The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

[bulldogtragic]

All three players were ranked, by draft selection, as the three best KPP/KPFs in their draft:

Pick 1. Tom Boyd
Pick 2. Josh Schache
Pick 9. Aaron Naughton

I mean, FMD, the little old Bulldogs land three gun KPPs. But it seems the players further up the ground aren't overly skilled and we are watching Boyd be turned into a ruckman/forward. Schache a forward/ruckman. Naughton a swingman without mastering either first.

I'll defend all three players until I'm blue in the face. And have done especially with Boyd. But after the initial burst for Naughton, he's gone stone cold as a forward too. A fate that Schache & Boyd have felt with poor delivery.

At Boyd, you can say maybe it's just the player. But add in Schache & Naughton, then that's three of the best KPFs of their draft year who are struggling at the club and the forward coaching and skills of theirs and their team mates. At some point we have to nuance the debate about these players and ask if a Hawthorn or Geelong had three exciting KPFs would they be doing the same as us? Be it match committee philosophy, head coach, forward coach, skills coach etc.

I mean if Boyd, Schache & Naughton can't make a prolonged impact as a KPF, then maybe no one can. Seriously, maybe no one can. Dropping Boyd & Schache for lack of rucking ability, or low output, or after 7 quarters of low output swinging Naughton back, doesn't to me seem to address that we have highly talented players who all can't seem to make the circumstances work. Yo-yo'ing them later in the year won't help either. I for one don't think it's the players complete fault that KPF in this side is one of the worst jobs in the league, not to mention they were very good set shots before spending too much time at the club.

This is now a trend, with the sample size of three top end KPP/KPFs. So what do we do? How do we turn this around? We have a lot of salary cap and a lot of contracted years in these very talented young men, and we will piss that and their potential away if we can't work out a scenario by which the selected 22 benefit from them achieving their very, very high potential. There's a lot of very strong cases for 'priority one'. But this is my nomination.

[Rocket Science]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[MrMahatma]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

I'd suggest we have "system" coaches who can't actually coach talent.

The players that will thrive in our system are the less creative and the battlers who will see, to improve quickly but actually be capped out at average ability.

Until our coaches (all of them!) swallow their pride and accept they shouldn't stop instinct, we're stuffed.

[MrMahatma]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

The password is "inbevowetrust"

[comrade]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

I'd suggest we have "system" coaches who can't actually coach talent.

The players that will thrive in our system are the less creative and the battlers who will see, to improve quickly but actually be capped out at average ability.

Until our coaches (all of them!) swallow their pride and accept they shouldn't stop instinct, we're stuffed.

The irony is that the massive improvement when Bevo took over was attributed to releasing our players and allowing them to play instinctual footy.

[GVGjr]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

Good thread BT.

We should bring in Schache and play him regardless. Boyd should come back in when he has form and fitness.
I'm not against Naughton as a forward but we do miss him as a defender. He's a conundrum for the selectors

[GVGjr]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

The irony is that the massive improvement when Bevo took over was attributed to releasing our players and allowing them to play instinctual footy.

Spot on, he got the defenders taking the game on and creating a lot of run and dash.

[whythelongface]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

Just give them time.

Boyd has had issues both mental health and back issues. He will take time to come good. Hopefully he does. He needs to spend some time in the magoos. Is he struggling? Probably but not necessary in regards to the game. More health and personal issues. We know what he is capable of. Let’s hope he gets back to this one day. I still don’t believe he is an out and out FF. For mine at his best he plays better up the ground.

Schache has potential and I would like to see him back in the seniors. Can understand why he was dropped as he needs to find consistency. Still only 22 so has time. For mine probably the one that is struggling the most in terms of consistency. Something he needs to work on as well as becoming more physical. I do have hope for him that he does become the player we want him to be.

Naughton is a non issue. Has talent and can play both ends.Won’t and shouldn’t be dropped as if he doesn’t fire in the forward can drop back into defence, like this evening. He did this well and looked comfortable. He is a long term defensive option who can play forward when required. He is only 19. I don’t believe at all that Naughton is struggling. He is learning his craft and is playing well for a 2nd year player. He will continue to learn and get better.

What is the main issue? Poor delivery or that all three are struggling at this level? Or a combination of both?

[AndrewP6]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

Schache is only 21.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

Boyd showed nothing at GWS.
Schache little more at Lions- we were spooked into signing him. We had to throw a dart at the board come trade time given we'd just had to jettison Stringer for less than true market value.
Nothing about Schache in his time with the Lions suggested he was a top e e AFL talent. Why would Brisbane offload him so cheaply, having just re-signed him.
Naughton has already shown more grit than Schache. And barring one glorious game, he pretty much has Boyd's measure too.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

Just give them time.

Boyd has had issues both mental health and back issues. He will take time to come good. Hopefully he does. He needs to spend some time in the magoos. Is he struggling? Probably but not necessary in regards to the game. More health and personal issues. We know what he is capable of. Let’s hope he gets back to this one day. I still don’t believe he is an out and out FF. For mine at his best he plays better up the ground.

