Preview Changes R6 v Geelong

[Obeanie1]

I know he wasn't in the squad to begin with, but it feels like a missed opportunity for Matt Allen. Would have been good to see what he's got at AFL level. Venables isn't exactly knocking the door down at WAFL level.

Form wise yes.

I really want to see MAllen debut but the selection of Venners was all structure and role based not form based.

Oscar rucks a bit more and opens the forward line up more for JK and Kennedy. Brander has a trot on the wing and provides rotations for any of our kp's. Can play half back on Menagola as they are the same height / running types.

We have a smaller forward line and more pressure.

Better balance just need to turn up switched on.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Thing is with Masten, RE: his running power

If you are going to be a true outside gut runner (which is Mastens role), you have to:

1) be a significant accumulator of the ball. Let me just restate that: you have to be a significant accumulator of the ball.
2) really hurt teams with the amount of ball you get on the outside, and the quality of your disposal
3) occasionally hit the scoreboard
4) apply genuine defensive pressure in terms of tackles (not arm waving)

For mine, guys like Gaff, Lachie Whitfield, Tom Scully (when healthy), and Mark Blicavs are all prime examples of what a true, outside, but running midfielder looks like.

Masten, who averages about 13 touches against a good team, rarely tackles, rarely hits the scoreboard and is good for at least a couple of squib kicks per game.

This is not what someone playing his role is meant to look like (at least, not someone decent anyway)

If he is in the team for his supposed running power alone (which it seems he is), then he is getting nowhere near enough ball to fulfill his role, and applying absolutely nowhere near enough defensive pressure either.

Combine that with very little (if any) scoreboard impact and we have a real problem.

Not that any of this is anything new.

Each to their own, but if running is where he excels I am sure he would be a great fit at a little aths club somewhere in Perth. Lots of running and very little physical contact would be a perfect for Chris, it's effectively what he is doing atm anyway.

That’s a pretty wilfully ignorant post. You asked for an explanation of why Masten is in the side, I tried to give a fairly in depth but still readable answer and you’ve seemingly just discounted it immediately.

Masten’s role, or his status as a good endurance runner, has nothing to do with a Gaff/Whitfield type accumulate and damage role. He’s a defensive safety net. His job is not to get the football 25+ times, it‘s to allow more damaging players to play aggressive football out of the back 50 and get them the football 20+ times. If his role was to accumulate like Gaff or Whitfield, he would have been dropped a year ago. That’s very simply, and very demonstrably, not his job. That’s purely an assumption based on the traditional notion of what someone whose magnet says “winger” is meant to do.

There is a photo I linked you of our Grand Final team setup - we have left one wing empty, Masten’s magnet is back inside defensive 50 with an opponent and Jetta’s magnet is spare in D50. How could you take from that that they want Masten free on the outside and racking up a Whitfield-esque number of touches?

He’s not playing the role you’ve described, and if he was he’s doing it so terribly that no coach in football would leave him in a Premiership team for 30 of 31 games. His job is to run backwards and provide cover for our damaging users who start in the back 50, it’s not to do what wingers did in the ‘90s.

 

[Doughboy]

I just hope we make a good showing...

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

That’s a pretty wilfully ignorant post. You asked for an explanation of why Masten is in the side, I tried to give a fairly in depth but still readable answer and you’ve seemingly just discounted it immediately.

Masten’s role, or his status as a good endurance runner, has nothing to do with a Gaff/Whitfield type accumulate and damage role. He’s a defensive safety net. His job is not to get the football 25+ times, it‘s to allow more damaging players to play aggressive football out of the back 50 and get them the football 20+ times. If his role was to accumulate like Gaff or Whitfield, he would have been dropped a year ago. That’s very simply, and very demonstrably, not his job. That’s purely an assumption based on the traditional notion of what someone whose magnet says “winger” is meant to do.

There is a photo I linked you of our Grand Final team setup - we have left one wing empty, Masten’s magnet is back inside defensive 50 with an opponent and Jetta’s magnet is spare in D50. How could you take from that that they want Masten free on the outside and racking up a Whitfield-esque number of touches?

He’s not playing the role you’ve described, and if he was he’s doing it so terribly that no coach in football would leave him in a Premiership team for 30 of 31 games. His job is to run backwards and provide cover for our damaging users who start in the back 50, it’s not to do what wingers did in the ‘90s.

Yeah but he doesn’t get enough touches.

 

[HoneyBadger35]

Yeah but he doesn’t get enough touches.

Frankly I’m getting sick of him not providing a true marking target out of the goal square, which I’ve decided is his role. And when was the last time he kicked a bag to send a team packing? Drop him.

 

[Obeanie1]

Why are we going so tall again.

Surely we would have learnt to drop Vardy for a runner. Yet we bring in Brander?

Brander can run and run well. Much more versatile. Could take Menagola as a hbf, play wing or any kp spot. Also is somewhat decent in the conditions excpected.

 

[Avalor]

Why are we going so tall again.

Surely we would have learnt to drop Vardy for a runner. Yet we bring in Brander?

You have point. We are just as tall as before really, but we have greater mobility and ground cover, not to mention versatility. So I am ok with those changes. Can we pull it off, well I am quietly confident we can

 

[LittleGreekGod]

I simply dont get this low production role and Masten. Playing off a wing?

If you were asking a player to play a low productuon role it would be great if they were quick and could impose themselves on a contest, lay a tackle or run down someone.

