Forward Issues??

[Quicky]

Is anybody else concerned about the preparation that many of our forwards have had leading into this season?? We seem to have a large amount of injuries or other question marks over many of our forwards this year. How will this affect our season?? What are your thoughts on this??

Cloke - One of the few forwards to have completed a good preseason. Looked rusty against WC the other week but should be cherry ripe for the season proper.

Rocca - Heavily injury interrupted preseason and still not in full training. Club says should be ready for round 1 a certain psuedonym for 'we have no clue when we expect him back'.

Rusling - Another heavily injury interrupted preseason. Has taken part in 1 or 2 full training sessions?? Has missed the last few training sessions and seems unlikely to play in the NAB cup game against Richmond. Who knows how his shoulders will hold up this season.

Medhurst - Missed much of the preseason with a back complaint and foot stress fractures?? In line to play some of the NAB cup but can't be anywhere near full fitness.

Dawes - Strong preseason but very poor showing against WC. Rumours this was caused by an injury (unknown to us). Apparently didn't make it through our last training session and didn't look good.

Anthony - Good preseason should be fine to play forward but can't really be expected to cover a key position for us.

Reid - Good preseason. Expected to play back this year.

Macaffer - Good preseason. With all these injuries may well get a chance in the NAB at some point. Can he overcome his height disadvantage??

With all these issues in our forward line I would not be surprised to see Reid get some gametime up forward (despite his seeming role switch to the backline) this year particularly early in the season.

 

[Optimax]

Not really

we have played 1 pre season match and Cloke kicked four and anthony 2 and he played poorly

Medhurst is back to full training, and still has a month

Dawes until this week has looked awesome on the track

Rocca is recovering but will be ready early in the season

Rusling is basically back doing full work we are just being careful with him


More then happy with that

 

[Trojan82]

Didak, Thomas, Davis, Lockyer and even Fraser rotating through there as well.

Not worried in the slightest

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Leigh Brown is always a possibility. I think many Kangaroo supporters were happier having him play forward rather than back, and if the other KP players go down, he will be considered. Or we go with a small forward line. Reid in the forward line is also OK with me in the absence of Rocca and Dawes.

 

[3066]

Guys! ... I just looked outside the sky isn't falling!

I'll take it on face value without reading into anything until the full season starts. What I read is that Rocca and Dyas are the "only" ones coming back from injury and all other systems are go.

At this stage I can not be more optimistic.

 

[Quicky]

Not really

we have played 1 pre season match and Cloke kicked four and anthony 2 and he played poorly

Medhurst is back to full training, and still has a month

Dawes until this week has looked awesome on the track

Rocca is recovering but will be ready early in the season

Rusling is basically back doing full work we are just being careful with him


More then happy with that

I'm trying to be realistic about Rocca and Rusling in particular. It really is a wait and see prospect with Rocca and his output this year is very much uncertain. Rusling too is a concern considering his injury history and the fact that his training is very sporadic. I hope your right that the club is just being cautious with him but who knows.

The problem becomes who plays at full forward this year if these two don't get to full fitness (which is a distinct possibility). The obvious answer is Dawes but i'm really not expecting too much from him this early in his development. I think if Rocca in particular doesn't get back to full fitness full forward could be a problem for us this year. Medhurst is another player that is very important to our forwardline but i'm more optimistic about him getting back to a decent level of fitness.

That said the rest of the forward line sorts itself out so I guess it shouldn't be that big a deal. My worry is that to close the gap on Hawthorn and Geelong everything really needs to fall into place and having so many fitness/form issues over our forward line is not a good sign.

 

[Optimax]

Our forwardline was never the problem with hawthorn our midfield was or should i say is.

If rocca and rus dont get up we need one of anthony or dawes to be in form enough to provide Cloke with help. At our best 2 of rocca, anthony, rusling, dawes etc plus our smalls going through.

But like i said the Forward line isnt an issue compared to the hawks (we can and have beaten geelong) its our midfield that got absolutely smashed

 

[Dave The Man]

Our only problem is that we have too many Forwards

 

[DoubleO7]

What issues? No issues, IMHO.

