2019 JLT Series - Match 1 Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs

[Mantis]

Re: 2019 JLT Series - Match 1 Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs

I really though we'd get a look at our 'best' forward set up in JLT 1 but I don't see our best set up excluding both Schache and Dickson.

I was pretty pissed that Schache didn't play... taking it on face value that he wasn't selected purely as he was outside our best 24 (given there is pretty much no communication from the club on who is injured or on restricted programs) it really does question what our forward set-up will be this year... understand the conditions in Mackay weren't really suitable to high marking, but you would still think you play Josh just so our forward unit can continue to gel.

[Mofra]

Re: 2019 JLT Series - Match 1 Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs

I was pretty pissed that Schache didn't play... taking it on face value that he wasn't selected purely as he was outside our best 24 (given there is pretty much no communication from the club on who is injured or on restricted programs) it really does question what our forward set-up will be this year... understand the conditions in Mackay weren't really suitable to high marking, but you would still think you play Josh just so our forward unit can continue to gel.

A part of modern forward play is about movement and separation of your two talls so you split the tall defenders.

Do we have any of that? It seem to me we just 'kick and hope to find someone'. We talk about making that 'last connection' a good one but if the forwards don't have at least some running patterns pre-determined it is largely moot.

[Greystache]

Re: 2019 JLT Series - Match 1 Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs

A part of modern forward play is about movement and separation of your two talls so you split the tall defenders.

Do we have any of that? It seem to me we just 'kick and hope to find someone'. We talk about making that 'last connection' a good one but if the forwards don't have at least some running patterns pre-determined it is largely moot.

Who knows what our ball movement and forward strategy actually is, but from the outside it seems to have been drilled into the players that deep forward 50m entries are the most important thing. It doesn't matter where it goes or to who's advantage, deeper is better so that is the priority.

It's the only explanation for why when a forward is playing from in front 30m from goal that we continuously kick it 15m behind them near the top of the square. It's every player, every game, it can't be a coincidence. It's only natural the forwards will stop leading when regardless of their movement the ball is going high and as long as the player with the ball can kick it.

[ratsmac]

Re: 2019 JLT Series - Match 1 Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs

I too are still trying to make sense of not playing Schache, Dickson or Greene (our most natural forwards) in JLT 1. I've been thinking after hearing what Dunks had to say in that interview on the clubs website, you can only presume that we were deliberately going in with a heap of mid fielders rotating between mid and forward. Knowing that the conditions would be greasy and marking would be difficult, maybe the plan was to get the ball on the ground and make it a contest between big defenders against Mid/forwards to try generate some scores that way. Well if so, it didn't work! This is however the time of year to experiment with such scenarios.

All I do know is that I am still very nervous about our forward structures, there seems to be zero improvement from last season after watch our first competitive hitout.

[MrMahatma]

Re: 2019 JLT Series - Match 1 Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs

I too are still trying to make sense of not playing Schache, Dickson or Greene (our most natural forwards) in JLT 1. I've been thinking after hearing what Dunks had to say in that interview on the clubs website, you can only presume that we were deliberately going in with a heap of mid fielders rotating between mid and forward. Knowing that the conditions would be greasy and marking would be difficult, maybe the plan was to get the ball on the ground and make it a contest between big defenders against Mid/forwards to try generate some scores that way. Well if so, it didn't work! This is however the time of year to experiment with such scenarios.

All I do know is that I am still very nervous about our forward structures, there seems to be zero improvement from last season after watch our first competitive hitout.

Don’t know why you’d experiment with a scenario you’re unlikely to face all season. Would rather the best 22 worked out how to find each other. Even is Schache couldn’t mark cause of sweat, at least the team would’ve had a chance to work on finding him...

We don’t seem bothered about not winning so doubt we changed our structure in order to win. On the surface for me, this looks like our structure again for 2019 and I’m worried.

[Rocket Science]

Re: 2019 JLT Series - Match 1 Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs

Sleep easy, restless souls, for he hath been selected.

[jeemak]

Re: 2019 JLT Series - Match 1 Gold Coast Suns V Western Bulldogs

Does that mean he's now clearly in our best 24? Or should we just wait until the preseason unfolds...……?