On Monday, Mark Robinson of the Herald Sun reported that four Melbourne-based clubs had shown an active interest in luring Port Adelaide’s John Butcher back to Victoria. The Western Bulldogs were not among them.
In a season which clearly didn’t meet expectations, cost Rodney Eade his job, confirmed Barry Hall’s retirement and looks likely to claim Callan Ward, the Bulldogs ought to be active in the market where out of contract and disgruntled players are concerned.
As disappointing as Ward’s imminent departure is, the Dogs simply can’t afford a woe-is-me approach during what’s an extremely delicate period for the club.
Chief among priorities for the Bulldogs this off season - along with finding a coach- is securing the services of someone capable of fulfilling the power-forward vacuum which for too long has been the Dogs' millstone.
Talk surrounding John Butcher, regardless of its authenticity, is understandable and will remain vibrant until he inks another deal with Port.
Butcher is from Maffra in Central Gippsland. He’s currently part of a Port team seemingly going nowhere fast while his family has expressed a strong desire for him to return home.
Adding to the intrigue is the fact Butcher’s present contract is set to expire; he’s a former top ten pick, whose last three games have been scintillating.
He’s kicked ten goals in his last two games, and is averaging 3.3 contested marks per match, a figure only Travis Cloke can claim supremacy over.
That there would be at least four Melbourne teams acutely interested in the 197cm Butcher is hardly surprising.
That the Western Bulldogs aren’t apparently one of them is baffling.
The Dogs have been crying out for a key forward/goal-kicking option for the last twenty years. An arrival came in the form of Barry Hall, however, his time at the Bulldogs was fleeting and as brilliant as it was, didn’t culminate in a long sort after premiership.
In the meantime, the only key forward to really take genuine strides at the Dogs has been Liam Jones whose sophomore year has been excellent.
He’s operated as a true centre half forward, missed just two games and collected a team high of 43 contested marks, bettered by only four players in the competition.
Jones hasn’t however seriously troubled the scorers this season with Hall and Daniel Giansiracusa preferred inside 50 options. With the former set to play his final game this weekend and Giansiracusa well and truly in the twilight of his career, the Dogs’ forward setup looks as precarious as it was before they landed Hall.
Outside of Big Barry and Giansiracusa, the Bulldogs have had little return from players supposedly equipped to be target men; Jarrad Grant’s form has been patchy, Ayce Cordy’s still extremely raw while Jordan Roughead looks far more adept in the ruck than when operating as a forward.
Most alarming is that the Bulldogs are the only team in the competition to have just one player (Jones) to have taken more than 20 contested marks this season, while only Sydney and the Gold Coast have taken fewer total marks.
Damning statistics and evidence that when it comes to big bodies up forward, the Bulldogs are sorely lacking.
It was reported that in the Dogs’ efforts to keep Callan Ward, they were prepared to part with $1.3 million dollars, spread over three seasons.
Small fry in comparison to the money being offered by the Western Sydney Giants, but proof nonetheless that the Bulldogs indeed have the capacity to get their hands on some serious money where player spending is concerned.
Such money now needs to stay on the table in pursuit of a key forward.
Not that all that money should be offered to Butcher, a veteran of just four senior games, however the Bulldogs simply have to be active in the trading period and must wholeheartedly investigate finding a long-term solution to their power forward dilemma.
At just 20, it’s far too much an ask to expect Liam Jones to carry the forward line by himself.
John Butcher may well stay in Port Adelaide, after all they drafted and nursed him through some serious back injuries in his rookie season. However if clubs are to be linked with him, then the Bulldogs simply must be among the suitors.
In addition, the Bulldogs should be front and square in any conversation regarding want-away Brisbane Lion Mitch Clark.
They’ve nothing to lose by enquiring about Geelong’s Tom Hawkins or even Essendon’s injury-plagued Scott Gumbleton. Jarryd Roughead’s situation at Hawthorn should be monitored.
The Bulldogs must knock on all doors and as potentially laughable as such a mission is, it’s the precise kind of diligence which prized Callan Ward away from the Dogs and the same kind of opportunism which has been responsible for some of the most inspired moves of the last decade.
Nothing can be lost from asking pertinent questions not only of your own squad but the players which comprise other teams’.
No club has ever lost premiership points for making enquiries. Plenty however have failed to win games by sitting on their hands and doing nothing.
If knocking on John Butcher’s door was good enough for four Melbourne clubs, why wasn’t it for the Bulldogs?
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