5 Things the Western Bulldogs Need to Take the Next Step in 2016

A fit Fletcher Roberts

Fletcher Roberts sprints away from Matt Buntine of GWS. (aflphotos.com.au)

The departure of Michael Talia to Sydney further depleted the already-shaky key defensive stocks at the Kennel, with only Roberts, Joel Hamling, Dale Morris and reborn ruckman Jordan Roughead equipped to handle the big forwards.

After playing just seven games in three years, Roberts took great strides in 2015, playing twelve games and signing a two year contract extension. Originally drafted as a key forward, he became a pillar in defense, losing just 11 of 32 contests and using the ball at an efficiency of 87%, as of August.

If the Dogs are to progress, they need a strong, healthy Roberts on the park. If his shoulder continues to trouble him, hulking key forwards will continue to trouble his team.

A career year from Jordan Roughead

Jordan Roughead grapples with North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein. (aflphotos.com.au)

Originally drafted and blooded as a ruckman, moved to the forward line, remodelled as a key defender and then thrown into the ruck once again, Jordan Roughead has come full circle in his seven years on the Bulldogs’ list.

After battling to contain the likes of Taylor Walker, Jake Carlisle and Jay Schulz over his three years in defense, Roughead was a revelation when moved into the ruck earlier this year, racking up 24 hitouts (and 11 to advantage) in a dominant display over the Giants’ Shane Mumford, who at the time was considered the best ruckman in the competition.

The Dogs fought to secure an athletic ruckman in the trade period, with brazen bids for Brisbane’s Stefan Martin and Port Adelaide’s Matthew Lobbe rejected by their respective clubs, but the answer may have been under their noses the entire time.

With Luke Beveridge preferring athleticism and demanding increased ground coverage from his big men, there is nobody more suited than Roughead to shoulder the ruck duties at the Kennel, provided his battered body holds up.

Tom Liberatore to hit the ground running

Tom Liberatore in a 2014 match against Collingwood. (aflphotos.com.au)

Following a summer in which the Bulldogs lost their captain, coach and several experienced players, Tom Liberatore’s ACL injury in a NAB Challenge match was seen as the final nail in the coffin for the crippled club’s season.

Instead, it saw opportunities handed to young midfielders such as Mitch Honeychurch, Josh Prudden and Caleb Daniel, as the Dogs surged to their first finals appearance in five years. Suddenly, Liberatore was an afterthought.

With preseason training underway, the sight of ‘Libba’ running around Whitten Oval again has Dogs fans excited. Coach Luke Beveridge told his charges earlier in the year that the midfield bull’s eventual return will be like getting “a No. 1 recruit.”

When he does return, Liberatore will add to a formidable centre bounce rotation that already features Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae, Mitch Wallis and Luke Dahlhaus, among others. If the Bulldogs are to maintain the contested ball dominance they established under Brendan McCartney, he could be the most important of the lot.

Continued improvement from the 2014 draft class

L-R: Lukas Webb, Zaine Cordy (back), Bailey Dale, Toby McLean, Caleb Daniel, Declan Hamilton. (theage.com.au)

While supporters bemoaned the lack of key position players in Simon Dalrymple’s 2014 draft haul, the Bulldogs recruitment manager did address one glaring need – class, and in spades. The Dogs under Brendan McCartney had no trouble winning the ball, but had little idea what to do with it.

Enter Toby McLean, Lukas Webb, Bailey Dale and Caleb Daniel.

McLean aside, they didn’t accumulate possessions, but nor did they waste one. If the Dogs are to capitalise on the talents of Tom Boyd, Jake Stringer and Tory Dickson, they need the ball in the hands of the class of 2014, as often as possible.

Tom Boyd to find his feet

Tom Boyd celebrates a goal against Fremantle. (aflphotos.com.au)

Despite criticism from the media and opposition fans, the prodigiously talented Boyd did make a positive contribution to the Dogs’ campaign in 2015. From the beginning of the season through to his final match in Round 16, the former Giant brought structure to the forward line (an area in which countless predecessors had failed) and occasionally chimed in with a strong mark and goal.

However, he’ll attack 2016 with a full preseason under his belt for the first time in his fledgling career, and Dogs supporters will be hungry for more.

While Jack Redpath filled in admirably in the latter half of 2015, a fit and firing Boyd is a mouth-watering prospect for a club that for so long lacked a menacing presence up front.

11 out of 10 – Second Ashes Test, 2015

David Warner

On a seemingly benign pitch (later conclusively disproven by Mitchell Johnson), Warner skied a harmless delivery from Moeen Ali on 38, and it was claimed cheerfully by pantomime villain turned choirboy James Anderson.

