Luke Beveridge will need to bring in another young and inexperienced defender to fill the breech, Joel Hamling seems the most likely, and that is the reason the Bulldogs were keen to secure him from Geelong. Paul Roos and his coaching staff will have analysed the Bulldogs encounter with the Adelaide Crows last week and looked for ways his team can isolate Hogan and get him plenty of supply in the hope that he will repeat the efforts of Josh Jenkins and his bag of eight goals last Saturday night at the lightning quick track that is Etihad Stadium.

Having watched the 'Dogs for a few weeks now – it appears that may be easier said than done. In the Bulldogs defensive ranks are three "old dogs" in Matthew Boyd (265 games), Dale Morris (214 games) and the newly promoted Jed Adcock (210) – and I daresay the new "tricks" that Beveridge has taught them has them playing almost the best footy of their careers, that was certainly true for Bob Murphy before his season-ending injury.

Beveridge and his defensive coach in Rohan Smith have the Bulldogs back six playing a different style of defence than any coach they would have had previously. The last six (sometimes seven?) defenders are playing a "zone" defensive system, where only a couple of them have any strong accountability for an opposition forward, but all of them are accountable to intercepting and repelling any entries into their Defensive 50 area.

When a dangerous opposition forward comes within 10 metres or so of their positioning they defend him strongly, but when he moves away from them they make a "handover" to their fellow defender, who will now take responsibility for that player as he moves into a new "designated" area. To explain it simply – think of a Point Kick in and how the forwards set up if they are playing a "zone" defence – now translate how those forwards look and the "shape" they form, and switch that style of defending to the "back six" – that is the simple version of how the 'Dogs are now defending. There are some obvious similarities to the West Coast and Hawthorn models of "Smart Defence".

Within this system of defending are two or three more complex mechanisms, that the Doggies are also executing extremely well.

1. Shape Formations: The Bulldogs back six are using a few different formations, or "shapes" to allow them to be in the best percentage position to first defend and then more critical to their overall game style – attack with speed from the resultant turnover. The most common shape they are using looks like a star – with one defender at the top, following by a line of three, and the last two defenders providing the "tail" of the star. Mathew Boyd is playing the "Front Man" or on-point, if you like. He sets up at any centre-square bounce on the opposition half-forward who is most likely to push high up the ground.

Boyd will simply let him go, but keep an eye on him to know when he comes back forward, to either defend him directly, or hand him over to another defender in the next line behind. Boyd does not lock onto him and defend him hard one-on-one, unless that player is likely to have the ball passed to him.

The next line of three has speed and strong rebound capabilities, usually Easton Wood and Shane Biggs are here. Both have genuine foot speed and can cover the ground quickly, to come third up to either spoil or take the intercept mark, and if one takes the mark, it is usually the other that is the target of the ensuing switch kick to start the Bulldogs'' quick rebound.

On the last line, is the one player who has a little more opponent focus, last week it was young defender Fletcher Roberts, who had the mentally draining challenge of looking after the Crows skipper in Taylor Walker, and also playing his role in this zone defence, Roberts had strong support from the evergreen Dale Morris, who is mostly on the last line as well, but is more likely to take whichever opposition forward works "through" his zone. Morris had Eddie Betts at times, but also had Jenkins on the odd occasion too.

The 'Dogs can also find themselves in either three rows of pairs, or the more traditional shape of three and three.

2. On Ball/Off Ball: a defensive strategy often employed in basketball, the Bulldogs defenders do not try to zone the whole width of the ground, rather they will set up to cover the side of the ground that the ball is one – and simply move to the other side if the opposition switch the ball.

3. Whole Ground Press: Where the last six defenders follow the ball as it goes away from their backline and keep their defensive shape intact as they move down the ground behind it. The shape now traps the ball in the front half. The shape defence that the Bulldogs employ also allows them to create the outnumber at the fall of any ball not marked inside their Defensive 50.

By placing themselves in a "wedging" formation and not playing directly on a man – they simply read the cue of the incoming kick (helped by midfield pressure on that kick) and use their speed across the ground, starting from a position of advantage to make the intercept, or spoil the ball to the ground before sweeping it up and away by a series of rapid handballs using their teammates.

Beveridge and Smith are highly trusting of the 'Dogs defenders to get the overall defensive job done, and while Jenkins kicked a bag, mostly against the smaller Adams, Walker only scored the one goal and Betts went goalless for the night, while the Bulldogs defenders rebounded and continually sent the ball forward to see the lopsided inside 50 count well and truly favour the winning team by a whopping 68/37.