Why not get Vennables, Nelson or Watson to play it? Nelson is supposidly a decent kick when training and has built up his tank. He is quick, hard at it and has mongrel in him. He doesnt suit playing close to goal. And he is about to walk / get the boot because he cant get a crack and instead Masten at 30 is being gifted games playing alledgedly a 'low production role' he physically isnt suited to.

IMO the view on Masten is there are others who could play that role better and add more.

A few years ago I defended Masto a fair bit as we had no better options. That is no longer the case.

What exactly is the role you believe Masten plays?

 

[Godfather32]

What exactly is the role you believe Masten plays?

Chief after-goal celebration artist

 

[Obeanie1]

What exactly is the role you believe Masten plays?

Well previously he's played the more traditional link man winger. Provides a mobile target out of defense for a short pass uncontested. Sometimes he had a ripper game and other games not so much, and then the poor games which every player has, some more than others.

Now I am reading about him evolving into a defensive winger who roles back and covers space behind the opposite attacking wing. Still provides a bit of an out but is covering space more than attacking.

I actually think his attributes dont suit that role. Experience obviously is a big advantage ans is being diligent in playing that role but I just think others could do better and offer more.

Duggan could take that role, Franky Watson and even Nelson. All are much better overhead, faster and can take and lay a tackle. Rotham is another.

 

[Wedgetailed Westerner]

Proving figure09 wrong every week

I was more thinking HT. Never seen a more fitting title of Keyboard Warrior

 

[Wedgetailed Westerner]

If you

Why are we going so tall again.

Surely we would have learnt to drop Vardy for a runner. Yet we bring in Brander?

If you saw Brander play on the wing last couple of weeks then you would no why

 

[bUCKET__]

Yeah but he doesn’t get enough touches.

I personally won't be happy until everyone in our side is averaging over 20 touches a game

 

[PremiershipNo4]

Brander 100% deserved his position in the side based on performance, Venables based on performance 100% did not.
It must be frustrating for other players in the WAFL eagles making a huge effort to see Venables rewarded.
Could Venables be part of the Kelly trade? Introduce him to his new home?

 

[30stm]

Thought last year JD/JK played well when played closer to goal.

Yes they did - love it when JK would cleverly blocked or draw the oppo defender/s to allow JD to take contested marks.

 

[MIKE85]

Looks like Darling doing what he does best. Dropping marks

 

[avishka5]

Yeah Matty Allen stiff I thought. He's a forward turned into a mid and someone that can play Venables role plus more. That said, he's inclusion would have meant another +193cm player in possible wet conditions. He's not as mobie as Brander either.


Looks like DV is getting the preferential treatment that Duggan and Sheed got early days.

 

[30stm]

Yeah Matty Allen stiff I thought. He's a forward turned into a mid and someone that can play Venables role plus more. That said, he's inclusion would have meant another +193cm player in possible wet conditions. He's not as mobie as Brander either.


Looks like DV is getting the preferential treatment that Duggan and Sheed got early days.

Matty Allen also served some time as a defender at one stage in East Perth - so he's doing everything a coach can ask for - versatility.
Needs the opportunity to string a few games to show his worth.

 

[Bleedblueandgold]

Very happy that Brander is in and also one of the rucks dropped. Very versatile player. Just needs to improve his set shots. Hopefully will increase our mobility.

 

[Karim Abdul Yeo]

Very interesting line up. I like it a lot. Fast small forward to apply pressure in DV Petch and Ryan, x factor running machine in Brander who have a big game and no Vardy going with one ruck allowing Yeo sheed shuey and hutch to go head to head with Cats big boys. Bring it on. This could be game of the season.

 

[Bacchus]

Chief after-goal celebration artist

Spot on, that's absolutely his role. I don't know whether I could say he's very good at it but he's certainly very enthusiastic at it. Gives it everything.

 

[30stm]

On the money this Cats supporter

"Cats should win this game comfortably."

"The Eagles are playing overly tall, their rucks and inside mids aren't doing very well and their ball movement is very slow."

"They would have to change things up a fair bit to be competitive, cos their game doesn't suit a smaller ground. Think they will drop one of the rucks or Oscar Allen."

Hope the MC don't fck it up again. Team too tall in wet conditions. If weather is sh!t then take out a tall and add a runner - unfortunately Smith is the only option from the emergency bench.

 

[Hap Hapablap]

how bad is reddens injury, i hope its not barass level

 

[Dylan82]

So Venables for Vardy and Brander for Redden.

I'm not convinced that we are any closer to where I feel we need to be in terms of balance and being able to respond to the opposition.

Substituting a secondary ruckman for a pressure forward when there will still be three key talls up forward for the majority of the match isn't addressing the larger issue at hand. Selecting a key forward-come-outside utility for his third game in place (albeit due to injury) of a midfielder that averaged 10 contested possessions and 5 tackles in 2018 is optimism bordering on foolhardiness, especially when its facing the best tackling team in the competition.

I still believe we need to place far more emphasis upon ground level ball-getters and lose a specialist defender for another arc-to-arc midfielder; am putting something together that will further explain the reasoning behind this later on.


Expecting to see Geelong roll their half forwards through the midfield and create extra numbers at the stoppages, causing us to lose contested possessions by 20+ once again.

On such a narrow ground, I fear their forward press is going to wreak absolute havoc with our style of play.


Hopefully the team proves me wrong.

 

[RookiePick]

I think we are going to cop a smashing. Hopefully we fire some shots on the way down though.