Preview 2021 Best 22 Discussion

[wayToGo_]

Yeah it's not just talk re Henry. People who have gone to training are definitely expecting him to line up Rd 1 - has been a standout this pre-season.

 

[mattis117]

I just have one comment, Cerra is a starting mid, period. Not wing, not half forward, definitely not starting on the bench (this blasphemy is too evident here).

That is all.

 

[ImperialPurple]

So much Chappy love this pre-season!



Edit: wrong thread. Mods please move if you think it’s worthy of inclusion in the pre-season thread.

 

[Scham]

Henry is really pushing hard for a spot round one and I think he’s exactly what we need and have been lacking over the last five years while Walters has been spending so much time in the midfield. The possibility of seeing both Walters and Henry together in the forwardline is super exciting and will scare the s**t out of the competition small defenders. Add Sturt to the mix and look out!

 

[Sweet Jesus]

Hi folks. I've seen a lot of chat about Fyfe playing forward more often. Is this a consensus shared by everyone?

He's 29 so it's not like he needs to be put out to pasture just yet.

I understand the appeal of deploying him the way Richmond deploy Martin but IMO you could still play him primarily in the midfield and back him in to win another Brownlow if his body holds up. Is that worth sacrificing?

I'm just struck by how widely agreed it seems to be that Fyfe will be rotated out of the midfield to play forward. I'd still be picking him on the ball for as much time as his body can handle.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

 

[theGav56]

Hi folks. I've seen a lot of chat about Fyfe playing forward more often. Is this a consensus shared by everyone?

He's 29 so it's not like he needs to be put out to pasture just yet.

I understand the appeal of deploying him the way Richmond deploy Martin but IMO you could still play him primarily in the midfield and back him in to win another Brownlow if his body holds up. Is that worth sacrificing?

I'm just struck by how widely agreed it seems to be that Fyfe will be rotated out of the midfield to play forward. I'd still be picking him on the ball for as much time as his body can handle.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Looking like a tactic. I am hoping he still spends the majority of game midfield: 60/40, rotating with Mundy, Serong and others.

 

[Dockeroo]

Hi folks. I've seen a lot of chat about Fyfe playing forward more often. Is this a consensus shared by everyone?

He's 29 so it's not like he needs to be put out to pasture just yet.

I understand the appeal of deploying him the way Richmond deploy Martin but IMO you could still play him primarily in the midfield and back him in to win another Brownlow if his body holds up. Is that worth sacrificing?

I'm just struck by how widely agreed it seems to be that Fyfe will be rotated out of the midfield to play forward. I'd still be picking him on the ball for as much time as his body can handle.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

I think a lot depends on how the youngsters step up this year.
We will have Mundy in there with hopefully a similar output to last year. In terms of general improvement with age and maturity we have Serong, Cerra and Brayshaw, then you are looking at Darcy Tucker hopefully stepping up another level also. Blakely also in the mix fighting for his career as an AFL player. I do agree when it comes to crunch time in big games or finals (which we will hopefully play this season) it’s hard to look past the dual Brownlow medalist in the midfield.

 

[2006_Eagles]

Is Cerra likely to be full time mid this season with your other fwd options coming through?

 

[Sweet Jesus]

I think a lot depends on how the youngsters step up this year.
We will have Mundy in there with hopefully a similar output to last year. In terms of general improvement with age and maturity we have Serong, Cerra and Brayshaw, then you are looking at Darcy Tucker hopefully stepping up another level also. Blakely also in the mix fighting for his career as an AFL player. I do agree when it comes to crunch time in big games or finals (which we will hopefully play this season) it’s hard to look past the dual Brownlow medalist in the midfield.

Looking like a tactic. I am hoping he still spends the majority of game midfield: 60/40, rotating with Mundy, Serong and others.

Call me crazy but I'd be playing Fyfe in the engine room 80/20 or until he needs a rest. He's 29 and an elite inside midfielder. I'm not sure they get rotated out so casually.

 

[ImperialPurple]

Hi folks. I've seen a lot of chat about Fyfe playing forward more often. Is this a consensus shared by everyone?

He's 29 so it's not like he needs to be put out to pasture just yet.

I understand the appeal of deploying him the way Richmond deploy Martin but IMO you could still play him primarily in the midfield and back him in to win another Brownlow if his body holds up. Is that worth sacrificing?