Now the midfield, well, that is another story. If we sort out the midfield then the forward line will function properly irrespective of the players positioned there.

We will go alright. Plenty of players to rotate to cover potential losses.

 

[Quicky]

Our forwardline was never the problem with hawthorn our midfield was or should i say is.

If rocca and rus dont get up we need one of anthony or dawes to be in form enough to provide Cloke with help. At our best 2 of rocca, anthony, rusling, dawes etc plus our smalls going through.

But like i said the Forward line isnt an issue compared to the hawks (we can and have beaten geelong) its our midfield that got absolutely smashed

Good point about our midfield and the Hawks.

Rocca was playing (all be it getting smashed by Scarlett) in that game. He makes a massive difference to our forward line just with his presence.

I'm not sure Dawes and Anthony will provide the best foils for Cloke this season. They weren't all that good at it last year. Cloke gets too much attention. Rocca or Rusling would make a big difference to this if they get fit.

 

[PieLebo87]

Quicky, don't stress out too much mate. As Rocca himself said, we'd rather he be fit during the business end of the season than now. So in my eyes, he has at least 3 or so months to get himself fully right.

As for Rusling, well we played all of the last year without him. We played pretty much all of the year before without him. So what difference does it make whether he is available or not? Although thats not exactly the point, he isn't as far off as you think, and like Rocca, he has plenty of time to get himself right. These guys aren't midfielders, so general fitness isn't a big deal for them.

Dawes has had a flyer of a pre-season. A bad game at Subi doesn't mean anything. He will be better than last year, and that in itself will be a positive because it means we'll have a solid KP forward.

Medhurst is my only worry. But I'm never suprised about anything that Paul Medhurst can do, because he is simply a freak.

 

[shawthing09]

Everyone bar Rocca is back in full training and we played most of last year without Rocca. As has been said I am sure if there was a need Reid or L Brown would be played foward.

 

[well left]

Our only problem is that we have too many Forwards

That's a myth Dave. Potentially we have too many forwards.

Quicky is on the right track here although I am not saying (either is Quicky I think) that we are in massive trouble. Whist we have a depth of forwards on our list, there is still queries over several of them:

Dawes - Has played 6 games for 5.3. Has shown potential but there is still a significant query over whether or not he will make it as a genuine forward who could kick 50+ goals a season.

Anthony - Had a great year last year but still needs to develop his forward play. I know he kicked 20+ goals in his first year but he will have added attention this year and needs to get more goals in a traditional KP sense.

Rusling - Has shown what he can be capable of but teams have also shown an ability to shut him down easily enough. Significant concerns over his ability to return from injury and develop more strings to his bow, particularly ground level play.

Rocca - Over 30 and coming off injury and restricted pre-season training program. We know he can play but we don't know whether his body will allow him to play at that level.

Macaffer - Untested at AFL level.

I'm not saying we are in dire straits and we are in a much better position than some other sides when it comes to KP forwards. We only need 2 of them to perform alongside Cloke for us to be OK but there are still question marks over our forward line this year.

 

[Heater39]

I'm a bit sceptical about the progress of Rocca and Rusling, both are injury prone and the club seems to be keeping fairly quiet about them both.

 

[Heater39]

Dawes - Has played 6 games for 5.3. Has shown potential but there is still a significant query over whether or not he will make it as a genuine forward who could kick 50+ goals a game.

.

Talk about setting high standards

 

[well left]

Talk about setting high standards

You're probably right. Our midfield would need to improve significantly to give him those types of opportunities and he would still need to kick fairly straight!

I'm guessing I meant season. I have updated acordingly.

 

[gifted1]

Our forwardline was never the problem with hawthorn our midfield was or should i say is.

If rocca and rus dont get up we need one of anthony or dawes to be in form enough to provide Cloke with help. At our best 2 of rocca, anthony, rusling, dawes etc plus our smalls going through.

