Full Back: Carroll or Spud?

[Tommyneu]

I think that Frawley should take up a permanent spot at full back in 2008. It would be great experience for him, and we are in desperate need of a quality Key Defender. Carroll is just no good at full back in my opinion. What should be the plan? Play Frawley at full back for the entire season and allow him to settle into the spot, or experiment at the start and if he is getting annihilated hand it over to Chopper?

EDIT: Got Chip's nickname confused with his Uncle Spud)

 

[bringbackschwarter5]

Nah Carroll has to have it, we dont want to have a Zac Drawson situation on our hands

 

[cougar000]

I think that Frawley should take up a permanent spot at full back in 2008. It would be great experience for him, and we are in desperate need of a quality Key Defender. Carroll is just no good at full back in my opinion. What should be the plan? Play Frawley at full back for the entire season and allow him to settle into the spot, or experiment at the start and if he is getting annihilated hand it over to Chopper?

EDIT: Got Chip's nickname confused with his father Spud.

Hopefully in years to come he will smash a few fowards and we can call him Smash Spuds, and I think you will find Frawley is Spuds nephew not son.

 

[davey_magik]

I'd start Carroll off in it and ideally let Frawley play but not on the best forward.
Key defenders are an interesting one when it comes to development, sooner or later they have to take the best key forwards but I agree we don't want Frawley getting smashed by the Browns, Pavlichs etc each week.

 

[Theseventhhamster]

I think that Frawley should take up a permanent spot at full back in 2008. It would be great experience for him, and we are in desperate need of a quality Key Defender. Carroll is just no good at full back in my opinion. What should be the plan? Play Frawley at full back for the entire season and allow him to settle into the spot, or experiment at the start and if he is getting annihilated hand it over to Chopper?

EDIT: Got Chip's nickname confused with his father Spud.

If Carroll is no good at FB, how do you explain his great form in 2006? Premature aging?

 

[master bate]

Nah Carroll has to have it, we dont want to have a Zac Drawson situation on our hands

I agree although I want Frawley in the team and to have some experience on good forwards, but I don't want him monstered by Rocca like Dawson was. Last year against the roos he had 5 kicked against him by Corey Jones, but it was good because each time on the lead he was about half a second away and Jones was in hot form so it taught him he has to be just that much quicker (in body and anticipation). Hopefully Bailey can play the delicate balancing act between developing the likes of Frawley and giving the likes of Carroll and Holland a fair show if there form is deserving, but only if they will better than team and therefore better the youngsters around them. In my opinion the only thing worse than not developing young players is handing out free games to the kids when they haven't earned them. Daniher stuck too much to the old, and I would accuse Riley of giving games away but he had no choice because we were practically out of players.

 

[CowboyFromHell]

For the time being you would rather have Rivers at CHB, Carroll at FB and Frawley on the third tall. He can always swap with Carroll if Carroll is struggling.

I agree that he needs to be in the team but do we want to throw him to the wolves in only his second year on the list?

 

[Tommyneu]

If Carroll is no good at FB, how do you explain his great form in 2006? Premature aging?

No need to bite my head off. It was obvious last year that he was struggling at FB.

 

[CowboyFromHell]

No need to bite my head off. It was obvious last year that he was struggling at FB.

Agree, although it wasn't ALL his fault... the midfield were letting the ball get into the backline rather easily last year!

 

[Tommyneu]

Agree, although it wasn't ALL his fault... the midfield were letting the ball get into the backline rather easily last year!

True. Perhaps this year we might actually get within 20 Inside 50's of the opposition.

 

[CowboyFromHell]

True. Perhaps this year we might actually get within 20 Inside 50's of the opposition.

Well it would certainly help out our backline if we did!

 

[dee-molishon]

Agree with most of the posters so far. Carroll as fb should be the go, he had a bad year but cant be all to blame, like cowboy mentioned mid field didnt win enough of the ball last year and carroll's 06 entiltles him to so sort of "credit".

No doubt lil spud will be the future full back, can have him playing on the o'lochlin or tarrant types till him baulks up in 2 years. Then he will have the felxibilty to play on the gorrillas and the quicks ala darren glass, reminds me so much of darren glass!!

DONT FORGET ABOUT MY MAN LYDENN DUNN DOWN BACK THIS YEAR, CHAD CORNES REPLICA SWEEPING ACROSS HALF BACK!!

 

[ausde13]

Is Carroll going to get us to a flag... not to sure he will. As the Cowboy said He and Holland (Rocca) swapping on the number one ff's and Frawley taking next ones down, trying to bring him on as the season goes on.

 

[monoccular]

Frawley has yet to prove himself ready for a KPP defence post - has he bulked up sufficiently??

 

[franjon]

You won't be getting Spud.

 

[Theseventhhamster]

No need to bite my head off. It was obvious last year that he was struggling at FB.

He was struggling last year but it's a hard gig when the midfield is getting smashed. Rivers being injured didn't help either, he makes everyone in defence look better.

 

[saj_21]

He was struggling last year but it's a hard gig when the midfield is getting smashed. Rivers being injured didn't help either, he makes everyone in defence look better.

Good point with no midfield pressure it was hard for Carroll to stop some of the supply and combined with some bad form he had a really bad year!

I rekon frawley should play as the third tall, the only thing that worries me about frawley is he seems slow of the mark. But i hope this is just to do with adjusting to the pace of AFL.

 

[Supermercado]

I'd rather wait until a few weeks into the season before we ran up the white flag.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Frawley has yet to prove himself ready for a KPP defence post - has he bulked up sufficiently??

A little bit, but if you look at the likes of Dustin Fletcher, whose never been very strongly built but has held down FB for a decade, maybe its not that important that he does.

 

[demonfan9]

Is Carroll going to get us to a flag... not to sure he will. As the Cowboy said He and Holland (Rocca) swapping on the number one ff's and Frawley taking next ones down, trying to bring him on as the season goes on.

Is Neitz going to win us a flag?

No, but we'll still have him in the team.

Carroll is our best option now, so we should play him.

 

[Tommyneu]

Is Neitz going to win us a flag?

No, but we'll still have him in the team.

Carroll is our best option now, so we should play him.

With 60-70 goals Neitz may very well win us a flag

 

[melbournemartin]

Carroll for now but try to ease Frawley into it.

 

[demonfan9]

With 60-70 goals Neitz may very well win us a flag

I like your optimism, but I very much doubt that will happen.

If Neitz can play 18 games, I think he is good for 40 goals. If Robertson can play 20 games, he is good for 50 goals.

We'd also be hoping that guys like Bate, Newton, Yze and Davey can snag 20-30 each.

 

[RandB]

Lots of good variations are being suggested.

Personally I think the coach is going to be faced with so many possibilities for trying new players here and there that he will draw a line in the sand and go for something very stock standard. Carroll as FB, Rivers as CHB.

22 weeks is not much if you are hell bent on playing as many players as possible but if we are getting belted then Bailey may start experimenting.

In many ways it is great to have the dilemma of who to play where but for so many possibilities not many of them stand out as absolute certainties for a certain position apart from maybe Frawly and Newton (in future). I still want to see Dunn in either the forward line or half forward line. I dare say he has the assets to perform in defence but his natural ability is handy up forward. The only thing is that so many names have been tossed up for up forward.

Frawly as a back pocket I think.