Joey Montagna Explains Why The Western Bulldogs’ Defence Has Struggled In 2022

On Dead Set Legends

Image: Getty

After the Bulldogs were torn apart by a rampant Sydney Swans outfit last night, Joey Montagna has explained why their defence has struggled so badly in 2022.

LISTEN HERE:

"Statistically, and just looking at them, their defence, their backline is one of the worst in the competition… it’s almost fair to say now, they’ll miss the finals, the Western Bulldogs," Joey said on Dead Set Legends with Joey, Jay and Kath.

"So back to the drawing board for them next season, because they need to do a whole lot of work not just on their back six or seven, Jay-Z, but how they wanna defend.

"We know they’ve been a team that play this rolling zone, they don’t man up on anyone, they guard space.

"I think this year with the evolution of team’s ball movement, because of the stand the mark rule, the ball movement is quicker, more precise. I think they’ve been found out.

"They need to go back to the drawing board."

Never miss anything with the best of Triple M Footy playlist:

Joey went on to say that he feels Luke Beveridge is aware of the defensive issues and is trying to spin the magnets, but has yet to settle on a mix that works.

"They changed it up last night, put Treloar at half-back, they put Mitch Hannan in the backline, who haven’t played a lot there," he said.

"They played Anthony Scott last week on Charlie Cameron, that didn’t work, so clearly Luke Beveridge knows that their backline is in all sorts of trouble… their backline’s all at sea, they need to start again for next season."