The Old Dark Navy's
11 Sep 2001, 20:28
I'm very confident but what do we have to be wary of?
Can we cover Richardson and Ottens? Our defense is the best in the competition, our midfield is strong, plenty of forward options and great ruckmen.
Your thoughts?
Originally posted by The Old Dark Navy's
I'm very confident but what do we have to be wary of?
Can we cover Richardson and Ottens? Our defense is the best in the competition, our midfield is strong, plenty of forward options and great ruckmen.
Your thoughts?
We need some of our talls to drop back into the backline, to help Beaumont and Christou. SOS will be supported by those two... and perhaps even Porter can go against Richo? But for me, SOS for Richo and Beaumont/Cristou for Ottens. Remember how Solomon matched up on Richo... hopefully that will be the same case when they play Carlton :)
As for the giant midfield battle... I'm confident that we'll be on top. Plunkett is improving and gaining confidence, Hulme can do a tagging job on Campbell and do some damage himself, Campo will be running into attack and Braddles might go unchecked (very underrated, Craig Bradley).
But what might be a problem in the end is Richmond's defence. Gaspar is playing great footy and he will be a handful, I suppose he will line up on Whitnall. But however, we have the supreme advantage in the forward line. Lappin will be dangerous as usual, kick a few goals... Hickmott will show is courage and tough attitude in the marking department, Fevola will be the decoy and take the pressure off Whitnall and a wildcard... Houlihan. If he fires up and gains possession and starts kicking goals here and there... the Richmond defence will struggle.
The game will be won in the midfield, no question about that. Also watch out for Pendergast, he could be vital, great athlete and some good skills... even more pressure of fatty red. :) While I shouldn't "declare" any win against them, since it might haunt me afterwards, my tip is that the Carlton boys will do a great job, and the midfield will be on top, why?
Kouta. This guy is fantastic! He can tear apart a game with quick ease if he's on song, and can play in all positions. While Houlihan is the wildcard in the forward line, Kouta is the wildcard of the whole game. Expect him to go forward, and kick a bag, and get 30+ possessions. Who knows, he might line up on Gaspar, or might take on Richo at half-back. This game will be tough... but during the 3rd quarter, the Blues will break away.
So I'm tipping the Blues to win by 40 points, but I hope it's closer than that! This will be a great game indeed, but never underestimate Richmond... they could put up a big fight. We'll just have to wait 'till Saturday, don't we? :)
amazonstud
14 Sep 2001, 16:21
If the Blues go in with Franchina and not Porter then I think the Blues are banking on the weather taking the Tigers high marking forwards out of the game. Gale is not as high leaping as Ottens but is footy smart and reads the play well. He did look a bit proppy last week and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a late change to the Tigers team with Fiora coming back into the side.
If Gale doesn't play then I think Hotton will be told to match up with Hall man on man and Allan will play in the ruck against Ottens. Richardson to CHF with Hall in the forward pocket and Bourke at FF. Hall could even come off the bench to rest Ottens allowing Daffy to start in the forward half.
Last week it seemed Porter spent a lot of time on the bench because of the swirly wind and Allan's good form in the ruck. IMO Prendergast and Hotton got more ground time because they were more mobile and could play a variety of different roles. Porter and Allan changing at FF has not worked for the Blues to date and the only other position is the bench. If Porter is just going to be on the bench for 3/4 of the match then you may as well play a smaller player who can be used in a variety of positions. Especially if the Tigers have Ottens as their main ruck interchanging with Hall and you may need a big man to go down to the backline.
Last week the Dons tactics were to play a much shorter player on Richardson and bank on pace plus forcing Richardson up around the wing giving them the edge. Although this didn't stop Richardson it meant he was outside his distance and allowed them to play their best defenders in Fletcher and Wellman at FB and HB. I think the Blues may be going to try the same tactic.
Obviously the on ball match up of Knights Campbell Tivendale Hilton King Bowden Daffy and Rogers could create as much problems as the Tigers height down forward for the Blues. To counter that the Blues will have a midfield rotation of Bradley Camporeale Hulme Mansfield Plunkett Hickmott Koutifides Houlihan and Freeborn. Franchina will most probably interchange with Plunkett and Freeborn in a purely tagging role on Knights and Campbell as those players will have an edge in pace and skill if left one out for the whole match.