Lester re-signs

Remove this Banner Ad

Yeah keen to get Aish and Taylor locked away.
Paps on the other hand I'm not too worried about. He has a genuine reason to leave and I wouldn't hold it against him if he did. I also don't think it would be the giant loss that Aish or Taylor leaving would represent.
I'm not saying Paps doesn't have a big upside but if we got a pick in the 20's for him I'd understand and be content
 
Not sure if it was picked up in the commentary but, for stoppages around the ground last week, Lester seemed to be applying a bit of a tag to Prestia. I'm not sure he followed him all day but it was noticeable that, as soon as the umpire blew the whistle for a stoppage, Lester went straight to Prestia. Because of the size difference, Lester was able to block Prestia's run at the ball which helped Rocky, Hanley etc. It seemed a successful tactic - I wonder if that defensive minded mid role might be an option for him in Leppa's "no tag" world.
 
Not sure if it was picked up in the commentary but, for stoppages around the ground last week, Lester seemed to be applying a bit of a tag to Prestia. I'm not sure he followed him all day but it was noticeable that, as soon as the umpire blew the whistle for a stoppage, Lester went straight to Prestia. Because of the size difference, Lester was able to block Prestia's run at the ball which helped Rocky, Hanley etc. It seemed a successful tactic - I wonder if that defensive minded mid role might be an option for him in Leppa's "no tag" world.

Probably not the thread for this discussion but with Bewick seemingly playing a fair tagging role on Bennell last week do we this Leppa has changed his mind on this concept?
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Probably not the thread for this discussion but with Bewick seemingly playing a fair tagging role on Bennell last week do we this Leppa has changed his mind on this concept?

Yep - good point. I reckon it is more the case that players get asked to play a role and, some weeks, that role might have a greater defensive component. Therefore, you must have an all-round game.
 
Probably not the thread for this discussion but with Bewick seemingly playing a fair tagging role on Bennell last week do we this Leppa has changed his mind on this concept?

To be fair, Leppa was never anti-tag. He was anti-taggers who don't bring anything to the table in at least one of the other two phases (i.e either helping win the ball or helping use the ball).
 
To be fair, Leppa was never anti-tag. He was anti-taggers who don't bring anything to the table in at least one of the other two phases (i.e either helping win the ball or helping use the ball).
Raines?
 

Yeah, not a good ball winner or ball user.

Had a rare offensive day out vs the Saints and Leppa said if he could replicate that in his game regularly he would play more senior footy but Raines reverted back to business as usual.

Bewick doesn't win the ball but he has a nice low flat kick to teammates in advantage.

Then we also have Robbo who has shown some brief glimpses in that defensive mid role. Not a great ball user yet but can win the hard footy.

Pretty clear that you have to be at least a two-phase player to get the tagging gig under Leppa.
 
Last edited:
Probably not the thread for this discussion but with Bewick seemingly playing a fair tagging role on Bennell last week do we this Leppa has changed his mind on this concept?

The reserves reports often use the language 'getting used to specific defensive accountabilities'. I think the Bewick and Lester examples (plus Rocky in round 1 against Mitchell) are a pretty good example of that sort of idea. Not a structurally disruptive shut-down role so much as assignments in particular game scenarios, such as Prestia at stoppages or when Bewick went to Boomer Harvey in our defensive half.
 
The reserves reports often use the language 'getting used to specific defensive accountabilities'. I think the Bewick and Lester examples (plus Rocky in round 1 against Mitchell) are a pretty good example of that sort of idea. Not a structurally disruptive shut-down role so much as assignments in particular game scenarios, such as Prestia at stoppages or when Bewick went to Boomer Harvey in our defensive half.

I also think the benefit of this approach is that if you have numerous guys that can do it, you have the option of rotating them around if it isn't working. Also for young players, trying to shut down an opponent for an entire game is probably pretty mentally fatiguing so Bewick being able to stop following his man around and get a few touches on the wing gives him a mental break to just go chase the footy for a bit.
 
Good description, TheBrownDog

Incidentally, does anyone else remember Barrett's comments after round one about how daft it was to use Rockliff as a tagger?

Kiddies, that's what happens when people try to comment on games they haven't seen.
 
I also think the benefit of this approach is that if you have numerous guys that can do it, you have the option of rotating them around if it isn't working. Also for young players, trying to shut down an opponent for an entire game is probably pretty mentally fatiguing so Bewick being able to stop following his man around and get a few touches on the wing gives him a mental break to just go chase the footy for a bit.

It also means you aren't throwing out your interchanges so your tagger comes off when their gun does. You keep your autonomy.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top