A New Look Forward Line?

[Beloved]

Guys, with the way our guys have performed up forward so far this year, maybe it's time for a little bit of a change up in our forward line?

HF: E. Betts, B. Fevola, N. Stevens
F: M. Kreuzer, B. Fisher, C, Cloke/S. Hampson

Brendan Fevola: He's yet to have an impact this year at FF, maybe a positional change could do him all the good. At CHF, he sure wont have three defenders playing on him, and we know he can kick the goals outside of 50.

Eddie Betts: Eddie has been playing up on the half forward line and has managed 3 goals from 2 games so far. He seems to be performing well closer to the midfield.

Nick Stevens: It's needless to say that Nick is out of shape. We can't afford to have him on the Half Back line, as his pase could let us down at crucial times. Being on the Half Forward line means that he will still have a chance to be in the midfield, while also posing a threat to convert.

Matthew Kreuzer: I thought that we should play him at CHF, but the strategy of having two big men on either side of the Full Forward can pay off in many ways, one being that one option becomes three (we definately need more options, as the first two weeks have shown).

Brad Fisher: This guy has great hands, everyone knows that, but he doesn't have much of a go at Full Forward, a spot that I think he can/could hold down very well, especially if he's not playing with three players on him like Fevola.

Cameron Cloke/Sean Hampson: Usually it's CHF that's the spot to rest the ruckman, but to make the 'big man on either side of the FF' strategy work, the 'resting' spot will have to be converted to the Forward Pocket. Both Cameron and Sean have proved they can kick infront of the sticks.

Overall: If the tall deep-forward line strategy doesn't work, its a simple swap from the Half Forward line deep into the forward line.

HF: M. Kreuzer, B. Fisher, C. Cloke/S. Hampson
F: E. Betts, B. Fevola, N. Stevens

Just some rough ideas, don't come down too hard on me!

Cheers.

 

[RiCHii]

that could possibly work i like the fact that we have a few good running players in Stevens and Betts in the Foward line and even Hampson who could be good at ground level. Good work. Good thinking.

 

[Beloved]

that could possibly work i like the fact that we have a few good running players in Stevens and Betts in the Foward line and even Hampson who could be good at ground level. Good work. Good thinking.

It just seems right.

The positions seem to fit (for the time being).

 

[RiCHii]

It just seems right.

The positions seem to fit (for the time being).

well as i said i like the running type players in there in Betts and Stevens and also Hampson and Kruezer who have acceptional skill at ground level, becase i think crumbing is really important and with the foward line which we are playing at the moment (VERY TALL!) it could help contribute to us putting a higher score on the scoreboard.

 

[Beloved]

well as i said i like the running type players in there in Betts and Stevens and also Hampson and Kruezer who have acceptional skill at ground level, becase i think crumbing is really important and with the foward line which we are playing at the moment (VERY TALL!) it could help contribute to us putting a higher score on the scoreboard.

We need options, plain and simple. The best way for us to have options is to put our tall guys as close to goals as possible to get their hands on the ball while it's in the air.

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

I like the idea of Stevens playing up forward (ala Goodwin).

 

[RiCHii]

email carlton football club with the suggestion. lol
But isnt that what they are trying to do with Scotland, they are playing him up the grond alot more these days

 

[Beloved]

email carlton football club with the suggestion. lol
But isnt that what they are trying to do with Scotland, they are playing him up the grond alot more these days

I think with Stevens in such poor shape, it's more essential that he plays on the Forward Flank over Scotland. If he drops the weight (in which he should), then Scotland is free to return to the Forward Flank.

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

email carlton football club with the suggestion. lol
But isnt that what they are trying to do with Scotland, they are playing him up the grond alot more these days

Scotland clearly wasn't right vs. St. Kilda .. he started 3 out of 4 quarters on the pine.

 

[Brighton_Diggins]

email carlton football club with the suggestion. lol
But isnt that what they are trying to do with Scotland, they are playing him up the grond alot more these days

Anything up the grond can hurt alot.

 

[walkers a legend]

I agree with c4 use him like Goodwin and as soon as he is back to his best he can go to the midfield.

 

[Beloved]

I agree with c4 use him like Goodwin and as soon as he is back to his best he can go to the midfield.

Would Stevens be able to lock down that position while still having an impact on the game permanently?

 

[bolz]

NO NO AND NO!!!!

The problem with our forward line atm is that no-one wants to crumb the ball when it spills from the pack. You need running type players (which indeed we have in Stevens) to go in for the ball when it hits the deck. You can't just pack your forward line with tall options and hope that one of them will pluck with ball out of thin air! That's what we're doing atm, and its to our detriment. This forward line setup is WAY too tall, Houlihan should be on on of the flanks, and Fisher on the other. Kreuzer should be able to hold down CHF.

