Strategy Our tagger

[Boris the Contradiction]

In 2014 we played with a full time tagger for the first time in years. Given our first choice (Macaffer) will be out for a lot of 2015 with an injury, who do people think will get first crack at the role for Round 1? We may of course not use a tagger at all, however, I doubt we will ditch an important part of our game plan/strategy just because one player is injured.

With Beams and Ball gone Greenwood will be needed as an almost full-time inside midfielder so it is unlikely to be him. Personally I would give Seedsman a shot at the role in pre-season in an attempt to add a defensive edge to his game. He has the speed and agility to go with almost any mid and the skills to hurt opponents going the other way, however, he probably lacks the strength to curtail any of the better inside mids. For the season proper though, I think Fasolo might be the man considering he has the big body to go with the skills.

Some other options might be Williams, Sinclair, Freeman, Thomas, Kennedy (in a looser "run-with role" such as Wellingham's in our premiership year) or Goldsack as a roughie if we can get him to improve his tank.

So, who will it be?

 

[rustyg70]

I'd prefer we go back to playing 3 genuine midfielders.

 

[Baird]

Greenwood can tag and get 25+ possessions while doing so, so him.

 

[sd26]

I'd prefer we go back to playing 3 genuine midfielders.

I prefer this as well and anyway Macaffer is aiming for a round 1 return.

 

[Boris the Contradiction]

I prefer this as well and anyway Macaffer is aiming for a round 1 return.

If this is the case then great. I was under the impression his injury was more serious than that?

Maybe it's wishful thinking at this stage of his career (he probably lacks the aerobic capacity) but I have always thought Fasolo projected as a midfielder longterm. He has a big body, elite skills, good hands and is a really good mover in traffic. The way he moves is a little bit Ablett-like. Before anyone shoots me I do not think he is anywhere near Ablett.....there are just some similarities in the way they move and their instincts when they get the ball in traffic. We are struggling with skilled midfielders (midfielders at all really) and there might be an opportunity for him to spend some time in there next year.

 

[Damon_3388]

Greenwood can tag and get 25+ possessions while doing so, so him.

Myth.

He wasn't playing as a tagger for North this year.

 

[mattys123]

No need to tag with Pendles, Levi, Sidey, Adams, Broomy etc in the middle, just back our boys to win the ball.

When Caff comes back we can use him for specific tagging roles against some of the stars of the comp, but I'd prefer we teach all our midfielders to both attack and defend, rather then relying on one tagger as such.

 

[sirene]

Caf wants back for round 1...I am going with him.

 

[ThisIsJake]

Myth.

He wasn't playing as a tagger for North this year.

Depends how you define tagger, he was certainly doing a run with role on the oppositions best midfielder for the first 5 rounds.

And not quelling there influence much at all to be honest.

 

[partypie]

Myth.

He wasn't playing as a tagger for North this year.

And if you believe what is said on the Kangas board his crack at being a tagger often resulted in him getting 25 touches and his opponent getting 30 - if that's the case then he's not the lock down sort of tagger that Buckley would be after.

My vote went to Sinclair, but even he is a bit short / small for the job. He can run all day though and has the speed to not get caught out on the spread. We don't really have anybody else with a good enough blend of size / strength, tank and speed.

I'll be shocked if McCaffer isn't sidelined for at least the minimum 9 month period given that he's had a tendon graft ACL reco - that would put him at returning to VFL action some time around the start of June.

 

[sd26]

Quote from Herald Sun 4/10/14

http://www.heralddsun.com.au/sport/afl/heritier-lumumba-farewells-collingwood-with-bizarre-speech-at-best-and-fairest-night/story-fni5f6hd-1227079913056

Injured midfielder Brent Macaffer got one of the biggest roars of the evening when he stated his intention was to be back playing again for Round 1 next year, despite undergoing a knee reconstruction in August.

Macaffer, who finished fifth in the Copeland Trophy, had been expected to miss a large chunk of next season.

