CDFC chat

[southernbulldog]

Great to see Etan East get through the reserves trial he looks to be on track to get back to league footy after so long out . .

[UK Fan]

Thomas not being able to Play the first two rounds really hurts us.

HES our most important player. Excellent contested mark up front and competes well as a second ruck.

I assume Matz will play instead.

Round 1 side prediction
F- Matz Grace Anzac
HF- Monaghan Rosenzweig* Reed
C- Saunders* Chisholm Pudney
HB- Fahey* Kitschke Whitlum
B- Mohail Kendall Posthuma
1R- Annand Presbury Grant
Int- Barry Shaw McCarty* Tattoli

[northerner]

Thomas not being able to Play the first two rounds really hurt us.

HES our most important player. Excellent contested mark up front and competes well as a second ruck.

I assume Matz will play instead.

Round 1 side prediction
F- Matz Grace Anzac
HF- Monaghan Rosenzweig* Reed
C- Saunders* Chisholm Pudney
HB- Fahey* Kitschke Whitlum
B- Mohail Kendall Posthuma
1R- Annand Presbury Grant
Int- Barry Shaw McCarty* Tattoli

Fair selections there...
Reed isn't finding the ball enough IMO, maybe Ralph gets a nod as the small fwd?
Think there's a spot for Iles, but that back six looks decent. Fahey is going to be very decent as the defensive distributor.
Brinn Little WILL play round one; I would assume ressies.

Beau may be the only player unavailable in round one. But he is also probably our most important player.
Not sure on Tomkinson... is he still around?

[wristwatcher]

Thomas not being able to Play the first two rounds really hurt us.

HES our most important player. Excellent contested mark up front and competes well as a second ruck.

I assume Matz will play instead.

Round 1 side prediction
F- Matz Grace Anzac
HF- Monaghan Rosenzweig* Reed
C- Saunders* Chisholm Pudney
HB- Fahey* Kitschke Whitlum
B- Mohail Kendall Posthuma
1R- Annand Presbury Grant
Int- Barry Shaw McCarty* Tattoli

Fair selections there...
Reed isn't finding the ball enough IMO, maybe Ralph gets a nod as the small fwd?
Think there's a spot for Iles, but that back six looks decent. Fahey is going to be very decent as the defensive distributor.
Brinn Little WILL play round one; I would assume ressies.

Beau may be the only player unavailable in round one. But he is also probably our most important player.
Not sure on Tomkinson... is he still around?

I think Reed will play. Not always about touches in that role. Positioning and structure are crucial. His defensive pressure in the forward line is crucial to keep the ball locked in and preventing rebound attacks which has been a problem in the past. He will benefit statistically once we start playing consistent winning football. I rate the kid.

Based on some of the players not in the team, it looks good. There appears that we have some depth this year. Looking forward to 2 weeks time when the real stuff starts. 2 very winnable games in the first 2 weeks. 2-0 would be a very nice way to start the season.

[southernbulldog]

I believe Tomkinson is injured not sure what it is
I think Reed starts in Round 1 and apart from Thommo and recruit Cornolo who hasnt been seen
we should at full strength .

[UK Fan]

I believe Tomkinson is injured not sure what it is
I think Reed starts in Round 1 and apart from Thommo and recruit Cornolo who hasnt been seen
we should at full strength .

Tomkinson had some minor surgery on his ankle in the pre-season.

Should be back Rd3-4

[southernbulldog]

There seems to be a growing consensus among members & supporters that we have not improved our list
despite the efforts of recruiting guru Mark Ross
If he believes we have the right players and im sure he knows what he is doing
then questions have to raised and have been as to whether Thommo can coach

[Brucetiki]

There seems to be a growing consensus among members & supporters that we have not improved our list
despite the efforts of recruiting guru Mark Ross
If he believes we have the right players and im sure he knows what he is doing
then questions have to raised and have been as to whether Thommo can coach

In the first couple of years Mark Ross was at the club, we got some solid recruits.

