POINT Cook was merciless in its dismantling of Chadstone in the Victorian Amateur Football Association division 4 season opener.
The Bulldogs obsessed about improving their defensive output in the off-season and the hard work during summer paid off immediately.
The Bulldogs held the hapless Chadstone to a mere two goals in a 148-point shedding at Saltwater Reserve on Saturday.
The nature of the beating stunned even Bulldogs coach Daniel Fraser, the architect of the operation, the man who was adamant about curing their Achilles heel of recent seasons.
“I was hoping to win, I thought we should win, but the margin surprised me,” he told the Weekly.
“That’s a credit to our blokes, we played really well. We put a solid four quarters together and that’s a result of putting together a good pre-season.”
Last season, the Bulldogs were an excitement machine, but lacked a presence when the ball was in opposition hands.
While their defensive issues needed to be addressed, it was a juggling act for Fraser not to promote the new and improved defensive attitude so much that it affected their offensive game.
“Our attack on the footy and the way we’ve used the footy over the last couple of years hasn’t been an issue,” he said.
“If we can maintain them standards and lift our accountability and the defensive side of the game without it affecting the attacking side of our game, we are really going to improve big time.”
Helping the Bulldogs find the right balance between attack and defence is defender-turned-forward Ricky Munn. The playing assistant coach relished his chance to move forward, booting eight goals, but also set the standard with his forward pressure.
Centreman Paul Hegarty was best for the Bulldogs with his head-over-the-ball approach.
New ruckman Leigh Howard, recruited from the Laverton Magpies, had a big influence on debut, not only with his tap work, but with his work at ground level.
Matt Rocco was the poster boy of the Bulldogs defence, doing the one-percenters and repelling the ball out of the backline time and again.
The Bulldogs know the challenges will get harder, starting with Saturday’s visit to Box Hill North, which is not a happy hunting ground.
Meanwhile, it was a rough start for Werribee Districts in the tough premier B division, kicking just three goals in an 80-point drubbing at the hands of Old Haileybury.
It was a similar story for Old Westbourne in the opening round of division 3, walloped by 116 points on the road at Kew.
Aaron Fleming, Jason Nikola and Evan Karageorge never stopped trying for the Warriors.
VAFA SCOREBOARD
Premier B: Werribee Districts 3.10 (28) lt Old Haileybury 15.18 (108)
Division 3: Kew 21.27 (153) d Old Westbourne 5.7 (37)
Division 4: Point Cook 24.20 (164) d Chadstone 2.4 (16)
