Koby Stevens the ideal recruit for the Western Bulldogs

[boydogs]

I meant round 19. He did have 3 ordinary ones against Claremont, stats wise, didn't he?

Claremont was in the GF, so probably just quality opposition.

[Dancin' Douggy]

Tackles are a strange one, it means you chase but it also means you were second to the ball.

Ummmm. Ledge, with all due respect.
The ball bounces strangely. Opposition ruckmen are trying to tap the ball to your opponent.
Balls spill off marking contests. The opposition will be kicking and handballing to their own players. The odds of being first to the ball are severely stacked against you.

If you're laying lots of tackles it means you're right near where the ball is, and you're not giving in. You're maintaining your involvement in the game.

Tackles are good.

[chef]

And he is only 21 hasn't reached his peak yet, looks all upwards to me considering he is a full on hard nut according to reports.

Yep, and hopefully will be able to contribute from round 1.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Ummmm. Ledge, with all due respect.
The ball bounces strangely. Opposition ruckmen are trying to tap the ball to your opponent.
Balls spill off marking contests. The opposition will be kicking and handballing to their own players. The odds of being first to the ball are severely stacked against you.

If you're laying lots of tackles it means you're right near where the ball is, and you're not giving in. You're maintaining your involvement in the game.

Tackles are good.

It's an old Paul Roos quote, "of course I never tackled, i always had the ball"

[ledge]

Sorry I should have put CAN also mean your second to the ball, and of course tackling is good.

[jeemak]

Just like any stat, tackle stats can be great to support your argument, but at the same time easily turned against your argument with a little reasoning.

A player might be tackling a lot compared to possessions gained because he is tagging an accumulator very well, or because he's staying around the ball and not providing any offensive effort to get in a position to receive the ball (among other things). If you concentrate, it's actually easier to just tackle and negate rather than keep a balance between doing that and creating and being useful offensively.

His stats present a good case for not worrying too much about numbers and basing opinions on what you see throughout a game and adding some qualitative analysis. It might just happen that he had an ordinary day GF day, and decided the only way he was likely to contribute was by applying defensive pressure and laying tackles. It happens.

[Bulldog Revolution]

It's an old Paul Roos quote, "of course I never tackled, i always had the ball"

Such a modest, non egotistical character - Does Aker need an assistant?

[GVGjr]

What positions do you think Stevens might fill for us?

[LostDoggy]

What positions do you think Stevens might fill for us?

I was thinking about this the other day, i think he should become a run with player through the midfield. Not a tagger as such, just to try and curb the influence of opposition stars. Not sure about his tank though?

Leave Libba/Wallis to focus all there energy on getting the footy.

[jeemak]

If he can play high forward then I think he needs to be used as part of the midfield rotation from there as a starting point.

Our midfield was starved for players that could relieve the first line of on-ballers and at a minimum keep the opposition in check. It seemed that even the mediocre teams in the competition had players that could hurt us throughout the game. Stevens will hopefully help add the depth required to stop the tide when our top line is resting or injured.

[EasternWest]

What positions do you think Stevens might fill for us?

My thoughts are HBF rotating through the middle. From what I've read he has ok speed and good disposal, and I think coming off half back that's something we've battled with.

What do you think G?

[GVGjr]

My thoughts are HBF rotating through the middle. From what I've read he has ok speed and good disposal, and I think coming off half back that's something we've battled with.

What do you think G?

I think so. If Murphy moves to the forward line next season then along with Dickson and Higgins it might be a logjam for mid sized forwards so I think it a back flank or wing might be a good fit for Stevens.

I just tried to whiteboard a likely team line-up for next season and it's not an easy task.

[SlimPickens]

I was thinking about this the other day, i think he should become a run with player through the midfield. Not a tagger as such, just to try and curb the influence of opposition stars. Not sure about his tank though?

Leave Libba/Wallis to focus all there energy on getting the footy.

His tank is one of his strengths.

[EasternWest]

I think so. If Murphy moves to the forward line next season then along with Dickson and Higgins it might be a logjam for mid sized forwards so I think it a back flank or wing might be a good fit for Stevens.

I just tried to whiteboard a likely team line-up for next season and it's not an easy task.

You know, I'd forgotten about that being discussed. In that case I'm a bit more certain that I think Stevens will spend time on the flank.