Forward line revisited

[Dry Rot]

Now that we've had many excellent training reports, have your views of our likely forward line changed?

Seems Davidson is marginal, Baird unlikely, Morgan and Walsh unknown and both ruckman seemed to be doing forward drills.

Are we now looking at Skipper and the resting ruckman as our tall forwards? And the rest of the forwards besides Robbo and Johnno? Hahn? Smith?

 

[Captain Sensible]

From what I've seen I wouldnt discount Walsh having some sort of impact. Skipper looks to be pencilled in at CHF, Davidson would find it hard to play anywhere but full forward given his mobility but is very capable fitness concerns aside I would place higher than marginal, and Street has been running forward.

Surround those guys with Guido, Johnno, Bubbao, Robbo (wish we had Melbourne's Robbo-he'd be ideal third man in for us) and the resting midfielders like Coono, Griffo et al and we should be able to maintain our avenues to goal.

 

[Dry Rot]

Has Skipper improved and does Davidson look good enough to start Round 1?

 

[OldSchool]

Skipper has improved a fair bit and if we can keep Morgan right he will be able to play there as well. Walsh and K-Mac will also be considered.
We have the flankers and the pockets just need to use this group to cover CHF and FF.

 

[Captain Sensible]

Has Skipper improved ?

Yes but remember he's coming from a low base. Having said that I wouldnt be suprised to see a few 4 or 5 goal efforts from him this year.

and does Davidson look good enough to start Round 1?

Depending on what Eade has in mind yes. He is a strong mark and a good kick but it depends on what Eade thinks of his mobilty and versatility.

 

[Maverick Dog]

Skipper has improved a fair bit and if we can keep Morgan right he will be able to play there as well. Walsh and K-Mac will also be considered.
We have the flankers and the pockets just need to use this group to cover CHF and FF.

My preference would be davidson and grant. I am not convinced about Skipper eventhough he appears to have ablility. My concern is that he closes his eyes when attempting to mark especially in a contested situations. I would give him every chance in the NAB cup with Davidson and whoever comes out on top should be given the chance.

Our mid size fwds are excellent and most play above their height, we just need a tall who take a contested grab who knows where and when to lead.

 

[Mofra]

I don't believe we will ever have a forward structure set in stone under Eade.

3-4 of the six possies will probably be rotated positions; a resting ruckman, running tall (which is probably anything over 188cms for us) and one or two midfielders. A spot also to be left for the player marked by the most damaging HBF to drag them into their backline proper, to try and negate some of the opposition rebounding strength).

 

[OldSchool]

My preference would be davidson and grant. I am not convinced about Skipper eventhough he appears to have ablility. My concern is that he closes his eyes when attempting to mark especially in a contested situations. I would give him every chance in the NAB cup with Davidson and whoever comes out on top should be given the chance.

Our mid size fwds are excellent and most play above their height, we just need a tall who take a contested grab who knows where and when to lead.

MD, Have you seen much of Davidson to have him as one of the preferred CHF options? For mine he is still a fair way off although a go in the NAB cup might be a good experiment. Skipper has been pretty good during the pre-season and I would think he should be given the first crack at a key forward spot.

 

[Maverick Dog]

MD, Have you seen much of Davidson to have him as one of the preferred CHF options? For mine he is still a fair way off although a go in the NAB cup might be a good experiment. Skipper has been pretty good during the pre-season and I would think he should be given the first crack at a key forward spot.

Not hell of a lot, saw the game he did his knee, am relying on some collingwood mates advice on him. Don't think he would be a chf, I would play him at FF and Grant in the pocket and play a mobile hff line of Johno, Murph and Guido. The way we break the lines I am not convinced we require a true CHF, especially at the Dome. Been watching Skipper closely for the past 4 yrs hoping he would come on but apart from the Geelong game has appeared out of his depth. Hopefully he will come on this yr. I believe he may be more suited as a CHB than Forward. I would like Davidson to be given plenty of opportunties in the NAB to see if he has what it takes to step up.

