R1 - Freo V Dogs, Sub, 7pm Foxtel

R1 - Freo V Dogs, Sub, 7pm Foxtel
Wow, how quickly have the last 5-6 months gone? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I spent some of my time away from footy watching the NBL (Dragons > Tigers) and mostly forgetting about sport all together.

But we’re again, mere days away from the Bulldogs kick-off against Freo interstate and it’s time we started discussing it.

Reigning Brownlow medal winner Adam Cooney, Robert Murphy have been named to possibly not to make the trip, along with Tommy Williams *ahem* I think Scott Welsh’s name has also been mentioned in passing.

Looking for a strong kick off to the year with a win at Subi, big games from Aker, Griff, Johnno, Morris (owned Pav of course) and the rest of the crew.

Have been given a few tix to the Grand Prix and forgot that it’s a twilight race this year so debating what I should be doing. Loyalty to my club in their first match interstate that I’ll be watching on Foxtel on Sunday evening or the GP and The Who live. It’s a toughie…

Dogs by 11.

Very keen to see Griff tear it apart.
Harbrow/Higgins too.

Are other teams playing this week? All I've read in the media is Cousins and Judd. I thought they were going to play kick-to-kick with each other whilst the rest of the competition sat back and watched.
I am pretty excited about Geelong and Hawthorn... I think I will be having an early night on Thursday. Carlton and Richmond, it will be like having teeth extracted. Would rather watch TFS, that's saying something.

I thought the Hun was fairly well littered in Red, White and Blue today though but I think I tend lose focus when other teams are being discussed.

Bulldogs forced to change jumper
Mark Stevens | March 24, 2009 12:00am
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25232097-19775,00.html

THE Western Bulldogs have been forced to replace all their player guernseys and shorts after a late crackdown on the size of the sponsorship logo. Both Mission logos have been shrunk by 20 per cent under orders from the AFL.

The league originally ticked off on the size of the logos and the Dogs wore them in the Bushfire Appeal match against Essendon on February 13.

But the following Monday, the Dogs received notification from the AFL that the logos were too big. The Dogs have suspicions they were "dobbed in" by up to three rival clubs.

"We're surprised other clubs would be interested," Scott Seward, Bulldogs general manager consumer operations and development, said last night.

The AFL's decision to reverse its original ruling disappointed sponsor Mission Foods, which is injecting about $1.5 million into the club this year.

It has also caused headaches for the Dogs, who have had to replace 200 guernseys and pairs of shorts.

Both home and away guernseys and shorts had been produced featuring the now banned logo.

The AFL, as it originally approved the outfits, has agreed to pay for the replacements.

AFL regulations stipulate logos must be no bigger than 80 sq cm.
:frustrate:

I thought the logo seemed a bit big. Hopefully they'll be selling cheap jerseys to us supporters perhaps, could make money out of it if players signed their own, although if AFL are putting up the cash the club probably won't be able to re-sell them hehe.

Won't be able to watch the game live as I'll be at the Formula one but might get home in time to watch the second half maybe, will be recording it regardless and will watch it ASAP! Can't wait to see the boys again.

Its a pity its an interstater first up, it kinda dulls the excitement when you can't actually have the build up of going to the ground etc, but still I expect a first up win from the boys. Freo are always a bit unpredictable, especially at home and they definitely have some making up to do with their fans after last season. Plus they've got a very young team with a lot of players looking to take that next step up this season so its hard to know what to expect.

Although there is always one headache we can rely on, Pavlich. I expect Dale might have first dibs on controlling their most dangerous player. If we can take care of him it will go a long way to seeing us win methinks.

Will be good to see the team line-ups on thursday, I can't even remember half of freo's players at the moment.

BRING ON FOOTY!! :clap: :clap:

Will be good to see the team line-ups on thursday, I can't even remember half of freo's players at the moment.
YOU REMEMBER HALF OF FREO?!

Murphy looking set to miss but according to Rocket will make the trip to Perth. Looks like they are giving him every chance to get fit.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Although im more excited to see doggies vs richmond rd 3 first game back at the DOME

Why moan to the AFL, Dogs? The current management group seem to have any control of what the hell is going on these days. Get the to wins on the road then we can be done with the West for the season.

Sounds like the boys are prepared for a body battle over the next month, that will probably be the best outcome at this late stage.
Dogs wary of tough early schedule
Bruce Matthews | March 24, 2009 12:29pm
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25234534-19775,00.html

RODNEY Eade has tailored pre-season training to ward off the effects of two trips to Perth in the AFL's first four rounds.

While the Western Bulldogs coach adopted a positive attitude to the first up assignment against Fremantle under lights on Sunday night and another Subiaco visit to play West Coast in Round 4, he said the club would ask the AFL to avoid two such demanding road trips so close together in future.

"Probably two trips at 36 degrees certainly wouldn't aid the recovery. It's probably more an issue for the next week than the actual game itself. But it's something in the future that we'll probably put down in paper for the AFL as far as fixturing goes," Eade said today.

"We've loaded up and trained really heavily through the pre-season games knowing the first five weeks is going to be very solid for us. We know that we can recover really well.

