The Melbourne Football Club is in the most dire state of any AFL side since Fitzroy in 1996, yet their stunning on-field mediocrity has been made to look positively finals-like by the Western Bulldogs in the last twelve months between winters.

From Round 12 last year and onwards, the Dogs have been ice-cold, only able to secure one victory, equal with the infant GWS, and three behind Melbourne.

Gold Coast, the other expansion club and their conqueror on Saturday afternoon, has won seven matches in that time.

They did so playing an opposite brand of footy to their victims, exciting, daring and skilful, as opposed to stale, slow and error-riddled.

Question marks will be asked of coach Brendan McCartney in his second season, but unfortunately he has one of the saddest playing lists in the league.

For all the talk we hear of systems, structures and gameplans, you still need a cross-section of players that complement each other’s various and unique skills.

The Dogs simply don’t have enough versatility in their playing group, and importantly, not enough speed or skill.

Ryan Griffen is the only genuine, bonafide, midfield gun, a top 20 or 30 player in the league on talent and output, capable of performing acts on a football field few could match. A combination of acceleration, courageous gut-running, smarts and skill, he also gets his hands dirty when required, which is more than when the Dogs were finalists not so long ago.

There are going to be big clubs throwing serious money at Griffen when he’s next out of contract, testing his loyalty to the utmost. I fear for the Dogs if someone is able to prize him out of the kennel.

Adam Cooney played explosive, match-winning football in his Brownlow year of 2008, but hasn’t been the same player since due to a combination of a natural decline and injury.

His kicking has always had a question mark attached, but this year has seen him return to something like his best. This was expected to help propel his team up the ladder, but unfortunately it hasn’t.

Bob Murphy is certainly the finest writer in the league, as his weekly columns in The Age attest, and he’s also one of the better movers on the field.

After playing back for a few years, he’s once again the lead-up target needed, and gets most of his possession 60-80 metres out from goal. His polish with the final kick inside fifty is sorely required in a team largely bereft of skill.

Outside these three players, the quality, class and match-winning ability drops alarmingly.

Matthew Boyd is as honest a goer as there is in the AFL, an accumulator of vast numbers, too many of which end in opposition hands. The skipper will die for his club but has struggled to make an impact this year.

Daniel Cross, Boyd’s hardnut brother-in-arms, is essentially a one position player, an old-fashioned centreman who has been gradually squeezed out of the middle to allow for young in-and-under clearance players to come through.

One Dogs fan on Twitter suggested these two should no longer play in the same side due to a lack of pace across the ground. Not so long ago, this would have been sacrilege of the highest order. Now it is a suggestion of some merit.

Shaun Higgins was all class once upon a time but, in-between injuries, has promised more than he’s delivered.

Daniel Giansiracusa, at 31 and running out of tricks, is still the most reliable goal-kicker on the list, not a great position to be in.

Tory Dickson is a one-paced forward who was still able to look dangerous last year, but should be a stop-gap at best when fit.

Brett Goodes has slotted in with ease into the back half, his poise now a necessity, which is an indictment on the skill and development of younger teammates.

Dale Morris has been a warrior down back and will continue to be so as long as his body holds out.

Will Minson is one older player who has improved under McCartney, and has done a fine job carrying the solo ruck burden in 2013.

Nick Lower was recruited in the off-season and has been an effective tagger, while Liam Picken is also required to perform a lock down role, either down back or in the middle.

Tom Williams has always been highly rated at Whitten Oval after being taken highly in the 2004 draft, but he’s a limited footballer and is rarely seen because of injury anyway.

All fourteen players mentioned so far are in the current best 22 of the Bulldogs. None of them are under 25, and none of them, perhaps with the exception of Griffen and Higgins, are likely to see finals for the rest of their career if they remain at the club.

While this is a bitter truth, the fact is all players in this group are either too old or aren’t good enough to command a place in a finals side. This leaves the Dogs in a parlous state looking forward.

Luke Dahlhaus provides what little spark and energy this team has through pace, hard-running and a nose for goal, but is the type of player that should be complementing a good side in the mould of a Jake King. Instead, he’s an important member of a poor one.

Jordan Roughead and Ayce Cordy have shown ability from minute one, with glimpses of real talent on display. Roughead has been down back this year and given some big tasks, while Cordy can take a grab. Both are worth persevering with, and can be mainstays in a decent team if they develop at the appropriate rate.

Mitch Wallis, Tom Liberatore, Clay Smith and Koby Stevens are all youngsters either recently drafted or traded for, hard as a cats head but with questionable foot skills.

Each of them has ability enough, but combined with Boyd, Cross, Lower and Picken in the same midfield, provide a sameness and slowness that wins possession on the inside, but not out in space, and this isn’t helping them put wins on the board.

Jake Stringer has impressed in early appearances, but also looks cut from the same cloth. Hopefully Jackson Macrae, another 2012 draftee, can become a player to rectify this glaring weakness.

Liam Jones is still in the ‘will he or won’t he make it’ category, while Jarrad Grant and Patrick Vezpremi are now firmly in the latter.

Dylan Addison, Easton Wood, Jason Tutt and Christian Howard must all be at the crossroads, and may find themselves cashing VFL cheques sooner rather than later.

We’re about to enter the winter months in 2013, but the Western Bulldogs have been in their own cold, dark place for a long time already. With the outlook so bleak, there promises to be even harder times to come.

Sadly for their fans, they don’t have a premiership, or even a grand final appearance, from their successful 2008-2010 period to keep them company through the coming lean times, which may have made it somewhat bearable.

Rug up, Dogs supporters, because it’s going to be a cold one.

Article link: St Kilda coach says he’ll keep the faith. Written by Cameron Rose, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion