A titillating conundrum (or what to do with a naughty boy)

[Carter]

Tom and Jack are scragged, punched and blocked every week. Most importantly, their runs are routinely impeded by neanderthal defenders. Jack doesn't get frees because he is a serial whinger. Tom doesn't get frees because he is a thug.

We know the real story. The club knows the real story.

But what to do about it? We are getting flooded, choked, blocked, out-marked. Our entries are massively skewed to quantity over quality.

What is the answer, oh footy gods?!

Well, the answer might be a naughty, knockabout bloke we can't fit into D50 because as a club we are falling in love with a man named Noah. A 15 year key back of biblical stature.

This is not to denigrate naughty boy Broad in any way. He can run all day, read the ball exceptionally well, is team-oriented and has tidied his kicking to adequately neat.

Naughty boy is an asset in any man's language. So what to do with blue-chip surplus?

You mount a finals campaign with a curveball, that's what you do. Towner in 2017. Bolton and the Nank/Soldo tuck combo in 2019. You need a point of difference. Something the oppo won't have time to properly combat.

So why can't Naughty Boy play as a defensive forward? Do what George is supposed to do but with ballistic air control? NB can also take a grab and apply very good ground pressure. Tellingly, he has much greater intensity than Chol, alas.

While we're all fretting about Naughty Boy, I can just picture him being put through a three-week crash course in the Richmond Way, F50 style. To be unveiled against a lesser team like Fremantle and perfected against Geelong and Adelaide.

I for one will be keeping abreast of the situation with great interest. Could end up being one of Hardwick's finest moments.

 

[tigerman]

Tom and Jack are scragged, punched and blocked every week. Most importantly, their runs are routinely impeded by neanderthal defenders. Jack doesn't get frees because he is a serial whinger. Tom doesn't get frees because he is a thug.

We know the real story. The club knows the real story.

But what to do about it? We are getting flooded, choked, blocked, out-marked. Our entries are massively skewed to quantity over quality.

What is the answer, oh footy gods?!

Well, the answer might be a naughty, knockabout bloke we can't fit into D50 because as a club we are falling in love with a man named Noah. A 15 year key back of biblical stature.

This is not to denigrate naught boy Broad in any way. He can run all day, read the ball exceptionally well, is team-oriented and has tidied his kicking to adequately neat.

Naughty boy is an asset in any man's language. So what to do with blue-chip surplus?

You mount a finals campaign with a curveball, that's what you do. Towner in 2017. Bolton and the Nank/Soldo tuck combo in 2019. You need a point of difference. Something the oppo won't have time to properly combat.

So why can't Naught Boy play as a defensive forward? Do what George is supposed to do but with ballistic air control? NB can also take a grab and apply very good ground pressure. Tellingly, he has much greater intensity than Chol, alas.

While we're all fretting about Naughty Boy, I can just picture him being put through a three-week crash course in the Richmond Way, F50 style. To be unveiled against a lesser team like Fremantle and perfected against Geelong and Adelaide.

I for one will be keeping abreast of the situation with great interest. Could end up being one of Hardwick's finest moments.

Caddy could play that role too.
A Neil Balme or a Ricky McLean would be handy.

 

[blx]

Like I've mentioned on another thread, scrub the ball in to negate the aerial intercepts.

Defending an incoming scrub kick is a nightmare for a defender and brings our smalls back to the fore.

Use Jack and Tom to "clear space"

 

[Harry]

yeah good point. Wouldn't surprise if we are reprogramming Broad to play in a different position.

we did the same to caddy and baker in the vfl most recently. we are probably reprogramming broad on the training track as we speak.

 

[TT33]

Caddy could play that role too.
A Neil Balme or a Ricky McLean would be handy.

Or a Jacob Townsend,

 

[momentai]

Ricky McLean, Towner an innocent and even Balmy and Mal Brown also. Ricky was the most violent player to pull on our colours in the last 60 years.Easily.

 

[eZyT]

I certainly like the idea of wrongfooting the oppo.

And yep Towner is engraved in the history books.

His shaking of Lever and burial of crouch set us in motion imo.

And yes, the broad absence cant be explained.

And im all for titillation.

Personally, id like to see bakes go to fullback on charlie dixon in a GF and notorius go to CHF

This is the year to be strange.