"Everybody knows early in the year that there's heat in Perth, you don't have to be a meteorologist to work that out. It's interesting that the AFL has always said that games early in the year, they would play at night and that's certainly one way around it. And spread the trips apart is probably a good idea."

Eade said the Bulldogs players would utilise ice vests if necessary during the game breaks.

"It's not an issue, we've had a very good pre-season. Our fitness levels are very good and we've played a couple of games in the heat," the Dogs coach said.

"It will be up to the AFL with the heat policy, whether they invoke some different things. We'll work through that."

Fitness queries over Murphy, Cooney

Jake Niall and Andrea Petrie | March 19, 2009

A LACK of match conditioning, rather than injury, could mean that key Western Bulldogs pair Adam Cooney and Robert Murphy miss the club's round-one clash against Fremantle.

While Cooney and Murphy are recovering from their injuries — the Brownlow medallist from a groin problem, Murphy from knee surgery — the Dogs will monitor how they recover at training in the coming week before deciding whether to take them to Perth.

Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade said last night that Cooney and Murphy, arguably the club's best two players, were likely to be available in the sense that they were not injured.

But Eade added that match conditioning was also a factor and it was possible that one might make the trip. "We mightn't take either of them, we might take the one, or both."

That match conditioning could prevent their inclusion is a sign of how clubs now place a premium on pre-season fitness in weighing up selection calls; increasingly, clubs are reluctant to carry players who lack conditioning, even if they aren't restricted by injury.

Although the Western Bulldogs are hoping for big things on the football field this year, the club is also looking rosy from an off-field perspective, according to president David Smorgon.

"Our budget this year was effectively to show a small profit given that we've been very cautious in our budgeting obviously with the economic situation the way it is," he said yesterday.

"Our membership is running 11.5 per cent above last year with more than 22,000 members already signed, and with the announcement of our major partner Mission Foods, our sponsorship is tracking OK. Even our president's functions for the first few games have been well booked, so at the moment we're very pleased with what's been happening."

The Bulldogs and several other clubs including North Melbourne and Melbourne have been forced to lean on the AFL in recent years for financial assistance.

Smorgon said he felt for Port Adelaide, in the grips of a financial crisis that was revealed in The Age this week. The Power had requested a $3 million handout over three years in addition to special assistance from the AFL in a bid to stabilise.

"We've all been in that situation and it comes back to their stadium deals and comes back to other issues with their ownership with the SANFL which are issues they've got to address," he said.

"The AFL are supportive of all clubs in the competition and that's where the opportunity for all the presidents to meet tonight and then tomorrow with the AFL Commission, they're the sorts of opportunities where clubs will have a chance to explain to others where they're situated and what the current issues are, which we don't often hear about other than when we read it in the press.

"We're all there to support each other. We might fight like cats and dogs on the field but off the field we're there to lend a helping hand to each other and if we can learn from each other's experiences then that's great," Smorgon said.

There was also an article in the Age about Johnno's opinion that we have a chance of winning the flag, can't for the life of me find it on the website! Raised a good point that Johnno should break the club's game record this year, will be great to see, hopefully in melbourne, and with a premiership cup to top off the year!

Western Bulldogs have hardest summer ever
Bruce Matthews | March 26, 2009 12:00am
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25241212-19775,00.html

BEST-and-fairest winner Daniel Cross is an accurate measure of the Western Bulldogs' gruelling pre-season. When a fitness junkie such as the star midfielder describes it as the toughest ever, you better believe the summer slog.

"Certainly the volume they've put into us, there has been no other pre-season compared to it," Cross said.

"Our stats have shown that in the past four or five months and right through February, our loads were as high as they've been for any other year.

"There was a period towards the end of last season where we dropped off a bit, whether it was fatigue or fitness levels. So this year we've done a lot more volume.

"More so than any year, we can be confident going into Round 1 with stronger bodies. We've never really done that in the past, we've always been known as a fast-running, skilful side. But if you look at our group now, we should be able to match it with sides physically."

The shift to more muscle rather than simply a run-and-carry team will be put to the test against Fremantle at Subiaco Oval on Sunday.

A modified fitness approach was designed to rectify the alarming drop-off last season when the Dogs lost seven of their last 10 games, including two of three finals.

"In terms of volume and certainly intensity, it has been the most difficult pre-season I've seen the players endure," coach Rodney Eade said.

"It's going forward, I don't think you can look back too much. But as a group we needed to get fitter, even though our fitness level was pretty good.

"Also the power, the strength phase of our build-up, has taken three years to come to fruition. That has started to come over the pre-season as well. The guys are stronger with the weights they're pushing. But certainly our running level has gone to another sphere. That has been done deliberately with the way the season will pan out."

Cross, who led the AFL in contested possessions last year, said the plan to put more bite into the Dogs was not evident in the NAB Cup which was used to try to peak for the start of the season.

"We've really lightened up this week and just been really skilled-based and hopefully that will hold us in good stead for a day when there's going to be a lot of running on the big Subiaco Oval," Cross said.

Eade said the heavy training was designed for a demanding first five weeks that includes two trips to Perth.

"At this stage we've planned our year out. But, having said that, there will be some modifications along the way as well," he said.

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