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Courtney Johns

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G

GoDons

Club Legend
Veteran
Feb 2, 2007
2,524
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Melbourne
AFL Club
Essendon
There's been a fair bit of hype in recent weeks as to whether or not he's up to it or if he can play in the same forward line as Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas.

I am of the opinion that it definately can be done and I site Damien Cupido in 2003 as an example this. Damien Cupido kicked 39 goals for the season and Matthew Lloyd kicked 93 goals. Cupido played in the forward pocket and was predominantly a leading forward, similar to what Johns will be should he play this year. Some may argue that Cupido also kicked crumming goals but considering the improvements in our small forward stocks that won't be necessary. It also should be noted that Johns is not far off Cupido in terms of pace in short spurts. I think 2003 proves that you can have two leading forwards in the FP and FF positions. As for Lucas, i think he'll have to spend a lot of time outside or on the forward 50 but considering the length of Scott's kick I don't think that will be an issue.

I would love to see Johns and Lloyd line up side by side and I think it could be very effective.

What do you think?
 
I'd like to see him play with confidence, so putting back to the vfl till he starts kicking bags to justify his place is what I would do.
 
I agree. It can and should work. We just have to move the ball quickly to give the forwards a chance. Brad Johnson last year was the prime example of what can happen if you move the ball quickly into your forward line. If we stuff around indirectly with it too much a la andrew welsh the forwards find themselves completely outnumbered
 

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bossco said:
I agree. It can and should work. We just have to move the ball quickly to give the forwards a chance. Brad Johnson last year was the prime example of what can happen if you move the ball quickly into your forward line. If we stuff around indirectly with it too much a la andrew welsh the forwards find themselves completely outnumbered
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Therein lies the predicament....we are capable of moving it quickly, but not consistently, nor with accuracy.
 
Footylover1 said:
I reckon Courtney Johns can step up this year. He's one that I'll be watching this year! If he can kick around 40 goals for the Bombers, he'll be alright. In my opinion he'll be a star. :thumbsu:
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I think he might be a little way off kicking 40 just yet. If we can get between 20-30 out of him as a contribution, Id say its a step up from last season. At least, he takes a tall with him.
 
Footylover1 said:
I reckon Courtney Johns can step up this year. He's one that I'll be watching this year! If he can kick around 40 goals for the Bombers, he'll be alright. In my opinion he'll be a star. :thumbsu:
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If he kicks 40 with Lloydy and lucas next to him we will be top 4.

We are not top 4.

I want to see someone from Essendon taking contested marks like Lloyd did in his prime instead of lead mark set shot, leave that to Lloyd and let Johnsy crash a few packs and give him license to try take a mark every contest, let him be a bit selfish.
 
Not a Wellman said:
If he kicks 40 with Lloydy and lucas next to him we will be top 4.

We are not top 4.

I want to see someone from Essendon taking contested marks like Lloyd did in his prime instead of lead mark set shot, leave that to Lloyd and let Johnsy crash a few packs and give him license to try take a mark every contest, let him be a bit selfish.
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well said couldn't agree more
 
donsman4eva said:
I really think Lucas will almost have to play as an attacking midfielder if Johns is to play. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, but I don't think Lucas will be fit enough. I would love to be proved wrong.
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I think you're right, Lucas is going to have to push out a bit but I think he's up to it. It won't be quite midfield stuff, it just won't be sitting in the forward 50. I think if Johns plays he will be sitting around the edge of the centre square and drifting around there.
 
Not a Wellman said:
If he kicks 40 with Lloydy and lucas next to him we will be top 4.

We are not top 4.

I want to see someone from Essendon taking contested marks like Lloyd did in his prime instead of lead mark set shot, leave that to Lloyd and let Johnsy crash a few packs and give him license to try take a mark every contest, let him be a bit selfish.
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Lucas should be the man that should be taking the contested marks.
 

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I think Johns is a project player that might take a few more years to develop. We need to be patient.
I would love to see him in a few years with a Dermie type presence around CHF.
At the moment we seem a bit oversizeed in the forward line with Johns, Lucas and Lloyd.
 
I can't believe people are righting cj off after one quiet week. The only way we can compete against West Coast, Freo, etc is to kick goals. We have to take the chance with cj. Even in his bad games he could easily get one goal. The games where he kicks 3-5 will be the games we kick around 20 goals. We must play attacking football this year. Run through the midfield with lovett, stanton, dyson and winders and get the ball in long. In previous years we have stuffed around with the ball and it doesn't give the big guys a chance. If Cj is one-on-one with the opposition's 3rd best tall defender, i back cj.

Give the kid a chance, this is his first full pre-season. We are going to need him to dominate games once lloydy and scotty retires, so give him some quality game time now.

And to me he doesn't seem like the sort of guy that would get motivated to play for bendigo.
 
sausageroll said:
If Johns plays the whole season he should kick atleast 40 goals. He'll surely kick 1-2 goals every week and end up with a few bags of 4-5.
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I wouldnt think so just yet....another year or two and you'd have a case. Hope he surprises us though, but couldnt see it happening...
 
You wouldn't expect CJ to kick more than 40 goals with Lloyd and Lucas in the same forward line. I would be satisfied with a 35+ goal season from CJ.

As the 3rd forward I think we should judge him on his ability to step up if players like Lloyd or Lucas are being held.
 
Smyth94 said:
You wouldn't expect CJ to kick more than 40 goals with Lloyd and Lucas in the same forward line. I would be satisfied with a 35+ goal season from CJ.

As the 3rd forward I think we should judge him on his ability to step up if players like Lloyd or Lucas are being held.
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I see a resemblence to Ryan O'Connor in the way we use him, only being much more mobile. Mightnt do a great deal of damage on the scoreboard, but he'll take a big defender with him and pretty much charges in straight lines like Rhino use to. Id be prepared fo us to hold onto CJ for at least 2-3 years and see how he develops.
 

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Courtney Johns

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