We could do a lot worse than.....

[LostDoggy]

Sticking J.Grant in the forward line and leaving him there for a decent spell.

Many of our forwards are not doing their job, be it either offensively or defensively. Our half forward line is like trampoline and there is not enough pressure being applied to keep the ball in.

We seem to be doing OK with our clearance work yet we cannot seem to find our targets up forward and when the ball hits the deck it comes out like wild fire.

Why not stick J.Grant up in the Half forward line???? He is a very smart footballer who has proven that he will chase, harrass, tackle and run his way into a contest if he doesnt get the ball delivered to him, more than I can say for many of our senior blokes at the minute.

He may struggle, he may look lost out there, but there is only one way to learn this caper and thats by experience. Look at Josh Hill, he is by far our best forward this year and last year he was up and down like a yo yo, we all questioned him, but have a look at what a solid year of AFL footy has done for Josh.

Jarryd is a very smart footballer and will learn quickly. Given so many of our forwards are out of form, there can be no better time to put him in the team and leave him there to learn the game and he WILL end up getting touches. His ability to read the game is excellent, his timing is good and knows when to lead. Sure, he is still very slight but Josh hill aint gonna win the world strongst man comp any time soon either.

Same can be said for Stack, assuming he plays in the guts, surely Eagelton's time up and we introduce this young kid and take the leash of him!!

I'm really looking to Rodney Eade for leadership during this time and hope that those players that are out of form are not given an armchair ride and some of our future stars are given a shot at developing their game.

I know this looks like a really simplistic approach, however with so many players out of form and a few that are obviously carrying niggles, wouldn't it be the right time to add some spark and also some defensive pressure?

[Sedat]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Some good points there TAMA and have been discussed on various threads in recent weeks. I don't have the stats handy, but if we are not the worst team in the competition in the defensive key indicators inside forward 50, we'd have to be close. Opposition teams are rebounding off half back like it is a training drill ATM. Our lack of a lead-up forward whio demands the ball has been all too apparent as well - hopefully Murph will start to find some touch in the next few weeks and bring the rest of the forward line into the play. But in the meantime, Grant could really be used to assist in this area. He has great pace off the mark and sticky hands, but he does have an endurance query - will he make multiple leads for the oncoming midfielder or be just content with the one lead?

Hahn's defensive workrate has been extremely poor this season - this has normally been a strength of his in the past. He has lost his mojo without Murph riding shotgun alongside him. Johnno has never been great at the defensive chasing and harrassing of opposition defenders, and it's not really a great strength of Hill's yet either (although he is slowly improving in this area). Aker has done some harrasing and Harbrow has been used at the other end of the ground with mixed results. Minson doesn't do enough defensive work up forward either. All adds up to an armchair ride out of defence for the opposition, which normally allows for clean quality delivery into their forward 50 about 5 seconds later.

[LostDoggy]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Harbrow in defence as really hurt our defensive pressure up forward. Sedat, you've mentioned Hahn, I've also noticed in particular that Gia has almost fallen the edge of the earth in the last few weeks.

The only way that players like Hahn and Gia can play well is when they are working their asses off, once their output drops off, so does their performance. They cant do what Cooney does, cruise through and still get 30 odd touches. It seems our confidence is shot against the zone and these two are struggling big time in the forward line. Eagle isn't doing enough, Minson continues to keep Skipper out with very sub standard performances.

It makes perfect sense to me to bring in one or two players that can have a serious impact over a period of time. Cal Ward is still too small and cannot impose himself on the contest, I believe that Stack and Grant are ready to be included and to be left there for a prolonged period.

[Mofra]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Why not stick J.Grant up in the Half forward line???? He is a very smart footballer who has proven that he will chase, harrass, tackle and run his way into a contest if he doesnt get the ball delivered to him, more than I can say for many of our senior blokes at the minute.

I'm not sure he is fit enough to play across the HF line, even if he does have some of the naturally stickiest hands seen. Given our reliance on Johnno or "79kgs of grunt" Hill in the F50, I wouldn't mind giving Grant a decent stint in the forward line once he proves he's earned it.

Problem is, he hasn't been the guy banging the door down at Willy. Skipper has been in or near the bests every game so far, O'Keefe was pretty close last week, Ward performed well after his demotion as well. I would prefer we give guys senior time on merit.

