Yeah in a perfect world it's better to have it delivered on your tit on a lead.
But not every forward entry is perfect. And having tall players taking a contested mark means that those less than perfect entries can still results in marks or ground spillages. Instead of, you know, just having McGovern and Hurn mark everything, which is what happens when you don't play any key forwards.
If having every forward entry be a perfect hit up pass was an option then there'd be no difference if your forward was 180cm or 200cm. But there is a difference, and that's why teams play 200cm guys in the forward line.
I don't know what you are on about with Hurn and McGovern in the last post.
Again poor entries, bombing it in is the mismatch not contested marking on most occasions.
Hurn is a marking beast heh?
McGovern plays the loose defender like Johnson, but does have a great contested grab.
Key to this dilemma - not frequency of entries but quality.
For what it's worth someone like Kersten is a great lead up forward, but below average an contested mark - so play to his strengths. He also needs some mongrel as do all of the big fellas.
Tabs was great when he looked pissed off in the game he kicked four earlier in the year.
Attitude and appetite for the contest will beat some limp tall who has no balls, play hard, intimidate them and make em piss.
Quality ball use is the key.
At the end of the day don't reach for a player just because he is a certain height, if he's rated in the teens downgrade and get him in the teens.
We also need elite skills and ball use - pretty important skill set in case we haven't noticed.