THE Western Bulldogs dropped out of the top eight after losing to Geelong at Marvel Stadium in round twelve.<\/p>\n
A poor start cost the Bulldogs dearly, conceding seven first-quarter goals to trail by 33 points at the first change.<\/p>\n
After trailing the Cats by as much as 40 points early in the second quarter, the Dogs rallied late but ultimately fell short, going down by 13 points.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs have a tough run home playing Brisbane, Sydney and Geelong away, and St Kilda, Melbourne and Fremantle at home in the second half of the year.<\/p>\n
SEN host Gerard Whateley isn\u2019t as confident about the Dogs\u2019 finals chances following their \u201cdisappointing\u201d performance against the Cats.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve watched the weekend go by having sat together on Crunch Time<\/em> in the immediate aftermath of the Bulldogs\u2019 loss,\u201d he said SEN\u2019s Whateley<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels even harder for the Bulldogs than it did on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cI sat here with you in the Means Test<\/em> and theorised that I think they\u2019re in the race for fourth, I do not feel that anymore.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was such an important game… It was predicated on being the gatekeeper and they were so disappointing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I thought was a set of games that they needed and they would be ready for, I feel much less confident in that now.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the way that it\u2019s shaping up\u2026 is it more likely that Collingwood and Gold Coast are going to make the finals than Richmond and the Bulldogs? I think the Bulldogs are really up against it now on the pressure index.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a disaster if they miss again coming off a grand final.\u201d<\/p>\n David King replied, \u201cOf course it is. They\u2019re good enough to play finals.<\/p>\n \u201cOutside of their midfield, they\u2019re asset poor.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir defensive 50 is rated 12th in the competition, they don\u2019t win the ball back when the opposition are transitioning coast to coast, they\u2019re 15th for midfield intercepts, they don\u2019t have an intercept marker.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is one thing that coaches must have in their kitbag to be successful in the modern game over the last four or five years? You have to have someone who can cut the ball off at the pass, they don\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n King said the Dogs are a \u201cmess\u201d defensively and doubled down on his view that Aaron Naughton should be moved down back.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Luke Beveridge has got massive challenges,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a mess down back, a mess. You can\u2019t be a mess defensively in this competition and survive.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they don\u2019t get that right, they\u2019ll miss the finals. How many goals [Aaron] Naughton kicks doesn\u2019t matter, they\u2019re better off saving four goals at the other end than trying to kick six inside 50.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause if you can\u2019t defend, you are gone.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n