But like i said the Forward line isnt an issue compared to the hawks (we can and have beaten geelong) its our midfield that got absolutely smashed

in my view our forwards were a major problem in that game, they set up most of their attacks from the back half, we allowed them to basically walk the ball sideways in the back half with zero pressure, then they opened a hole through the midfield at the back of the square and exploded to buddy one on one.
just mentally we've been off against the hawks, no intensity at all, we are more worried about them than playing our own game. its a federer nadal thing, not saying we're the football equivilent of fed though lol

 

[shawthing09]

I actually agree with what your saying well left I just don't think thier fitnesses are an issue.

Long term I am not quiet as confident as I once was and also wonder about possible structures.

Cloke- Pros:Has shown great signs. Has great hands and has a lot of weapons. Has a good strength base and frame. Great endurance. Good hands over head especially on a lead.
Cons: Has played his best footy at CHF where his lack of precise field kicking and decision making hurts. Is still not a shoe in when playing deep as the number 1 foward. Goal kicking an issue when playing deep.

Dawes- Pros: Good size and frame. Knows how to use his size well in one on ones often allowing him to block his defender from the flight of the ball and take it just above eye level or on the chest. Good ability to find the ball at ground level when he drops the mark. Has the willingness and the frame to take the inspirational pack crashing chest marks. Very good field kick.
Cons: Puts himself in poor positions on the ground too often making him a poor option to the ball carier. Reads the flight of the ball poorly. Weak over head.

Rusling- Pros: Blistering pace off the mark. Hits the ball hard on a lead and with good hands.
Cons: Mobility,Defensive pressure, any signs of being good in a contest i.e. relies far to heavily on leading into space needs a lot of space to be effective.

Anthony - Pros: Great conversion, creates chances with good defensive pressure, solid in all aspects of foward play.
Cons: Lacks weapons as such would not be an appealing option to go to. Gets into the space of other fowards. Often cuts in front of leading targets.

Macaffer- Pros: Smart, good kick, solid in all aspects
Cons: Lacks size, doesn't have the pace leap or X factor to compensate for this.

The problem with that is atm we have 2 players who as it stands are more comfortable using their tank and working up the ground to play CHF. An injury prone FF who requires almost the whole foward 50. An as it stands oppertunistic 3rd tall and a medium sized oppertunistic 3rd foward option.

I wonder whether both Anthony and Rusling can play in the same foward line in the near future because as it stands Rusling needs a lot of space and Anthony has a habit of getting into team mates space at the best of time. I also wonder about Caff and Anthony in the same fowardline as both lack the weapons to make them a good option to the man with the ball. Cloke is class and Medhurst will be around for a while yet but from there on in it is a lottery

 

[Dave The Man]

I actually agree with what your saying well left I just don't think thier fitnesses are an issue.

Long term I am not quiet as confident as I once was and also wonder about possible structures.

Cloke- Pros:Has shown great signs. Has great hands and has a lot of weapons. Has a good strength base and frame. Great endurance. Good hands over head especially on a lead.
Cons: Has played his best footy at CHF where his lack of precise field kicking and decision making hurts. Is still not a shoe in when playing deep as the number 1 foward. Goal kicking an issue when playing deep.

Dawes- Pros: Good size and frame. Knows how to use his size well in one on ones often allowing him to block his defender from the flight of the ball and take it just above eye level or on the chest. Good ability to find the ball at ground level when he drops the mark. Has the willingness and the frame to take the inspirational pack crashing chest marks. Very good field kick.
Cons: Puts himself in poor positions on the ground too often making him a poor option to the ball carier. Reads the flight of the ball poorly. Weak over head.

Rusling- Pros: Blistering pace off the mark. Hits the ball hard on a lead and with good hands.
Cons: Mobility,Defensive pressure, any signs of being good in a contest i.e. relies far to heavily on leading into space needs a lot of space to be effective.

Anthony - Pros: Great converted, creates chances with good defensive pressure, solid in all aspects of foward play.
Cons: Lacks weapons as such would not be an appealing option to go to. Gets into the space of other fowards. Often cuts in front of leading targets.

