Opinion Best back 6 for 2020

[manpurple]

Firstly, welcome James Aish.

Whilst we didn’t hit the scoring in the last few years our backline has been reasonable especially when everyone is fit. So who is the best 6 with Aish in the team and where do we think JLo wants to play him.

IMHO A Pearce as CHB and Hamling as CFB are locks. Ryan and Wilson as rebounding defenders are also certain.
I like Logue as a third tall defender. Leaving one spot for S Hill, Cerra, Blakely and Tucker. All who could play in the midfield but won’t all fit there together. I am guessing one will come off the HB line.

Who’s spot is Aish taking. Logue I suspect but I think he has a lot of upside and was reasonable in the back half of this year in the absence of Pearce.


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[Lach72]

S Hill, Cerra, Blakely and Tucker

All midfielders.
Hill on to the wing where he belongs.

For mine it will be something like:
Ryan Hamling Aish
Wilson Pearce Logue/Hughes

 

[Scham]

Firstly, welcome James Aish.

Whilst we didn’t hit the scoring in the last few years our backline has been reasonable especially when everyone is fit. So who is the best 6 with Aish in the team and where do we think JLo wants to play him.

IMHO A Pearce as CHB and Hamling as CFB are locks. Ryan and Wilson as rebounding defenders are also certain.
I like Logue as a third tall defender. Leaving one spot for S Hill, Cerra, Blakely and Tucker. All who could play in the midfield but won’t all fit there together. I am guessing one will come off the HB line.

Who’s spot is Aish taking. Logue I suspect but I think he has a lot of upside and was reasonable in the back half of this year in the absence of Pearce.


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If Aish plays back, he takes Cerra’s spot. Seems obvious to me. Apart from being an inch shorter than Cerra, they play very similarly but Aish is way better at this point in time.

 

[clivenator26]

Agree we have 4 locks in Pearce, Hamling, Ryan & Wilson.

Id then pick 2 players from Logue/Duman/Hughes/Aish with Hill, Cerra & Blakely hopefully playing midfield. Personally I’d go with Logue and Aish.

 

[Lach72]

Hogan has been back running for a week and a half. They put a screw and some bone in.

Things progressing well

 

[Steinfreo]

I wouldnt mind seeing Wilson on a wing.

 

[SPEEDWAGON]

wilson is crap

aish hamling logue

ryan pearce duman

 

[wayToGo_]

You almost always have 7 defenders in your best 22. The TOG of those 7 adds up to 6 players on the field at any given time So we really should be picking a 'Best Back 7' imo.

Pearce, Hamling, Ryan, Wilson locks (assuming Wilson gets himself sorted - horrible 2019 really). Aish with the 5th spot. Then 2 of Hughes/Logue/Duman/Carter/Watson with the left overs being depth that can slot in if there are injuries. If JLo is talking to Acres about a more specific role hopefully that means less mids thrown into our backline as well. Back line looks great, now we just need to find a way to move the ball forward once we intercept it at half back.

 

[Freeeoo]

All midfielders.
Hill on to the wing where he belongs.

For mine it will be something like:
Ryan Hamling Aish
Wilson Pearce Logue/Hughes

Yep pretty much nails it.

 

[Fat Nyfe]

Ryan Pearce Wilson
Logue Hamling Hughes/up for grabs (small, tough lockdown defender ideal)

Aish + Hill on the wings.

Mids - Fyfe, Brayshaw, Conca, Blakely, Cerra, Acres. Mundy as an impact player but probably spending more time forward.

 

[MadDocker]

wilson is crap

 

[Steinfreo]

wilson is crap

aish hamling logue

ryan pearce duman

Wilson was not up to his usual standard last season but far from crap. Logue and human were crapper by any metric you wanna use.

 

[dropbear101]

I believe this is the best back-line we have ever had, even our 2013 back-line had zac dawson.
aish hamline ryan
hill pearce wilson

depth; hughes, logue, cerra, conca, duman

 

[88mph]

Logue should be trialed in the midfield.

 

[Purple_Turtle]

Does Logue in the back 7 make us too tall? At any rate:

Hughes Hamling Ryan

Conca Pearce Wilson

I/C: Between Logue and Duman.

Aish goes to the wing.

