Always Right Match Committee - Round 18 Vs Gold Coast Suns 2021

[mjp]

Most of this was missing yesterday (apologies to Young who tried to do all three).

I thought he tried hard as well...

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

Sweet needs to play to allow us to get back to our great start to the season by playing the 3 tall forwards in Naughton Bruce and English which was a winning formula. Dunkley coming back will provide us with another option up forward when resting. Expect at least 3 of Hannan JJ JUH Scott and Wallis to miss after a pathetic forward line against the SS

[Danjul]

Sweet needs to play to allow us to get back to our great start to the season by playing the 3 tall forwards in Naughton Bruce and English which was a winning formula. Dunkley coming back will provide us with another option up forward when resting. Expect at least 3 of Hannan JJ JUH Scott and Wallis to miss after a pathetic forward line against the SS

In SweetÂ’s last game (a bad loss) English and Bruce combined to kick 5 goals. In the 5 games Since then, (reverting to the 2018 game plan ??), English has kicked 1 and Bruce 6. And the Dogs have lost 2 games they were expected to win.

Earlier in the year they were all over Richmond until Martin was injured. Then they were overrun.

Since the decision to play without another ruckman (and remove English from the goal area) the number of possessions has fallen from an average of 400 to an average of 350. ItÂ’s a lot harder to outscore your opponent when you have 50 less possessions.

We need to get serious about winning again , and focus on the structure that generated the early success.

[jeemak]

In SweetÂ’s last game (a bad loss) English and Bruce combined to kick 5 goals. In the 5 games Since then, (reverting to the 2018 game plan ??), English has kicked 1 and Bruce 6. And the Dogs have lost 2 games they were expected to win.

Earlier in the year they were all over Richmond until Martin was injured. Then they were overrun.

Since the decision to play without another ruckman (and remove English from the goal area) the number of possessions has fallen from an average of 400 to an average of 350. ItÂ’s a lot harder to outscore your opponent when you have 50 less possessions.

We need to get serious about winning again , and focus on the structure that generated the early success.

This is absolute trash. Our clear personnel issues mean we've reverted to the 2018 game plan because we're not playing a ruck who isn't at this stage ready, knowing that 2018 was a transition year for the list anyway?

As for the rest of it, we've also won games we didn't think we would, i.e. in Perth twice whilst almost winning in Geelong. Sweety as terrible as he has been wouldn't have saved us that day either.

What delivered early success was our mix of talent versus the talent put in front of us. Putting Sweet into anything we've done since he last played wouldn't have helped that equation.

[Danjul]

This is absolute trash. Our clear personnel issues mean we've reverted to the 2018 game plan because we're not playing a ruck who isn't at this stage ready, knowing that 2018 was a transition year for the list anyway?

As for the rest of it, we've also won games we didn't think we would, i.e. in Perth twice whilst almost winning in Geelong. Sweety as terrible as he has been wouldn't have saved us that day either.

What delivered early success was our mix of talent versus the talent put in front of us. Putting Sweet into anything we've done since he last played wouldn't have helped that equation.

I expected us to win both games in Perth. Why wouldnÂ’t you expect the team on top of the ladder with the best scoring rate in the competition to defeat lower teams. All indicators predicted wins. If we meet West Coast or Freo again I expect another win. And it should be a big win.

I also expected a win against Sydney, a home game, but we had no firepower up forward. Naughton and English missing meant Bruce got a much better defender and the flow on across the forward line meant we were no longer competitive. 7 goals in a full game minus 15 seconds is not acceptable for potential premiers. Backmen got some of those 7 goals.

Forward Scoring power must be defended and English is an integral part of that. Against Geelong we used English in the ruck for 29 hitouts and no goals, and lost.

Once the ruckman went down against Richmond we stopped scoring, (2 goals in half a game against 9) and lost another game I expected us to win, that clearly showed goals are related to ruck structure for this squad.

[1eyedog]

This is absolute trash. Our clear personnel issues mean we've reverted to the 2018 game plan because we're not playing a ruck who isn't at this stage ready, knowing that 2018 was a transition year for the list anyway?

As for the rest of it, we've also won games we didn't think we would, i.e. in Perth twice whilst almost winning in Geelong. Sweety as terrible as he has been wouldn't have saved us that day either.

What delivered early success was our mix of talent versus the talent put in front of us. Putting Sweet into anything we've done since he last played wouldn't have helped that equation.

Yeah I'm not sure it's about Sweet being 'in' as much as it is English being forward. I have absolutely no idea if we win against Geelong (or Sydney) if Sweet rucks and English plays forward. FWIW I thought Chilli played his best game in the ruck against the Swans.

It's a shame the MC have next to zero trust in Sweet to help release English. The counter-argument to all of this of course is English has had one good game and several good moments forward, even when Stef or Sweet are playing. He does provide a good target and aerial contest though, and in my opinion should play there whenever Naughton doesn't.

Looking forward to the return of Martin and hope he can play out the year. We really need a solid, ready to go ruck.

[comrade]

One side says Sweet isn't good enough to be in the team and English is our best option right now. The other says playing English in the ruck is robbing our scoring ability (especially when Naughton is MIA).

It's funny to see people arguing against each other so vehemently when you both hold the same thesis which is: our ruck situation is a complete sh*t show and has been for years.