Macaffer- Pros: Smart, good kick, solid in all aspects
Cons: Lacks size, doesn't have the pace leap or X factor to compensate for this.

The problem with that is atm we have 2 players who as it stands are more comfortable using their tank and working up the ground to play CHF. An injury prone FF who requires almost the whole foward 50. An as it stands oppertunistic 3rd tall and a medium sized oppertunistic 3rd foward option.

Good Write-Up

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

Anthony - Good preseason should be fine to play forward but can't really be expected to cover a key position for us.

He was good enough to kick 25 goals in 12 games last year... If he hasn't improved as a player at ALL he could still be on track to kick 45-50 goals this year at that rate.

I don't think you can gloss over him so easily when he has a pretty good record so far.

 

[Dave The Man]

He was good enough to kick 25 goals in 12 games last year... If he hasn't improved as a player at ALL he could still be on track to kick 45-50 goals this year at that rate.

I don't think you can gloss over him so easily when he has a pretty good record so far.

Well if he does kick over 50 Goals he would be just about our best Forward but I agree I see him as a better Defender then a Forward

 

[well left]

I wonder whether both Anthony and Rusling can play in the same foward line in the near future because as it stands Rusling needs a lot of space and Anthony has a habit of getting into team mates space at the best of time. I also wonder about Caff and Anthony in the same fowardline as both lack the weapons to make them a good option to the man with the ball. Cloke is class and Medhurst will be around for a while yet but from there on in it is a lottery

This is quite amusing. We're discussing the same thing in two different threads. I agree with you. I see Rusling, Anthony and Macaffer competing for the same spot in the forward line alongside Rocca and Cloke. Dawes may sneak in but I think we could be a bit top-heavy with Dawes, Rocca and Cloke.

I think we will set up this way:

HF: Didak Cloke Lockyer
F: Medhurst Rocca ?

Thomas and Davis to rotate with the two flankers.

The forward pock is up for grabs.

Can Anthony improve his forward play and complement the other forwards rather than get in their way at times? I think he looked a bit better in that respect against WC.

Can he get goals on the lead or in a pack mark situation? I still think he gets most of his goals in general play or from defensive pressure. We have players like Lockyer and the resting mids that can play that role.

Can Rusling get on the park? I think he can but there must be doubts.

If he can, can he be more than a lead from goalsquare player? If not, I think he will get found out pretty quickly.

Can Macaffer be effective at AFL at his height and playing the role he does at VFL level? Is he too Medhurst-like? I think he needs the opportunity so we can all find out.

We have options but there is question marks on all of them. All we need is one to answer those questions and we'll be OK. If two of them resolve their question marks then we are really laughing.

If all of them do, our VFL team should be very good this year.

 

[ksardog]

i just want to see rusling have a full year at full forward without injury and anthony go back.we can always swing anthony forward if needed but i would like to see our defence a bit stronger.our forward line is fine and having anthony up there is a luxury.with cloke, rocca , rusling and dawes as our tall forwards we shouldnt have to many problems.

 

[shawthing09]

I agree with your post Re: this year Well Left. Rusling and Anthony in particular are competing for that third tall role as you said Dawes would be too top heavy along side Rocca and Cloke. However Dawes and whoever miss out will also be competiting for next in line if Rocca gets injured.

I think there are significant question marks long term.

Will any of our promising young fowards be able to be a dominate deep target? 07 that guy was Rocca and for most of 08 or best deep foward was Medhurst, I think structurally a side is better with a big foward as the deep / go to foward.

Will either or Rusling or Anthony be able to adapt to that third tall role?

 

[Dave The Man]

Will any of our promising young fowards be able to be a dominate deep target? 07 that guy was Rocca and for most of 08 or best deep foward was Medhurst, I think structurally a side is better with a big foward as the deep / go to foward.

That actually a good Question because both Cloke and Dawes seem to be more Lead-Up Forwards then Deep Forwards. Does that mean we use someone like Bryan in the Role or do we trade/draft a Deep Tall Forward or Try and Make Dawes more a Deep Forward but does not sound like it with his big tank