Bigman’s Training Reports

[Jarman3]

I'm not convinced the club believes the midfield is a weakness

Nah, it's pretty stacked, actually...

 

[Golumless]

The other with the recruitment of Ah Chee it will put more pressure on the likes of Pedlar, Cook etc.

No more Murphys or McHenrys in the wings.

It's not like pressure has done anything to help them in previous years. Neither have been walk up starts for long in their career, and you are either a best 22 player or under immense pressure to break the best 22 in this game.

 

[LoBu]

The club is always looking to get better at the right price that benefits us, which was the case for all those players

I'm not sure they think the midfield is a weakness that needs immediate fixing to the point they had to secure those deals. Their actions say they think our current midfield is good enough that they don't need to go above and beyond to secure more midfield talent

I pretty sure the club has identified that we are an extractor short - on the back of Crouch getting injured and retiring, putting Laird in the midfield, and going hard for Sharp - I've heard from someone directly in the trade room that he was 'exactly what we needed', and that they went very hard but Essendon weren't budging.

What was unfortunate was that they couldn't get the deal done, and we have to wait another year without a bona fide inside extractor type.

And then we may end up with Sanders, who may be good, or Zac Bailey, who is proven.

 

[Tex Danger]

I pretty sure the club has identified that we are an extractor short - on the back of Crouch getting injured and retiring, putting Laird in the midfield, and going hard for Sharp - I've heard from someone directly in the trade room that he was 'exactly what we needed', and that they went very hard but Essendon weren't budging.

What was unfortunate was that they couldn't get the deal done, and we have to wait another year without a bona fide inside extractor type.

And then we may end up with Sanders, who may be good, or Zac Bailey, who is proven.

I wonder if we traded pick 8 from Carlton ( pick used on Sharp in the end I think) if we would when fit him

Ess traded less for that that we were ultimately offering them some absolutely could have got it, but would have been at higher risk with not knowing Sharp was on the board

I get the impression though that if that happened Essendon may well have picked him in their earlier picks and letting him slide was in large part because they knew he would get there and the others would t

 

[WaynesWorld19]

The club is always looking to get better at the right price that benefits us, which was the case for all those players

I'm not sure they think the midfield is a weakness that needs immediate fixing to the point they had to secure those deals. Their actions say they think our current midfield is good enough that they don't need to go above and beyond to secure more midfield talent

Then why did we offer this and next year's 1st round picks to go up the Draft Board .....it certainly wasn't to get a non-midfielder

IMO it clearly demonstrated intent on getting a MID ....so there is an acknowledgement re the midfield

 

[Fud#3]

Did you see Nicks strange coaching tactics in the Finals???? Maybe he wouldn't have done those stupid decisions had Rankine not been suspended and Dawson's foot trouble him more than we first thought but on form he probably would still done them.

I went to all home games this year, including both finals, so I saw it all.

Smashed in the mids during finals, us winning almost all home games, Curtin to the wing, Rankine playing mostly mid all year, Murphy brought in to tag Jaicos in our drought breaking win over collingwood, wins over the suns, lions, hawks.

What mid moves would you have made during the finals?

 

[Fud#3]

This is true, but in the end we didnt end up with any of the others.

Im glad we had a go but if they go into the same personnel in the starting midfield next year, or R2 when Rankine returns, we know they havent learnt a thing

So if it's not not starting with Dawson, Rankine and Soligo, who shoud it ?

 

[Fud#3]

The club is always looking to get better at the right price that benefits us, which was the case for all those players

I'm not sure they think the midfield is a weakness that needs immediate fixing to the point they had to secure those deals. Their actions say they think our current midfield is good enough that they don't need to go above and beyond to secure more midfield talent

You think it was better to trade 3 top 10 picks to GC and contract Petracca for 5 years on $1.5m? Would that have sent the right message that we thought our mids needed improcement?

 

[daniel_4tw]

You think it was better to trade 3 top 10 picks to GC and contract Petracca for 5 years on $1.5m? Would that have sent the right message that we thought our mids needed improcement?

Not trading for Petracca was the right call. If he was 26? Sure. But the capital and salary for someone over 30 and questionable injuries is Carey level crazy.

Sharp was the one that got away IMO. We went hard so can’t blame the club but it just feels we were so very very close and think we’ll be talking about it for another 10 years.

 

[Scorpus]

You think it was better to trade 3 top 10 picks to GC and contract Petracca for 5 years on $1.5m? Would that have sent the right message that we thought our mids needed improcement?

I think Gold Coast overpaid, but Gold Coast also have a better midfield than us and thought their side needed strengthening at that price.

But it's not just him, many midfielders moved clubs, including some for basically no trade value (Oliver, Steele). Not saying a guy like Steele is a game changer, but we literally added no one instead of pursuing a guy like him for a 3rd round pick, so clearly we are comfortable with what we've got to a significant degree

 

[Scorpus]

Then why did we offer this and next year's 1st round picks to go up the Draft Board .....it certainly wasn't to get a non-midfielder

IMO it clearly demonstrated intent on getting a MID ....so there is an acknowledgement re the midfield

They were risk averse making that move. They only wanted to do that deal when it was confirmed the player they wanted was available, and their offer was pretty bad all things considered (our first round pick this year was 21 and we wanted Essendon's presumably high second round pick in 2026 back).

