Tricolour

Final coaching appointments

scragger — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:34:32 +0000

The Bulldogs have finalised their coaching appointments for the 2008 season with the following announcement. Barnes has been tipped to be coming to the Dogs for a few weeks now but Dalrymple’s appointment was a pleasant surprise.

LeasePlan Western Bulldogs Update

The Western Bulldogs Football Club has made two appointments to its 2008 coaching group this week.

John Barnes has been appointed to the position of Ruck and Stoppage Coach. Barnes, who played for Essendon and Geelong, was known throughout his playing career as a premier ruckman in the AFL. He comes to the Western Bulldogs from his recent role as runner/ruck coach at the Essendon Bombers.

The club has also appointed Simon Dalrymple to the role of Development Coach. This role will sit underneath the recent newly-created position of Development Manager which is held by Brad Gotch (Williamstown Coach).

Dalrymple has been the AFL Victoria Development Manager for the Northern Region since 2003 working with programs such as Auskick, coach education, secondary school football, along with assisting with the management of the talented player pathway of the Northern Knights Football Club.

Final Team list prior to the draft

scragger — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:15:08 +0000

The October 31 deadline for team list finalisation before the draft held no real surprises for the Western Bulldogs. Probably the biggest surprise is that Gavin Hughes will remain on the list as a Rookie as the Dogs resisted the temptation to promote him.
This is our finalised list

WESTERN BULLDOGS
1. Addison, Dylan
2. Akermanis, Jason
3. Boyd, Matthew
4. Callan, Tim
5. Cooney, Adam
6. Cross, Daniel
7. Eagleton, Nathan
8. Everitt, Andrejs
9. Giansiracusa, Daniel
10. Gilbee, Lindsay
11. Griffen, Ryan
12. Hahn, Mitchell
13. Harbrow, Jarrod
14. Hargrave, Ryan
15. Harris, Brian
16. Hill, Josh
17. Higgins, Shaun
18. Hudson, Ben
19. Johnson, Brad (veteran – outside list)
20. Lynch, Malcolm
21. McDougall, Andrew
22. Minson, Will
23. Morris, Dale
24. Murphy, Robert
25. O’Shea, Paul
26. Ray, Farren
27. Skipper, Wayde
28. Stack, Brennan
29. Street, Peter
30. Tiller, Stephen
31. West, Scott (veteran – outside list)
32. Wight, Cameron
33. Williams, Tom
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
Rookie List
1. Hughes, Gavin
2.
3.
4.
Scholarship List
-

ADDITIONS:
Father/son selection: –
Exchange period – received: Tim Callan (Geelong), Ben Hudson (Adelaide)
Rookie elevation: Jarrod Harbrow
Scholarship elevation: –
NAB AFL Draft:
NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft:
NAB AFL Rookie Draft:

DELETIONS:
Retired: Luke Darcy, Chris Grant (veteran – outside list), Brett Montgomery, Matthew Robbins
Exchange period – traded: Jordan McMahon (Richmond), Sam Power (Kangaroos)
Delisted: Travis Baird, Cameron Faulkner, Damian McCormack, Tim Walsh, Marty Pask (rookie), Michael West (rookie)

Sad to see so many go

scragger — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:54:24 +0000

The Bulldogs over the years have had some of the games best players. From EJ to Quinlan to Dempsey and Templeton we have at times been truly blessed.
Several years back we were able to add a terrific bunch of players that included Chris Grant, Scott West, Rohan Smith and Luke Darcy and now all but West have departed the club after outstanding careers.

The 2007 retirees consisted of -

Chris Grant was a blessing to the club, he stuck with us despite more lucrative offers even during some very unstable times. He was one of the finest players in the competition during his career and his speech at the clubs best and fairest ceremony where he officially announced his retirement was typical of the man…all class.
Chris’s legacy is unlikely to be duplicated but I’m sure he will return to the Whitten Oval in some capacity in the not too distant future.
Luke Darcy was another terrific player and leaves us after struggling to overcome two knee reconstructions in two years. His last season with us was not his best but I hope supporters can cast their minds back a few years before judging him as a player.
A career in the media awaits big Luke.
Brett Montgomery was another player to succumb to injuries and his final season with us was over just after the season started. Monty was one of the smartest footballers around and no wonder he has slotted straight into an assistant coaches role. It’s just a shame it’s not with us.
Matthew Robbins was one of the hardest workers at the club but really struggled to hold a senior spot throughout 2007 and finally decided a few weeks before the end of the season that 2007 would be his last.

