Opinion Currently not enough good kicks in the backline

[Smyth94]

IMO this is a bit of a worry.

Fletcher is an elite kick, our only elite kick of the footy in the backline, god help us when he pulls the pin. Dempsey is a very good kick but no where near Fletch. Hibberd is an OK kick, Hardingham is a butcher, Hooker is slightly worse than Hibberd whilst Pears seems too scared to kick the footy ATM.

If we are to push up into the top 4 over the next few seasons, this has to be rectified. Having Heppell push into the midfield has hurt us coming out of the backline. I would argue that Prismall is a good candidate to play the distributor role across half back, when his confidence is up, he is generally a reliable kick.

Using the Hawks as an example (I see them as the bench mark with regards to skills in the backline) - Guerra, Suckling, Gibson, Birchall, all range from good to elite kicks.

 

[windyhill]

Totally agree. I like Heppell coming out of defence with the ball in his hands, I don`t s**t myself. Hibberd is reasonable, Hardingham, and I love him, but his kicking is look away now type of stuff, woeful. Spot on with the hawks, their recruiting mantra is 1. Can he kick and hit a target ? 2. Can he kick and hit a target ?

 

[SirJimi05]

Good post. These days you need elite ball users coming out of defence with all the zones and presses.

Hawthorn as so good at hanging onto the ball because they have so many players with elite footskills.

We have Fletcher. That's it.

Hird has toyed with the idea of using Jetta as our running back. It would be robbing petter to pay paul but we do need to get some better kicks back there. And as you say, Heppell will eventually spend more time in the midfield.

If you look at our defenders.

Hardingham
Myers
Hooker
Hibberd

All poor to just ok

Pears - Nice kick, hits targets, but doesn't go for penetration.

Dempsey - This season I would put him in the same category as Fletcher but I want to see a larger sample before putting him there.

You really want it to be the other way around, 4 elite users and acouple of ok users.

 

[windyhill]

Just on the kicking side of things , does Stuie Crameri have gridiron hopes down the track ? If so, he is putting a reasonable collection of clips together for his tape/c.v ! How high does he want to kick it ?

 

[Doss]

I get a little nervous every time I see Myers kicking out of the back line. He has a nice kick, but for some reason he does his best to kick into the outer reaches of the stratosphere all too often..

 

[SirJimi05]

Just on the kicking side of things , does Stuie Crameri have gridiron hopes down the track ? If so, he is putting a reasonable collection of clips together for his tape/c.v ! How high does he want to kick it ?

I just wanna know when the oppostion are gonna finally catch on to the fact that he does a Scotty Lucas every time he takes a mark

 

[fishardansin]

Hawks are not a good comparison because they have elite kicking skills all across the park. Pears, Dempsey and Heppell all have decent disposal. Hibberd is ok and Hardingham is shaky. Obviously Fletch is a gun, but we're talking about after him, and I don't really have an opinion on Hooker's.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

Good OP. Fletch is the bench mark. Dempsey is getting there, while the rest need improvement. Heppell distributing off half back more often would be good.

 

[Howard Moon]

always through riemers had good disposal.. if he cracks it for another game could it be off half back?

or is his head to fragile to mind a man ?

 

[SirJimi05]

Hawks are not a good comparison because they have elite kicking skills all across the park. Pears, Dempsey and Heppell all have decent disposal. Hibberd is ok and Hardingham is shaky. Obviously Fletch is a gun, but we're talking about after him, and I don't really have an opinion on Hooker's.

Why is it not a good comparison? It is a perfectly acceptable comparison. Hawks footskills in defence are the benchmark of the comp and it's what all clubs should be trying to emulate.

Have a look at them today when they are under pressure in their defensive 50. Then compare it to how we handle those same situations.

You can only work with what you have but this doesn't mean it's not an issue.

Just curious as to why no opinionn on Hookers disposal?

 

[windyhill]

I just wanna know when the oppostion are gonna finally catch on to the fact that he does a Scotty Lucas every time he takes a mark

True !

 

[Valve Bounce]

I just wanna know when the oppostion are gonna finally catch on to the fact that he does a Scotty Lucas every time he takes a mark

I'd be delirious if he does a Scotty Lucas every time he kicks the ball

 

[ant555]

I would have said across the whole side but i was given plenty of ka ka when i suggested our skill level was not up to standard after the first round of the NAB Cup.
Midfield and half back turnovers will be what stops us from being in the top 4 or 5.

 

[SirJimi05]

I'd be delirious if he does a Scotty Lucas every time he kicks the ball

Unfortunately for us, that is the part which is lacking.

 

[Hirdman]

We are one of the poorest kicking teams in the competition, Fletcher is our only great kick.

