Bulldog4life
04-01-2017, 12:55 PM
http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/2017-01-03/the-best-forward-depth
AN EASY measure of the best forward lines in the competition would be to look simply at the 'points scored' column against every club. But in ranking the best attacks club-by-club, we had to dig a little deeper than that.
Of course, a club's average score is a reasonably accurate representation of how successful its forward line is. But when looking ahead, there are other things to take into account.
Who has left the club since last season, and who has joined? Who looks set to step up a cog or two, and who might have left his best form in the past?
The clubs at the top of this list almost picked themselves, such was the wealth of talent and strength of depth available to them inside 50. Similarly, the teams at the bottom were reasonably easy to slot in given some of the rebuilding going on at respective clubs.
Placing the clubs in the middle might have been the most difficult task ahead of what shapes as an enthralling 2017 season.
1. GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
B: Heath Shaw, Aidan Corr, Zac Williams
HB: Nathan Wilson, Phil Davis, Nick Haynes
C: Tom Scully, Callan Ward, Josh Kelly
HF: Toby Greene, Jeremy Cameron, Brett Deledio
F: Rory Lobb, Jonathon Patton, Steve Johnson
Foll: Shane Mumford, Dylan Shiel, Stephen Coniglio
I/C: Devon Smith, Lachie Whitfield, Jacob Hopper, Ryan Griffen
Depth
Midfield: Matt de Boer, Tom Downie, Matthew Flynn, Matthew Kennedy, Tendai Mzungu, Harry Perryman, Will Setterfield, Dawson Simpson, Tim Taranto
Forwards: Daniel Lloyd, Sam Reid, Lachlan Tiziani, Zach Sproule
Defenders: Matt Buntine, Isaac Cumming, Jeremy Finlayson, Harrison Himmelberg, Adam Kennedy, Tim Mohr, Joel Patfull, Jake Stein
The Giants' forward line is, quite frankly, absurd. Four of the front six have been All Australian, Jonathon Patton was the No.1 selection in 2011 and Rory Lobb ranked third for contested marks per game last year. GWS was the second-highest scoring team in 2016 and with the class of Brett Deledio coming into the team, the side will be even more potent. Devon Smith's elite defensive pressure and liveliness around goal means he will continue to be an important player for the Giants.
The Giants have built a very dangerous forward line. Picture: AFL Photos
2. ADELAIDE
B: Luke Brown, Kyle Hartigan, Jake Lever
HB: Rory Laird, Daniel Talia, Brodie Smith
C: Rory Atkins, Brad Crouch, Charlie Cameron
HF: Tom Lynch, Taylor Walker, Richard Douglas
F: Mitch McGovern, Josh Jenkins, Eddie Betts
Foll: Sam Jacobs, Rory Sloane, Matt Crouch
I/C: Kyle Cheney, Riley Knight, Wayne Milera, Scott Thompson
Depth
Midfield: Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Jordan Gallucci, Dean Gore, Hugh Greenwood, Curtly Hampton, Paul Hunter, David Mackay, Reilly O'Brien, Myles Poholke, Paul Seedsman, Matt Signorello, Harrison Wigg
Forwards: Jonathan Beech, Ben Davis, Harry Dear, Ben Jarman, Troy Menzel
Defenders: Tom Doedee, Elliott Himmelberg, Alex Keath, Jake Kelly, Andy Otten
The Crows ranked No.1 for scoring last year and it's not hard to see why. Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch and Eddie Betts were nominated in the All Australian squad of 40. That trio isn't a bad place to start but Taylor Walker is probably the best player of the lot, having long established himself as one of the absolute gun key forwards in the competition. Mitch McGovern has already shown plenty of aerial prowess despite only having been in the AFL for two years. If the Crows can harness Troy Menzel's talent they will become even more dangerous.
3. WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Dale Morris, Marcus Adams, Matthew Boyd
HB: Robert Murphy, Easton Wood, Jason Johannisen
C: Lachie Hunter, Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae
HF: Caleb Daniel, Travis Cloke, Stewart Crameri
F: Jake Stringer, Tom Boyd, Tory Dickson
Foll: Jordan Roughead, Tom Liberatore, Luke Dahlhaus
I/C: Liam Picken, Clay Smith, Shane Biggs, Bailey Williams
Depth
Midfield: Tom Campbell, Bailey Dale, Tim English, Declan Hamilton, Lin Jong, Matthew Suckling, Mitch Wallis
Forwards: Josh Dunkley, Fergus Greene, Mitch Honeychurch, Patrick Lipinski, Toby McLean, Nathan Mullenger-McHugh, Jack Redpath, Tristan Tweedie, Lewis Young
Defenders: Kieren Collins, Zaine Cordy, Bradley Lynch, Josh Prudden, Fletcher Roberts, Roarke Smith, Lukas Webb
The premiers are set to add Stewart Crameri and Travis Cloke to their forward line. Combine that with the improvement Tom Boyd showed in last year's finals series and the expected bounce back in form from 2015 All Australian Jake Stringer and the Bulldogs should be very potent in attack. Tory Dickson isn't fashionable but he has booted 90 goals over the past two years and takes advantage of his opportunities. Improvement should come in Caleb Daniel's third season, and he is among a number of Dogs who can play either up forward or through the middle.
