The experiment thread

[Frigate]

Last year we had Tarrant going down back in what was one of the coaching moves of 2010 . At the same time we had Grover going forward in what can only be described as one of the worst moves of the season. Pavlich started to be effective in the midfield. Thornton became a defensive forward.

What will be the bold moves of 2010 which may see some of our players re-invent themselves/take the next step? What specific roles will these players have as apposed to forward/back/midfield?

For me Broughton to the midfield. I am convinced he would have a big impact. We have enough defenders to cover him. He is a ball winner which is what we lack in the guts. Good decision maker/ skills.

Headland likely to be used as a FF (effective last year) rotating through the wing/hf. I would like to see him playing off the half back line running as an offensive back. His long kicking could be good. His tackling has improved considerably over the years. He would also require accountability from his opponent.

MJ, Mundy, McPharlin are probably the ones that need to rediscover form and reach potential.

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

Last year we had Tarrant going down back in what was one of the coaching moves of 2010 . At the same time we had Grover going forward in what can only be described as one of the worst moves of the season. Pavlich started to be effective in the midfield. Thornton became a defensive forward.

What will be the bold moves of 2010 which may see some of our players re-invent themselves/take the next step? What specific roles will these players have as apposed to forward/back/midfield?

For me Broughton to the midfield. I am convinced he would have a big impact. We have enough defenders to cover him. He is a ball winner which is what we lack in the guts. Good decision maker/ skills.

Headland likely to be used as a FF (effective last year) rotating through the wing/hf. I would like to see him playing off the half back line running as an offensive back. His long kicking could be good. His tackling has improved considerably over the years. He would also require accountability from his opponent.

MJ, Mundy, McPharlin are probably the ones that need to rediscover form and reach potential.

id be upset if broughton went to the midfield, he was such a dominating figure in the backline, why would you move him? the only way would be if brock obrien or someone of the like stood up and claimed the position allowing broughton to move further up the ground. cant see it happening, same goes with people saying roger can move up the field, i dont understand the thinking behind it

headland to full forward would be a good move. not sure it will happen though

id like to see crowley go from being an all out tagger to a defensive half forward. he can kick goals, he is good overhead, and disciplined/fit/strong enough to take players like hodge, mcleod, gram etc. it would also allow us to have matt deboer in the side as the tagger.

 

[purplepassion82]

'IF' Hayden stays fit, Brought could move to the midfield....or at least rotate between mid/hb.

The one I dont like hearing is McPhee to midfield...although I imagine he would be better there than half back. Has he ever played midfield before??

 

[Frigate]

id be upset if broughton went to the midfield, he was such a dominating figure in the backline, why would you move him? the only way would be if brock obrien or someone of the like stood up and claimed the position allowing broughton to move further up the ground. cant see it happening, same goes with people saying roger can move up the field, i dont understand the thinking behind it

I think he is such a good kick and user of the footy. He gets a lot of the footy and has a strong physique (both of which I believe we lack in the midfield. I would like to see Mundy permanently half back.
Would be interesting. I concur that he certainly has a niche in his role last year and was fantastic. I just believe our midfield is still lacking in natural ball winners and he could be the answer.

I cannot see McPhee in the midfield working either.

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

'IF' Hayden stays fit, Brought could move to the midfield....or at least rotate between mid/hb.

The one I dont like hearing is McPhee to midfield...although I imagine he would be better there than half back. Has he ever played midfield before??

well there are obviously two back pocket positions and two half back positions. id like to play hayden as a pocket to shut down the oppositions most dangerous small man, and broughton as a half back to use his run and carry.

mcphee will be nothing more than a pinch hitter in the midfield and will probably spend most of his time up forward. his attack on the ball and the man is sensational and will be useful in the midfield against bigger bodied teams like geelong and hawthorn. dont listen too much to what bombers supporters say about mcphee, that he cant make decisions, he cant kick/mark etc etc... make no mistake they are upset he left and are looking to console themselves about losing him for nothing. the beauty of smokey is that he can literally play any position bar ruck, he will be a more than handy inclusion

 

[sabre_ac]

Granted Tarrant to the backline was a god send...But this is one of my biggest issues with the club.

Rule Number 1:

No experimenting with 2nd or third year players (Or those that have only had 1 good year). Please let them develop confidence over a decent amount of time and become settled.

Rule Number 2:

No more swinging poorly performing backmen to the forward line, if you can't cut it as a backmen your not going to cut it as a forward. (Mainly referring to KPP here)

Rule Number 3

No more pinch hit ruckmen, lets develop the pure ruckmen we have. I'm sick of inbetween big men who are supposedly good in the ruck because of their around the ground skills

Those rules aside...


Roger to the forward line is something that has been on the cards for a long time, injuries have prevented that unfortunately.

Ballantyne / Mayne MUST NOT be moved from the forward line.

Hill must not be moved to the backline

Headland to permenant FF for at least half the season

Haselby must never play backline again

 

[newlander77]

This may upset you sabre and a few other posters, but Hill trained in the back pocket in todays training session providing good run from the back half.

 

[sabre_ac]

This may upset you sabre and a few other posters, but Hill trained in the back pocket in todays training session providing good run from the back half.

I hope not

Silly to put one of the few goal kicking midfielders from last year in the backline...Specially considering it was his first year (Which breaks my first golden rule)

 

[anchor man]

Wouldn't play Hayden in a back pocket he is far too loose.
HBF,yes, but not back pocket.Go back over his record as a pocket player and see how many goals have been kicked on him.Too many.
I can see Broughton being used from time to time through the midfield.Might add the grunt and mongrel we need.

 

[dominguez]

id be upset if broughton went to the midfield, he was such a dominating figure in the backline, why would you move him? the only way would be if brock obrien or someone of the like stood up and claimed the position allowing broughton to move further up the ground. cant see it happening, same goes with people saying roger can move up the field, i dont understand the thinking behind it

headland to full forward would be a good move. not sure it will happen though

id like to see crowley go from being an all out tagger to a defensive half forward. he can kick goals, he is good overhead, and disciplined/fit/strong enough to take players like hodge, mcleod, gram etc. it would also allow us to have matt deboer in the side as the tagger.

Agree with all that.

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

Wouldn't play Hayden in a back pocket he is far too loose.
HBF,yes, but not back pocket.Go back over his record as a pocket player and see how many goals have been kicked on him.Too many.
I can see Broughton being used from time to time through the midfield.Might add the grunt and mongrel we need.

no he isnt. he is the best lock down back pocket in the game IMO, how many times have we seen him destroy guys like milne, keeping them to no goals and few touches. id rather him on them than broughton at the moment. hayden with his history of injuries, should be just given a job, let him do that, and give the creative play task to broughton who is young, fit, confident and has great skills to boot. just my opinion

 

[newlander77]

no he isnt. he is the best lock down back pocket in the game IMO, how many times have we seen him destroy guys like milne, keeping them to no goals and few touches. id rather him on them than broughton at the moment. hayden with his history of injuries, should be just given a job, let him do that, and give the creative play task to broughton who is young, fit, confident and has great skills to boot. just my opinion

Have to agree with you 100% there mate. If Roger was a few years younger and had a better run with injury, he would have been a fantastic midfielder. But I think he will see his career out in defence with the occasional stint up forward.

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

Have to agree with you 100% there mate. If Roger was a few years younger and had a better run with injury, he would have been a fantastic midfielder. But I think he will see his career out in defence with the occasional stint up forward.

yeah, wirrpanda style

 

[theGav56]

Got to say I like the Crowley idea as we do have an emerging tagger. Also his size and fitness is potentially pretty annoying in the forward line, similar to Headland.

I think the club needs to pay attention to how to get the longest benefit from Hayden, and for mine that is on a back flank or up forward. But up forward we actually have a heap of potential flankers. And the back flank may be kinder to his injuries than playing on the fastest and most dangerous small forwards.

The experiment I would like to see is Clarke as a Forward. We need two ruckmen, and it will be best if they have another strength to their bow. Not sure how many games I'd like to see him get there, and it would be good to cherry-pick who the opposition is, but we do need to see how he is coming along at some stage this season.

 

[purplepassion82]

This may upset you sabre and a few other posters, but Hill trained in the back pocket in todays training session providing good run from the back half.

