Prediction Best 22, Round 1 2017

[Topkent]

Bugg did in the NAB last year ... also someone so prone to crying on football ground can surely be cracked!!


Hunt is an interesting prospect actually, only gives away 6cm and has a pretty good leap/spoil. Riewoldt also wouldn't be able to give him too much space without him getting free and putting 15m into him in a few seconds.

I was gonna mention the Scott brothers and Michael but you wouldn't be able to do that these days without getting suspended and having a group tell us why it's a bad image for sport and Australia

 

[R_Grunter]

Jeez your petty mate, and you have an inability to read.

I figured it was typo or the stupidest thing I've ever read on Big Footy. If it is the latter, just out of curiosity, who do you believe will be the best 5th midfielder in the competition?

 

[Bluelegs]

We were experimenting a bit with Hogan spending a bit of time in the midfield during the JLT. Could be an idea to rotate him onto Riewoldt

 

[harry000]

I figured it was typo or the stupidest thing I've ever read on Big Footy. If it is the latter, just out of curiosity, who do you believe will be the best 5th midfielder in the competition?

He said he would be the best 3rd tall.... as in the best 3rd option tall...

For example, if Bruce is the first tall and McCartin is the second tall then Membrey is the third..

He wasnt saying hes the third best forward in the comp

 

[R_Grunter]

He said he would be the best 3rd tall.... as in the best 3rd option tall...

For example, if Bruce is the first tall and McCartin is the second tall then Membrey is the third..

He wasnt saying hes the third best forward in the comp

So he's the best in the comp at being the third best in his club in that position?
Sorry, don't know what I was thinking there....
Really good point.

All that aside, Riewoldt will be dad at Salem and Hunt's Vic Kick clinic. He is way too strong for both of those players plus we need that pace and delivery on the rebound.
We are severely limited with options but Bernie Vince has that proven ability to shut down powerful, quick and skillful players but the big question mark is what Bernie do we see in 2017. His form tapered off notably last season so here's hoping we see him back to his good rabid self.

 

[harry000]

So he's the best in the comp at being the third best in his club in that position?
Sorry, don't know what I was thinking there....
Really good point.

All that aside, Riewoldt will be dad at Salem and Hunt's Vic Kick clinic. He is way too strong for both of those players plus we need that pace and delivery on the rebound.
We are severely limited with options but Bernie Vince has that proven ability to shut down powerful, quick and skillful players but the big question mark is what Bernie do we see in 2017. His form tapered off notably last season so here's hoping we see him back to his good rabid self.

Actually third tall is quite a common term describing a player who is not as big and powerful and they key position talls but still too tall to be considered a small forward.

Agree re Hunt and Salem. I think the issue is playing team defence rather than focusing on Riewoldt. If theres nobody for him to kick it to he cant be as damaging.

 

[PerfectFooty]

My Round 1 Side
FB: J Smith (R), TMac, T Bugg
HB: J Hunt, Omac, N Jones
C: B Stretch, C Oliver, A Brayshaw
CHF: D Kent (?), J Hogan, C Petracca
FF: J Garlett (?), J Watts, S Weiderman
Ruc: M Gawn, J Viney, D Tyson
Int: Pedo, C Salem, B Vince, J Lewis

Notes: as i haven't seen Jetta at all so far i didn't pick him, i only picked Weed as we need a third tall and i can see pedo being used in defence. Nib plays forward for anyone who didn't get up.