 

[mrposhman]

This is an issue against crap sides that don't believe in their gameplan. Won't be a problem tonight, nor against Geelong. Those games will be decided in the midfield. Our efficiency inside 50 against the better sides is around the AFL average, its only an issue against the crap teams that flood, who other than the Pies we probably won't be playing in finals anyway.

If we focus on this, we might be focusing ourselves away from our own gameplan.

The bit that does provide us with something, is we do tend to pull one out of the forward line and outnumber in the midfield, which generally means the opposition can outnumber us in our F50 and theres where we need to lower the eyes.

Broad as a negating defender would be the option for me, we need to keep Balta down back. Has all the hallmarks to be an outstanding defender now that we have focused him on one area of the ground, too early to be looking at him as a swingman, we tried this last year and saw a lot less of him because I think we threw too much at him. Let him hone his craft in the backline, he will become that swingman but not right now.

 

[Carter]

we won't get flooded by WC or the other good teams, but Jack and Tom will still be scragged out of contests and our two biggest threats (Geelong and WC) are both defensive intercept teams.

like it or not, we need a third aerial presence down there and Chol hasn't worked.

 

[Smoking Aces]

we won't get flooded by WC or the other good teams, but Jack and Tom will still be scragged out of contests and our two biggest threats (Geelong and WC) are both defensive intercept teams.

like it or not, we need a third aerial presence down there and Chol hasn't worked.

It has to be Caddy. Tried and proven.

 

[mrposhman]

we won't get flooded by WC or the other good teams, but Jack and Tom will still be scragged out of contests and our two biggest threats (Geelong and WC) are both defensive intercept teams.

like it or not, we need a third aerial presence down there and Chol hasn't worked.

Fair call as they will play their extra in front, we have seen that in many games so far. Either we need a 3rd (and I like the idea of Caddy or Broad) or we need Jack and Tom to completely seperate and if we are doing well in the middle, Dusty can go one out of the goal square. He either draws someone undersize (great), or he will draw the 3rd tall.

 

[tigers80]

I've felt we are reprogramming Nathan.
Did it with Caddy last year.
This helps when you have depth.

 

[tigermike]

Jack and Tom are often playing too close together and predictably too deep. If we bomb it long tonight we'll be killed by McGovern's intercept marking. So I hope we get back to faster ball movement from D50 so WC don't have time to run back thus giving us a bit of room to run towards the low incoming passes.
Without Prestia and Edwards it depends on other players doing better and not kick these skyballs to our fwds like Marlion, Castagna, Soldo often do. Lower the eyes to hit targets or we're done. Let's hope Thomson might be able to help with good delivery.

 

[Rancey18]

Bolton getting dropped this season was also done to reprogram him for a midfield role I think.

 

[22nd Man]

Ricky McLean, Towner an innocent and even Balmy and Mal Brown also. Ricky was the most violent player to pull on our colours in the last 60 years.Easily.

Even team mates were scared of him.

 

[Bernie]

Ricky McLean, Towner an innocent and even Balmy and Mal Brown also. Ricky was the most violent player to pull on our colours in the last 60 years.Easily.

Nah, disagree. Big Bad Mal in a points decision.

Who can remember Ricky standing under the ball in the goal square during the siege of the 69 GF?

 

[caesar]

Bolton getting dropped this season was also done to reprogram him for a midfield role I think.

Could be the only reason Rancey18 as Shai didn't deserve to be dropped. Shai played 100% as starting mid in the next scratch match was recalled immediately and has played mid since. So there was some reason for what looked like madness at the time.

 

[SCAJMW]

Ricky McLean, Towner an innocent and even Balmy and Mal Brown also. Ricky was the most violent player to pull on our colours in the last 60 years.Easily.

Ricky was just Ricky, Loved watching pre game him and Balmey strolling down to the forward line and terrorise anyone that stood them. Just plain scary / terrifying.

 

[Quickdraw]

Ricky was just Ricky, Loved watching pre game him and Balmey strolling down to the forward line and terrorise anyone that stood them. Just plain scary / terrifying.

Great days.

 

[Harry]

Could be the only reason Rancey18 as Shai didn't deserve to be dropped. Shai played 100% as starting mid in the next scratch match was recalled immediately and has played mid since. So there was some reason for what looked like madness at the time.

We need you C up there at training to see what's going on