 

[Summer Nights]

Don't remember you being given heaps of ka ka, Ant? Posters always claim they were given hell when they made a call some time ago, but the reality is usually far from it, perhaps one or two disgreeing with the the rest agreeing or mute/no opinion. It's always an exaggeration, and it seems lately there's more and more posters trying to prove their knowledge by reminding people of calls they made previously. Annoying? Yes.

 

[Hirdman]

Don't remember you being given heaps of ka ka, Ant? Posters always claim they were given hell when they made a call some time ago, but the reality is usually far from it, perhaps one or two disgreeing with the the rest agreeing or mute/no opinion. It's always an exaggeration, and it seems lately there's more and more posters trying to prove their knowledge by reminding people of calls they made previously. Annoying? Yes.

Very...

 

[ant555]

Don't remember you being given heaps of ka ka, Ant? Posters always claim they were given hell when they made a call some time ago, but the reality is usually far from it, perhaps one or two disgreeing with the the rest agreeing or mute/no opinion. It's always an exaggeration, and it seems lately there's more and more posters trying to prove their knowledge by reminding people of calls they made previously. Annoying? Yes.

Your memory is rather poor then, i got about 20 its only the NAB cup, a few chicken littles, a couple more it was very hot what did you expect and several lets wait until round 1's and was told i was over reacting.

Funny thing is the skill level is an issue.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

I don't see what the skill level of Mark Baguley or Brendan Lee has to do with anything ant. That first NAB game was utterly meaningless.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

What a load of s**t. If people try hard enough they can nitpick anything.

We have the best kick in the league in the backline - Fletcher.

Dempsey is a good kick, as is Hibberd. Hooker and Pears are competent for KPP types.

Collingwood won a flag with Toovey and O'brien in the backline who can't kick. Maxwell is an ok kick. Tarrant is not a great kick. Heath Shaw and Reid are the only two really good kicks in their backline.

St Kilda got to 2 Gf's with guys like Gilbert, Gram, Baker who turn it over more than most.

Josh Hunt is the only elite kick in the Geelong backline. The rest are good or competant.

 

[Summer Nights]

My memory is fine. I just went and read through that thread and I was right. You got one giving you crap, a few respectfully disagreeing, some not disagreeing but reserving judgement, quite a few agreeing but not getting worried yet, some worried and some defending you. You hardly got a lot of " ka ka" for the opinion itself, but it must have gotten to you because you feel the need to point out that you are somehow vindicated now. You have a great football knowledge Ant, but you've made as many bad calls as the rest of us. We all love what you bring to the board but please leave the point-scoring out of it. You'll be respected regardless.

By the way pls let me know what u think of my bro playing for the chargers and give heaps of reps kthnxbye

 

[blitzer]

Totally agree with this we are clearly lacking in our kicking skills from the backline. Fletcher is great, Dempsey is becoming very reliable. Hibberd is OK, maybe a bit better than OK (has good and bad days). Hardingham scares the hell out of me with every kick. Hooker the same. Pears used to be good but is currently very low on confidence and playing poorly in general so its hard to judge. Myers has a nice long kick but sometimes his decision making fails him (I think hes improving in this area). What we really need is a Goddard type in our backline. Our best realistic short term option is moving Heppell back there but that would probably push Hardingham out of the backline and we would lose his aerial marking ability.

Long term I can't help but think that if our key forwards develop in Gumbleton, Carlisle and eventually Daniher that maybe one day we could afford to play Hurley back (I still reckon he's at his best at full back). But that's a long way off and is full of ifs and buts.

 

[lamaros]

I don't see what the skill level of Mark Baguley or Brendan Lee has to do with anything ant. That first NAB game was utterly meaningless.

Yep. And our backline kicking in the first two rounds hasn't really been that bad. What has been bad is kicking into the forward 50 and turnovers giving the other sides easy shots on goals. And our kicking for goal.

 

[SirJimi05]

Josh Hunt is the only elite kick in the Geelong backline. The rest are good or competant.

Come on, mate. Mackie, Bartel, Taylor, Enright and Hunt are so far ahead it's not funny.

If we could get our backs kicking at the level ofthese guys we'd be much better off.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

Come on, mate. Mackie, Bartel, Taylor, Enright and Hunt are so far ahead it's not funny.

If we could get our backs kicking at the level ofthese guys we'd be much better off.

C'mon, Mackie is not a great kick. He kicks so many floaters its not funny. Dempsey is a better kick.

Taylor is better than our kpp's (maybe). Fletcher, Ryder, Hurley(when back) > Geelongs big man kicking. Don't forget Ryder playing ruck and picking up a few possies down back. He's a great kick. Carlisle is a good kick also.

Enright is a good kick. Hibberd is tracking alright in comparison, a few more years and he might be the same hopefully.

Hardingham is our only genuine worry and you have to take his athletic ability into context and live with the fact that he will cough it up every now and then but make up for it with a mark or spoil.

Our second tier in McVeigh (last year)), Dyson are pretty good kicks.