kevin
Guest
Westcoast were with out question the hottest team In the final weeks of 2016 ..massive away wins v's Adelaide and GWS in weeks prior
User
Roar Rookie
The defence and FWD line worry me at the dogs but with the even nature of the comp who knows. I read the easton wood to play fwd articles and that concerns me a little but then again naughton is ready made to slot into his vacant position. Can see a bit as a non supporter that concerns but can also see why dogs supporters may also be feeling bullish.
Cat
Roar Guru
11-11 with a 97.1% is pretty poor.
TomC
Roar Guru
It's very true that they rely on their squadron of midfielders working together seamlessly to reach the levels they did in 2016. I think they're deceptively good in the middle, as most of the players in this part of the ground are that little better at hitting targets than their counterparts at rival clubs, and as a result they reward teammates who run hard into space. But even should that all go right for them in 2018, there's a question about whether anyone can get on the end of the midfield's work and actually kick some goals. They had a great spread of goalkickers in 2016, but with no Stringer, and Redpath and Dickson struggling to come back from injury interruptions, once again they'll rely on midfielders peeling forward. I'm sure they're capable of pushing into the eight again, but I wonder if they can consistently score heavily enough to challenge for the flag again. A lot went right for them a couple of years ago.
Mr X
Guest
The dogs weren't even that bad last year
I ate pies
Guest
Spot on Matty. We've spoken about this problem many times on here, particularly with the usual suspects in Dahlhaus and Hunter, and it doesn't seem to be improving. I think it's partly due to their gameplan putting players under pressure when they kick; they need to find a way to give them more space when kicking into the forward line, and they need to be careful of over-use in the middle of the ground. The over-use causes the forwards to be out of position as they lead and then lead again and the ball hasn't been kicked to them, meanwhile the backmen have manned up and when the ball finally goes into the foward line they don't have any space. Then they kick it too far into the goal square and it's easy pickings for the defenders. Even a short kick just inside the 50 would be a better option; that at least allows them a set shot on goal. Maybe Wood in the forward line will make a difference.