Schache has potential and I would like to see him back in the seniors. Can understand why he was dropped as he needs to find consistency. Still only 22 so has time. For mine probably the one that is struggling the most in terms of consistency. Something he needs to work on as well as becoming more physical. I do have hope for him that he does become the player we want him to be.

Naughton is a non issue. Has talent and can play both ends.Won’t and shouldn’t be dropped as if he doesn’t fire in the forward can drop back into defence, like this evening. He did this well and looked comfortable. He is a long term defensive option who can play forward when required. He is only 19. I don’t believe at all that Naughton is struggling. He is learning his craft and is playing well for a 2nd year player. He will continue to learn and get better.

What is the main issue? Poor delivery or that all three are struggling at this level? Or a combination of both?

I'm not sure I can say with complete certainty their struggle is about their own form in and of itself. What I can say is that all three boys are very highly talented and I believe in all three implicitly. Also that we've almost immediately made them adopt a second role. Then there's an obvious lack of forward craft, presumably stemming from their forward coach. Poor delivery is a killer to young KPFs playing on the best defenders.

There was some good footage and commentary last night by Richo highlighting that missed kicks ND handballs with surging forward either forced the forwards to led to the boundary or completely burned them despite space. Boyd, Schache, Nughton, Franklin, Lockett or GAS would've been rendered useless. Boyd, Schache & Naughton get the 'on paper' advantage of having 60 forward 50 entries each week. But they're garbage entries for the most part.

On selection, we seem for the most part to only want to play one KPF. That means these kids re trying to develop at the level on the best defender each week. Then when we bomb it on their heads, predictably it gets spoiled. What else can these kids do?

To avoid any doubt, I'm backing all these young men in. What I question is how to unleash their potential, develop them successfully and whether anyone can actually be our KPF with success. Yo-yo'ing players in and out of the role doesn't seem to me to address to broader issue. The way we use the ball going forward, the high shallow entries, the long bombs, the best defenders and spares to kill contests, I don't think the causes and conditions currently exist for them to succeed or judge them fairly. But I think we should be addressing the delivery in, the coaching and selections. Because arguably, there's no need for a KPF if we continue to play this way. And selfishly, I don't want to spend all my time passionately defending them all when their low impact has origins well before the game starts. The best outcome now is having a 'development year', so I just pray we develop them appropriately and not continue the status quo.

[Bornadog]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

All three are great to have on the list, but you can't play players out of form just because they have height.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

All three are great to have on the list, but you can't play players out of form.

How can you get into form is a part of my point? You can be a great runner like Schche, or a great mark like Naughton. But both got bugger all footy in their last 7-8 quarters of AFEL footy as a KPF. Perhaps quiet games in output isn't about them altogether. If you can't get delivery to advantage, which we don't deliver them, you will never work back into form in the seniors. In a sense they're being set up to fail.

[GVGjr]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

It's so important this year that we not only back these young and talented group of talls but also give them the opportunities

Schache is a great talent. He needs to get more physical with the way he plays but we should get him back into the seniors and I think he will answer the challenge

I think we have to show a but more patience with a Boyd return given the injury interrupted preseason he had. There is no point in rushing him back if it means taking a risk.

In an ideal scenario we should have 2 big versatile talls for the 2nd half of the season

Naughton has had two quiet games up forward but he's had two opponents who have been playing so well. Jones has hardly put a foot wrong this season and has got the better of all of his opponents this year and Hamling remains one of the better one on one defenders
I suspect Naughty will return to the back line when Boyd returns but I can understand why the MC has pushed him forward.

As BT pointed out, these 3 talls can offer us so much if we can get them playing to their level and I remain optimistic that we can get it working for us.

[The Adelaide Connection]

Re: The Three Top KPPs In Three Drafts - All Bulldogs

It’s time to employ a “squeaky wheel gets the grease” philosophy.

Before playing these three forwards again we need to do the right thing by them and get our media department to make up a tape of edits showing how many times a game they have been held, blocked, and arm chopped by opponents without any infringement being paid. Emulate the best coach in the business (Clarko) who regularly “seeks clarification” and tells the media he will be doing as much. Do you think the umpiring fraternity don’t hear this and at least make them a bit more vigilant/hesitant?

We can be critical of all three (certainly lesser of Naughton) but the reality is no-name, developing forwards get adjudicated so differently to established big names (like Riewoldt, Franklin, etc.). This effect is multiplied when playing on a star defender (like a Rance or Talia who could tie you up and hit you with a dump truck without punishment a lot to the time).

Bevo went as far as he ever has in his press conference on this issue last night, but changed the subject not wanting to make excuses. That’s all noble and good and well that you don’t want to blame your loss on it straight after a game, but now the club need to make sure they are stomping their feet over the week.

It must be difficult developing confidence when once in a blue moon our entries are actually to your advantage, only to have your opponent infringe without consequence. I have always thought that Boyd, in particular, gets an incredibly raw deal.

Time to do something about it.