We missed a trick this year when…………

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bigman

Premiership Player
Mar 29, 2004
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We have clearly improved this year compared with 2022 and this has come about through the improved movement of the ball and introduction of more skilled players.

we may have even got a top 8 spot with some improved goal kicking and some dodgy umpiring as well as possibly undertaking the following:

Not playing nankervis earlier when he had been lighting up the reserves for many weeks and then dropping him after 3 weeks when his form in games 1&3 were more than satisfactory

Not playing Gollant again until week 24 after only minimal exposure at start of year. He was kicking bags of goals in the ressies and was being a force in the air with his attack on the high ball something we don’t have too much of in ones. The other is not rucking him in the reserves - he can clearly compete against second stringers at AFL level

relying too much on Sloane in middle when he is past his prime to work in this space for any length of time. We should have been getting more centre square contests into Soligo, Pedlar, Harry etc

bBeing too slow to bring back Crouch and not trying to play Laird and him together in the one side. Crouch had changed his game this year but we were not prepared to give him a chance at the higher level until too late in the year.

not giving Obrien some time off during year within games and when he was struggling in ruck. We played better on the weekend when fresh legs, movement and thoughts was in the middle. Too often his lack of coordination reduces our chance of getting the ball out of the middle cleanly or at all

dropping Cook After one match when his kicking skill nearly won us the match with his kick to macadam I think it was in the last qr. he played well in firest half and deserved a few weeks to find his feet

theresprobably more but that will do for now. Credit to the selectors though for putting Wayne jr in defence and allowing him to turn into a crucial member of our side: the move of Hinge also into defence where he has become such a good rebounding player and the move of smith to the wing.
 

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Not playing Rachele and Pedlar a little more as the sub. And by this I mean exclusive mid time when subbing on rather than playing predominantly forward. They are our future midfield and both looked tired during the year and both excelled as sub late in the year

Could have kept them a bit fresher and given them more inside exposure


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The overall selection was about 80% all year - I think Worrell came in a couple of games later than I wanted, Nankervis shouldn't have been dropped (he's our Will Day), Cook could have got more time, and Gollant needs to be in the team.

The playing positions were about 80% all year - mostly the midfield rotations was off. Not enough variation, I understand that the younger guys were beaten and battered from around round 8 (the Geelong game), but it seemed overly conservative as the year went on.

We didn't nail our sub to benefit the team performance - seemed more a strategy for squeezing in players close to selection.

We didn't train for, or have the right strategy in place for winning the close games.
 

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I thought the penny had dropped when we finally figured out the ROB is an average ruckman who can't get the job done.
Thilthorpe will be our lead ruckman next year for a larger chunk of the season.
Rankine and Rachele are going to cause mayhem soon enough.
Fog and Tex can't coexist in the same forward line
Gollant needs an extended run, he has put on enough size over the season to be in the AFL system.

Don't panic about not making the 8 (yeah its frustrating and disappointing), this could be the blessing in disguise if we recruit well with our pick 9, 20 and 23. No way known we are getting close to a flag with MM, Keane, Worell and Parnell in the backline (at the moment).

I dont want this club to be like it was, I want us to actually challenge for a flag in a realistic sense ie. not making 7th and being bundled out. We have blown our chance in 05/06 and 2017 then dropped off into the doldrums.
 
No Sloane after round 14, when grind fatigue set in, we make Finals.

No Sloane at all, probably top 4....ok a bit harsh there.

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Do we let them use the fatigue excuse next year?

Soligo and Peds should be able to play 22 games next year Shoey to depending on that Achilles injury.

That's three midfielders and excludes using Rachele or Rankine or shock horror a ready made midfielder we recruit
 
Likely there were two missed tricks.

* Not replacing Berry with Crouch as we needed that inside midfielder replacement as Keays robbed our forward line of that reliable defensive forward. This was our major issue that we weren't able to settle on a third inside midfielder and how weak our clearance game was. We tried to turn it into a strength through our offense and counter-attack game, but it was a live by the sword, die by the sword style. We died by the sword.
* Not replacing Sloane outright when we begun to drop his inside midfield minutes in the back end of the season. At 4.5 clearances a game, he was just doing enough in a side that seriously lacked inside players. At 3, he was performing like a second year player. The thing with low disposal midfielders is they need to win clearances and a lot of them.

Beyond that, we were pretty much at our optimal lineup this year factoring in injuries. In an ideal world, Taylor would have also found a best 22 role but that's not helping our hopes to make finals in 2023.
 

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