You not looking forward to the bombombs winning the first month, receiving the accolades as a bona fide top 4 contender in April only to actually start to play top 8 teams and collapse to the bottom rungs?Knackered with the draw whilst others get soft starts, such as Essington getting Hawthorn and the Goldens back to back.......................
And Rachele or however you spell it.Walker got a hold of us last year. Must stop it happening this weekend.
Seems to take a power stance for Richmond games.Walker got a hold of us last year. Must stop it happening this weekend.
It is true that we have an issue with opposition teams scoring from rebounds out of our 50.
But just about every team struggles with that, it is damned difficult to defend.
A lot teams set up for the rebound and we need to do that better.
This is the reason for picking Mansell, and it has some merit in the sense of having a defender playing in the forward line. Maybe he was protecting space and maybe it worked to the extent that we didn't concede so many scores from rebounds.
If this experiment lasts until we hit Melbourne, who are very good at rebounding, then we will see whether there is any merit.
But, the player in this role also needs to be able to do some attacking, otherwise we're already outnumbered in forward options and that's before you factor in that just about every team putting at least 1 extra in defence when the ball is heading to their opponent's forward line. This is where Castagna was very good, you could not ignore the fact that he might have been guarding space, he might have been chasing defenders, but he could also take a mark, he could also gather the ball and go for goal. This is what Mansell I doubt can provide, he can be left alone in the forward line because he is unlikely to be a threat, and this frees up a defender.
Unless Mansell improves in this position I think it is too expensive to spend a forward position on a player who can only defend.
DS
Hopefully last years loss should be enough to spur them on. Our midfield should give the forwards a good look at it.
Dusty and Shai should have a good afternoon.
Didn't the dud Himmelberg kick his only 4 goals of the season against us.Walker got a hold of us last year. Must stop it happening this weekend.
Won’t be a dud when he’s our next signingDidn't the dud Himmelberg kick his only 4 goals of the season against us.
And that long haired dud Keays was BOG.
It has to be a runner, preferably taller, though if we decide to rest Cotch he could be a sub who only plays a 1/4 in the best scenario.How do we best utilise the sub rule?
Heres some options
1. Play the most versatile player available , someone who can cover all positions, including ruck - sampson ryan, noah balta, ben miller
Plus - this is a % play, there are no catastrophes
Minus - your not gaining much, its match saving rather than match winning; potentially stymie development of youth
2. Play a 2nd ruckman - soldo
plus - the most devastating first quarter loss is covered; can also tactically release a fresh ruckman in 4th quarters
Minus - few other positional losses are covered; no injection of speed
3. Develop a specialist sub - the old champs (trent cotchin, JR)
Plus - cotchy can be deployed on all lines; inspirational quarters or halves from the champ, prolong his career; you could count on JR to kick a team lifting goal; fresher in september
Minus - cant cover talls; disrespectful to the champs; all-time greats playing 25% game time, hard to manage GT
4. Run a fresh mid/tagger - jack graham
plus - if someone needs stopping, deploy the stopper; if noone needs stopping, fresh legged mid for final quarter. Versatile coverage of smalls on all lines
Minus - doesnt cover talls
5. 3rd wingman - Hugo, JG, Clarke (kmac, marlion)
plus - wing is a VIP in modern footy. A fresh, proper, wingman would inject run and impact; marlion and kmac are very versatile and are deployed elsewhere
Minus - dont cover talls
6. Dynamism/speed/impact injection (MRJ, Hugo, Clark)
Plus - hope for a goal or two from a tactical fatigue sub
Minus - inflexible, development stymie
7. Your 23rd best player (on form)
Plus - KISS
Minus - less flexibility, development stymie
8. Go nuclear - Dusty
This is pure fantasy. GF against Geelong. Tigers a goal down at 3/4 time, camera goes to dustys shark-eyes then switches to Scotts resigned terror.
Its a tough one. Get it right and make it part of your game plan, and its potentially a huge advantage in September. Which way do you go? Try save games, or try win games? Horses for courses?
I probably lean toward a combo of 3 and 5 and 6. A specialist sub on a roster - the veteran impact champs - JR, Cotchy, with a young dynamo in week 3. They know and understand the role, and you hope to have control over the sub most weeks. Marlion is probably our most versatile player we have in that he can play ruck or rover. If we play a wingman (cotchy or Jr can do this), marlion covers other losses.
In summary - cotchy, JR, Hugo, MRJ, Clarke all play sub 4-5 times this season. In an ideal world, Marlion is deployed to cover a mid or back position, and the sub goes to his wing. If the sub is unused at 20min mark 3rd quarter, theyre deployed tactically
It has to be a runner, preferably taller, though if we decide to rest Cotch he could be a sub who only plays a 1/4 in the best scenario.
I don't think we can play Graham Ross and Sons in the same team. After last week, though, I'd have Ross last in that group and wouldn't want him as sub (too pedestrian). Maybe Steely Green can push past him, if not Hugo.
Clarke should be best 22, but if not he's the ideal impact sub.
I reckon the need for versatility in a sub is overrated- you should hve flexibility in the 22 already. and i reckon you need to be a little wary of going for an 'impact' player over a better footballer.- the impact player might work better if they come on in the last and have fresh legs, but if you get an injury early you might regret not having the next best footballer coming on to play 3 quarters.i reckon a sub will win a GF,
And it should be developed and practiced discreetly all H&A.
Agree, a tall runner is the ideal sub, though theres no reason your tall running sub cant start on the field (marlion, or we play Balta on a wing). Hes the versatile swingman who fills holes, and your sub replaces your sub.
See what im getting at?
For arguments sake, we think of Noah as our sub, and he starts on the wing. If theres an important injury (nank, grimes, lynch), Noah goes there, and the nominal sub is always equipped to play 3/4 on a wing
This makes the actual sub - cotchy, kmac, clark, hugo, whoever else plays VFL wing and is either very quick or very smart.
But swingman Balta trains and plays with all lines and becomes the ultimate nuclear sub.
Or maybe Gibbo is our nuclear sub?
In the 20 gf, when vlastuin went down, we had 10 minutes of almost total disorganisation - astbury and JR in the ruck in a panicy merry-go-round. If not for dusty, the game slips from our grasp.
Under this scenario, noah simply goes from wing to vlastuins role, and clark goes to the wing. Ideally, its makes us better
Wing is arguably the easiest position to cover - this is evidenced by the fact that Jack Ross usually goes there. quickish toughish player with a tank occupies mcg space. So you cover the wing, and your wing covers the rest.
You're starting slightly sub-optimal but max versatile, and theres a decent likelihood an injury makes you better.
Thats sort of what im getting at.I reckon the need for versatility in a sub is overrated- you should hve flexibility in the 22 already. and i reckon you need to be a little wary of going for an 'impact' player over a better footballer.- the impact player might work better if they come on in the last and have fresh legs, but if you get an injury early you might regret not having the next best footballer coming on to play 3 quarters.
ideally your "23rd best" player can also be an impact type, and probably be flexible enough to play 2 positions.