The Tackle: Western Bulldogs stand tall in three epic minutes against Sydney
ONLY the diehards would’ve predicted Collingwood and the Bulldogs’ ladder positions after Round 5. RECAP THE CHAT WITH ROBBO.
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ONLY the diehards would’ve predicted Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs would be sitting second and third on the ladder after five weeks.
Perhaps not even the diehards.
CHAT LIVE WITH ROBBO BELOW FROM 11.45AM MONDAY (AEST)
The Bulldogs are the blockbuster team. Everything they do seems out of this world and not much is left to be said about their gritty performance against Sydney in the slop on Saturday afternoon.
The Magpies are different beast.
The Bulldogs deserve our praise, The Magpies deserve our apologies.
Just as the Bulldogs have promoted and succeeded with a bunch of inexperienced players, so too have the Magpies.
But football is not always about age or experience in games played.
A lot of the time it’s about trust in your teammate and faith in the team’s principles.
On Sunday, Paul Roos lamented his Demons played selfish football against the Dockers.
On Saturday morning, Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury said the foundation of his team’s performances was its effort and selflessness - led by the skipper himself - which then paves the way for team ethos.
Help is the universal term when in distress and football it is the same, although it doesn’t always mean a player is in distress.
Coach Nathan Buckley wants a ‘’team defence’’ attitude, but he would be delighted with his back six.
Jack Frost will be an All Australian consideration when the selectors meet in two weeks for the first of their debates and Nathan Brown is close to career-best form, and these two help each other time and again.
The lionheart at the back is Tyson Goldsack. He’s the third defender who, from afar, is the heart and soul of the footy team. His 55m goal in the first quarter put a dagger in the heart of a staggering Carlton and from that moment the game was over.
Alan Toovey spoils and tackles in the one play _ did you see it? _ Marley Williams is relishing his second chance at a career, and either Seedsman, or Langdon or Ramsey burst from the flanks.
Together, the lot of them help each other to defend and to attack, which involves covering for the teammate.
At quarter-time on Friday night, both Seedsman and Adam Oxley had nine disposals and five inside 50s each.
Clearly, the Pies are feeding off each other’s performance, whether it be Brodie Grundy in the ruck, Jack Crisp under him, Taylor Adams beside them or Oxley running up and down the wing.
Buckley hasn’t only instilled confidence in his young players and cohesiveness in all of them, he has helped rediscover form for several players, most notably Jarryd Blair.
He was average last year because it appeared he was being asked to play more midfield than his traditional forward 50m position as harasser/goalkicker. He kicked 12 goals in 21 games last year. He has seven from five games this year and has laid 28 tackles.
Blair is hungry again and hits his opponent with vigour and hits packs with speed.
Blair and Jamie Elliott might not be recognised alongside, say, Ballantyne and Walters, or Puopolo and Rioli, but their effectiveness this year has been absolute.
There’s a cliche in football but it hits the mark. It’s called buy-in. What Buckley is selling, his players are buying.
It might not be enough for them to beat more talented sides, but with effort and selflessness you know the Magpies will be in every contest.
And as we learned at the weekend, without those two principles you may as well not turn up.
THREE MINUTES OF PURE FOOTY
AL PACINO once said: “There’s three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives. Either we yield as a team or we’re going to crumble, inch by inch, play by play to we’re finished. We’re in hell today.”
This was Any Given Saturday Afternoon.
Here’s the story. SCG. The boundary umpire has the ball in the Bulldogs’ forward pocket. The score is 76-73 Bulldogs. The rain is pouring and bodies are tiring.
03:00 to play
The ball is thrown in and Roughead and Pyke contest. The ball lobs to Bontempelli v Richards and Kennedy. The ball bounces off fingers and Bontempelli wins it. His hurried snap for goals is out on the full. Smith kicks across goal to Laidler who goes long to Parker in the middle.
Easton Wood spoils Parker and the ball rockets 25m to the right flank. “Massive,” says Jason Dunstall in commentary.
Macrae picks it up with Shaw and Richards desperate to stop him. Macrae throws it on his boot and Dickson contests the mark. The ball spills. Boyd tries to grab it and Laidler and Kennedy are on him.
Kennedy wins the ball, Picken lays the tackle on Kennedy. The ball spills. Picken lays a second tackle on Pyke. The ball spills. Roughead lays a tackle on Hannebery. The ball spills. Roughead lays a tackle on Kennedy. The ball spills. Picken lays a tackle on Laidler. The ball spills. Dunstall: “Great pressure from the Bulldogs.”
Dahlhaus pushes Pyke off the ball, Hrovat picks it up and snaps a point. Score: 77-73 Bulldogs.