These guys will all be sorely missed.

Pressure on the Kangaroos

scragger — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:31:29 +0000

Having lived through the terror of a club under pressure of a merger or relocation my best wishes are extended to the supports of the North Melbourne Kangaroos. I’ll be looking to make a financial contribution as a of supporting their efforts in keeping their side based in Melbourne.
Great to see Glenn Archer announcing his intention to stand as a board member. Archer is hugely respected and will be able to drum up a new level of support for his club.

Good luck to the Shinboners.

Clayton cannot afford another Dog of a Draft

scragger — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:21:08 +0000

Inside Football which is a respected football magazine has devoted a near full page to the drafting ability of the highly regarded Recruiting Manager of the Western Bulldogs Scott Clayton.
The article highlights how successful he was with the 1999 draft effort but also how his 2002 and 2003 efforts have really let the club down. You really start to wonder if Clayton’s reputation as a draft guru is still warranted.

One comment made was the most interesting in my opinion -
“Clayton is a figure of authority at the Bulldogs, to the point that he was involved in the recent talks about the clubs future VFL alignment. At a club without the resources of some of it’s rivals, perhaps he has been spread too thin. Perhaps he has taken his eye off the ball”

The final observation was that Clayton has plenty of picks but how he needs to use them well to fix the structural weaknesses.
This has been a criticism of Clayton for a few years now and in my opinion he needs to nail every selection this year.

Pups in Peter Dean’s sights

scragger — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:17:17 +0000

Pups in Peter Dean’s sights

FORMER Carlton defender Peter Dean hopes his strong work ethic will rub off on his charges in his new role as the Western Bulldogs’ assistant coach.

New role: former Carlton defender Peter Dean will be in charge of the Western Bulldogs’ back line next season.

Dean, a dual premiership player,will be in charge of the Bulldogs’ back line.

He joins the Dogs after stints as an assistant at the Northern Bullants in the VFL and as head coach of the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup.

Dean’s appointment follows the departures of Chris Bond (senior assistant/midfield coach), Sean Wellman (forwards coach) and Matthew Drain (high-performance manager).

Dean said he was excited about joining the AFL coaching ranks and working with the young Dogs.

“I’m just hoping to back up Rodney Eade and the existing assistant coaches,” Dean said.

“My work ethic throughout my football carries over into your life and vice versa, so I will be bringing a fair bit of hard work.

“There is a lot of talent there among the young fellas and they are still learning the game.

“There has been some change and it will take us all a period of time getting used to each other, but if we keep things simple that change of staff shouldn’t be too hard.”

Eade said he expected the arrival of Dean to help the young defenders flourish.

“His experience will help develop our young defensive group into the players we know they can be,” Eade said.

In other coaching moves at the Bulldogs, former Tiger Wayne Campbell has accepted a full-time role as the club’s forwards coach.

Leon Cameron will now assume responsibility for the midfield.

The coaching Merry-Go-Round

scragger — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:10:12 +0000

The end of the 2007 playing season saw an unprecedented number fo changes in the coaching ranks at the Western Bulldogs

Gone
Matthew Drain – to StKilda
Jason Mifsud – who has landed a position in the AFL
Chris Bond – to Fremantle Dockers
Sean Wellman – to Melbourne

New
Brad Gotch – Williamstown and development coach
Wayne Campbell – Forwards coach
Peter Dean – Backline coach

Staying
Rodney Eade – Senior coach
Leon Cameron – Midfield coach

The Williamstown alliance

scragger — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:47:53 +0000

After a few years of being aligned with the Werribee Tigers the Western Bulldogs announced a significant change by forming an alliance for the 2008 season with the Williamstown Seagulls.
This alliance makes a lot of sense from a geographical perspective but the sudden departure from Werribee was a major shift.

Hello world!

scragger — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:49:47 +0000

Welcome to Tricolour. I hope you enjoy the site and will appreciate any feedback you provide.