The form line – Hawthorn
The Hawks had arguably one of their best wins for the season last week, defeating a much-improved Port Adelaide side at AAMI Stadium.
Hawthorn out-pressured the Power, essentially beating them at their own game, given their improvement this year has come on the back of the willingness to apply pressure to the opposition and force turnovers.
Without star forward Lance Franklin, the Hawks had no trouble in finding avenues to goal, with Jarryd Roughead and Jack Gunston booting five goals each.
Alastair Clarkson’s side is in a powerful position, given it doesn’t rely on one play to kick the goals or turn a game when needed.
Now at Round 17 and still in top spot on the ladder, Hawthorn will be looking to ramp up its preparation for September, but before that its preparation for some big games against Essendon, Collingwood and Sydney in the last six rounds.
The preparation for those matches begins on Saturday against the Bulldogs, with Clarkson perhaps able to trial a few new tactics for later in the season against the 15th placed Dogs.
The form line – Western Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have won just four games this season but their form against the Bombers on Sunday showed they’re not a team to be taken lightly.
Brendan McCartney’s team attacked its game against Essendon with aggression, and it very nearly pulled off an unlikely victory against a side pushing for a top four position.
The Bulldogs have injected some impressive young talent into their side, and as they gain more experience are steadily improving the team as a whole.
Its highly touted youngsters – Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore are also playing their third seasons at the level and are beginning to show signs of the star players they’ll become.
Michael Talia is improving by the game at centre half back, while Liam Jones is proving a worthy target up forward.
The key to any team’s success is the ability and desire to hunt the footy and commit yourself to the contest, you’ll be competitive. That’s what the Bulldogs did against the Bombers and very nearly stole victory.
No question on Dogs’ effort
The Bulldogs may be sitting in 15th position on the ladder, but that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of effort or endeavour amongst the young group.
Coach McCartney’s team is actually ranked second in the competition for contested possessions, with an average of 149.6 per game. That puts them 0.5 possessions ahead of the Hawks who sit in third position.
That stat probably comes as a surprise to many, given how young the midfield of the Bulldogs is.
Against the Bombers, the leaders in contested possession were all youngsters for the Bulldogs – Tom Liberatore (18), Nathan Hrovat (12), Koby Stevens (12) and Clay Smith (11).
Youngsters versus experience
Saturday’s game against Hawthorn will be a real test for the young Bulldogs midfield who will need input from their senior teammates.
The Bulldogs will be faced with players of the ilk of Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis as well as players with big bodies like Jonathan Simpkin, Isaac Smith, Brent Guerra and even Jarryd Roughead if he finds himself in the midfield at any stage.
The Hawks are a big-bodied team, so the Bulldogs could look to bring in a player like Daniel Cross tpo absorb some of that for his young teammates.
If Captain, Matthew Boys doesn’t play because of a fractured cheekbone, the importance of Adam Cooney and Ryan Griffen rises.
Dogs not to be taken lightly
This weekend’s game will be no different to any other for Hawthorn, despite taking on a side that has won just four games for the year.
The Hawks know how tight the competition is, and if you’re off by five or 10 per cent, you’ll get beaten. That’s just the nature of modern football.
The performance of the Western Bulldogs against Essendon on Sunday would have served as a timely reminder for the Hawks in the lead-up to the Round 17 clash.
The Hawks have shown in most games this year that it looks to “snuff out” any chance of an upset in the opening term by being ruthless with its attack on the man and ball. Expect to see something similar from the brown and gold on Saturday.
Lake takes on old friends
For the first time, full back Brian Lake will face his old teammates as a Hawthorn player.
Lake gave the Bulldogs and its fans many years of security in the full back position, with his ability to read the play and out mark his opponent one of the best the competition has seen.
On Saturday, his former teammates and coach will be up against that talent for the first time, but no doubt they’ve got some intelligence on any weaknesses in his game.
Lake has now full entrenched himself in the Hawthorn brand of footy, 11 games into his career in the brown and gold.
He has formed a great defensive partnership with Josh Gibson and he’ll be looking to put in another impressive performance against his old side on Saturday.
Hawthorn’s forward line
To think Hawthorn had one of its best wins for the season without Lance Franklin is a scary though, but the fact he could return against the Bulldogs is even scarier.
So, how does the Bulldogs defence match up?
Traditionally, the defence has been an area of strength for the Bulldogs when Brian Lake was in the side, but sadly, he’ll be wearing brown and gold on Saturday.
Dale Morris is back in the side and will most likely find his way onto either Roughead or Jack Gunston so that leaves youngster Michael Talia with the big job on Franklin if he plays.
The Bulldogs are building from the ground up a new defence and team that will take it forward in years to come, but on Saturday, they’re up against an established team capable of winning this year’s flag.
They have their work cut out for them.
Purely on match-ups, the Bulldogs might struggle with Hawthorn’s talls, but can manage the smalls.
Liam Picken is capable of playing a role down back on a dangerous small forward like Cyril Rioli or Luke Breust and Brett Goodes has been doing a similar job for his coach.
The difference
Interestingly, the Bulldogs are the second-best clearance team in the competition with an average of 41.1 per game, behind only Sydney in that area.
At the club, it is Tom Liberatore leading the way with an average of 7.9 clearances per game and Ryan Griffen 6. Ruckman Will Minson also isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, ranked fourth with 4.3 and Adam Cooney rounds out the top five with 3.5 per game.
Hawthorn actually comes in at seventh in the competition, with an average of 38.6 per game.
Getting your hands on the footy in the middle is only half the battle, however. You can get the ball going forward as much as you like, but unless you’ve got someone to mark it, there’ll be a struggle.
There is none better than Hawthorn at creating scoring chances.
The Hawks are ranked number one for marks inside 50 with an average of 14.9 and it’s little wonder why given the plethora of marking options inside 50 from Roughead to Franklin to Gunston to Hale.
Compare that with the Bulldogs who are ranked 16th for marks inside 50, averaging just nine per game.
The Bulldogs lack strong marking targets and while Liam Jones and Jarrad Grant try their best, against experienced defender like Josh Gibson and Brian Lake, the going will only get tougher against the Hawks.
Key players
Hawthorn –
Isaac Smith: Smith could find himself at various times on Saturday directly opposed to Ryan Griffen, and he’ll need to make sure he doesn’t get off the leash. Smith is a free-wheeling runner brimming with confidence after his performance against the Power last week. But he can’t get caught up in that on Sunday, he might have a big job against the Bulldogs’ play maker on Saturday.
Western Bulldogs –
Ryan Griffen: Griffen is capable of changing a game. He’s a player who provides spark and leadership by his actions. He has good pace and his skills are elite. When the Bulldogs are challenging, it’s usually on the back of a performance by Griffen simply because his ability to break into space and set up a teammates is team-lifting. He inspires his young teammates and he’ll need to lead by example on Saturday.
