Fantastic Drafting

[KEP62]

If anyone can give an opinion as to why we recruited Longmuir I would love to hear it

 

[kane249]

If anyone can give an opinion as to why we recruited Longmuir I would love to hear it

He's done a good jobs in the last few years in developing Fremantle's kids, that and he will partially replace Broadbridge as well

 

[Eastern Rangers]

You mean John Anthony and Faulks, yeah they have definitely filled our KPP stocks, A new forward and a replacement 22 year old for Taz. Plus upgraded Snos, KPP stocks are doin fine.
I look forward to seeing Masten and Ebert and Selwood (what a draft) improving, finally.

Well if Masten gets on the park who knows. The other two are always improving, especially Selwood.

We did well we picked up another high end midfielder and two KPP's in areas we lack depth.

Upgraded Strijk, Stevenson and Wilson and still have Hams to be elevated. Now with our KPP stocks all but soughted we can concentrate on our midfield and smalls allot more.

I like Wilson in the PSD. Can release others like Smith, Sheppard and Stevenson into more offensive positions.

 

[shoe]

Oh my. That's what I get for posting stoned.

 

[BOND 007]

I thought you did very well with 3 different types, 1 absolute gun mid that with Shuey will be in the thick of it for years, 1 Forward that might be anything (still not sold) and 1 very good ruck.

But......(spray jacket on) you needed more mids that can kick, and while you did very well with what you got, as far as needs go, you needed fast line breaking mids and really, you got none. So as far as you guys cleaning up.......I'm not sold.

It is quite irritating to read these such comments written as regularly as they are as it shows a lack of understanding not only of the WC squad but indeed football in general.

First of all WC are NOT deficient in terms of players who have got good pace. Smith, Sheppard, Shuey, McGinnity and Swift all have above average pace whilst Masten, Kerr and Scott Selwood have pace thats more than adequate.

No the problem at WC is the above mentioned players are not getting regular games in the centre as Worsfold prefers the likes of Adam Selwood, Priddis and Ebert who are all slow.

Second - it is a misnomer to suggest you need line breaking mids to be successful. Collingwood's quickest players through the centre are Thomas and Swan, and neither have electric pace yet they won a GF. SK have played in 2 GF's and were a bees dick off winning one and I would suggest that Hayes would be their quickest player and he's no Stawell gift runner.

When looking at Freo this year, sure Hill and Morabito look like players with an excellent future, but their season when turtle when Barlow went down and he's hardly in line for a sprint medal.

So this concept about needing line breaking mids to be successful is just bollocks. What teams need are mids who are capable of WINNING the ball AND delivering it with ACCURACY. All good teams have at least 3 of these players and when WC find this number they will regain a place towards the top of the tree, given their fwd and backlines are certainly looking to have good potential

WC have shown they are quite capable of winning congested ball, what they need are players who can deliver it - in other words can kick. The introduction of Kerr, Shuey and Gaff should fix that problem

 

[westcoastin]

Good points Bondy, but as supporters we also like to watch an exciting brand of premiership footy. A clinical display can obviously be a very effective way to win a premiership but a bit of zing can be more aesthetically pleasing to the eye (hence the strong desire for x factor players).

Hopefully our young brigade will bring a lot of dash out of the middle in the coming years providing us with a plethora of highlight reels combined with the ultimate success of a premiership or 3... or 4.... in a row...

 

[WCEforeverman]

If you look at our drafting since 2007 we have added quite a lot of pace. Bond is right in suggesting that it hasn't been utilised by playing our quicker mids in the midfield for sustained periods of time.

Shuey, Swift, Smith, Shepperd and even Gaff have good 20m sprint times.

The problem is we are not working as a cohesive midfield . We aren't blocking to create space or talking to players and we have been handballing to flat footed players.

These plus our poor disposal in general, lack of awareness and slow decision making are making the team appear slow.

 

[paran]

Agree with the gist of your post 007, but do disagree wrt line breaking mids. This doesn't mean fast, it means guys running through lines. Wrt to StK, this is Goddard, Montagna, and even Gilbert to an extent - guys who run through the midfield carrying the ball. I think Subi suits players like this.