 

[sherrif]

You almost always have 7 defenders in your best 22. The TOG of those 7 adds up to 6 players on the field at any given time So we really should be picking a 'Best Back 7' imo.

Pearce, Hamling, Ryan, Wilson locks (assuming Wilson gets himself sorted - horrible 2019 really). Aish with the 5th spot. Then 2 of Hughes/Logue/Duman/Carter/Watson with the left overs being depth that can slot in if there are injuries. If JLo is talking to Acres about a more specific role hopefully that means less mids thrown into our backline as well. Back line looks great, now we just need to find a way to move the ball forward once we intercept it at half back.

Really doubt Aish will play half back. He's already said he has spoken to JL about his role, which looks like playing on a wing and that he wants to play the wing role and take the game on a bit more Aish was a mid all the way through juniors and for most of the time when he played at the Lions. In his draft year he was considered in the top 3 mids (with Kelly and Billings) for most of the year before being drafted at the 7th pick. Kicked the ball at 87.6% kicking efficiency at the underage champs that year, which was the highest at that championship. Would love to pick up Ash and Stephens at the draft then play Ash from round 1i in defence. If not I would way prefer blakely to play in defence rather than midfield. In my view Cerra needs to play mid and not in defence at all. He is a see ball get ball type player, not a reactionary player. So too is Tucker who id also like to play mid more. With that in mind I think Mundy should go back a bit more. Improves our kicking out of defence when he is there. Logue and Hughes iM not completely sure will play in defence. A new coach might want to utilize their athleticism somehwere else on the ground like wing for Hughes.
Id go with a much better kicking defence of:
B: Wilson A.Pearce Mundy
HB: Ryan Hamling Ash (or Blakely if we dont draft Ash)
I/C Logue (play a bit of ruck and defence when Mundy goes on ball. S.Hill to rotate a bit in defence too.

 

[sherrif]

Wilson was not up to his usual standard last season but far from crap. Logue and human were crapper by any metric you wanna use.

In the case of Logue and Duman are you taking the piss? Duman actually surprised me in how well he did some shutdown roles and Logue bar one terrible game showed he could win more of the ball against tall players. Both Logue and Duman were two of the few pleasant surprises from last year considering also how much time Logue has missed with injury in recent years.

 

[Ysaye]

Agree that Aish will play Wing not back. I have:

Pearce
Hamling
Logue
Ryan
Wilson
Blakely

as the six. I think one of the early draftees may also be someone who can play back (Ash, Sharp, Rivers or similar) and so they maybe a player that starts to rotate into that lineup.

 

[Steinfreo]

In the case of Logue and Duman are you taking the piss? Duman actually surprised me in how well he did some shutdown roles and Logue bar one terrible game showed he could win more of the ball against tall players. Both Logue and Duman were two of the few pleasant surprises from last year considering also how much time Logue has missed with injury in recent years.

even though I agree Logue improved and Duman was fine, both were less impactful than Wilson.

 

[sherrif]

even though I agree Logue improved and Duman was fine, both were less impactful than Wilson.

Neiher Logue nor Duman were as bad as Wilson was in some games. Neither got dominated by a second year player like Wilson did against Petruccelle. Wilson went backwards significantly last year. Some of his defensive efforts were horrendous. Normally his strength. He made a lot of terrible decisions with ball in hand as well.

 

[Steinfreo]

Neiher Logue nor Duma were as bad as Wilson was in some games. Neither got dominated by a second year player like Wilson did against Petruccelle. Wilson went backwards significantly last year. Some of his defensive efforts were horrendous. Normally his strength. He made a lot of terrible decisions with ball in hand as well.

I do agree Wilson went backwards. Wouldn't mind trying him on a wing. He does need a rocket, same with blakely

 

[wayToGo_]

