Preview Geelong vs North Melbourne - Sun April 18 @4:40

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Shadow89

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Scott has more information than us so Dahlhaus plays. Enough enough!
But really why not help him out and give him a 10 minute run in the midfield to break things up for him a bit?
Why no melts over Stanley and kolo?
Those two .....
There's too many plebs for me to melt over all of them at once, haha.

Kolo, Dahl and Stanley should be counting their lucky stars that they have no cover for their spots at this point in time. Would be out on their ass in any other team.

Clark out really annoys me though...especially after they played him out of position, and there was that whole article about how he was never gonna leave us and how he loves it here. Bet he's rethinking that now...
 

Shadow89

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We currently have all of these players picked by either Enright, Scarlett or Scott, in the side for their defensive attributes or 'defensive pressure' -

Kolo, Blics, Tuohy, Dahlhaus, Henderson, Rohan, Close, Parfitt, Atkins, Bews, Stewart, Henry, Menegola (defensive wingman).

O'Connor still to come back in, and an attacking player like Clark having all his weapons taken away, by being played as a pressure forward when he does get his chance.

I've enjoyed our balance in the past between attacking and defence, but jeez, it's starting to get a little lopsided the other way now. Take out the key forwards in our Best 22, and only Danger, Guth, Simpson, Smith, Duncan and Selwood could be considered 'attacking' players. How exactly are we meant to have any sort of flow or speed on the game, if all we're focused on is protecting the ball and our defence, rather than actually taking it on with flair and excitement.

Close staying in is nice, but I fear even he will get dropped if he doesn't 'apply enough pressure' up forward.

I've been skeptical in the past of the criticism around our game plan, but I really am starting to see this pattern emerge where the players who get dropped up forward and down back - are attacking players with a less defensive mindset -, and those who stay in - are those with a purely defensive mindset.

I did find it odd at the time having Enright as our forwards coach, but understood the game was heading towards that forward pressure game - which his defensive mindset assisted in. Now that that's gone out the window with the new rules/longer quarters/less interchanges opening up the ground for attacking teams, I fear that he might be actually impeding that attacking mentality that we need, in order to compete with the best teams.

For mine, I would drop Kolo, leave Henry in his place as he's more attacking, have Clark in, only use O'Connor as a tagger when it's absolutely necessary - Fyfe, Dusty, Bont etc., and free up players to use natural attacking flair - rather than lock down on their man constantly.

Ironically, it's getting very hard as a supporter, to defend these sort of decisions week in, week out, from the club/coaches.
 
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Shadow89

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Think he’s been pretty average tbh.
If fit is he even best 22? Not convinced Clark is

Well to be fair...it's not like he's even been given a chance, as we're not playing him in his natural position that he was drafted in - and looked like a superstar in. Even playing him on a wing nullifies those talents, as it doesn't allow him to read the game from the back end of the field, and rebound ala Ash for the Giants, Short for the Tiges, CJ for the Hawks, Saad for the Blues etc.

Really wish we had that 'ask the coach' thing they had a couple of years back, as it's the one question I'd like answered more than anything - why do we play players out of their natural positions, and ultimately stunt their natural growth? They've played in these positions all their underage career, than we draft them and we decide that they need to play elsewhere to fit others in. It's just maddening, and it's a serious issue for us over and over again.
 

ShaunWDT

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I love Clark as a player but hes done next to nothing all season cant be gifting games on raw talent, 15 touches a game from a 3rd year player isn't enough going back to the VFL and finding some footy and confidence will do him good.
 

Ratcat

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I can't believe they actually pick a tall CHF l can't believe it, but noticed Dalhaus is still hanging around that l find amazing and the kids get chucked.
Typical Scott.
 
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Pretty incredible that realised they needed a running half back after the Grand Final, and lobbed for Atkins over Clark.

I mean these guys do this for a living, it is just mind blowing to me some of the decisions.
I offer this as an explanation,it's a team game run to a strict game plan and ours is to push our forward high up the ground and flood the oppositions forward 50,there we hopefully regain control of the footy and painstakingly work it out of defence giving time for the forwards to get back and re organized in their own forward half,with such a vanilla and defensive game plan the quick break from the backline will see players like Clark devoid of options in front of them,it's sort of like he's an odd man out in his environment so might just as well play safe leave him out and go with another defensive turtle that won't lookout of place.
That's my only take on it.
 