 

[BOND 007]

Agree with the gist of your post 007, but do disagree wrt line breaking mids. This doesn't mean fast, it means guys running through lines. Wrt to StK, this is Goddard, Montagna, and even Gilbert to an extent - guys who run through the midfield carrying the ball. I think Subi suits players like this.

This doesnt refer to pace - it refers to ball carrying and disposal ability. In fact none of the guys you mentioned are actually quick - what they are, are players who have the strength to break tackles run the necessary distance and dispose of it to the teams advantage which is generally over or around the zone.
(IMO to a certain degree the 3 players mentioned are also made to look good simply due to the aerobic capacity and marking strength of Riewoldt).

In fact the fastest player at STK is probably Peake and he's only got a guernsey there because he has some tow in a team basically made up of pretty pedestrian midfielders.

Gnerally you can split players can be split into 4 categories of descending importance.

1) Have good pace and a precise kick (i.e. Judd, Ablett)
2) Kick with precison but lack pace (i.e. Cousins, Mitchell)
3) Have good pace with little kicking skills (i.e. Peake,)
4) Can neither kick nor run at pace (i.e. Priddis)

Obviously you can split within the rankings (for instance Stephenson can run fast and kick well but he is neither as fast nor as good a kick as Ablett) but in general I know recruiters categorize players as such.

What then is apparent is that teams whose midfielders are regarded as categories 1) or 2) generally occupy spots at the top of the ladder, whilst those whose midfielders are rated 3) or 4) are at the bottom.

If one was to split current WC midfielders according to these categories I would think it would look like this

1) None although Shuey, Sheppard, Smith and Stephenson show signs they may comply
2) Kerr, Strijk and Butler with potential of Scott Selwood
3) Houlihan
4) Ebert, Adam Selwood, Priddis, Dalziell, Rosa, Waters

Note
-- I havent ranked Stephens as he hasnt played enough games to tell although preliminary thoughts indicate his kicking is OK at best but he's on the slow side - so category 2 at best.
-- I am not sure where Masten fits - His kicking varies between beautiful and awful and his pace is on the faster side of OK without being great.

In a nutshell, pace is overated. A team full of Strijk's is likely to win most games whilst a team full of Peake's are likely to win none

 

[placebo]

Ah Bond...Strijk does not lack pace. Nor does Kerr.

 

[BOND 007]

Ah Bond...Strijk does not lack pace. Nor does Kerr.

Its very subjective I know but Kerr is certainly not at the pace level of Ablett and neither is Strijk

 

[placebo]

Possibly not, I just think 'lacking pace' is the wrong way to put it.

But no biggie, I get what you mean.

 

[eagles rule]

I thought Cousins had reasonable pace and was pretty quick over afew metres.

 

[paran]

Bond, agree with the theory to an extent though it's incomplete, but very subjective application. How does a guy like robert Harvey fit in? Not fast, but he never got tackled. Rosa has a good kick, and has "pace", but he doesn't win his own ball or have evasiveness - where do these factor in? Does pace mean acceleration? I get the feeling we're arguning different points, and I agree that straight line speed on its own does not mean squat. Line breaking is a different thing though, and this we do need. It's guys who receive, run and carry, who burst through. Daniel Kerr is one, Embley was in his prime able to do this, Cuz could, Juddy definitely. I saw Scooter do it a couple of times this year. It's more a burst thing, or rather being able to get the ball at full speed and break away from the congestion (i.e. Goddard).

I definitely agree that playing a midfield of Kerr, Swift, Shuey, Masten would provide much more quick ball than what we're currently doing, so that is there, but that is achiever by hand and foot, and I think an element of run and carry is required.

 

[Prem87]

People confuse pace with dynamic ability. IMO it is the ability to generate power when running (especially from a stoppage) and this, rather than pure pace is the most desirable trait in midfielder. Cousins Judd Kerr Ablett are all dynamic even though Judd is the only one with pure pace.

Strijk, Shuey, Swift, Smith, Scott Selwood and even Masten have this trait.

