Watch Western Bulldogs Assistant Coach Shannon Grant cast the coaches' eye over the tapes from Saturday's loss to Essendon on the media player above.
Room For Improvement
According to Assistant Coach Shannon Grant the Western Bulldogs need to work harder to get the ball back off their opposition after Saturday night’s efforts against Essendon. The game produced some telling stats with the Dons taking 99 marks through their midfield as well as collecting 55 more uncontested possessions for the game indicating the Bulldogs need to work harder in their defensive efforts to recover the ball.
Read the westernbulldogs.com.au match report
Stat That Mattered
The key stat that mattered against Essendon was the Bulldogs' first half kicking efficiency. Kicking at 53% accuracy in the first half contributed to the Dogs less than ideal start to the match. Grant said the Dogs kicking efficiency has been a focus in training this week.
Play Of The Day
Tom Campbell and Daniel Cross’s defensive efforts to create a scoring opportunity for Tom Liberatore in the third quarter was Gran't play of the day. Campbell and Cross' ability to corall their Essendon opponents and subsequently win the ball back created the desired result from strong forward pressure from the kick-in.
Watch Brendan McCartney's post match press conference.
AFL Dream Team Analysis
· Skipper Matthew Boyd saw an above average Toyota AFL Dream Team score this week collecting 132 points. Having dropped $60,000 in price since Round 1 now is an ideal time to add him to your team.
· Young gun Luke Dahlhaus ($340,800) scored his highest score for the year this week with 106 points. In the past three weeks he has averaged 90 points and could be worth a look in for the business end of the season.
· A 24 disposal, six mark, seven clearance and two goal haul scored Tom Liberatore 101 Dream Team points this round. At $339,000 he could also be a bargain if he continues his form
· Shaun Higgins produced a 95 point score last weekend in what was his 100th career game. His 26 disposals, six marks and five rebound 50m’s no doubt contributed to this score.