AN EASY measure of the best forward lines in the competition would be to look simply at the 'points scored' column against every club. But in ranking the best attacks club-by-club, we had to dig a little deeper than that.
Of course, a club's average score is a reasonably accurate representation of how successful its forward line is. But when looking ahead, there are other things to take into account.
Who has left the club since last season, and who has joined? Who looks set to step up a cog or two, and who might have left his best form in the past?
The clubs at the top of this list almost picked themselves, such was the wealth of talent and strength of depth available to them inside 50. Similarly, the teams at the bottom were reasonably easy to slot in given some of the rebuilding going on at respective clubs.
Placing the clubs in the middle might have been the most difficult task ahead of what shapes as an enthralling 2017 season.
1. GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
B: Heath Shaw, Aidan Corr, Zac Williams
HB: Nathan Wilson, Phil Davis, Nick Haynes
C: Tom Scully, Callan Ward, Josh Kelly
HF: Toby Greene, Jeremy Cameron, Brett Deledio
F: Rory Lobb, Jonathon Patton, Steve Johnson
Foll: Shane Mumford, Dylan Shiel, Stephen Coniglio
I/C: Devon Smith, Lachie Whitfield, Jacob Hopper, Ryan Griffen
Depth
Midfield: Matt de Boer, Tom Downie, Matthew Flynn, Matthew Kennedy, Tendai Mzungu, Harry Perryman, Will Setterfield, Dawson Simpson, Tim Taranto
Forwards: Daniel Lloyd, Sam Reid, Lachlan Tiziani, Zach Sproule
Defenders: Matt Buntine, Isaac Cumming, Jeremy Finlayson, Harrison Himmelberg, Adam Kennedy, Tim Mohr, Joel Patfull, Jake Stein
The Giants' forward line is, quite frankly, absurd. Four of the front six have been All Australian, Jonathon Patton was the No.1 selection in 2011 and Rory Lobb ranked third for contested marks per game last year. GWS was the second-highest scoring team in 2016 and with the class of Brett Deledio coming into the team, the side will be even more potent. Devon Smith's elite defensive pressure and liveliness around goal means he will continue to be an important player for the Giants.
The Giants have built a very dangerous forward line. Picture: AFL Photos
2. ADELAIDE
B: Luke Brown, Kyle Hartigan, Jake Lever
HB: Rory Laird, Daniel Talia, Brodie Smith
C: Rory Atkins, Brad Crouch, Charlie Cameron
HF: Tom Lynch, Taylor Walker, Richard Douglas
F: Mitch McGovern, Josh Jenkins, Eddie Betts
Foll: Sam Jacobs, Rory Sloane, Matt Crouch
I/C: Kyle Cheney, Riley Knight, Wayne Milera, Scott Thompson
Depth
Midfield: Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Jordan Gallucci, Dean Gore, Hugh Greenwood, Curtly Hampton, Paul Hunter, David Mackay, Reilly O'Brien, Myles Poholke, Paul Seedsman, Matt Signorello, Harrison Wigg
Forwards: Jonathan Beech, Ben Davis, Harry Dear, Ben Jarman, Troy Menzel
Defenders: Tom Doedee, Elliott Himmelberg, Alex Keath, Jake Kelly, Andy Otten
The Crows ranked No.1 for scoring last year and it's not hard to see why. Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch and Eddie Betts were nominated in the All Australian squad of 40. That trio isn't a bad place to start but Taylor Walker is probably the best player of the lot, having long established himself as one of the absolute gun key forwards in the competition. Mitch McGovern has already shown plenty of aerial prowess despite only having been in the AFL for two years. If the Crows can harness Troy Menzel's talent they will become even more dangerous.
3. WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Dale Morris, Marcus Adams, Matthew Boyd
HB: Robert Murphy, Easton Wood, Jason Johannisen
C: Lachie Hunter, Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae
HF: Caleb Daniel, Travis Cloke, Stewart Crameri
F: Jake Stringer, Tom Boyd, Tory Dickson
Foll: Jordan Roughead, Tom Liberatore, Luke Dahlhaus
I/C: Liam Picken, Clay Smith, Shane Biggs, Bailey Williams
Depth
Midfield: Tom Campbell, Bailey Dale, Tim English, Declan Hamilton, Lin Jong, Matthew Suckling, Mitch Wallis
Forwards: Josh Dunkley, Fergus Greene, Mitch Honeychurch, Patrick Lipinski, Toby McLean, Nathan Mullenger-McHugh, Jack Redpath, Tristan Tweedie, Lewis Young
Defenders: Kieren Collins, Zaine Cordy, Bradley Lynch, Josh Prudden, Fletcher Roberts, Roarke Smith, Lukas Webb
The premiers are set to add Stewart Crameri and Travis Cloke to their forward line. Combine that with the improvement Tom Boyd showed in last year's finals series and the expected bounce back in form from 2015 All Australian Jake Stringer and the Bulldogs should be very potent in attack. Tory Dickson isn't fashionable but he has booted 90 goals over the past two years and takes advantage of his opportunities. Improvement should come in Caleb Daniel's third season, and he is among a number of Dogs who can play either up forward or through the middle.