One of these days I’m going to stop being surprised by my beloved Bulldogs!

Saturday’s game against the Swans showcased everything you could want in a football team. The dogs took every opportunity that came there way in the first quarter, and stifled many of Sydney’s chances with frenetic tackling and defense. They handled the wet conditions better than their opponent, and at one stage had a disposal efficiency not far below previous weeks. They hung on for dear life as their more experienced opponents made a charge, as they have already done multiple times in games this season. And finally, they found a way to score one more goal at the death, when nobody would have begrudged them if they had have rolled over and succumbed to the pressure.

Whatever way the result went, the Bulldogs could have taken a lot of positives into next week. But the fashion in which they won really has made everyone in the industry stand up and take notice, if they hadn’t already. Captain Bob has said it’s the best win he’s been a part of, and seeing the reactions of the players on the field certainly made me believe that the young pups recognise that they are on the verge of something special, and most importantly, THEY LOVE IT!

I watched this game as I have most others this season; start to finish almost as soon as I woke up on Saturday morning (Atlantic time), before so much as glancing at my phone, to avoid the bane of modern day remote football watching – the social spoiler. What a way to start the weekend! It was one of those games where I was so caught up in the match that I wasn’t taking note of who was in and under the packs, the wet weather didn’t help that either, so my votes this week may seem a little left field, I know there is one player missing that most people included in their best, but here they are…

Round 5 votes:
=================
3. Crameri
2. Roughead
1. Dickson

I believe Stewart Crameri played his best game in the red, white & blue, and had a role in everything in the first quarter, which really set up the rest of our day. Roughead didn’t light up the stats sheet but became our most important player as the game wore on, moving into the ruck. It’s no coincidence that Kurt Tippett only had an impact after this move. Roughie’s ability to negate Pyke’s ruckwork at the contests was instrumetal in slowing the Swans charge. And finally Dickson, who I haven’t been the biggest fan of in recent years. At the start of the year I didn’t rate him in our best 22, but he is convincing me overwise. I always thought he was too one dimensional, a great goal kicker, but not able to get the ball himself, this is changing and I like it!

Special mention: This weeks mention goes to Liam Picken, who for the second week in a row has racked up stats without my knowledge. I am going to be looking out for him big time next week, I feel like I owe him a few votes!

What’s to come next week?

There was a bit of confusion last week over the inclusion of Ayce Cordy for a second straight week, I liked the line up and vote of confidence in our future at the time, but we have to make a change for round 6. Ayce’s training regime for the next 3 months should involve a locked door and a never ending supply of burgers. He was too easily manhandled by the bigger body of Mike Pyke, and it has to be said that his selection nearly lost us the game. Him being subbed out during the third quarter changed the dynamic of our team, took Jordan Roughead away from Kurt Tippett, and had the potential to ruin our balance right across the field. Bulldogs supporters have been quick to label Luke Beveridge as the second coming, but I can’t help but feel that this was one mistake he was lucky to get away with.

I predict the following changes for next weekend:

Out: Cordy (omitted), Jong (inj)
In: Campbell, Hunter

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple more changes given the wet track. Honeychurch, JJ and even Webb could be in line for a rest to freshen up. I would love to see Redpath back in, and Hrovat given more time on field. Fletcher Roberts deserves another run after a solid debut, how about manning Adam Goodes and Kurt Tippett in your first game! We may have found our Dale Morris 2.0 here though folks, the good news just keeps getting better! Go dogs!