[Bornadog]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

I'm not sure he is fit enough to play across the HF line, even if he does have some of the naturally stickiest hands seen. Given our reliance on Johnno or "79kgs of grunt" Hill in the F50, I wouldn't mind giving Grant a decent stint in the forward line once he proves he's earned it.

Problem is, he hasn't been the guy banging the door down at Willy. Skipper has been in or near the bests every game so far, O'Keefe was pretty close last week, Ward performed well after his demotion as well. I would prefer we give guys senior time on merit.

I agree, however, we never seem to do this with a tall. Why not stick Grant in the forward pocket and leave him there and he can learn on the job. Sometimes players just perform better at a higher level, when they are surrounded by elite footballers not hacks at VFL level.

I remember an amazing season in 1990 when Wheeler decided to stick two 17 year old skinny kids in the team. Of Course one was a freak and the other almost.

Name the last young tall player who spent more than 60% of game time in the forward line for more than one week?

[Mofra]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Name the last young tall player who spent more than 60% of game time in the forward line for more than one week?

Will Minson

I'm not sure our failure to develop a tall is based entirely on problems at senior level - we had Podsiadly at Werribee dominate the F50 arc for years during our affiliation there, and I always felt this hurt us on some level.

The other problem I feel is this tendancy to develop young talls in the back half to teach them defensive skills. Lake may be a gun FB, but who knows what would have happened if he was developed differently?
Tiller is another perfect example - showed a bit as a forward, sent back, and now when we are struggling forward he's never even tried there, even when defensive pressure is lacking and we know he'd provide it (I am a fan of his hardness at the ball & 1%ers).

[LostDoggy]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

I agree, however, we never seem to do this with a tall. Why not stick Grant in the forward pocket and leave him there and he can learn on the job. Sometimes players just perform better at a higher level, when they are surrounded by elite footballers not hacks at VFL level.

I remember an amazing season in 1990 when Wheeler decided to stick two 17 year old skinny kids in the team. Of Course one was a freak and the other almost.

Name the last young tall player who spent more than 60% of game time in the forward line for more than one week?

I agree 100% - well said. Hawthorn gave buddy and roughy time to find there feet and now they are in both going great guns. Give these guys an opportunity to show everyone what they can do!

[The Underdog]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Sticking J.Grant in the forward line and leaving him there for a decent spell.

Many of our forwards are not doing their job, be it either offensively or defensively. Our half forward line is like trampoline and there is not enough pressure being applied to keep the ball in.

We seem to be doing OK with our clearance work yet we cannot seem to find our targets up forward and when the ball hits the deck it comes out like wild fire.

Why not stick J.Grant up in the Half forward line???? He is a very smart footballer who has proven that he will chase, harrass, tackle and run his way into a contest if he doesnt get the ball delivered to him, more than I can say for many of our senior blokes at the minute.

He may struggle, he may look lost out there, but there is only one way to learn this caper and thats by experience. Look at Josh Hill, he is by far our best forward this year and last year he was up and down like a yo yo, we all questioned him, but have a look at what a solid year of AFL footy has done for Josh.

Jarryd is a very smart footballer and will learn quickly. Given so many of our forwards are out of form, there can be no better time to put him in the team and leave him there to learn the game and he WILL end up getting touches. His ability to read the game is excellent, his timing is good and knows when to lead. Sure, he is still very slight but Josh hill aint gonna win the world strongst man comp any time soon either.

Same can be said for Stack, assuming he plays in the guts, surely Eagelton's time up and we introduce this young kid and take the leash of him!!

I'm really looking to Rodney Eade for leadership during this time and hope that those players that are out of form are not given an armchair ride and some of our future stars are given a shot at developing their game.

I know this looks like a really simplistic approach, however with so many players out of form and a few that are obviously carrying niggles, wouldn't it be the right time to add some spark and also some defensive pressure?

I agree with the sentiment of your post. I'm in favour of sticking him in a FP for a run of at least 6-7 games to try and adjust to senior football. However he isn't going to be some sort of quick fix if anyone is thinking that. The 3/4 I saw from him at Willy last week was fine from a tackling and chasing perspective but his leading and marking needed a tonne of work, not to mention his kicking at goal which unfortunately reminded me of Richo above anyone else. He's a long term prospect and needs to be given time in the seniors but also can't be left there for the season just because he's tall. His form needs to warrant it.

