The Western Bulldogs achieved the ultimate in 2016, breaking a 62-year premiership drought after finishing the home-and-away season in seventh place.
It’s been a rocky road for Luke Beveridge’s men since, missing the finals in 2017 after suffering a horrendous premiership hangover, finishing 13th in 2018, getting blasted out of the finals by future grand finalists Greater Western Sydney in 2019.
The Bulldogs won the 2016 premiership before their time and have a list that should be peaking over the next few seasons, therefore there is an expectation that they will go deep into the finals in 2020.
Best 22
FB: Matthew Suckling, Alex Keath, Hayden Crozier
HB: Jason Johannisen, Zaine Cordy, Easton Wood
C: Lachie Hunter, Marcus Bontempelli, Ed Richards
HF: Bailey Smith, Josh Bruce, Sam Lloyd
FF: Bailey Dale, Aaron Naughton, Toby McLean
FOLL: Tim English, Josh Dunkley, Jack Macrae
I/C: Taylor Duryea, Patrick Lipinski, Caleb Daniel, Josh Schache
Defence
The Dogs recruited for needs in last year’s trade period and new recruit Alex Keath will be an important part of their back six.
Keath has played on some of the best names in the competition and done so well that at the halfway point of 2019, he was being talked up as a potential All Australian.
His acquisition allows Beveridge to release Easton Wood back to being the third key defender. Wood was fantastic in the premiership year in that role and a repeat of that performance would see the Dogs go deep into September.
The Bulldogs ranked 14th for rebound 50s per game last season, which points to not enough run out of the backline, but with some minor readjustments they should fix that.
They certainly have the weapons to move the ball quickly out of their defensive 50 with the likes of Jason Johannisen, Matthew Suckling, Hayden Crozier and Caleb Daniel being blessed with a mixture of speed and skill.
Jason Johannisen (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Midfield
This is one of the best midfields in the competition, if not the best, led by three legitimate stars of the competition in Marcus Bontempelli, Josh Dunkley and Jack Macrae.
Macrae averaged 33 disposals a game last season, while Bontempelli averaged 26 and Dunkley only had less than 30 disposals in a game three times in the second half of 2019.
The midfield depth is very good, as Lachie Hunter, Bailey Smith, Ed Richards and Toby McLean all have 30 disposal match-winning games.
The mix of inside and outside is fantastic, mainly due to Macrae and Bontempelli being brilliant both on the inside and outside, as well as having proper inside midfielders in Dunkley and Liberatore, and proper outside midfielders in Hunter and Richards.
Attack
Similar to their backline, the need for another key position forward was sorted by Josh Bruce.
Bruce kicked 36 goals in 2019 as the number one key forward at the Saints and he comes to the Bulldogs as the second key target which could allow him to get back to 50-goals-a-season form.
Aaron Naughton will be the main focal point after he kicked 32 goals last season in just his second year in the AFL system – including a huge performance against premiers Richmond, where he kicked five goals and took fourteen marks, as well as kicking four against preliminary finalists Geelong. He will be the key to improving the forward line.
Aaron Naughton of the Bulldogs. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos/Getty Images)
The small forwards aren’t great, but they aren’t bad either. Bailey Dale should have a big year, considering he kicked 21 goals from just ten games in 2019, while Sam Lloyd had one of his best seasons to date kicking 38 goals.
With the inclusion of Bruce and a predicted 40 goals more a season, the forward line should be a big area of improvement.
Prediction
The Bulldogs finished off 2019 as the comp’s in-form team, before getting bullied by the Giants in the elimination final, but they should go deeper into September this year with some new recruits and natural progression.
The Dogs can improve every area on the ground and, personally, I think they will.
It should be a good year for the Dogs faithful as they see their team back in the top four.
Predicted finish: fourth
Cam
Guest
We lost a key position ruckman who was arguably BOG the previous 2 weeks and they lost a hard nut onballer. We definately lost out in that situation but Boyd stepped up and saved us
EaglesMan
Roar Rookie
The dogs midfield is good but their forward line is hit and miss.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Treloar is outside and can have erratic delivery. Adams is our premier inside mid and as such his main job is to extract it. Not everyone can be a Pendlebury, inside Mid outside mid and beautiful delivery .
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
I don't think there is anything wrong with hack kicking it out. It's used a lot in the modern game and in most cases is actually a good tactic, especially under bad conditions. My Criticism of guys like Treloar and Adams is that when they are on their own, they still butcher it a fair bit. I don't often see the likes of Bont, Macrae, Dangerfield, Selwood, Duncan, Coniglio, Kelly or Whitfield miss easy targets under minimal pressure.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
That's where I'l play him, yep. Hunter gets the other wing, so they'd have to find a spot for Richards, or rotate them.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
I agree. I'd go Libba over Wallis. Wallis is now a depth pressure forward. I think they can play the three talls, and rotate through the ruck and bench to give Timmy a rest. I like a lot of what Schache did late last year; now is the time to encourage him by giving him a game, not dent is confidence by dropping him. If they do that it will be very important for the small forwards to focus on pressure to not let the ball out - Toby has to get a gig there, and Tory Dickson can't be overlooked either.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
The sides you name as the three best midfields all contain players who hack kick out
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
Agree here, to be honest - maybe play him off a wing?
