Originally posted by PAfolwr
We usually play Lade or Primus as a permanent forward and Tredders as the CHF. That leaves Chad Cornes as the "third" forward. A job that IMO he does extremely well.
Where he gets judged harshly (IMO) is that people expect him to not only do this job, but also produce "permanent" forward statistics, like more marks inside fifty and more goals.
Hope that makes more sense.
The key to next year, is who Choco will choose as his stay at home FF. It is not by coincidence that Lloyd and Lynch have spearheaded the last 4 premiership teams and have kicked healthy bags of goals in crucial finals.
Tredders is a gem at CHF and kicks more than enough goals playing from this position.
Chad plays his current role very well, but has never really been played out of the goal-square long enough for him to kick bags of goals.
I cringe everytime Mark rotates our small forwards as our FF. They are good at their specialty: being opportunists. Occasionally it pays off against a vulnerable defence to play Shaun Burgoyne as the leading forward, but not against quality sides in finals.
I would really like to see us play a more traditional forward line with someone to regularly "stay at home". The tough question is who?
Patful, maybe down the track. Champion, if he overcomes horrible recurring hammy problems, is more likely to play up the field. Damon White strikes me as a clever forward, but his lack of experience and perhaps strength make him more of a candidate for a HF flank. I think we are down to Lade and/or Primus.
I still feel (hindsight and all) that Jade Rawlings would have been more handy than most people acknowledge. He would have topped us off perfectly.
Damn you Nick Stevens forever, for depriving us of his services.