Remove this Banner Ad

Strategy EXPOSED!

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Heir_Apparent

Team Captain
Joined
May 3, 2012
Posts
325
Reaction score
317
Location
Perth
AFL Club
Collingwood
Clearly this evening demonstrates that having 2 dedicated big men rucks is too risky, doesn't work with the game plan and is ultimately pointless when we have players like Jesse White and Keeffe who are more than capable of helping the fittest no. 1 between Grundy and Witts, atm Grundy is 1 imo.

The freed up player is what will turn the current game plan, very similar to 2010, into generating the same scorelines that we saw in 2010, 2011.
An extra midfielder.

Jolly did it on his own.
Grundy is holding his own, not as good as Jolly yet, but you would back him to break even.
White can and should ruck, he is such a rare athlete, you would want him burning up the opposition ruck surely, smashing his way through packs Leroy style.

Anyway, I just don't think with the incredibly amazing level of fitness of all the teams in the league these last few seasons, that 2 dedicated rucks is ever going to be the most efficient option for teams.

We started the revolution with Jolly solo with Leroy pinch hitting, why change?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
Cloke out of form. Keeffe out of form. Inefficiency with the ball in hand. Fumbling marks in the forward half. Not enough contributors.

These were our issues tonight. Not our ruck setup. Grundy worked well. Witts worked well. If we had a strategy issue, I don't think it was with our rucks.
 
Good call.
I was a bit unsure about this, but tonight confirmed for me that this change needs to happen.
Nothing against Wittsy though who has been progressing really well.
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

Cloke out of form. Keeffe out of form. Inefficiency with the ball in hand. Fumbling marks in the forward half. Not enough contributors.

These were our issues tonight. Not our ruck setup. Grundy worked well. Witts worked well. If we had a strategy issue, I don't think it was with our rucks.
Keeffe out of form? When was he ever in form? His first qrt was ok did he lose form in a qrt?
 
We got smashed in the clearances and were 2nd to the ball or over ran it. Sometime we over used the handball and got into trouble.
 
The only thing that's gotten exposed is that, whichever side works the hardest on the day wins.

Irrespective of the opponent.

I hope Bucks drills this into the players all week.
 
Clearly this evening demonstrates that having 2 dedicated big men rucks is too risky, doesn't work with the game plan and is ultimately pointless when we have players like Jesse White and Keeffe who are more than capable of helping the fittest no. 1 between Grundy and Witts, atm Grundy is 1 imo.

Clearly: How?

Game Plan: Describe

JW & K: Examples?
 
Our midfield was raped most of the night until Bucks finally saw the obvious which I've hated for years.
Jesse White was forced into the game in the last quarter, he is too good not to have running through the middle.
It's a free midfielder and such a waste, it was rare as **** that in 2010 we had 2 rucks.
Game plan this season looks similar to 2010/2011 but the only downfall so far is that we have looked slow even in the games we have won.
We haven't smashed teams by 60 - 80, which with an extra midfielder makes that possible.
 
Clearly our midfield was never on top throughout the game, until the last 15 minutes of the game, when we had 1 ruck.

Game Plan You want me to explain basic zones and structures?

JW and K Jesse mainly, he is a wasted utility. He is priceless, he is the only player on our list that can free up a spot in the midfield, why not use him.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Cloke out of form. Keeffe out of form. Inefficiency with the ball in hand. Fumbling marks in the forward half. Not enough contributors.

These were our issues tonight. Not our ruck setup. Grundy worked well. Witts worked well. If we had a strategy issue, I don't think it was with our rucks.

Perhaps I'm conflating the two issues, but how do you fit in Reid without dropping Witts?
 
Witts has to go.. He is slow and the above is correct our best looking structure is when white is #2 ruck.
OUT: Keefe, Blair, Witts IN: Karnezis, Brown and Fasolo (Sub - Can play either end)
 
Clearly our midfield was never on top throughout the game, until the last 15 minutes of the game, when we had 1 ruck.

Game Plan You want me to explain basic zones and structures?

JW and K Jesse mainly, he is a wasted utility. He is priceless, he is the only player on our list that can free up a spot in the midfield, why not use him.

If we drop Witts and play White as a forward/ruck, what will happen to our forward line? I am no expert but that sounds similiar to 2013 and we all know how that turned out. I think we need to stick with the two rucks and not overreact to a poor loss. IMO the main reason we lost tonight was because we were unable to execute basic skills. Witts did ok and helped to create a couple of goals in the first half.
 
Bucks knows I'm right, I hope.

I cringe when I see teams with Witts and Grundy in same team.
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Bucks knows I'm right, I hope.

I cringe when I see teams with Witts and Grundy in same team.
Bucks knows you are right because you are the heir apparent :rolleyes:

So according to the OP we just need to do the same as in 2010 and the result will be the same as well. Sound reasoning :drunk:

We lost today because of a lot of other reasons, putting up season worst numbers in a host of categories:
Disposals (-45)
Clearances (-17)
Tackles (-22)
Marks (-21)
Clangers (14 more)
Uncontested possessions (-38)

Effort was down on previous games and together with basic skill errors and getting hammered in so many above categories the result was not surprising.
 
I agree with the OP.

Witts doesn't give us enough in the third forward position. Especially when White doesn't give us enough in the 2nd forward position. When Reid comes back, he goes forward, and Witts goes out. Talk of playing both Witts and Grundy when all available is a bit silly.

Arguments to keep both in seem to revolve around getting more of an advantage in the ruck, but my response is a) Witts isn't that dominant in the ruck anyway, b) ruck dominance doesn't actually flow through all that efficiently to scoreboard success, and c) We lost too much around the ground from the ruck position with Witts in there as the second ruck.

Only one of Witts and Grundy can play in any given time. This is nothing against Witts - he isn't far off Grundy's level of output, but we need more from the role he is playing.
 
In isolation both Witts and Grundy are performing just as we want. They doing some good some bad but are improving.

An extra midfielder may have helped. IMO we still would have lost.

We were second to the ball, or fumbled it from perceived tackling pressure, or didn't chase hard enough or tackle hard enough.

But mostly, we can't dispose of the ball accurately, quickly and with penetration.

Aside from the stats, on average, it is obvious we have the worst disposal (including goalkicking) of all 18 teams bar perhaps Carlton.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Remove this Banner Ad

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top Bottom