Gerard Whateley says the possibility of Western Bulldogs missing the top four is a “quite astounding turn of events”.
While remaining one of the top sides in the competition for the majority of the season, Luke Beveridge side has now lost their last three games, the latest of which being a two-point defeat against Port Adelaide on Friday night.
Brisbane now has an opportunity to knock the Dogs out of the top four if they’re able to beat West Coast by enough to jump them on percentage.
Whateley said that the Dogs’ issues in the ruck were shown up against on Friday night, with Beveridge admitting post-match that Stefan Martin’s absence was beginning to bite.
“Luke Beveridge admitted (last night) that this is our lot every week,” he said on SEN’s Crunch Time about the side’s ruck conundrum.
“They threw it to Lewis Young and his view was that he didn’t go essentially any worse than what Tim English would have done had he rucked.
“They’re such a work in progress, but they’ve lived the season in the top two. It’s 19 out of 23 rounds they were in the top two, they’ve lost their last three and now they expect to miss the top four now.
“That’s a quite astounding turn of events.”
Justin Leppitsch says the Dogs had plenty of issues to solve in both defence and attack, saying their must-lauded midfield being beaten exposed other problems around the ground.
“Their one wood is their midfield mix and depth,” he said.
“If they don’t fire…that’s the challenge with the Dogs. You wouldn’t rate them in the top eight in terms of their bookends (in defence and attack).
“That will be the concern now and into the future, they have young keys in those position but developing that part of the ground is so important to them.”