Through a combination of a number of factors (including some who have gone on to an AFL list, which is the ultimate result for those players), many of those recruits have moved on, and we haven't been able to replace them with the same quality of player, particularly this off season.

It's been clear for some time that Thommo's game plan of playing to not lose (as opposed to playing to win) isn't going to bring the club the ultimate success. Sure, we've made finals the past 3 seasons, but we've won 2 finals in that time (the EF against Port in 2023, which was a great win, and the QF against Sturt in 2024, which was more about Sturt shitting the bed than us winning the game given how poorly we played in the 2SF and PF that season). We limped into the EF last year losing 2 of our final 3 games of the minor round, and only beating Adelaide because Toby Murray hit the post late in the game and were promptly beaten by a more hungry Norwood side in the EF.

[Brodlach]

You lost by 5 points, not 100 points.

A couple of you think Westies will beat you next week, seen us in the past decade?

Got a win yesterday but 2 in a row will be a stretch

[TDJ44]

You lost by 5 points, not 100 points.

A couple of you think Westies will beat you next week, seen us in the past decade?

Got a win yesterday but 2 in a row will be a stretch

It was a very disappointing loss,doesn't matter what the magin was.
The general consensus is that there is no improvement from year to year.
Only round 1 but after watching the two trials there is nothing different to suggest we will challenge for a flag.
Again we will find it tough to beat any of the top 3 or 4 sides.
The club hasn't had much luck with player retention which Northener has mentioned.
This certainly makes it tough to improve.
In my opinion Westies will be favourites at home,definitely a big chance tor 2 in a row.

[CENTURION]

We were 6 goals up at one stage,
we must be doing something right,
a few tweaks here & there & we might go ok, time will tell.
Norwood lost their first 5 games last year.

[CENTURION]

You lost by 5 points, not 100 points.

A couple of you think Westies will beat you next week, seen us in the past decade?

Got a win yesterday but 2 in a row will be a stretch

It was a very disappointing loss,doesn't matter what the magin was.
The general consensus is that there is no improvement from year to year.
Only round 1 but after watching the two trials there is nothing different to suggest we will challenge for a flag.
Again we will find it tough to beat any of the top 3 or 4 sides.
The club hasn't had much luck with player retention which Northener has mentioned.
This certainly makes it tough to improve.
In my opinion Westies will be favourites at home,definitely a big chance tor 2 in a row.

I don't think anyone thinks we will win the flag,
we're definitely in a survival pattern until we get some soldiers returning from interstate.

[southernbulldog]

Are we definitely getting some players back ?
Whos coach might have a bit to do with it as well

[TDJ44]

Are we definitely getting some players back ?
Whos coach might have a bit to do with it as well

I think he's hoping we get some players back,highly unlikely.

[Hazydog]

Let’s not forget we had arguably our best two talls out which may have been the difference. Wondering what the plan for Brinn is this week.. would be handy to have his height against Burgess and Sully.. Would also love to see Lane-Ellis given a look in.. seems to be a great user of the footy..

[southernbulldog]

At least one change for this week against West
Would think Prez wont play dont know what he did to his finger but he looked in a lot of pain

[southernbulldog]

Josh Fahey must be wondering what he has done coming from AFL to this
We have lost players from last season as all clubs do and a lot have gone backwards
As it stands at the moment we will have another mass exodus at the end of this season
We need to know why we have slipped so much our reserves are terrible and we are struggling in all grades

[CENTURION]

A message from the CEO....

A lot can happen from one season to the next, as we know, players and coaches can change, the game of football itself continues to evolve and the linear improvements you expect to flow through from one season to the next can get distorted or impacted by performance results.

For our League men, this time last year after 5 matches, we had won 4 and lost 1 and had been one of the higher scoring teams. Fast forward to this week and we sit with no wins from 5 games, and only a draw to our name. Losing our first 3 matches by less than a goal (including the draw) after having the lead in the last quarter has likely impacted on our confidence to take the game on, perhaps becoming a little more hesitant and creating pressure for our team mates unnecessarily. We’ve all seen it, and it is highly likely that if we win the first 3 games then these issues don’t surface. In getting our game to move a bit faster with plenty of run from behind, defending this type of game and shifting the ball to get better field position, it takes time and needs confidence to carry out for a whole match. But, it is what it is, and we’ll support our players and coaches to get back to playing with the hard edge and confidence we saw this time last year.