It shouldnt upset people.

Hill played that position when we smashed Essendon and Port last year and was SENSATIONAL. Played a sweeping role perfectly.

 

[prattsta]

id be upset if broughton went to the midfield, he was such a dominating figure in the backline, why would you move him? the only way would be if brock obrien or someone of the like stood up and claimed the position allowing broughton to move further up the ground. cant see it happening, same goes with people saying roger can move up the field, i dont understand the thinking behind it

Permanently I wouldn't like Broughton in the middle, but as a part of the rotation it makes a fair bit of sense. The more midfielders, the merrier I always say.

headland to full forward would be a good move. not sure it will happen though

Everyone keeps suggesting this but I just don't get it. Making a 29 year old, injury prone, inconsistent and short - by KP standards at least, being only 185cm - bloke the focal point of your forward line structure seems ridiculously silly to me. Yes, DJ has some talent, but he's not the answer in the long term, and given his injuries, isn't the right answer in the short term either.

Either go for the traditional set-up and give one of Johnson, Bradley or Murphy the FF spot, rain, hail or shine. Or alternatively, if you insist on going a more unorthodox route, play Mayne out of the square, he's taller, faster and IMO a better mark than Headland, plus he's young enough that the game plan can last longer than 1 season.

id like to see crowley go from being an all out tagger to a defensive half forward. he can kick goals, he is good overhead, and disciplined/fit/strong enough to take players like hodge, mcleod, gram etc. it would also allow us to have matt deboer in the side as the tagger.

I like the idea of Crowley as a defensive half-forward assuming the opposition doesn't have a top shelf midfielder for him to worry about. Though, I'm not a massive fan of taggers at the best of times so having two in the team would irk me a fair bit.

 

[theGav56]

Rule Number 1:

No experimenting with 2nd or third year players (Or those that have only had 1 good year). Please let them develop confidence over a decent amount of time and become settled.

The problem I have with this is we have a few players who are actually still looking for a position (and perhaps I am misreading your rule). Take Suban and Hill; do you see them as being locked into roles that should not be experimented with this year? They need to be "settled" into what they did last year? I would have thought that a massive part of their upside is that they have pretty versatile, all-round games. Putting them in situations that make sure they develop their weaknesses is a plus for mine, and if we are not going to develop Suban as a midfielder for 2-3 years, then I would think he will be less likely to succeed in that role.

 

[mayne iac]

Last year we had Tarrant going down back in what was one of the coaching moves of 2010 . At the same time we had Grover going forward in what can only be described as one of the worst moves of the season. Pavlich started to be effective in the midfield. Thornton became a defensive forward.

What will be the bold moves of 2010 which may see some of our players re-invent themselves/take the next step? What specific roles will these players have as apposed to forward/back/midfield?

For me Broughton to the midfield. I am convinced he would have a big impact. We have enough defenders to cover him. He is a ball winner which is what we lack in the guts. Good decision maker/ skills.

Headland likely to be used as a FF (effective last year) rotating through the wing/hf. I would like to see him playing off the half back line running as an offensive back. His long kicking could be good. His tackling has improved considerably over the years. He would also require accountability from his opponent.

MJ, Mundy, McPharlin are probably the ones that need to rediscover form and reach potential.

Whats with all you Mundy baggers on here.......Jeepers he is one guy out of about 3 or 4 that would get a gig in EVERY other teams starting 18.
For crying out loud, get a grip.

 

[theGav56]

Whats with all you Mundy baggers on here.......Jeepers he is one guy out of about 3 or 4 that would get a gig in EVERY other teams starting 18.
For crying out loud, get a grip.

Fair enough, but I think Mundy has more to give. I don't bag him, but I still believe that he can find another level. And unfortunately we seem to have always had a few players in that category, ranging from veterans like Headland through mid-tier players like Murphy. But the point the poster is making is that expecting second year players to step up is unlikely; better to hope for sustained progress from them. Whereas players like Mundy, MJ and MacPharlin ALL have more to give.

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

Permanently I wouldn't like Broughton in the middle, but as a part of the rotation it makes a fair bit of sense. The more midfielders, the merrier I always say.