I'm not sure with Rookie, at this point in time Joel Smith is our best and we need defenders, but we need forwards badly too, Watts will be picked as we have a bare cupboard, but as we're so strapped i'd like to see Tim Smith get a run in front of the weed, but as he had a limited preseason and i can't see him getting selected yet

The defence and forward line is very hard to pick with so many question marks, i feel we are a little under the weather heading into Round 1

 

[Xhoquelin]

My ideal R1 side:
B: Jetta OMac J.Smith
HB: Lewis TMac Hunt
C: Vince Oliver Stretch
HF: Petracca Hogan Watts
F: Garlett T.Smith Kent
R: Gawn Jones Viney
B: Tyson Salem Brayshaw Melksham

If Garland and Mitch King are LTI I think upgrading the Smith's is a no brainer. Tim will give you effort, forward pressure and accountability up forward. He flies for marks which is important but also has great footy smarts, and being a mature age player, should be strong enough to keep Nathan Brown/Dempster from double teaming Hogan.
Joel is versatile and fit enough to go with Roo around the ground. Decent size matchup as well, also has a decent kick and a turn of pace.
I am hoping Viney, Brayshaw and Petracca will spend some minutes up forward with their ability to apply F50 pressure. Lewis, Salem and Melksham might spend time down back, which means Clarry, Jones Vince, Tyson, at the very least, will spend all their game time at the stoppages.
If we can't pick Tim Smith I would like to pick Pederson. We know he brings strength and marking ability, but I hope that with his increased fitness he can apply at least some pressure inside 50. If we have Jeffy, Kent, Pederson in the same forward line, someone like Harmes or Brayshaw may have to play as a permanent small forward given we don't have Vandeberg(he is someone I would want the most out of all of our current injured players)

 

[d33my]

Third tall is the new wave term for half forward flank.

You don't really have flanks and pockets anymore. You have KPPs, third talls/medium forwards and small forwards.

Same goes for defenders.

Does any of it matter? Hard to say. It's all a bit structuralist really.

 

[R_Grunter]

My ideal R1 side:
B: Jetta OMac J.Smith
HB: Lewis TMac Hunt
C: Vince Oliver Stretch
HF: Petracca Hogan Watts
F: Garlett T.Smith Kent
R: Gawn Jones Viney
B: Tyson Salem Brayshaw Melksham

If Garland and Mitch King are LTI I think upgrading the Smith's is a no brainer. Tim will give you effort, forward pressure and accountability up forward. He flies for marks which is important but also has great footy smarts, and being a mature age player, should be strong enough to keep Nathan Brown/Dempster from double teaming Hogan.
Joel is versatile and fit enough to go with Roo around the ground. Decent size matchup as well, also has a decent kick and a turn of pace.
I am hoping Viney, Brayshaw and Petracca will spend some minutes up forward with their ability to apply F50 pressure. Lewis, Salem and Melksham might spend time down back, which means Clarry, Jones Vince, Tyson, at the very least, will spend all their game time at the stoppages.
If we can't pick Tim Smith I would like to pick Pederson. We know he brings strength and marking ability, but I hope that with his increased fitness he can apply at least some pressure inside 50. If we have Jeffy, Kent, Pederson in the same forward line, someone like Harmes or Brayshaw may have to play as a permanent small forward given we don't have Vandeberg(he is someone I would want the most out of all of our current injured players)

Quite a baptism of fire for a first game Cat B rookie elevation.....

 

[ponsdale]

Quite a baptism of fire for a first game Cat B rookie elevation.....

He's got to start somewhere, I guess?

 

[CTHORANGE]

The problem with sending a small to Reiwoldt is that I imagine Reiwoldy would then park himself at full forward and kill his opponent, then as soon as we move a tall onto him, then he'd just go up the ground. And trying to switch between two players depending on where Reiwoldt is on the field just creates headaches, he is too smart a footballer for that.

 

[Tulip]

We've tried just about everything with Riewoldt, including just not giving him a man. I'm almost inclined to play TMac on him and be done with it. Has the aerobic capacity to do it and, in the unlikely event that Roo is finally over the hill, he'll burn him on the rebound. My next choice would be Pedersen, considering how much weight he's lost and a decent run of form as a defender under Craig.

This is why we needed Garland this weekend. We only have two fit talls.

 

[Xhoquelin]

Third tall is the new wave term for half forward flank.

You don't really have flanks and pockets anymore. You have KPPs, third talls/medium forwards and small forwards.

