Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Find your Sport Nation frequencyWhat the Bulldogs must fix before finals
SEN • July 19th, 2025 3:35 pm
SEN’s Adam Simpson believes that the Western Bulldogs need to fix their team defence to get their game in order before a potential finals berth.
It was a tough Friday night for the Bulldogs, who trailed for the vast majority of the match before getting within four points of the Brisbane Lions with a minute left before losing by 10 points.
With this result, it sees the Bulldogs sit outside the top eight for the second week in a row.
It also means that their much-maligned record against top eight sides extends to 1-8, which has raised concerns about their ability to make an impact in September if they are able to get there.
According to Simpson, he now thinks that the Bulldogs' finals hopes hinge upon their performances in Round 21 and 24 against top eight sides in Greater Western Sydney and Fremantle.
“There’s five games to go and realistically there’s two teams above them that they’ve got to play,” Simpson noted on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“So, they’ve got the Giants at home, and they’ve got Fremantle at home (in) the last round, and I just think that might be the game that decides the top eight.”
Reflecting on the match, Simpson pointed out that despite the back six’s defensive struggles, which saw them concede 26 scoring shots, they need to improve their collective defence to remain competitive.
“You can’t blame defence when it’s 60 inside 50s to 44,” Simpson explained.
“It’s a balance, and sometimes it’s your offence and it’s your inability to get out of your own back half.
“Brisbane had 33 turnovers in their front half. Now it was a bit wet, so it becomes more of a grind, straight line game.
“You can’t operate with your team defence until it (the ball) goes into your forward line, that’s when the whole team can defend that play.
“So, there’s two things; there’s just your back six defending, and then there’s your team defence, which is the other end. The ball goes up into your forward line, and you try and lock it in and get repeat entries.
"Which I think still is the number one ticket to go after, and Brisbane were sensational at that last night.
“So, they’ve got two issues, I think it's personnel with their back six and their ability to defend once it goes into their forward line is what they’ve been working on."
The Bulldogs next feature on Friday night when they play Essendon at Marvel Stadium.