 

[acker]

Maybe big Will rotating Full Forward with Wayde.
We have had a problem with shorter wandering ruckmen in the past like Goode's and White : probably a better lineup for Wayde.
Yet Will probably our major ruck strike weapon also looks like our best bet as a deep power forward.
I'd like to see them both played in combination with Street.

 

[stefoid]

thank goodness someone mentioned chris grant.

 

[Raw Toast]

thank goodness someone mentioned chris grant.

Grant was playing FF on Friday and seems to have been in the forward line most of the time according to the training reports I've read. If we can keep him out the backline and he's in anything like the form of late last season we could be in for an exciting ride...

 

[acker]

thank goodness someone mentioned chris grant.

Let's not forget Chris's early days were around the time of the loss of Peter Foster and the Jakovich aborted experiment.
His debut season got 50 goals, but in the 97/98 glory days he still seemed yippish and overly exited in front of goal. Hence why I think Terry invested in Simon Minton-Connell and James Cook to be in front of goal.
Chris like Peter Foster is good down their occasionally, but maybe not full up.

 

[The_Bulldogs_Bite]

I'd think that we'll see the following guys play CHF/FF throughout the year:
Grant, Skipper, Minson, Walsh, Morgan, Davidson and to a lesser extent Street & Baird.

Grant I'd expect will play FF when it's most needed. He's a champion; period. Champions win games. He'll be there when the pressure's on.

Skipper will get a shot at either CHF or FF, perhaps both. Seems more likely then the rest to step up at this stage. Only really lacks some intensity and confidence in his game. If he can get those up, I think he'll be a serviceable 1-2 goals a game player with a couple of bags of 4 or 5.

Minson could be a real key to the lock here. Not too many guys are able to stand their ground against him. He's very, very strong and he's a decent kick. As a the resting ruckmen, he could be damaging. Be interesting to see how this progresses.

Walsh. Been on the list for a while, and despite being extremely unlucky with several injuries, now is when he has to show something. I'm not talking 12 marks, 3 goals a game. That's way too much to expect which is what some people are probably hoping to see. With Walsh, if he can play between 3-8 games this year and have some sort of impact, whether that be a few tackles he lays, a few strong marks he takes or a few impressive goals he kicks, it's got to be something like that. Depending on circumstances, they may play him FF at times. CHF even. I'm looking forward to seeing what Tim does this year, it's all ahead of him, glad to hear he's showing positive signs in the last couple of training sessions.

Morgan will be a good player if he can STAY fit. If he's able to do so, he'll probably spend some time at CHF playing the "bullock" type of game. He plays it well, he's strong, fast and is good defensively, which is why he's more suited to CHB. Really hope he can stay injury-free all year. He'll surprise a few if he does.

Davidson. Who knows. Could be anything it seems. From some reports I've read and from some training sessions I've been to, he's a hit and miss type. Example; he'll look impressive one week, and the next, not so. It's up to him. He could be very handy playing at FF for us and I think he could have an impact if he can get things together. It'll take time, no doubt about that, but hopefully it all works out for him and the club. Really needs to play FF in the NAB games IMO to get some experience.

Street will probably be seen from time to time down deep in the forward line, but I suspect it wouldn't be too often. Perhaps an 'every now and again' thing. It depends on his mobility around the ground. The more it improves, the more we'll see of him deep in the forward line. He's actually a nice straight kick, so if he can hang onto a few marks then he could be a bit of a wild card.

Baird, although we haven't seen much of, will probably still be tried at CHF. Still needs bulking up a bit, and I wouldn't expect a whole lot from him this year, but he could be a handy player in a few years time. He's got height and mobility on his side, which can be pretty useful. I'd think that towards the end of the year is when we'll see a bit more of him. Has to get settled in first and find some consistent form.