My forward line setup for the years to come will look a bit like this

HF - Fisher Kreuzer Houlihan
FF - Betts Fevola Edwards

Both Edwards and Fev need to be played out of the goal square, leading out in opposite directions. If oppositions want to double/triple team Fev, great! kick it to Edwards who probably won't have an opponent in such a situation. Fisher, and Houlihan should be front and centre of the pack, ready for the pick up and goal. Betts, should be running around the pack also, doing his thing (which angers me so, because he never does this!!!). Kreuzer should stay out of the F50 unless needed. He will do well to contest for any rebound kicks should the situation arise.

The problem atm is not so much our forward line, it's actually not a bad setup. It's just keeping it in there which seems to allude us. So many times last Saturday we couldve goaled easily from a spilled mark. Most teams we play kill us on the rebound 50 because 1; we have no accountability, and 2; we have nobody front and centre of the packs, leaving them with all the numbers.

Carlton really needs to learn a defensive, more accountable side of football to progress.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

NO NO AND NO!!!!

The problem with our forward line atm is that no-one wants to crumb the ball when it spills from the pack. You need running type players (which indeed we have in Stevens) to go in for the ball when it hits the deck. You can't just pack your forward line with tall options and hope that one of them will pluck with ball out of thin air! That's what we're doing atm, and its to our detriment. This forward line setup is WAY too tall, Houlihan should be on on of the flanks, and Fisher on the other. Kreuzer should be able to hold down CHF.

My forward line setup for the years to come will look a bit like this

HF - Fisher Kreuzer Houlihan
FF - Betts Fevola Edwards

Both Edwards and Fev need to be played out of the goal square, leading out in opposite directions. If oppositions want to double/triple team Fev, great! kick it to Edwards who probably won't have an opponent in such a situation. Fisher, and Houlihan should be front and centre of the pack, ready for the pick up and goal. Betts, should be running around the pack also, doing his thing (which angers me so, because he never does this!!!). Kreuzer should stay out of the F50 unless needed. He will do well to contest for any rebound kicks should the situation arise.

The problem atm is not so much our forward line, it's actually not a bad setup. It's just keeping it in there which seems to allude us. So many times last Saturday we couldve goaled easily from a spilled mark. Most teams we play kill us on the rebound 50 because 1; we have no accountability, and 2; we have nobody front and centre of the packs, leaving them with all the numbers.

Carlton really needs to learn a defensive, more accountable side of football to progress.

Pretty much agree with all of that, aside from Fish roving the packs. He is a 192cm forward with a vice like grip and impeccable judgement, not a quick thinking rover.

We really do suck at scoring loose goals from spilled ball. As you said, Eddie should be there at least giving himself a chance every time but he seldom is. Take a look at the way Milne positions himself, that is what a goalsneak should do.

 

[bakerboy]

Guys, with the way our guys have performed up forward so far this year, maybe it's time for a little bit of a change up in our forward line?

HF: E. Betts, B. Fevola, N. Stevens
F: M. Kreuzer, B. Fisher, C, Cloke/S. Hampson

Brendan Fevola: He's yet to have an impact this year at FF, maybe a positional change could do him all the good. At CHF, he sure wont have three defenders playing on him, and we know he can kick the goals outside of 50.

Eddie Betts: Eddie has been playing up on the half forward line and has managed 3 goals from 2 games so far. He seems to be performing well closer to the midfield.

Nick Stevens: It's needless to say that Nick is out of shape. We can't afford to have him on the Half Back line, as his pase could let us down at crucial times. Being on the Half Forward line means that he will still have a chance to be in the midfield, while also posing a threat to convert.

Matthew Kreuzer: I thought that we should play him at CHF, but the strategy of having two big men on either side of the Full Forward can pay off in many ways, one being that one option becomes three (we definately need more options, as the first two weeks have shown).

Brad Fisher: This guy has great hands, everyone knows that, but he doesn't have much of a go at Full Forward, a spot that I think he can/could hold down very well, especially if he's not playing with three players on him like Fevola.

Cameron Cloke/Sean Hampson: Usually it's CHF that's the spot to rest the ruckman, but to make the 'big man on either side of the FF' strategy work, the 'resting' spot will have to be converted to the Forward Pocket. Both Cameron and Sean have proved they can kick infront of the sticks.

Overall: If the tall deep-forward line strategy doesn't work, its a simple swap from the Half Forward line deep into the forward line.

HF: M. Kreuzer, B. Fisher, C. Cloke/S. Hampson
F: E. Betts, B. Fevola, N. Stevens

Just some rough ideas, don't come down too hard on me!

Cheers.

Rotate Juddy thru FF

 

[HBF]

I like the idea of having Cloke in the forward line. He gives us something that we don't have up there at the moment - presence. He also kicks the ball like a midfielder. Spots up targets from 50m away.

My ideal forward 6 would look something like:

HF: Houlihan Cloke Pfieffer
FF: Fisher Fevola Betts

Also, this gives us some toughness accross half forward with Cloke and Pfieffer, and the silky skill of Hoops. I don't see any reason why this couldn't be a potent, and quite a dangerous forward line.

 

[bolz]

Pretty much agree with all of that, aside from Fish roving the packs. He is a 192cm forward with a vice like grip and impeccable judgement, not a quick thinking rover.