I'm just struck by how widely agreed it seems to be that Fyfe will be rotated out of the midfield to play forward. I'd still be picking him on the ball for as much time as his body can handle.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

The ‘not-so-bad’ thing with Fyfe is that he’s such a smart footballer. He’s a gun mid-sized forward who beats guys with strength and leap, and to a lesser degree pace. He’s not super-fast but he’s not slow either. You put a big guy on him and he’ll beat him in body-on-body strength and positioning, and will beat him for speed. You put a smaller guy on him and he’ll just ragdoll them, and out-position them. And of course he can jump on all of their heads to beat them in the air. He plays taller than he is because of his aerial ability.

They are also developing cohesion between the young midfield, so they’re going to try and play them together for longer periods, but the expectation is that Fyfe will play both in the middle and up forward.

Plus, our forward line is good but not great, and he is an incredibly difficult player to match up on wherever he plays. Stick him forward he’ll kick goals.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

The ‘not-so-bad’ thing with Fyfe is that he’s such a smart footballer. He’s a gun mid-sized forward who beats guys with strength and leap, and to a lesser degree pace. He’s not super-fast but he’s not slow either. You put a big guy on him and he’ll beat him in body-on-body strength and positioning, and will beat him for speed. You put a smaller guy on him and he’ll just ragdoll them, and out-position them. And of course he can jump on all of their heads to beat them in the air. He plays taller than he is because of his aerial ability.

They are also developing cohesion between the young midfield, so they’re going to try and play them together for longer periods, but the expectation is that Fyfe will play both in the middle and up forward.

Plus, our forward line is good but not great, and he is an incredibly difficult player to match up on wherever he plays. Stick him forward he’ll kick goals.

I'm not convinced his value playing forward primarily is anywhere near his value as an elite starting mid who can push forward.

 

[samFFC]

I'm not convinced his value playing forward primarily is anywhere near his value as an elite starting mid who can push forward.

Definitely agree but will be also dependent on the relative strengths of each group, as well as injuries. If we have mid injuries then Fyfe will play 90% mid. If not, then he will more likely be 60/40 with more time in middle during major games (finals?).
Similar to Dusty I guess.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Is Cerra likely to be full time mid this season with your other fwd options coming through?

Personally think he’ll be full time centre square due to talent and the fact he wants to be there and they want to do whatever they can to keep him

 

[ImperialPurple]

I'm not convinced his value playing forward primarily is anywhere near his value as an elite starting mid who can push forward.

I don’t disagree. But if our midfield is on top, he can go forward and stretch the oppo defence, but if the young blokes need help in the middle he’ll play there. I think JLo will give him licence to roam to wherever he’s needed at anyone time.

 

[Dockeroo]

The cats did that with Dangerfield at times last year but then in the biggest game of his career he spent the entire third quarter in the goal square and barely got a touch while Geelongs midfield was overrun.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

Definitely agree but will be also dependent on the relative strengths of each group, as well as injuries. If we have mid injuries then Fyfe will play 90% mid. If not, then he will more likely be 60/40 with more time in middle during major games (finals?).
Similar to Dusty I guess.

Martin still plays primarily as a midfielder. He's good for a bit more than a goal a game, on average.

Even if we assume Fyfe could be that effective, which I'm not sure is locked in, is that incentive enough to move Fyfe out of the engine room more than usual? I don't see it, to be honest.

Surely you pick your best player where he plays his best football and then sort out the rest around him? Of course, give him a spell forward when required but I've been reading speculation about him becoming a semi-permanent forward, which seems nuts to me.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

I don’t disagree. But if our midfield is on top, he can go forward and stretch the oppo defence, but if the young blokes need help in the middle he’ll play there. I think JLo will give him licence to roam to wherever he’s needed at anyone time.

Some folks have Fyfe holding down FF or CHF. When did this happen?

Surely not.

 

[ImperialPurple]

Some folks have Fyfe holding down FF or CHF. When did this happen?

Surely not.

He played forward in the intraclub the other day, kicked 5 and if it was in season, took a screamer that would been contender for MOTY. And while our forwards aren’t world beaters, we have a very strong backline. He beat all comers. I think he only played three quarters too.

