Where will Western Bulldogs finish in 2012?

[BoredSaint]

hard to see them getting top 4 with freo and the hawks improving.. but should still make finals

[Bazinga]

If the Doggies don't aim to peak in the NAB Cup final this year, they should be top 4 contenders. But it is worrying that they failed to be competitive against any of the top 3 teams last year. Another 4th place finish is my prediction.

[Cruiseon]

I just can't see them closing the gap on those ahead of them last year. Bazza is getting old, Brian Lake was awesome but broken by year's end, and I think guys loke Higgins & Hill have to finally deliver on their promise.

[naste]

I just can't see them closing the gap on those ahead of them last year. Bazza is getting old, Brian Lake was awesome but broken by year's end, and I think guys lake Higgins & Hill have to finally deliver on their promise.

Higgins is a prime concern injury wise IMO, just seems to have those soft tissue injuries now and again.

[Cruiseon]

I've always really liked him and punted on him in SC however I began to think last year, for the first time, that included in those soft tissue deficiencies may have been his heart.

Just not the type of player I think who is going to walk side by side in the trenches when things get really tough. Not doubting his class though.

[bunyip]

They are an interesting side the "Scraggers". I reckon they've recruited well this year with Djerrkurra and , was it Vespremi?
I would like them to do well, so I hope a few of there young guns fire. They are a great side to watch when they play well.

[Hellopplz]

Djerk, Vesp and Sherman were brought over for some added spark to cover the retiring players. Should be another exciting year for the Doggies.

[Luigi197]

top four, not premiers, but a deserving side

[McRooster]

Poll reset.

Maybe Homer Simpson said it best "Or What? You'll Release the Dogs? or the Bees? or the Dogs with Bees in Their Mouths so When They Bark They Shoot Bees at You?"

They need something to beef up their bark, is it Fev?

Even so, I can't see them taking a bite of 2012 and perhaps will fall faster in value than the Greenback.

[truBLUE]

i would of picked just out of eight ,But Bee shooting dogs might just put em in 

[meow meow]

Should be aiming for finals.

People say we're done and dusted because we're too old. The Cats were too old too. Robert Murphy, Boyd, Giansiracusa had the best seasons of their careers so it's not like the team is carrying the old guys. McCartney has indicated that he won't be playing Cross as a tagger anymore, so he should return to his best. Morris was having a good year under difficult circumstances, and at the half way point was in calculations for being AA again.

People say we're done and dusted because we have no full forward since Hall is gone. People seem to forget that the Dogs were better in 08-09 when they had multiple forward options. I'd like to see Cooney played as a forward. Panos is one of the best set shots in the league and will put pressure on Grant to perform or be gone. Dickson will get games. Veszpremi, DJ and Hooper will have to improve if they want games in 2012.

People say that Lake and Cooney are finished. There are a hell of a lot of doctors around who have been in consultation with these two about their bodies it seems. How else would they know? These 2 will return, and give us something at least. Maybe not the highs of their careers, but an improvement on 2011 that's for sure. Markovic will be back up, and the under 18 all australian full back Talia has the strength and size to come in. He is 6'4 and run a 14 in the beep test too so he is a freak.

Another preseason into Libba, Jones, Wallis, Roughead, Cordy, Grant, Tutt should see some improvement.
But the two to keep an eye on are Easton Wood and Christian Howard. Hargrave will be back and give a contribution, freeing up these two off half back.

Go ahead and laugh, but Will Minson has slimmed down and is in the best shape of his career. He's ahead of Roughead, and competition between these two will ensure that only the better one plays. Cordy will play in the best 22 ahead of one of these guys due to being able to be a back/forward too. Jones was more than capable in the ruck in 2011.

Ward is a bit of a loss, but the word is that Clay Smith is a carbon copy. Ward's nickname was "cement" due to being such a hard player. Smith has Ward's number, and the players have given him the creative nickname of "cement".

This team has another decent year in them.

FB: Murphy, Lake, Morris
HB: Wood, Williams, Hargrave
C: Howard, Boyd, Picken
HF: Dahlhaus, Jones, Higgins
FF: Giansiracusa, Grant, Cooney
R: Minson/Roughead, Griffen, Cross
Int: Cordy, Sherman, Liberatore, Wallis

Panos, Dickson, Tutt, Smith, Veszpremi, Hooper, Gilbee, Markovic, Talia, Moles, DJ

Another guy worth a mention is the rookie full forward Jack Redpath. He is a beast of a 21 year old. Has done his knee twice, but worked really hard to come back. Keep an eye on him in the VFL because he might explode and be the Hall replacement. He has a booming 70 metre kick on him.

[Purple 77]

It is a great write-up meow, I think the biggest wild-card is the new coach. That alone gives me too much uncertainty around them, may take a while to adjust to game plan, or they might get good really quickly