If they were absolutely set on improving the midfield we would have beaten Essendon in the race for Carlton's pick in the first place, taking a risk Draper would not be available. Remember that Essendon only handed over picks 21, 27 and 30 for pick 9 - our two firsts were worth more than that.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

They were risk averse making that move. They only wanted to do that deal when it was confirmed the player they wanted was available, and their offer was pretty bad all things considered (our first round pick this year was 21)

Makes complete sense to only do a deal, when you know your targeted player is still available ......to do otherwise is plain stupidity

 

[maxlilly]

So if it's not not starting with Dawson, Rankine and Soligo, who shoud it ?

I think everyone is hoping Dan Curtin can transition into the midfield in a big way this year.
I reckon Zac Taylor is one of the smartest players we have to play in at the CBA
And I like the traits that Pedlar brings into the CBA's as well.

Hopefully those guys can get a bit more of a run in there this year and see if we can improve

 

[Scorpus]

Makes complete sense to only do a deal, when you know your targeted player is still available ......to do otherwise is plain stupidity

It also means paying more at the trade table and having to deal with a club that doesn't necessarily want to trade the pick. Of course it makes sense if you don't want to take a risk, but low risk = higher price

 

[Coopers]

I think everyone is hoping Dan Curtin can transition into the midfield in a big way this year.
I reckon Zac Taylor is one of the smartest players we have to play in at the CBA
And I like the traits that Pedlar brings into the CBA's as well.

Hopefully those guys can get a bit more of a run in there this year and see if we can improve

Yeah, but he's 21. Or not even?

"Grand final bound if a 21 year old plays out of his skin" is not really something I'm comfortable with the coaches betting the farm on.

There's got to be a better plan here than just that.

 

[maxlilly]

Yeah, but he's 21. Or not even?

"Grand final bound if a 21 year old plays out of his skin" is not really something I'm comfortable with the coaches betting the farm on.

There's got to be a better plan here than just that.

Well we have tried plan A, plan B and plan C, I don't think we have many other options left.

I know it feels like a leap of faith to give the youngsters a go but I feel these guys are our best bet going forward.
Along with Rankine, Rachele, Soligo and maybe Edwards

Nicks has been here 7 years and we are still at stage 1 of getting a competitive midfield together.
I am not sure our coaches are any good at identifying players strengths and where best to play them and then have a game plan to use their strengths

 

[bigman]

Hey everyone, I did attend training but I’m tied up most of the day so might need to wait into early tomorrow to give a report.

Was a good session but nothing especially notable. Sid came out to do some light running which was good to see. Fog and Rankine were back in the main group. Pedlar copped a knock in match sim.

I’ll post something much more detailed tomorrow!

 

[50BC]

So if it's not not starting with Dawson, Rankine and Soligo, who shoud it ?

When I played ( shortly after dinosaurs went extinct) we talked about centremen, Rovers and Ruck Rovers. The last 2 positions have evolved and changed significantly in modern football but Centremen is still a required role, even if you call it " inside bull" or "extractor". Winning the clearance count/ contested possession count may not be the be all it used to be but it's still important. None of Dawson, Rankine or Soligo really fill that role. They are different kinds of midfielders, we need a type like Berry( but better) to balance the midfield group.

 

[Fud#3]

Well we have tried plan A, plan B and plan C, I don't think we have many other options left.

I know it feels like a leap of faith to give the youngsters a go but I feel these guys are our best bet going forward.
Along with Rankine, Rachele, Soligo and maybe Edwards

Nicks has been here 7 years and we are still at stage 1 of getting a competitive midfield together.
I am not sure our coaches are any good at identifying players strengths and where best to play them and then have a game plan to use their strengths

if we are only at stae 1 of getting a competitive midfield, we might go through the first 24 rounds of the season undefeated once we get one

 

[Fud#3]

When I played ( shortly after dinosaurs went extinct) we talked about centremen, Rovers and Ruck Rovers. The last 2 positions have evolved and changed significantly in modern football but Centremen is still a required role, even if you call it " inside bull" or "extractor". Winning the clearance count/ contested possession count may not be the be all it used to be but it's still important. None of Dawson, Rankine or Soligo really fill that role. They are different kinds of midfielders, we need a type like Berry( but better) to balance the midfield group.

But we didn’t in the finals...so I'm not sure what else Nicks could have done other than trying Berry (didn’t work), Peatling, Laird and Taylor (the last 2 looked reasonable).

 

[bettingonbetts]

Hey everyone, I did attend training but I’m tied up most of the day so might need to wait into early tomorrow to give a report.

Was a good session but nothing especially notable. Sid came out to do some light running which was good to see. Fog and Rankine were back in the main group. Pedlar copped a knock in match sim.

I’ll post something much more detailed tomorrow!

Great to hear about Sid