Really doubt Aish will play half back. He's already said he has spoken to JL about his role, which looks like playing on a wing and that he wants to play the wing role and take the game on a bit more Aish was a mid all the way through juniors and for most of the time when he played at the Lions. In his draft year he was considered in the top 3 mids (with Kelly and Billings) for most of the year before being drafted at the 7th pick. Kicked the ball at 87.6% kicking efficiency at the underage champs that year, which was the highest at that championship. Would love to pick up Ash and Stephens at the draft then play Ash from round 1i in defence. If not I would way prefer blakely to play in defence rather than midfield. In my view Cerra needs to play mid and not in defence at all. He is a see ball get ball type player, not a reactionary player. So too is Tucker who id also like to play mid more. With that in mind I think Mundy should go back a bit more. Improves our kicking out of defence when he is there. Logue and Hughes iM not completely sure will play in defence. A new coach might want to utilize their athleticism somehwere else on the ground like wing for Hughes.
Id go with a much better kicking defence of:
B: Wilson A.Pearce Mundy
HB: Ryan Hamling Ash (or Blakely if we dont draft Ash)
I/C Logue (play a bit of ruck and defence when Mundy goes on ball. S.Hill to rotate a bit in defence too.

I think if Mundy is playing less midfield he'll play at half forward like he did in 2018. All the best back lines have played together for many years. They grow as a group over time. I think throwing a guy in there who will retire in a couple of years would just interrupt the development of other defenders and the group as a whole. I'm also a big believer in a back 7 who are solely focused on a tight coordinated defence during games - which is why I don't like a pinch hitting ruck nor a rotating mid coming from the back line group. In game injuries would change this obviously. We also desperately need Mundy's kicking i50 so if we can afford to play him at half forward I expect Hogan will be very happy.

I agree they could try Hughes somewhere else (eg wing) but if Aish is going to play wing predominantly I suspect all of Hughes, Logue, Duman and Carter will continue as defenders. I still expect Aish to spend some time in defence as they move the magnets around trying different configs. People without Hughes in their B22 are probably going to have a repeat of last year where he'll line up Rd 1 again and play almost every game. He got dropped for our Dogs game, we got smashed, and then he came straight back in and we had one of our best wins against Geelong (Hughes had 22d in that game). I just hope JLo gives him a bit more licence to take the game on. He used to tear up the opposition with his run off half back at Peel a few years back but at AFL level Ross seemed to have him on a leash and he often second guessed himself. He'll be a beneficiary of a less over thinking game plan, and of more play on instinct. Think Logue needs some continuity before getting moved all over the shop - the question will be, can we play him, Pearce, Hamling and Hughes all in the same back line? If we move Logue or Hughes around I think we should try it at Peel first.

Agree with Cerra and Tucker not at HB, as they are mids who should probably rotate inside to half forward. I really don't like Blakely at half back. I don't like SHill there either. Nor Conca. I think they are either good enough and injury free enough to play in the midfield or in the forward line or they play at Peel or not at all. As I said earlier, I think the back line needs to be a unit and not have mids go in and out of it all the time. I'd rather one of Duman, Carter, Watson or our new draftees slots in rather than retro fitting a midfielder 'temporarily'. If it's a permanent move there then I'm fine with it (like Jetta at WC).

Side note: Wilson does not have the tank for a wing. I know people think you need speed on the wings but endurance is so much more important. We need him to take the game on more with his run from half back. Similarly with Hughes, Carter and Duman. Pearce should be encouraged to run off his opponent as well. All of them are quick and if they are breaking the lines then our wingers don't need to (win win). I'd rather they took the game on and got caught occasionally than we stuff around with it and turn it over anyway. This year we relied too heavily on BHill and Langdon to run the ball out of d50 (esp. after we got a heap of injuries) - and then wondered why we turned it over in our forward half (prob because they were exhausted from having to burst and then run the length of the field?). Endurance on the wings. Our forward line is where we need speed added urgently (eg Sturt/Henry).

 

[SHill Shall]

In the case of Logue and Duman are you taking the piss? Duman actually surprised me in how well he did some shutdown roles and Logue bar one terrible game showed he could win more of the ball against tall players. Both Logue and Duman were two of the few pleasant surprises from last year considering also how much time Logue has missed with injury in recent years.

Duman was and is rubbish

 

[ilikepotatoes]

Ryan, Hamling, Logue
Aish, Pearce, Wilson

That would be my ideal starting back 6, although sounds like Aish will be on the wing. If that's the case I'd rather Duman take his spot than Hughes or Blakely (as a defender).

 

[eastfreo75]

In order of talls to smalls
Pearce
Hamling
Logue
???????Hughes/Duiman/pick 7 or 10
Ryan
Wilson
???????????Carter/Aish/Pick 7 or 10