Same goes for defenders.

Does any of it matter? Hard to say. It's all a bit structuralist really.

Jayden Hunt, Docherty, Birchall, Suckling, Hibberd, Johanissen, Hoskin Elliot, Lyons, Greene, Steven Motlop, Mills, Zorko etc.

Really can't agree that flankers don't exist anymore. There are still many guys who provide rebound from the Back 50, and the guys I've mentioned are all high forwards who don't mark overhead but kick a goal a game, get 20+ possessions, mark the ball on the lead outside 50 and distribute the final pass to a key forward.
Also, I'd say that guys like Tom Lynch(Adelaide), Gunston, Jack Watts are simply doing what flankers used to do, ie lead and try and pass to a teammate who is good 1 on 1. The only difference now is the height.
These so called "third talls" don't really mark the ball inside fifty very often, and they often have more goal assists than actual goals.

I was always under the impresssion that a forward pocket is a crumber like Garlett, Ballantyne, Walters, Betts, Papley, Parfitt, Matera, Puopolo, Kent and to an extent Rioli, Elliot, and Lincoln McCarthy. Back pocket has a.ways been a player who plays against opposing forward pockets, and we've seen tallish defenders like Chip Frawley, Dale Morris, Matt Buntine, Ben Stratton, Dane Rampe etc. play against smalls. Of course, our own Nev Jetta, Nick Smith, Rory Laird, Darcy Byrne Jones etc. are smaller back pockets who specifically defend against small forwards.

There's definitely been a trend towards taller players in general though, as evidenced by the recent popularity of the tall midfielder-ie Bontempelli, Cripps, Fyfe, Acres, Crisp, Setterfield etc. but I still think there's a role for the traditional flanker. Tim Taranto went at number 2 in the draft for this ability, being a pure talent in front of goal, great technical ability as well as having the physical tools to play midfield. He wasn't drafted to be a tall midfielder as he is 186cm, while there were other, taller options at the same pick ie Bowes, Setterfield, Jake Graham etc.

 

[Cannon82]

We've tried just about everything with Riewoldt, including just not giving him a man. I'm almost inclined to play TMac on him and be done with it. Has the aerobic capacity to do it and, in the unlikely event that Roo is finally over the hill, he'll burn him on the rebound. My next choice would be Pedersen, considering how much weight he's lost and a decent run of form as a defender under Craig.

This is why we needed Garland this weekend. We only have two fit talls.

I'd imagine whichever Saint tall gets the mismatch is going to park themselves in front of the sticks. Looking at our list, the only other mobile tall we'd have to throw back there would be Watts.

Still think Hunt could be the best option. Quick enough to close Riewoldt down and good enough one on one to ensure it'll have to be decent service (which it probably will be) and should be laughing once it hits the deck.

 

[Topkent]

I figured it was typo or the stupidest thing I've ever read on Big Footy. If it is the latter, just out of curiosity, who do you believe will be the best 5th midfielder in the competition?

I'm going to put you on block mate, I feel like I'm being stalked by a crazy ex gf because your still hurting from a discussion we had 6 months ago. It's the Internet. Try not to let it ruin your life

 

[Amarula]

We need to think this game right. We lose to them the same way every time. We don't learn from our previous losses, or from games like the JLT against WCE, which should have showed us exactly what we're doing wrong.

If we pick Spencer, it means we've again learnt nothing about playing St Kilda at Etihad.

We're not going to win this by out-marking & 'out-talling' them. If we win, it'll be because we've been smart enough to go small & fast in the forward line, with only Hogan & Watts as tall forwards, with 4 small forwards who will win heaps of ground ball and apply massive defensive pressure. If they occasionally get out-marked, we need to deliver the ball hard & low into space in the f50, even if it's grubbers. One of the small forwards will be Viney (or someone like him), who will break the record for f50 tackles and be extremely dangerous offensively.