02:11 to play
Swans kick out long. Lin Jong spoils a Buddy mark and then Picken smothers a Hannebery kick. Roughead knocks it forward.
Picken is relentless. He goes head first into a 50-50 contest. The ball spills to Dickson. He handballs to Honeychurch, who lobs a kick to the goal square. Dahlhaus is flattened running with the flight of the ball. “Oooohhhh,’’ moans Mark Thompson.
Swans clear the ball to the middle of the ground. Roughead intercepts with a fist. The ball spills to Buddy. Stringer tackles Buddy. Dickson picks up the spillage and handballs inside to Macrae who kicks short to Clay Smith.
Laidler spoils the mark and Jetta and then Rampe go for the ball. Hrovat tackles Rampe, Bontempelli bumps Rampe, but Rampe kicks it forward. Easton Wood makes the spoil over Hannebery. Wood chases his own spoil on hands and knees and is tackled by Jack.
Wood knocks the ball forward with two Swans players on top of him. “That was magnificent,” says Anthony Hudson. Hrovat on his knees picks up the ball and handballs to Johannisen who kicks it blindly forward. “What a game,” says Mark Thompson.
00:56 to play
Rampe marks, plays on and kicks it to centre-half-forward. A desperate Jong dives two metres to touch Rampe’s kick off the boot and umpire calls play on.
Pyke marks the ball, but doesn’t hear the umpire. “It’s play on,” screams Thompson. Johannisen wraps both arms and one leg around Pyke. “It’s play on,” Thompson shrieks again. He’s not commentating, he’s cheering.
The ball spills and Franklin lunges forward with Macrae on is bum. Franklin loses the ball and Hrovat grabs it and breaks a Pyke tackle and kicks it to the forward pocket boundary line 65m away.
”’He kicks it for his life,” says Hudson. “What a great kick,” says an admiring Dunstall.
00:35 to play
Boundary umpire has the ball in the Bulldogs forward line. Macrae sharks the Ted Richards tap out.
His hurried kick goes 2m to Roughead who is tackled by Pyke. Roughead scrambles a handball which goes another metre forward. Richards picks up the ball and is tackled by Dickson.
Bodies fly everywhere, five of them are on the ground. Picken dives for the loose ball. Lying on his back he handballs from his chest and over his head. “This is an amazing effort,” says Dunstall.
Stringer takes the handball and scrubs a kick forward as Hannebery shirt-fronts him. “What a battle,” says Thompson.
Boyd meets the ball and it bumps off his chest. Bird slides in and knocks the ball to Lewis Jetta, who breaks a Clay Smith tackle and handballs to Nick Smith who kicks to an unmarked Jarrad McVeigh at half-back.
“This is possible,” bellows Hudson. “What a kick,” says Dunstall.
Classic mum #passion pic.twitter.com/qYwcgzcrN8
— Lin Jong (@LinJong46) May 3, 2015
00:13 to play
McVeigh kicks a mongrel torp long into an open forward line. “The game’s a foot race,” says Thompson. “Chase, chase for your life,” squeals Hudson.
Wood leads the run down. 40m. 30m. 20m 10m. The ball spins on the slippery surface. Wood has Jake Lloyd behind him and Gary Rohan coming in from his right side. Boyd is behind Rohan and Johannisen is behind Lloyd.
Wood picks up the bouncing ball one-handed. Such confidence. Such execution. He’s tackled by Lloyd and Rohan. “It’s flashpoint, five seconds to go,” says Hudson.
Wood squeezes a handball back to Johannisen. It is a miracle play. Johannisen scoops the bouncing ball and is tackled by Lloyd and Luke Parker. He handballs to Boyd who is chased by Rohan ... and the siren sounds.
00:00 to play
Amazing scenes. Amazing effort. Bob Murphy has both fists clenched. He runs to the bench and joins Stevens, Crameri and Lukas Webb in a group hug. Smiles abound.
Murphy hugs Ayce Cordy who hoists Murphy from his feet. Hrovat, Bontempelli, Smith and Jong are hugging in the centre. They are delirious and exhausted.
“This is a massive victory for this football club,” says Thompson.
“This is a season-defining victory,” says Dunstall.
Bob Murphy is interviewed: “How can you not get emotional about footy,” he says, almost in tears. “It’s the best game ... it’s the best win I’ve ever been a part of.”
Al Pacino once said: “The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break in the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. In any fight it is the guy who is willing to die who is going to win that inch.”
“That’s a team, gentlemen. That’s football guys.”
That was the Western Bulldogs Football Club.
Originally published as The Tackle: Western Bulldogs stand tall in three epic minutes against Sydney
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