I think Harvey and Co think Tarrant could play down back and the best way to find that out is in the NAB cup. Harves also mentioned he would be rotated through the middle so he wont spend 100% of the time at CHB. If the experiment doesnt work it doesnt cost us anything.
I actually think we lose quite a lot by fart-arsing around with the team structure;
* one of the best ways to develop the mid-field is to give them a forward structure they can deliver to with confidence. A forward line that has been coached well containing Pavlich, Tarrant and a third marking tall should be an awesome thing for a midfielder looking up and wondering what to do now that they have the ball.
* Tarrant is the archetypal "confidence" player, so time in the position he will play in is critical pre-season stuff for him. Imagine if he gets spanked at CHB, then has to front up forward because of the failure.
* We fail to give the next generation of KP backmen, notably Drum, the opportunity to grab the position and develop into it.
* We fail to give Tarrant the opportunity to play a different role in the forward line which is less dependant on his goal kicking accuracy.
* We don't give the Forward Coach the players who will make up the forward structure in the main season to groom and develop chemistry with.
The only way I would be doing it is if we had a heap of tall players up forward who are fighting over too few positions, or for short periods of play (10 minutes) just because it's the NAB and you don't have to take it seriously. We don't too many quality tall forwards. We have Campbell and Murphy who so far have not been able to fill the third tall role very well.