The Western Bulldogs might be on top of the ladder, but is there a position where they might be vulnerable?
After four rounds of footy, the undefeated Dogs are sitting pretty with arguably the best midfield in the league and a forward line that is second for points scored.
While their defence has conceded the least amount of points, there is a key statistic that opposition sides may look at in a bid to beat the Bulldogs, according to Garry Lyon.
“When you talk about the Dogs, you ask where’s the weakness? They’re on top of the ladder undefeated,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“Their midfield is probably the best in the comp. Their forward line now with Tim English, Aaron Naughton and Josh Bruce plus the complimentary players, it’s proved to be better than adequate.
“So maybe the back half is the problem?
“Luke Beveridge would not be worried about this by the way, but these are all Champion Data stats. They’ve had the fewest one on ones. So they’ve been able to play in such a manner that they are able to get back and help, or their midfield is so good it protects them.
“They’ve had 38 one on one contests as a collective back group. Carlton and the Gold Coast have been involved in 91, so there’s your comparison. Of those one on ones, they’ve won the fewest. They’re going at 38%, they’re losing there.
“They’re not drawing attention to it. Luke Beveridge is probably not that fussed with it, but they are numbers that you look at and say, ‘Can we get them in a one on one? If we can, our chances statistically are pretty good’.”
In order to be in a position to win one on ones against the Dogs, an opposition side must be able to get the ball out of the middle.
The ruck and on-ball brigade inclusive of Stefan Martin, Tim English, Tom Liberatore, Jack Macrae, Josh Dunkley, Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar is a high clearance group, therefore making it tricky for an opponent to place pressure on their backline.
“What the Bulldogs are doing now, because they’ve got such a strong and powerful midfield, they are really protecting their back half,” Tim Watson said.
“If you can isolate them, if you can get a one on one, you’ve got a good chance of maybe being able to do better than halve the contest
“Your best chance of that is winning the centre clearance.”
To which Lyon replied: “But they’ve got the best clearance team in the competition.”
This Saturday at Marvel Stadium, the Dogs will aim to go 5-0 when they meet a Gold Coast Suns side that is averaging 75 points per game, the fifth least in the league.
