Here are three things we took from Saturday’s one-point defeat to Geelong.
1. Four-quarter effort necessary
The Bulldogs fell one point short of recording a miraculous comeback on Saturday afternoon, but arguably could’ve seen a different result if it were for a complete performance.
Coach Nathan Burke was honest post-match, admitting his side lapsed in the second and third quarter which allowed Geelong to capitalise.
“Against competent teams, you can’t play the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes with a bit of a snooze in the middle. I think that’s unfortunately what we did,” Burke told media following the result.
“We started off a bit fumbly when the heat was on – but our intensity in that first 10 minutes was great. We certainly controlled the last 10 minutes too.”
Pleasingly, the Dogs’ last term was probably their best of the day – kicking 3.1 while winning the hit-outs and clearances.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if you were to multiply that effort by four quarters you’d probably see a different outcome.
2. Elsa adds speed to midfield
Eleanor Brown has been solid in defence this season, backing up her runner-up finish in the Bulldogs’ best and fairest to average 11 disposals three marks.
But as we saw on Saturday, the 22-year-old has plenty of versatility too – thrown into the middle for periods of the match.
Her run and carry provided relief to the mainstay mids, who were then able to push forward as a result.
3. Fitzy firing
Jess Fitzgerald was at her best against the Cats, reminding everyone of why she was selected with the second pick.
In her 25th career game – having not missed a beat since debuting in the opening round of season 2021, the 20-year-old was prolific on Saturday.
She registered 24 touches and two tackles to go with 561 metres gained, and looks likely to continue on that trajectory in the back-half of the year.