We really do suck at scoring loose goals from spilled ball. As you said, Eddie should be there at least giving himself a chance every time but he seldom is. Take a look at the way Milne positions himself, that is what a goalsneak should do.

hmmm yeh, maybe not fish.

fish can be used in rotation with edwards in the setup i mentioned.

that leaves us with the HFF open again. Who do we use? Murphy would be a good fit imo.

 

[bolz]

I like the idea of having Cloke in the forward line. He gives us something that we don't have up there at the moment - presence. He also kicks the ball like a midfielder. Spots up targets from 50m away.

My ideal forward 6 would look something like:

HF: Houlihan Cloke Pfieffer
FF: Fisher Fevola Betts

Also, this gives us some toughness accross half forward with Cloke and Pfieffer, and the silky skill of Hoops. I don't see any reason why this couldn't be a potent, and quite a dangerous forward line.

man until I see a VAST improvement in Cloke's kicking, i dont want to see him anywhere near a position as important as CHF!!!

He is great with the fly, but can't kick to save his life!!!

 

[walshy93]

Good points there, definately the resting ruckman up there since Waite is down back.
Stevens is a good choice, is a good kick for goal, and can sink one from 50.

Interesting. Yes, try sending them in, with that explaination.

 

[Beloved]

Good points there, definately the resting ruckman up there since Waite is down back.
Stevens is a good choice, is a good kick for goal, and can sink one from 50.

Interesting. Yes, try sending them in, with that explaination.

Haha, give me a link and i'd consider it.

 

[btdg]

To be honest, I think we have to establish several things up forward if we are to win games:
1. More targets in the air and around the ground to stop defenders helping across onto Fev
2. Better ball pressure on opposition defenders running the ball out
3. Better kicking into the forward line.

I honestly feel that to accomplish (1), we need to stack the forward line a bit. With Waite in good form down back and looking stable (and as much as I prefer him as a forward), perhaps that means Judd goes forward while getting back from injury? I think Murphy, Houlihan, Stevens and Gibbs have to fill the wing/flank spots along with Judd, to try and get better delivery forward, and Betts needs to be there for pressure (probably along with Murphy). Right now, it looks like Jammo and Waite have the backline KP spots sewn up, and we have plenty of midfield options, so we kind of need to get the forward line right and slot everyone else in from there. Thus, I'd go for a team line-up of:

b: Thornton, Jamison, Bannister
hb: Bower, Waite, Hadley
c: Gibbs, Carazzo, Stevens
hf: Murphy, Fisher, Houlihan
f: Betts, Fevola, Judd
Foll: Hampson, Simpson, Scotland
Bench: Cloke, Kreuzer, Pfeifer, Russell

From there, you can rotate Judd, Murphy and Pfeifer and Hadley through the midfield, and also slot Kreuzer into the forward line to exploit matchup issues occasionally.

 

[jonoman89]

Rotate Juddy thru FF

judd's marking is average mate, plus he'd be wasted in a pocket. midfield player, and midfield only.

 

[audas]

Gibbs and Russel can snap really well - both should be rotated through that forward line where Stevens is. Stevens NEEDS to deliver INTO the forward line - one of the few that can hit a target.

So too with Judd - great delivery, best assett, use it don't abuse it.

Gibbs is EXCELLENT in traffic, great goal sense. Russel can do similar.

 

[Silvagnis]

Who needs a traditional forwardline with a CHF and a FF?

It's all about how many goals your midfielders and half forwards you can create after the Dogs beat the Saints with Kosi, Gehrig and Riewoldt on the park. Welsh kicked just one goal tonight and was the only old fashioned leading forward on Footscray's team. Mooney and Hawkins kicked just three goals between them last week, but they still belted Essendon on the scoreboard.

You couldn't imagine Carlton's or Essendon's record breaking sides having a big win with Kernahan and Lloyd held to just one or two goals.

The game has changed, yet Hawthorn might be the exception to the rule.

Continually kicking to a Fevola becomes a weakness and makes it easy for your opponents to defend if he's the only player we look for.

We should set up like this or something along these lines to add more run and skill to a static forwardline.

HF: Gibbs/Murphy/Houlihan Kreuzer/Waite Pfeiffer/Russell/Hadley
F: Betts Fevola Fisher

Get Princess Houlihan out of the backline and play your best players forward of centre.

The opposition are happier to see Houlihan and Waite play in the backline and would pencil in two goals for their team not Carlton. Unfortunately we don't have a CHB and Waite is the new SOS because he is needed in more than one position.

 

[Revenge I Seek]

NO NO AND NO!!!!

The problem with our forward line atm is that no-one wants to crumb the ball when it spills from the pack.

SPOT ON! We get our arses kicked all over the ground, due to the fact that this aspect of our game is deficient.

It seems every oposition team has a seagull waiting to collect, unmanned and at the fall of the ball. A lot of emphasis is placed on holding marks at chest level and above, but very little on crumbing.

We absolutely owned Port Adelaide last year capitalising on their dropped chances.

Under 10's football coaching... frustratingly obvious fundamentals go unmentioned. I can only hope we apply pressure at ground level tomorrow night.