This will force their defence onto the back foot all game, and make it much harder for them to run it out through the middle and then outnumber us in their forward line. If this happens, Roo and their tall forwards will have much less of an influence, because they won't be able to catch our defence out of position or outnumber us, which is what they've relied on before.

Or we'll pick Spencer & watch them stream it out of their defence all game, and wonder why their forwards keep getting out the back again.

 

[R_Grunter]

I'm going to put you on block mate, I feel like I'm being stalked by a crazy ex gf because your still hurting from a discussion we had 6 months ago. It's the Internet. Try not to let it ruin your life

Someone tell him I want my PlayStation games and the good coffee plunger and he can have the keys back.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

Was here for SuperCoach purposes but am enjoying the lols with the search for Riewoldts kryptonite

 

[KickLongTackleHard]

Was here for SuperCoach purposes but am enjoying the lols with the search for Riewoldts kryptonite

Pick Riewoldt

 

[Klyntonius]

I'd imagine whichever Saint tall gets the mismatch is going to park themselves in front of the sticks. Looking at our list, the only other mobile tall we'd have to throw back there would be Watts.

Still think Hunt could be the best option. Quick enough to close Riewoldt down and good enough one on one to ensure it'll have to be decent service (which it probably will be) and should be laughing once it hits the deck.

Does Hunt have the tank to run with Roo though? This is his biggest strength, being able to blow up his opponents with his incredible gut running.

We need to think this game right. We lose to them the same way every time. We don't learn from our previous losses, or from games like the JLT against WCE, which should have showed us exactly what we're doing wrong.

If we pick Spencer, it means we've again learnt nothing about playing St Kilda at Etihad.

We're not going to win this by out-marking & 'out-talling' them. If we win, it'll be because we've been smart enough to go small & fast in the forward line, with only Hogan & Watts as tall forwards, with 4 small forwards who will win heaps of ground ball and apply massive defensive pressure. If they occasionally get out-marked, we need to deliver the ball hard & low into space in the f50, even if it's grubbers. One of the small forwards will be Viney (or someone like him), who will break the record for f50 tackles and be extremely dangerous offensively.

This will force their defence onto the back foot all game, and make it much harder for them to run it out through the middle and then outnumber us in their forward line. If this happens, Roo and their tall forwards will have much less of an influence, because they won't be able to catch our defence out of position or outnumber us, which is what they've relied on before.

Or we'll pick Spencer & watch them stream it out of their defence all game, and wonder why their forwards keep getting out the back again.

We won't lose because we pick Spencer. We will lose if we play dumb and butcher the ball.

 

[LeverPuller]

We were experimenting a bit with Hogan spending a bit of time in the midfield during the JLT. Could be an idea to rotate him onto Riewoldt

Hey, that's an idea.

Seriously. I don't mind that at all as part of a rotation.

 

[The Dr]

Does Hunt have the tank to run with Roo though? This is his biggest strength, being able to blow up his opponents with his incredible gut running.





We won't lose because we pick Spencer. We will lose if we play dumb and butcher the ball.

But isn't that Spencer's speciality?

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

It's not like all four Saints talls will be on the ground at the same time. Give Joel Smith a go at the third best one out there (either Membrey or McCartin) and at worst he'll have a couple of goals kicked on him if our midfielders do their job. Membrey isn't even that tall, he only has three centimetres on Salem and Bugg and two centimetres on Hunt

 

[schmuttt]

It's not like all four Saints talls will be on the ground at the same time. Give Joel Smith a go at the third best one out there (either Membrey or McCartin) and at worst he'll have a couple of goals kicked on him if our midfielders do their job. Membrey isn't even that tall, he only has three centimetres on Salem and Bugg and two centimetres on Hunt

This.

I think some people are fixated with the Saints height up forward, but that isn't what beats us. What kills us is turnovers and poor team defence which enables them to kick hilariously easy goals. The Saints also aren't going to have Bruce/McCartin/Membrey/Riewoldt running around up forward all night, we will kill them on the rebound if they try that.