One thing that frustrates me is the ease in which the ball is swept away from our forward line. For a decade back pockets have had a field day picking off our disgraceful forward 50 entries. I believe that it is time to address this issue. IMO our forward line is too slow when it comes to the defensive side. Observe the following
- Pettifer is a snail.
- Ditto Mitch Morton
- Ditto Polak
- Richardson is quick but when it comes to chasing he is usually no where to be seen
- Ditto Deledio
- We dont have a geniuine crumber. Krakouer was another snail when he was there
- Nathan Brown is not as quick as he once was
In my opinion we cannot have a forward line consisting of the above, as we will and do get slaughtered when the ball hits the deck (As it often does because our entry into forward 50 are useless). My theroy on this issue is
- Only one of Morton and Pettifer can play in the forward line at any one time. To have both of them there will see us destroyed on the rebound. IMO it could be bye bye Pettifer as he is a frontrunner and Morton has more upside. Riewoldt is a forward pocket and does not have the pace to play CHF, he could be an excelelnt forward pocket but you need pace around him to compensate for the opposition rebounding.
- We need to recruit a geniune crumber who not only kicks goals but also is quick and chases tackles ect.. I have been very impressed with Lindsay Thomas from the Roos, a player of a similar style is needed. Seeing as we do not have one on our list, I think for the time being Shane Edwards needs to play as a half forward. He has pace, is a terrific tackler, and his work in traffic from what I ahve seen is excellent. He has clean hands and usually good decision making. Long term I want to see Edwards in the middle or on the wing until we recruit a geniune crumbing forward he should play there.
- Down the track, Schulz will be FF and Hughes CHF. Schulz actually has good straight line speed. I would be drilling into Schulz defensive pressure, and being played down back at the moment will help him develop this side of his game. Hughes is not that quick but he is not slow either and can play the CHF role presenting up the ground.
As far as defence goes, I think its time for White and Casserley to be played at half back. As it stands at the moment, I would even throw Nathan Brown in defence for a few weeks. Not much to lose there, may play him into form and at least we know the disposal from defence will be quality. From what I hear Casserly has excellent foot skills, and even though some may say otherwise, White's have improved sufficently for him to be tried in defence.
- Pettifer is a snail.
- Ditto Mitch Morton
- Ditto Polak
- Richardson is quick but when it comes to chasing he is usually no where to be seen
- Ditto Deledio
- We dont have a geniuine crumber. Krakouer was another snail when he was there
- Nathan Brown is not as quick as he once was
In my opinion we cannot have a forward line consisting of the above, as we will and do get slaughtered when the ball hits the deck (As it often does because our entry into forward 50 are useless). My theroy on this issue is
- Only one of Morton and Pettifer can play in the forward line at any one time. To have both of them there will see us destroyed on the rebound. IMO it could be bye bye Pettifer as he is a frontrunner and Morton has more upside. Riewoldt is a forward pocket and does not have the pace to play CHF, he could be an excelelnt forward pocket but you need pace around him to compensate for the opposition rebounding.
- We need to recruit a geniune crumber who not only kicks goals but also is quick and chases tackles ect.. I have been very impressed with Lindsay Thomas from the Roos, a player of a similar style is needed. Seeing as we do not have one on our list, I think for the time being Shane Edwards needs to play as a half forward. He has pace, is a terrific tackler, and his work in traffic from what I ahve seen is excellent. He has clean hands and usually good decision making. Long term I want to see Edwards in the middle or on the wing until we recruit a geniune crumbing forward he should play there.
- Down the track, Schulz will be FF and Hughes CHF. Schulz actually has good straight line speed. I would be drilling into Schulz defensive pressure, and being played down back at the moment will help him develop this side of his game. Hughes is not that quick but he is not slow either and can play the CHF role presenting up the ground.
As far as defence goes, I think its time for White and Casserley to be played at half back. As it stands at the moment, I would even throw Nathan Brown in defence for a few weeks. Not much to lose there, may play him into form and at least we know the disposal from defence will be quality. From what I hear Casserly has excellent foot skills, and even though some may say otherwise, White's have improved sufficently for him to be tried in defence.