Filling the Stinger Void

[86Crow]

Now we have lost Stenglein, who do you guys think is most likely to take his role as the tagger/defensive midfielder?

From what i read of Thompson he seems to have a very good defensive side with high tackle rate, but i think he is more of an attacking midfielder who applies good pressure maybe I dont know a hell of a lot about the bloke but it would seem a waste to make a guy who seems to have such high wraps concentrate on an opposition player the whole time.

All i can think of would be Shirley sein as he did the job well a couple of years back on occasions, but he had trouble breaking through this year and im not sure if he would deserve a position in our best 18 on his own merrit?

Any suggestions??????

 

[Stiffy_18]

Shirley

 

[Blue Red and Gold]

Unfortuantly I think it will have to be Shirley, although I think he is the worst player on our list (or any list) we might have to keep him.
Its such a pity though because he doesnt have the ability to punish his opponent either like a Kane Cornes.
I still have high hopes that Mattner might be able to do the job if he can get his concentration levels up. His attack on the footy and his tackling is second to none and doesnt mind to take his player on to create some run.
Fingers crossed anyway I dont think I'll hold my breath though.

 

[86Crow]

Yeah i thought Mattner too, i always saw him as being a defensive type but he seemed to become a lot more attacking this year. That could be good tho as he could attack as well as u say like a Cornes. I had never thought of this until i posted but now i am starting to get worried cos i too dont rate Shirley. Maybe we should look at trying to trade for someone cheap to do this i realy dont rate him but Spriggs is suppossed to have a great engine, maybe he could tag if we got him for sweet F**k all? probably not tho.

unfortunately it seems Shirley will go from the brink of delisting to one of our starting midfielders as a tagger! That really sucks!!!

 

[Portia]

We'll trade you Cochrane for a third round pick

Seriously though, if you draft Monfries, then why not keep poaching Port ideas and give him AFL experience as a tagger? He's got the fitness and could theoretically follow the Kane Cornes progression.

 

[86Crow]

Thatd be handing him some massive jobs that he probably wouldnt be up to. Would give him experience but Judd, Hird, Buckley, these are some class players. Fitness gets you only so far and Monfries lacks the bulk to match it here. I rekon i'd take you up on the Cochrane offer, we need something.

Oh yeah, and we dont even have Monfries yet so you cant rely on the raffle that is the draft to provide these needs.

Anyone else rekon $21 is a reasonable bet for the Crows to win the Spoon on 05? Lets Hope not!

 

[snakebite01]

Thatd be handing him some massive jobs that he probably wouldnt be up to. Would give him experience but Judd, Hird, Buckley, these are some class players. Fitness gets you only so far and Monfries lacks the bulk to match it here. I rekon i'd take you up on the Cochrane offer, we need something.

Oh yeah, and we dont even have Monfries yet so you cant rely on the raffle that is the draft to provide these needs.

Anyone else rekon $21 is a reasonable bet for the Crows to win the Spoon on 05? Lets Hope not!

No way mate. Our home ground advantage is enough to guarantee us atleast 5 wins a year which rules us out of Spoon contention unless we have a really really sh|t list or we have a really bad run with injuries.

We'll be alright. Stenglein wasn't used a great deal in the tagger's role this year compared to other's. We just have to make the whole midfield group more accountable individually and as a group, which is just a matter of how hard they want to work, just look at Brisbane.

 

[- PC -]

Ok I can hear the howls now but if Shirley is our worst player why not try

Bode

I know his disposal is ordinary but his fitness is good .. what about his concentration? He may also learn how to play in the midfield better by following everyone around. Or do disposals come into it as well these days?

Why keep a player because you cant use someone else? I would like to see how Bode goes before I kept Shirley.

 

[Stiffy_18]

Ok I can hear the howls now but if Shirley is our worst player why not try

Bode

I know his disposal is ordinary but his fitness is good .. what about his concentration? He may also learn how to play in the midfield better by following everyone around. Or do disposals come into it as well these days?

Why keep a player because you cant use someone else? I would like to see how Bode goes before I kept Shirley.

Bode doesn't have taggers insticts and he doesn't hold his feet well in contest at times. Something you don't want your tagger to posses.

Imagine 177 cm / 75 kg Matthew Bode tagging someone like Simon Black

If we get Monfries I would strongly consider Porthos' suggestion. I wouldn't mind a tagger like Cassisi for our 3rd round pick though

 

[mymansyd]

We should pick our Best-22 each week and designate a tagger. Shirley should be ********ed off. He is not an AFL-standard player and Mattner isn't in our Best-22 IMO.

Best bets are probably Reilly, Doughty (gulp) or Stiffy (if aerobic capacity can be improved).

 

[Stiffy_18]

OK this is a bit out of left field but what about Jason Torney?????

Certainly better option that Doughty or Mattner

 

[Fudd]

i hate to burst the anti shirley bubble, but when he is actually given game time he can do a job as he has shown on the brownlow medalist, Judd. Dare i say it but shirl has carved him up on the last couple of occasions. same with Camporeale. Shirley will never be a world beater but he gives it his all, and can actualy be useful. To say he is the worst player on the list is a bit harsh, and i dont think any of the other guys suggested for the tagging role have the concentration skills.
The experiment of Mattner as a tagger was a disaster (if Chris Mcdermott thinks he is a tagger, then it must be wrong), he is an attacking player with fantastic tackling ability but he aint no tagger.
If you are talking pure footballing ability, no question robby might not be in the side, but as far as a guy who can do a job within the structure of the side, he isnt such a bad bet. Just my opinion, but i honestly dont think that anyone else will be able to do a better job at the moment. Guys like Reilly, Johncock and Doughty are needed in more creative roles IMO.