[Sedat]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

I agree with the sentiment of your post. I'm in favour of sticking him in a FP for a run of at least 6-7 games to try and adjust to senior football. However he isn't going to be some sort of quick fix if anyone is thinking that. The 3/4 I saw from him at Willy last week was fine from a tackling and chasing perspective but his leading and marking needed a tonne of work, not to mention his kicking at goal which unfortunately reminded me of Richo above anyone else. He's a long term prospect and needs to be given time in the seniors but also can't be left there for the season just because he's tall. His form needs to warrant it.

I'd hate to see him used in the Jon Brown 'kick it on his head 20 metres out' style because he is not equipped to handle that at present. But I'd love to see him used as a conduit between midfield and the forward 50, someone who can burn off his opponent on a hard lead, clunk the mark and then dish off to the oncoming traffic. If the first 6 rounds has taught us anything it is that Bob Murphy is structurally our most important player, and his absence/slow recovery from injury has robbed us of our key lead-up target for the midfield to spot up. Imagine how unpredictable it would be to have two lead-up forwards that the opposition will have to keep a close eye on.

The comments about certain players actually playing better in a higher standard is very valid. Franklin was hammered in a VFL match in his 2nd year at the club when matched up on Dean Polo. A few weeks later Franklin kicked a bag in a match in Tassie and he hasn't looked back since.

[Scorlibo]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

but his leading and marking needed a tonne of work

What? These are his two best attributes.

[Mantis]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Agree with much of the OP.

I think it was pretty poor that he was given just one game to show his worth. I would like the match committee have a little faith in their selections and give newly promoted players 3 or 4 games so they become accustomed to the pace of the game, etc.

Hopefully when he gets his next opportunity his team-mates will be able to give him some confidence by passing the ball to him when he is open to make him feel part of the team. It can be pretty demoralising when you run around busting your butt and know-one seems to notice you.

[comrade]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Agree with much of the OP.

I think it was pretty poor that he was given just one game to show his worth. I would like the match committee have a little faith in their selections and give newly promoted players 3 or 4 games so they become accustomed to the pace of the game, etc.

Hopefully when he gets his next opportunity his team-mates will be able to give him some confidence by passing the ball to him when he is open to make him feel part of the team. It can be pretty demoralising when you run around busting your butt and know-one seems to notice you.

Or even worse – your team mates do notice you but have such little faith that they would rather bomb it long to a 2 on 1 scenario over and over again.

[LostDoggy]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Agree with much of the OP.

I think it was pretty poor that he was given just one game to show his worth. I would like the match committee have a little faith in their selections and give newly promoted players 3 or 4 games so they become accustomed to the pace of the game, etc.

Hopefully when he gets his next opportunity his team-mates will be able to give him some confidence by passing the ball to him when he is open to make him feel part of the team. It can be pretty demoralising when you run around busting your butt and know-one seems to notice you.

Good point. Grant was ignored on various occasions during his debut game, his team mates had numerous opportunities to play him in and didn't.

He cannot do any worse than some of our forwards at the moment, who aren't getting the ball and not chasing to put pressure on. I agree with Sedat that he musn't be used as a bomb long option, but more in the vein of a bob murphy lead up type. His contested marking will come more from side on rather than standing his ground, so popping it on top of his head won't work, not until he fills out anyways.

[Jasper]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Sticking J.Grant in the forward line and leaving him there for a decent spell.

Sorry for only quoting a small portion of a great post but Grant isn't fit enough for a decent spell in the seniors and from what I have heard we would just increase the risk of injuries. If he plays five to seven games for the season then that will be just as good for him.

[MrMahatma]

Re: We could do a lot worse than.....

Sorry for only quoting a small portion of a great post but Grant isn't fit enough for a decent spell in the seniors and from what I have heard we would just increase the risk of injuries. If he plays five to seven games for the season then that will be just as good for him.

I don't buy this.

Is Cooney match fit at the moment? No
Is Murphy match fit at the moment? No
Is Josh Hill any more physically developed to have the likes of Darren Glass stand on him? No

Eade seems very reluctant to try and play the one kid who could actually add a new dimension to our team and fill a very wide gap.

I do get frustrated that kids have to play a month of good games in the reserves to get one crack at the seniors, whilst others get a free ride in the seniors.