DOGS AIM FOR MAX PRESSURE
THE Western Bulldogs plan to dial up the heat on Melbourne superstar Max Gawn to try to curb the 208cm ruckman’s dominance.
Bulldog Lachie Hunter said the Dogs could not afford to give Gawn a free run, pointing to the Demons captain’s fivegoal spree against Geelong in the preliminary final.
A key part of the Bulldogs’ plan will be to stop the fivetime All-Australian moving quickly away from contests after clearances.
“He gets in some really good positions around the ground,” Hunter said.
“If you can nullify him at the stoppage and get in his way there, and stop it right as he’s trying to start, that gives you the best chance of stopping him around the ground.
“I am sure teams have tried lots of different things on him in the past … being physical is one of those. You can’t just allow him to have a free run over the ground.
“You have to make him exert every bit of energy at every chance – that can limit his influence at times.”
Hunter said getting extraphysical with Gawn, to rough him up, was “an option”, but not one the Bulldogs had discussed at length yet.
Veteran recruit Stef Martin will be expected to be physical in ruck contests and the midfield group will then be expected to put their bodies on the line to stop the prospect of a marauding Gawn taking the game out of their hands.
Melbourne scored whopping 101 points from stoppages in its preliminary final thumping of Geelong, the fourthmost ever, with Gawn the source for most scoring chains.
The way Gawn helped the Demons move the ball “out the front” at stoppages was a key takeout from the Bulldogs’ review of the game.
Hunter said it reinforced the significance of the effort required to stop Gawn if the Bulldogs were to win.
“They had about 16 stoppage goals; they came out the front a lot, ”Hunter said on Wednesday.
“Even when you do lose the centre bounce, if you are able to force them back or wide then that clearance doesn’t land at the top of the goalsquare. It’s lot easier to defend.
“Max Gawn grabbed it out of the ruck a few times, which neutralises all the midfielders and gets it going their way. As much as we can stop that, it would be good.”
While he’s a force at stoppages, Gawn has become elite at “covering the ground”. His 56 contested marks is the thirdmost in the AFL this season.