“It feels really good, (I’m) five weeks post-surgery,” Macaffer said. “I meet with the surgeon in three weeks, and hopefully I will be right for Round 1.”

While Collingwood won’t rush Macaffer back, the late start to next football season has given him some hope he could be right to go from the outset.

“If he says it, then it’s realistic,” Copeland winner Scott Pendlebury said of Macaffer’s will power. “If he wants Round 1, then he will get Round 1.”

“He knows what he has to deal with. He knows what to expect. I’ve seen him working in the gym and working really hard.”

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...nd-fairest-night/story-fni5f6hd-1227079913056

 

[mike123]

Why isn't Levi on the list, he's the most experienced tagger we have.

Anyways I picked none we should ditch the strategy because it didn't work. It hurts us at the coal face when a non ball winner soaks up allot of midfield time.

 

[Winston_Smith]

Caff is a great tagger, but if we don't have him on the field then my vote is for no tagger. Of our losses in 2014 which should have been wins, most came from being smashed on the inside at stoppages, starting with Bulldogs R13. We need more bodies trying to get the pill, rather than trying to stop others from getting it.

 

[PTpie]

I'd rather back our midfield in to out and out beat theirs. Taggers are great if the other team has a standout midfield player that regularly dominates games like G Ablett but otherwise I think its a waste of time unless they are exceptionally good at the role. They have to hurt them the other way. Guys like L Picken and C Jones are next to useless these days.

 

[nahnah]

Make Fasolo tag players around the ground so he can learn about work rate

 

[HappyRed]

I don't think it will matter, i suspect a rather different game plan.. not entirely but the game evolves year from year even.

Personnel changes for example even.

 

[jjsmitty8]

I don't think a tagger is even necessary. Team pressure and perceived pressure can essentially do what a tagger does, and gives you an opportunity to use a player elsewhere.

If a guy is going to have 40 touches, he's going to do it regardless if he's being worn like a glove. It's just the responsibility of the team to apply pressure to the ball carrier and be accountable at stoppages.

 

[Vampire013]

I do not like taggers & I think we lost a lot of clearances with Macaffer in the middle as a tagger.
I would rather have genuine onballers in the middle and may the best ones win.

 

[morelli89]

I would have our best clearance players in centre bounces with no tagger, but around the ground have marley do the tagging job

 

[Boris the Contradiction]

I would have our best clearance players in centre bounces with no tagger, but around the ground have marley do the tagging job

I like this. We will use a tagger of sorts in 2015 but it is better to use that player to prevent the opposition's biggest accumulator/score involvements player from racking it up around the ground. There should be ball winners at centre bounces, but those players (or at least two of the three) need to be strong tacklers as well.

 

[HappyRed]

Rewind to Richmond game this year when Caff destroyed Cotchin.. And tell me they aren't game changing when an opponent can't handle the heat.

(You should note i really don't rate Cotchin that much to be honest, but Macaffer destroyed his confidence)

 

[Wooljay]

Would definitely like to see how we go with no tagger next season and let our lads go head to head with the opposition mids.

Don't want to see Greenwood wasted on a tagging role, and no one else can really replace Caff.

 

[Pera]

No taggers please. It's probably why we have been destroyed in the clearance stat for a few years now.

 

[Bard]

I'll be really annoyed if we play Greenwood as a tagger, and I don't believe we will. If you're assigned a tag that will always be your # 1 priority, and we'll be screwed if he isn't focusing on purely extracting the ball from stoppages.

Macaffer did the job well, but as others have already stated it's possible it hurt our midfield's overall dynamic having him do so. If we really want him to play a negating role perhaps he could move into the backline where he has played briefly in the past from memory, because it's certainly something he does well.

 

[Robroy22]

Hawks played Langford as a midfield run with and that worked well....perhaps Seedsman could do some bursts through there, similar size and speed to Langford.