 

[Winky]

I thought Cousins had reasonable pace and was pretty quick over afew metres.

He was! He may have given a different impression at times but that was mainly due to the fact he had probably run the length of the gield flat out and then had to run again to do the team thing and help someone else out.

 

[sydney eagle]

He was! He may have given a different impression at times but that was mainly due to the fact he had probably run the length of the gield flat out and then had to run again to do the team thing and help someone else out.

Cousins terrific endurance tended to overshadow his pace, which seemed to be good in bursts. He could run all day at a higher sustained pace than most of his opponents, but still seemed to have a burst of pace for when he needed it.

 

[PRANKSTER666]

Am watching the full replays of the U18 carnival games thanks to TradeDraft:

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=782672

Interestingly the commentating team (Pickering, Campbell, Shifter etc) during one of the games did an early Draft prediction:

At that point, half way through the carnival they had:

Lycett at 5 to GC
Gaff at 6 to WCE
Darling at 10 to Melb
Wilson at 14 to Bris

Its amazing how quickly players can fall out of favour...

For the record the top 15 was:

1. Swallow
2. Bennell
3. Day
4. Gorringe
5. Lycett
6. Gaff
7. Polec
8. Harper
9. Cook
10. Darling
11. Atley
12. McCarthy
13. Parker
14. Wilson
15. Pitt

 

[Eastern Rangers]

Its very subjective I know but Kerr is certainly not at the pace level of Ablett and neither is Strijk

Id have to disagree.

Ablett has above average pace but it's his agility that's his greatest asset.

 

[Mattman93]

Id have to disagree.

Ablett has above average pace but it's his agility that's his greatest asset.

Yep, agreed. In a straight line Kerr could probably match Ablett I reckon.

 

[larrikin]

Yep, agreed. In a straight line Kerr could probably match Ablett I reckon.

I think Kerr would be quicker

 

[adagio]

Am watching the full replays of the U18 carnival games thanks to TradeDraft:

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=782672

Interestingly the commentating team (Pickering, Campbell, Shifter etc) during one of the games did an early Draft prediction:

At that point, half way through the carnival they had:

Lycett at 5 to GC
Gaff at 6 to WCE
Darling at 10 to Melb
Wilson at 14 to Bris

Its amazing how quickly players can fall out of favour...

I watched the first quarter of the WA v VM game yesterday and honestly I am still an awe that we got Wilson in the PSD. His kicking alone makes him a star - elite with decision making and execution on either side, short or long. For a team with disposal issues such as WC, he'll be an absolute beauty.

Darling stuck out too, the guy is just a battering ram every time he goes near the ball. The guy definitely doesn't lack for pace either.

Gaff hasn't stood out to me much so far, but I have a sneaking suspicion he'll come to the fore in the second half.

 

[Masto]

I watched the first quarter of the WA v VM game yesterday and honestly I am still an awe that we got Wilson in the PSD. His kicking alone makes him a star - elite with decision making and execution on either side, short or long. For a team with disposal issues such as WC, he'll be an absolute beauty.

Strange comment. Keiran Harper was far too agile/quick for him and made him look pedestrian. Besides that he was nearly invisible for most of the game.

 

[adagio]

Strange comment. Keiran Harper was far too agile/quick for him and made him look pedestrian. Besides that he was nearly invisible for most of the game.

Like I said, his kicking alone makes him worthy of being drafted in the real thing. That's how good his kicking is.

On hearsay he's usually he's a pretty reliable and courageous defender. I don't think anyone could have stopped Harper that day, not much you can do about flukey goals from the boundary.

 

[Obeanie1]

Yep, agreed. In a straight line Kerr could probably match Ablett I reckon.

Could have .......... before his major hammie injury.

It will be interesting to see haw hard and fast Kerr can push himself after this injury. He may need to back off on using explosive pace and dish the ball off quicker by hand or foot instead of trying to burn off opponents and run away from the pack.

OH, and on Bonds 4 types of mids I think there is two more, the mega endurance gut runner which is the Cousins type who can kick and the Houlihan / Dalziell who struggle with their kicking.