Whether it is a directive/lack of focus from the coaching group over this time or a list management whiff, it has the potential to derail our premiership chances if we don't resolve it quickly.

[Grantysghost]

One side says Sweet isn't good enough to be in the team and English is our best option right now. The other says playing English in the ruck is robbing our scoring ability (especially when Naughton is MIA).

It's funny to see people arguing against each other so vehemently when you both hold the same thesis which is: our ruck situation is a complete sh*t show and has been for years.

Whether it is a directive/lack of focus from the coaching group over this time or a list management whiff, it has the potential to derail our premiership chances if we don't resolve it quickly.

Agree. It's structure v form I guess. Sweet's reduction to park footballer v Sinclair on the weekend early hardly warrants selection.

If we are not going to play Young as a permanent KPD, then I'd use him as the starting ruck with English forward maybe rotate 70/30.

[bornadog]

Whether it is a directive/lack of focus from the coaching group over this time or a list management whiff, it has the potential to derail our premiership chances if we don't resolve it quickly.

We banked on having Tom Boyd and English as our ruck duos but Tom retired in May 2019. Sweet was brought in as backup in rookie draft in 2018.

Yes we could have done something in the trade period that year, but we went for Bruce and Keath and had no capacity to get someone. Come 2020 we took on Martin.

Not ideal

I am all for chucking Sweet into the deep end until Martin is back.

[DOG GOD]

My worry is if Martin doesn’t get back, and keeps breaking down with soft tissue injuries.
I’d rather Sweet get used now to give him games before Martin comes back, then rucking English alone in a final.

We need Naughton, English and Bruce up fwd if we are a chance for the premiership.

We say about Dunks and Treloar, but Martin might be the most important cog.

[bornadog]

My worry is if Martin doesn’t get back, and keeps breaking down with soft tissue injuries.

Dunks is back

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

One side says Sweet isn't good enough to be in the team and English is our best option right now. The other says playing English in the ruck is robbing our scoring ability (especially when Naughton is MIA).

It's funny to see people arguing against each other so vehemently when you both hold the same thesis which is: our ruck situation is a complete sh*t show and has been for years.

Whether it is a directive/lack of focus from the coaching group over this time or a list management whiff, it has the potential to derail our premiership chances if we don't resolve it quickly.

That to me is the real issue. Its been a strategic weakness for a long time, and must be addressed. The reality is right now as a result of failure to address this strategic weakness, the Match Committee are only capable of making tactical adjustments to mitigate the strategic gap.
Clearly they want English to play predominantly forward, but its not going to be at any cost. They're clearly trying to scramble to find a combination that doesn't throw our whole game plan out of whack.
It is possible to both hold the club accountable for failing to address this strategic weakness, whilst still having some understanding and empathy for the tactical dilemma they're trying to solve in-season.

[DOG GOD]

Dunks is back

He’s probably thinking the same thing.

[comrade]

We banked on having Tom Boyd and English as our ruck duos but Tom retired in May 2019. Sweet was brought in as backup in rookie draft in 2018.

Yes we could have done something in the trade period that year, but we went for Bruce and Keath and had no capacity to get someone. Come 2020 we took on Martin.

Not ideal

I am all for chucking Sweet into the deep end until Martin is back.

Tom Boyd was never going to be a primary ruckman capable of 70-80% game time in the ruck, even if he was fit. Even so, he was done years ago. We've had multiple off seasons and mid year drafts to bolster the area and the best we could come up with was a 34 year old at the very very tail end of his career.

In hindsight, we should have prioritised a mature ruckman over Bruce. We'd be a much more formidable team if we had a trustworthy ruckman than a hit and miss key forward.

If English is our #1 ruck come finals, we're not winning a flag, imo. If Sweet is #1 ruck, we probably aren't either. Sh*t situation to be in, to be honest.

[soupman]

We banked on having Tom Boyd and English as our ruck duos but Tom retired in May 2019. Sweet was brought in as backup in rookie draft in 2018.

Comrade keeps steealing what I'm gonna say (and quite well too) but I'm gonna persist anyway.

Boyd was a bad solution. He was a half hearted option out of necessity because we were paying him a shitload and he was a terrible forward. He was ok as a hitout negator, which is the only area he had English covered in (and even that English is improving at). Lets not pretend he was the solution to our ruck woes and it's only bad luck that we find ourselves in our current position.

In hindsight, we should have prioritised a mature ruckman over Bruce. We'd be a much more formidable team if we had a trustworthy ruckman than a hit and miss key forward.

I don't think it even had to be one or the other. There is always an abundance of rucks in the league waiting for an opportunity, just never at our club. There is no way half the rucks in the league cost anything, either in trade value or salary cap.

If English is our #1 ruck come finals, we're not winning a flag, imo. If Sweet is #1 ruck, we probably aren't either. Sh*t situation to be in, to be honest.

Agree. I'm hoping that Martin more than being a viable option for us is more important as proof of concept. Getting him for his handful of games has shown that we can work (and be better) with an actual ruck supporting English and co. Martin is done, and at this rate is looking at retirement, but if we come away from his recruitment knowing we need to grab an actual ruck and finally follow through on that then his recruitment is a big win.