Everyone keeps suggesting this but I just don't get it. Making a 29 year old, injury prone, inconsistent and short - by KP standards at least, being only 185cm - bloke the focal point of your forward line structure seems ridiculously silly to me. Yes, DJ has some talent, but he's not the answer in the long term, and given his injuries, isn't the right answer in the short term either./quote]

on broughton i think it will depend on the team, but yes brief runs in the midfield i guess would be ok, i still think his main focus should be as an attacking HBF

i think the main thing with headland is finding him a position. in my opinion he has been completely underwhelming as a wingman for us, he hasnt been the greatest half forward flanker either. last year he showed at fullforward he can take a grab, and kick a goal. he is lightning off the mark too so he would be a tough match up if he can find form. also less running/work load may help him reduce his injuries. If he could play a brad johnson role, we might finally get some value out of him

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

Fair enough, but I think Mundy has more to give. I don't bag him, but I still believe that he can find another level. And unfortunately we seem to have always had a few players in that category, ranging from veterans like Headland through mid-tier players like Murphy. But the point the poster is making is that expecting second year players to step up is unlikely; better to hope for sustained progress from them. Whereas players like Mundy, MJ and MacPharlin ALL have more to give.

yep, and that is the crux of the mundy situation. i dont think people bag mundy because he doesnt do anything on the field. far from it, as he is definetly in our best 18, i think people bag mundy because he looks like he has so much more to offer, but rarely delivers on his potential, the fact that he looks laconic hurts him because it gives the impression he isnt giving his all. personally i think david has played,a nd does play his best footy as a half back flanker. i'd like to see him go back there. dont think it will happen though

 

[dominguez]

no he isnt. he is the best lock down back pocket in the game IMO, how many times have we seen him destroy guys like milne, keeping them to no goals and few touches. id rather him on them than broughton at the moment. hayden with his history of injuries, should be just given a job, let him do that, and give the creative play task to broughton who is young, fit, confident and has great skills to boot. just my opinion

I think he certainly was, but he has conceded quite a few goals the last couple of seasons.

 

[dominguez]

Everyone keeps suggesting this but I just don't get it. Making a 29 year old, injury prone, inconsistent and short - by KP standards at least, being only 185cm - bloke the focal point of your forward line structure seems ridiculously silly to me. Yes, DJ has some talent, but he's not the answer in the long term, and given his injuries, isn't the right answer in the short term either.

Dessie in the square, Pav 25 metres from goal, Ballantyne in the pocket, Johnson as CHF/back up ruck and Solly/McPhee/Mayne/Hill/Morabito/Walters rotating through the half forward flanks.

 

[mayne iac]

yep, and that is the crux of the mundy situation. i dont think people bag mundy because he doesnt do anything on the field. far from it, as he is definetly in our best 18, i think people bag mundy because he looks like he has so much more to offer, but rarely delivers on his potential, the fact that he looks laconic hurts him because it gives the impression he isnt giving his all. personally i think david has played,a nd does play his best footy as a half back flanker. i'd like to see him go back there. dont think it will happen though

I Agree with some of what you say, but, James Hird was always in 2nd and 3rd gear, always had time, looked slow but wasnt, but he never copped any bagging (I know I know its James Hird). THE ONLY reason Mundy cops it is due to his laconicity (I just made up a word).
He's one of our best players, his decision making is A grade (I'm not taking watching it on TV, im talking live) and he rarely buggers up, and he doesnt mind some rough stuff. Did I mention his kicking.....

He only looks Laconic, he is a gun, any other team would love to have him, there are so many other crabs on our list before him.
What did he come n our F&B? any one know?

 

[Aussiblood]

It shouldnt upset people.

Hill played that position when we smashed Essendon and Port last year and was SENSATIONAL. Played a sweeping role perfectly.

Agreed. If anything Harves is doing what any good coach would do. Using the pre-season to give his charges a feel for the different roles they could find themselves in game situation. That's not saying the club is looking at playing them in those 'different roles' - come H&A we'll see opposition players assigned to talents such as Hill get occasional instruction to take him out of the 'picture'. With experience in odd jobs the players will not feel lost when they find themselves in them (intentional or not) and thus holding the game plan.