Dogs turn to speed for Tigers The Age
June 22, 2013 The Western Bulldogs hope an injection of speed can help turn the tables on in-form Richmond on Saturday night after a heavy loss earlier this season.
The Tigers, who will climb to sixth if they notch their third straight win, posted an extremely comfortable 67-point victory over the Dogs in round three after dominating possession.
Star Richmond midfield trio Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin notched 98 disposals and five goals between them, while key forward Jack Riewoldt also had a day out with nine marks and five goals.
But Bulldogs key defender Jordan Roughead says the side the Dogs will field on Saturday night is smaller and quicker than when they last met.
''We took two ruckmen into the last game and were probably just a bit top-heavy and a bit too slow,'' he said.
''We've gone for a bit more speed in the forward line, with Lachie Hunter and [Luke Dahlhaus] and Nathan Hrovat all in the forward line.
''Hopefully they can put some pressure on Richmond's half-backs and we can turn the footy over in our front half.''
Hunter, the son of former Bulldog Mark, will be making his AFL debut, making it four of last November's draftees in the side, including Hrovat, Jake Stringer and Jack Macrae.
None of those players were there when the Dogs last met the Tigers. Nor was speedster Jason Johannisen or captain and ball magnet Matthew Boyd.
Roughead said Hunter was agile and used the ball cleverly.
''He's got a bit of an old-school footy brain, I think, in the way he plays the game,'' he said.
Roughead will spend time on Riewoldt and expects fellow backmen Dale Morris - who was the Tiger star's main opponent last time - and Michael Talia to do likewise.
But he said the biggest key to restricting the Tiger attack was to blanket their run from the midfield and half-back.
The Dogs also want to move the ball from their own defence more quickly than they did in the first half against Collingwood last round.
''We can't go backwards with the footy,'' Roughead said. ''If we want to control the game and we want to hold onto the ball, we've still got to take it forward and be attacking. We can't kick ourselves into a corner.''
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