And don’t get me wrong, I prefer him in the middle, but if our young blokes are winning it out of the middle, he’ll be a weapon up forward.

(Finally playing the position he was drafted for... )

 

[Sweet Jesus]

He played forward in the intraclub the other day, kicked 5 and if it was in season, took a screamer that would been contender for MOTY. And while our forwards aren’t world beaters, we have a very strong backline. He beat all comers. I think he only played three quarters top.

Makes sense to play him forward in an intra-club game. But when it comes to R1, surely he lines up in the midfield.

Brayshaw, Cerra and Serong are super talented and very promising but they're still kids. I don't think any team in the comp has sufficient midfield quality/depth to decide they don't want to play Nat Fyfe primarily as a midfielder anymore.

 

[Bender571]

Hi folks. I've seen a lot of chat about Fyfe playing forward more often. Is this a consensus shared by everyone?

He's 29 so it's not like he needs to be put out to pasture just yet.

I understand the appeal of deploying him the way Richmond deploy Martin but IMO you could still play him primarily in the midfield and back him in to win another Brownlow if his body holds up. Is that worth sacrificing?

I'm just struck by how widely agreed it seems to be that Fyfe will be rotated out of the midfield to play forward. I'd still be picking him on the ball for as much time as his body can handle.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

How will Fremantle use Nat Fyfe this season?

“I think it’s his natural progression."

www.sen.com.au

“I think it’s his natural progression with the rotations being a few less and most importantly his skillset as a forward,” Longmuir told SEN's Dwayne's World.

“We saw last year that he can make an impact down there.

“We don’t see him as a full-time forward by any stretch - we know he’s a two-time Brownlow Medallist in the midfield.

“We want to try and use his strengths through there a lot as well. He needs to keep involved in the game and we need to be more dangerous down forward.

“We’ll try and use his strengths in other areas of the ground.”

Basically it's just a question of how much time he spends down there, with no set in stone answer.

If I had to guess I'd predict about 30%

 

[theGav56]

Call me crazy but I'd be playing Fyfe in the engine room 80/20 or until he needs a rest. He's 29 and an elite inside midfielder. I'm not sure they get rotated out so casually.

Our problems last year were from the midfield and forward, so they are looking for solutions. Long term solutions. Part of that problem has been a dependence on Fyfe in the midfield as well as a below average forward set up. Having a midfield that does not rely on Fyfe, and also that releases Walters back to the forward line, is massive.

 

[theGav56]

I don't think any team in the comp has sufficient midfield quality/depth to decide they don't want to play Nat Fyfe primarily as a midfielder anymore.

Haven’t seen that suggested.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

Haven’t seen that suggested.

On the first page of this thread, some folks have him lining up at CHF and FF.

 

[eastfreo75]

Hi folks. I've seen a lot of chat about Fyfe playing forward more often. Is this a consensus shared by everyone?

He's 29 so it's not like he needs to be put out to pasture just yet.

I understand the appeal of deploying him the way Richmond deploy Martin but IMO you could still play him primarily in the midfield and back him in to win another Brownlow if his body holds up. Is that worth sacrificing?

I'm just struck by how widely agreed it seems to be that Fyfe will be rotated out of the midfield to play forward. I'd still be picking him on the ball for as much time as his body can handle.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

I Agree.

I think he most dangerous when he plays in the midfield and runs into the f50 with a midfielder defending him. Basically he monsters them.

Playing forward you opposition can dictate the match up or even double team him.

I would like to see Fyfe be used like Adam Hunter was used. The eagles would send Hunter forward at random times. It’s extremely difficult to play for.

Fyfe could do an Erin Phillips role. She starts in the centre square and then runs forward and then plays as forward.

A few years ago at the G against the Melbourne, in D50 Fyfe position himself on the open wing. He created a one on one for himself as a outlet from D50. It worked like a treated.

Another idea was to start him forward and then move up the ground into the midfield.

Fyfe playing permanently forward I really don’t like.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

I would like to see Fyfe be used like Adam Hunter was used. The eagles would send Hunter forward at random times. It’s extremely difficult to play for.

Andrew Embley might be the better analogy. A midifelder with the height to ostensibly play KP. But you don't start them there. You start them between the arcs and let them drag a smaller opponent into the F50.