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
Don't you think that McLean gets a game because of his speed? He is pretty quick and I think that's why he is preferred over Wallis at least. McLean also kicked 14 goals last year and I think he has more scope for improvement than Wallis and Libba do. Yeah, looking at the side I concede Shache will miss the best 22 in round one. You can't go overly tall and as you've stated before, whichever one of Wallis and Libba get a game, they have the ability to be good for a couple of goals and Schache doesn't really do much more than that anyway.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
Not sure what you mean regarding "your top three mids all contain players who can kick out"?
berrlins
Roar Pro
I really don't think Wallis is in our best 22, Libba if he's fit and firing sure but I think wallis is an example of a midfielder we have plenty of, a hard nut with a miserable kick. Ed Richrads would be better in the long run.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Grundy is still a ruckman, and he can get 800 hit-outs and 30 touches and they still lose - his impact on the game is overrated. He's not a an extra midfielder, just a ruckman who can touch his toes.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
I think Daniel should be played further up the ground - get him delivering into the forward line where his creativity and little stab passes can really hurt an opposition. His height gets exposed too often, and he doesn't have a get-out big kick, for the back line.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
That was very timely...Ward and Roughead both knocked right out. I think we got the better end of that stick.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Almost all of the key players from that 2016 campaign are no longer there. I don't know why people keep bringing it up: M Boyd, Murphy, T Boyd, Roughead, Smith, Stringer, Picken, Morris, Hamling, Biggs - all gone...yes, I deliberately left out Fletcher Roberts, because he doesn't count.
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
Zaine Cordy won the 2016 prelim off his own knee. Gotta be worth persisting with for that alone.
another paul
Roar Rookie
Yeah what I meant about Libba and Wallis impacting the scoreboard, is they've got decent goal sense. Libba actually has some very neat goals and if either were at 40m out any angle I would back them to kick it. Libba hasn't kicked many goals in a season because he has never been in that role he's always been a rover. Wallis got to play the role in 2018 and kicked 15 goals in 11 games, that's a pretty decent effort. If they both didn't have leg issues I think they could easily fill Macleans role and more. As it is I would swap Maclean for Wallis and Duryea for Libba, I don't think we need 2 defenders on the bench plus I would like to see Libba split his time between heavy hitting tackles in the mid and marshalling from mid/back position similar to Hodge and Boyd, I think he has that in him. Also on a second look I don't think you can play The Pom, Naughton, Bruce and Schache in the same team. Schache seems the most likely to make way but not sure who for, maybe Maclean back in, I'd like to see West given an extended run, he's got his fathers never give up attitude.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Definitely don’t believe Dogs have flag potential. They appear a good coach getting the most out of a solid list. 2016 might as well be 2004 the way the game and lists move on.
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
You left out an important part of the Pies midfield in Grundy. No one has such a durable extra mid as ruck. Hardly ever takes a spell too. Cotchin, like Pendles will sacrifice his own stats for team. Your top three mids all contain players who can hack kick out. Depends if you’re inside mid or outside. Pies haven’t had our full strength midfield on the park at once much past couple of years. When all there with Grundy we are strong .
Tony Hargreaves
Guest
Fair comments. Ed Richards’ continuing development is important. He’s (very!) quick; makes excellent decisions under pressure and delivers the ball well. Importantly, he can break the lines to open up the game. But he was played out of position last season and his confidence and form suffered. Leave him on the wing where he can use his pace and skills. I think English is fundamentally important to our future success. He has excellent skills and is able to “get his own ball”. His height and natural ability will deliver us first use of the ball. Last year, however, because of his lack of body and torso/core strength, he was pushed off the contest too easily. But he has shown improvement each year and I’m sure we’ll see more this year. He’s still a young player physically when considered against the other gorillas. With another “learning” and “confidence-building” season under his belt I feel we’ll see what he is really capable of next season. But he will be a star! To leave Caleb Daniel off the field is madness. He has outstanding match day skills and must be used more so that he has the ball in hand. His ball use - and the clarity with which he “sees” the game is second to none. Given the opportunity he could easily play the (game controlling!) role that Sam Mitchell played so brilliantly with Hawthorn. Not so sure about Zaine Cordy. There is no doubt he has good focus and concentration and is competitive. But he is a “defensive” player who offers limited attacking run out of defence. This is a key to today’s game. Maybe Lewis Young might provide a better option? - provided his leg speed improves. He’s big bodied; he’s naturally skilled; a terrific overhead mark and hopefully, after an off-season in the gym, he’s now strong enough to hold his ground in the contest. This will release Cordy and Wood to play on the opposition’s 3rd and 4th forwards and allow JJ to run.