 

[Fudd]

OK this is a bit out of left field but what about Jason Torney?????

Certainly better option that Doughty or Mattner

Actually Torney is someone who i hadnt thought of. Not a bad idea at all. Has he got the fitness tho?

 

[- PC -]

OK this is a bit out of left field but what about Jason Torney?????

Certainly better option that Doughty or Mattner

Not as left field as some .. he has the defensive capabilities,body size is ok and he wants to play...I never knew why Ayres left him out..figured he had a back flank sewn up but hey I'm not the coach what would I know

 

[crowie]

What if we could draft Paul Thomas with a very high pick and start him off with this type of role. I know I'm a biased Centrals supporter but he is a Magarey medallist after all, 22 going on 23 yo. I think he is much better than Shirley, Ladhams and co. and definatley worth the risk of a high pick, which isn't any real risk.

Thoughts???

 

[Tyson20]

What if we could draft Paul Thomas with a very high pick and start him off with this type of role. I know I'm a biased Centrals supporter but he is a Magarey medallist after all, 22 going on 23 yo. I think he is much better than Shirley, Ladhams and co. and definatley worth the risk of a high pick, which isn't any real risk.

Thoughts???

hmmm not entirely the worse decision the AFC could make...

Thomas has age on his side, and although ive only seen him in limited games this year, what i have seen i have liked.

If we could snare him late, i'd go for it...would be fourth or fifth round pick!

If we dont i can see Port snaring him, and then him coming on and being a very handy player for them (just to rub salt into the wounds of the AFC as he was a rookie with us!)...

 

[Cap]

OK this is a bit out of left field but what about Jason Torney?????

Certainly better option that Doughty or Mattner

i think you may need to keep that in left field

i really think you are all being way to harsh on shirley - i actually think he will develop - you have to remember that most of these guys are two years behind in development because they were never given their chance.

saying that i am not convinced with mattner however i like the way he carries the ball, something not many crows players do anymore

 

[Blue Red and Gold]

i think you may need to keep that in left field

i really think you are all being way to harsh on shirley - i actually think he will develop - you have to remember that most of these guys are two years behind in development because they were never given their chance.

saying that i am not convinced with mattner however i like the way he carries the ball, something not many crows players do anymore

How much longer are we going to give him to develop? How long has he been on our list now? We even dropped him only to pick him up again and wasted a pick on getting some young blood into the team.
I just think he has had a fair go, yes he has had a couple of good games but we cant keep holding a spot for him hopeing he will come good.

 

[Cap]

How much longer are we going to give him to develop? How long has he been on our list now? We even dropped him only to pick him up again and wasted a pick on getting some young blood into the team.
I just think he has had a fair go, yes he has had a couple of good games but we cant keep holding a spot for him hopeing he will come good.

this is his year to see if he is any good, without stinger he should be our no.1 tagger, i think you will find he will give exactly what we require (that is a tagger)

 

[GrandfinalGurus]

Ok, I am going to throw in a name here and see what it coughs up! Burton as a tagger! I don't rate the guy as a footballer and the AFC seem to like him being around, for some reason he is a favorite amongst the fans, so to apease the masses, why not use him as a tagger? I don't think he is an option up forward when we have so many similar type players ie:Welsh, Jerico, Watts, Hentschell. IMO we need more small crumbing forwards.
I think Mattner is better running off the HBF instead of being used as a tagger, Burton on the other hand would better suited to following a player allday, not much Grey Matter needed for that

 

[- PC -]

Ok, I am going to throw in a name here and see what it coughs up! Burton as a tagger! I don't rate the guy as a footballer and the AFC seem to like him being around, for some reason he is a favorite amongst the fans, so to apease the masses, why not use him as a tagger? I don't think he is an option up forward when we have so many similar type players ie:Welsh, Jerico, Watts, Hentschell. IMO we need more small crumbing forwards.
I think Mattner is better running off the HBF instead of being used as a tagger, Burton on the other hand would better suited to following a player allday, not much Grey Matter needed for that

Flying over the top of the player your tagging isnt how its done I just think he beleives his own press and continues to try for the crowd moment when he should do what he does best and that is run all day along a wing

 

[Mong]

Best bets are probably Reilly......

He'd be my choice. Let him learn and improve his defensive side. I wouldn't limit him to that role, but I'd give him tagging roles at various times. As Porthos said, a young draftee could be given that role too. Port have done it a fair bit recently and I think it is a good way to educate young players. Younger players are usually more receptive to that type of role and are more reliable in sticking to their task as opposed to older players who prefer to run free.


****

 

[MaccasNeighbour]

Anyone who's seen enough of Mattner playing for the double blues would realise that he is a naturally attacking midfielder. He's given mostly negating type roles for the Crows which is why I believe he has not been as good a player for us as he could be.

I think the Crows may need to adopt a "horses for courses" policy when it comes to tagging next year. Amongst all the names mentioned so far: Shirley, Reilly, Doughty, Mattner and Torney - the right one should be chosen for a particular opponent each week depending on height, speed and strength of the opposition midfielder.

 

[Jars458]

I think Torney is the man. A defender at heart that can still find plenty of the ball

I also think Paul Thomas would be worth a punt with a late pick. He is really hard at it and would love a second chance. Follow Ports lead a la Mahoney.

Burton and Reilly are both attakcing players and should be used as such.

Shirley will be our go to man if no other option can be developed.

Out of triple left field - Ben Hart!

 

[MaccasNeighbour]

Out of triple left field - Ben Hart!

Tell him he's dreaming!

In the few games Benny played this year the Adelaide defence looked so much more stable, I couldn't imagine him playing anywhere else. Having said that, he's the sort of guy that probably could play any position on the field.