Fortunately, Australia saw out the first day’s play without further loss, and Warner somewhat redeemed himself with a brisk 83 in the second innings. 6/10

Chris Rogers

On familiar turf at Lord’s, Middlesex veteran Rogers relished the conditions and the blunt English bowling, recording a typically measured 173 from 300 deliveries.

He reached 49 in his second dig before a dizzy spell struck, seemingly the delayed effect of a knock to the head in the first innings, and took no further part in the match. 9/10

Steve Smith

Mocked by the English media and former spinner Graeme Swann for his unorthodox style, Smith couldn’t have responded in more emphatic fashion, recording his maiden double century in Test cricket and almost reducing Mark Wood to tears in the process.

Following that, Smith clubbed 58 from just 48 balls in the second innings as Australia sought an early declaration, reclaiming his status as the ICC’s top ranked Test batsman. 10/10

Michael Clarke

Wood’s only victim for the match, Clarke’s painstaking 7 in the first innings was followed up by a more relaxed 32* from 34 as he pressed for a lead of 500 before declaring.

Despite averaging just 32 for the year, poor by his own lofty standards, Clarke’s record in England is excellent, and he can be expected to lift in Birmingham next week. 4/10

Adam Voges

A quiet performance, but not a poor one. Voges reached 25 in the first innings before a fine edge off the bowling of Stuart Broad was snaffled by Jos Buttler, and it was to be his only chance to bat for the match.

A diving chance to dismiss Ian Bell on 10 slipped through Voges’ fingers, but it was arguably Peter Nevill’s responsibility, and was ultimately of little consequence with Bell dismissed for 11. 4/10

Mitch Marsh

Recalled for this Test at the expense of the maligned but dreadfully out of form Shane Watson, much to the relief of Australian fans, Marsh claimed the prized scalps of England captain Alastair Cook (96) and in-form all-rounder Ben Stokes (87), before chipping in with a quick 27 and removing the lead-footed Gary Ballance as the Test was wrapped up with a day to spare. 7/10

Peter Nevill

Named as Brad Haddin’s understudy following an outstanding Shield season in which he plundered 764 runs, a baggy green seemed a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ for Peter Nevill, and he didn’t disappoint on debut.

Following a confident innings of 45, Nevill’s first dismissal as a Test gloveman came with just the second delivery he faced, breaking the jointly-held record of Roger Woolley and Robbie Hart.

He went on to claim seven catches, the equal-most for a wicketkeeper on debut. 7/10

Mitchell Johnson

A wayward start in Cardiff delighted the locals, the mocking strains of “he bowls to the left, he bowls to the riiiiiight” echoing around Sophia Gardens, but Johnson was back to his frightening best at Lord’s, one particularly venomous delivery striking Alastair Cook on the elbow, and another awkwardly fended to short leg by an unsuspecting Moeen Ali during England’s second innings collapse.

Johnson finished with match figures of 6/80, but more importantly regained his psychological edge over the England team he terrified in 2013/14. 9/10

Mitchell Starc

Shaking off an ankle injury after a reasonable if wayward performance in Cardiff, Starc disappointed in the first innings after claiming the wicket of Adam Lyth with just his second delivery, finishing with figures of 1/86.

He bowled with more discipline in the second innings, once again removing Lyth, and will seek to regain his early season form in the upcoming tour match against Derbyshire, should he play. 4/10

Josh Hazlewood

Likened to Australian great Glenn McGrath, Hazlewood hasn’t crumbled under the weight of expectation, with a series leading 10 wickets at 22.

He bowled tight lines without reward while Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes built a 145 run partnership in the first innings, but later claimed the wickets of Moeen Ali and Mark Wood, to go with his earlier dismissal of Ian Bell.

Simultaneously miserly and damaging, Hazlewood provides a comforting contrast to the unpredictability of Johnson and Starc, and we can expect similar form in the three tests to come. 8/10

Nathan Lyon

Arguably Australia’s best performed bowler in the first Test, Lyon bowled solidly on a pitch labelled as a road while his team accumulated runs on the first day, collecting three wickets for the match.

His second innings dismissal of Stuart Broad broke a 37 run partnership with Joe Root, the only stand of note in England’s final innings of 103.

With 17 wickets at 22 in his last four Tests, Lyon’s place in the side is as secure as ever, and it’s unlikely he’ll be daunted by the pitch prepared in Birmingham. 6/10