One of our focuses in the pre-season was to accelerate the development of our younger players coming through to senior football by adding a real development element to the program, effectively to turn our young local lads into League footballers. This, of course, is always a priority, however we have added some resources to drive this aspect of our senior program. We have seen some signs of this with Tallan Rosenzweig and Brodie Wills debuting this season and some improvements from Trent Tattoli, Jayden Matz and Finn Reed. There are several other young lads playing our Reserves who will get their opportunity at League level if they continue their focus on developing their game, including the likes of Ryan Lane-Ellis, Dusty Geister, Jimmy Noack and Hudson Vivian.

With Aiden Grace playing his 100th game this Saturday, a great milestone for Aiden, he becomes only second current player to have played 100 League games on our entire list (the other being Kyle Presbury), and we only have 8 players who have played over 50 League games, highlighting what a young playing group we have. This is not an excuse for some disappointing results, but it’s a fact which clearly emphasizes the need for us to be extremely good at the player development process, and fast tracking the talent we have had, and still have, coming out of our under-age programs over the past few years, along with new players coming to the club.

The AFL draft impacts on that talent getting to League level, but it also impacts on all clubs over time and then becomes a positive as that talent is welcomed back to their SANFL club if/when they are delisted. Our time in this area will come, as it has for a few other SANFL clubs who have been able to get high quality players of their own back from the AFL when their time is up.

Our new recruits, all of whom are still young and developing, have connected well with the club. We’re starting to see the quality of Josh Fahey, the run of Jack Saunders and the ball winning of Cal McCarty, but they are also still developing their craft as they mold into the roles our coaches have for them.

Our Under 18’s Girls team played in the Grand Final on Sunday against a quality opponent in Norwood, and whilst we weren’t able to celebrate being the inaugural Under 18’s Girls Premiers, it was a superb effort for our players and coaches to make the first ever Grand Final for this age group. Well done to Courtney Jonson and her team of coaches and support staff, and of course to each player who donned the Bulldogs guernsey this season. Now, we will see several of the under 18 girls playing in our League Women’s team, not as top up players, but as genuine talent and impacting positively on each game they play.

Our Women’s team sit at 1 win and 2 losses at the round 3 mark, the 2 losses coming against the two Grand Finalists from last season, so our players and coaches have a real feel for where we sit amongst the better teams and I’m sure Ribbo and his coaches will guide their players back into the winners circle soon.

After a slow start to the season for both our Under 16 and 18 boys, they are now finding some form and getting their games together. In the Under 18’s, we have a large contingent of Under 17’s (first year players), so that certainly augurs well for season 2027 as they become second year or top age players. In saying that, there is certainly enough talent in these teams this season to challenge and contend later in the season, so looking forward to seeing that unfold.

Off field, we have had great start to our financial year with Grand Central doing well across the board, and many thanks to each of our sponsors who have again stuck with our Club with their generous support.

With a record breaking Player Calcutta at the Round One luncheon, where we raised $40,000 for the club, to having the past players on the mound last Saturday as well as celebrating the Club’s first ever Premiership, being the Under 17’s 1966 Premiers on the same day, we’re up and running as a club again in 2026.

Be patient, keep up your wonderful support and this enthusiasm will be rewarded soon enough with our on-field performances.

Thanks to everyone who has been to a match, it’s great to see the passion is still there!

See you at the footy!

Go you Doggies!

Cheers,

Greg Edwards

[dedja]

I take absolutely no pleasure in saying this, but if a message like this is issued by a CEO 5 games into a season then the club's in turmoil.

Whatever the issues are, I hope that they can be resolved ASAP to allow the club to be the best it can be on the field.