Playing for Cups
It’s that time of the year again, Dogs v Dons, or as Bob Murphy calls it, the Mark Alvey Cup. But before someone starts calling it the Jake Stringer Cup, it’s worth mentioning that the game is played for an actual
We first played for the EJ Whitten Cup back in 1995, with an ailing Ted present, to
Ted Jr. is traditionally on hand to present the winning skipper with the silverware, so here’s hoping he’ll be in the Dogs room post-match where he belongs, handing it over to Easton Wood.
There’s no denying that the results of the past two weeks have been enough to make even Brad Johnson frown, but as Dale Morris said on Fox Footy this week, the silver lining has been the youth that Beveridge has injected into the side early.
The Dogs have rolled out the most inexperienced team in the competition for two weeks running due to injuries to key personnel, and the result has been the blooding of players like Aaron Naughton, Billy Gowers, Ed Richards, and even Tim English has gotten a bit of extra valuable experience.
It’s a long season and we’ll keep building but the good is each of these boys has shown some signs that they could be around a while yet.
Finding Wally
He’s back. Fan
Wallis kicked just seven goals in 2017 but may have added a bit of offensive firepower to his game over the off-season, booting four goals to go along with his 29 disposals for Footscray last week.
At his best, the 25-year-old is a contested ball beast and a proven ball-winner – he picked up more than 18 disposals in 10 of his 12 games last year - and something like his return match after missing time with a broken leg, where he had 26 disposals (20 contested), 12 clearances and two goals against the Cats, would be just what Luke Beveridge is after this week.
Who goes to Joe?
We’ve seen a bit of a renaissance across the competition this year where the big forwards are starting to re-emerge and shape games, with hauls of eight, six and a bag of fives already.
Now, while Joe Daniher has had an uncharacteristically quiet start to the season, his six goals against the Dogs in Round 19 last year still burns in the memory, and he’s good enough to double that on a good day.
So, with Morris, Adams, and Trengove all out of action, who steps in? It could be a combination of Naughton and ‘Doofy’ Cordy with Easton Wood somewhere close. Either way, it’ll be a key battle.
Is it Sunday yet?
