A look at some of the key takeaways from Sunday’s narrow loss to the Gold Coast Suns.
1. Inside 50 Kings
Let’s start with a positive.
Three weeks into 2019, and the Bulldogs lead the competition for inside-50s with a whopping 200 – 11 more than the next best, Port Adelaide.
It was an area to improve last year, where the team finished 13th overall.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs had 66 inside-50s and a differential of +18, after winning that area against Hawthorn (+17) and Sydney (+21) in the first two rounds.
2. Missed chances prove costly
After a slow start, the Bulldogs had their chances to win the game.
Despite leading stats-wise in a number of key areas, including possessions (369-345), clearances (44-30) and inside-50s (66-48) the Bulldogs were unable to convert that into significant impact on the scoreboard.
Goal-kicking accuracy hurt the team’s chances, finishing with 9.14 for the afternoon, including a number of missed set shots throughout the contest.
3. Smith continues to improve
The Bulldogs’ talented midfield group continues to win plenty of the ball, with Marcus Bontempelli (34 disposals), Jack Macrae (33), Tom Liberatore (30) and Lachie Hunter (27) leading the charge.
But going quietly about his business is draftee Bailey Smith, who gets better with each game.
After joining the Bulldogs with pick seven last year, Smith collected eight touches in round one and 13 in round two.
On Sunday, he found the ball 22 times, won four clearances and laid six tackles – enough to get Dogs fans excited about what’s to come.