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ShaunWDT

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I offer this as an explanation,it's a team game run to a strict game plan and ours is to push our forward high up the ground and flood the oppositions forward 50,there we hopefully regain control of the footy and painstakingly work it out of defence giving time for the forwards go get back and re organized in their own forward half,with such a vanilla and defensive game plan the quick break from the backline will see players like Clark devoid of options in front of them,it's sort of like he's an odd man out in his environment so might just as well play safe leave him out and go with another defensive turtle that won't lookout of place.
That's my only take on it.
I just think Clark's direct opponent kicking goals is why they took him out of defence, Atkins may have alot less flair and ball use but hes a far more accountable defender.
 
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I just think Clark's direct opponent kicking goals is why they took him out of defence, Atkins may have alot less flair and ball use but hes a far more accountable defender.

Attacking players naturally.....well, they attack. That is the instinct that propogates goals.

If we are going to drop players because that's their natural game, rather than running around sweating on their opponent, CS and Scarlo might as well be done with it and go all out with their preference for defenders. I'm sure they can jam in 16, and throw Hawkins and Cameron in for good luck.

I was once interested in the idea of Scarlo as our next coach, but not any more. It seems he has a lot of say atm, and the team isn't better for it.
 
Dec 11, 2009
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I offer this as an explanation,it's a team game run to a strict game plan and ours is to push our forward high up the ground and flood the oppositions forward 50,there we hopefully regain control of the footy and painstakingly work it out of defence giving time for the forwards go get back and re organized in their own forward half,with such a vanilla and defensive game plan the quick break from the backline will see players like Clark devoid of options in front of them,it's sort of like he's an odd man out in his environment so might just as well play safe leave him out and go with another defensive turtle that won't lookout of place.
That's my only take on it.

Yep, the game plan is bog ordinary.
 
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We currently have all of these players picked by either Enright, Scarlett or Scott, in the side for their defensive attributes or 'defensive pressure' -

Kolo, Blics, Tuohy, Dahlhaus, Henderson, Rohan, Close, Parfitt, Atkins, Bews, Stewart, Henry, Menegola (defensive wingman).

O'Connor still to come back in, and an attacking player like Clark having all his weapons taken away, by being played as a pressure forward when he does get his chance.

I've enjoyed our balance in the past between attacking and defence, but jeez, it's starting to get a little lopsided the other way now. Take out the key forwards in our Best 22, and only Danger, Guth, Simpson, Smith, Duncan and Selwood could be considered 'attacking' players. How exactly are we meant to have any sort of flow or speed on the game, if all we're focused on is protecting the ball and our defence, rather than actually taking it on with flair and excitement.

Close staying in is nice, but I fear even he will get dropped if he doesn't 'apply enough pressure' up forward.

I've been skeptical in the past of the criticism around our game plan, but I really am starting to see this pattern emerge where the players who get dropped up forward and down back - are attacking players with a less defensive mindset -, and those who stay in - are those with a purely defensive mindset.

I did find it odd at the time having Enright as our forwards coach, but understood the game was heading towards that forward pressure game - which his defensive mindset assisted in. Now that that's gone out the window with the new rules/longer quarters/less interchanges opening up the ground for attacking teams, I fear that he might be actually impeding that attacking mentality that we need, in order to compete with the best teams.

For mine, I would drop Kolo, leave Henry in his place as he's more attacking, have Clark in, only use O'Connor as a tagger when it's absolutely necessary - Fyfe, Dusty, Bont etc., and free up players to use natural attacking flair - rather than lock down on their man constantly.

Ironically, it's getting very hard as a supporter, to defend these sort of decisions week in, week out, from the club/coaches.

I think that bias has been around a while, i am sure it played a key role in why players like SJ were moved on.

I am not as frustraited as some appear to be ... Clark and Narkle and Holmes have made way for regulars. Lets see what the side looks like when we have all available players. I want goals and offensive running as much as anyone but it seems to be a constant undertone about Clarks work rate on and off the field.
 
I love Clark as a player but hes done next to nothing all season cant be gifting games on raw talent, 15 touches a game from a 3rd year player isn't enough going back to the VFL and finding some footy and confidence will do him good.
I'm not Clark's biggest fan but it doesn't help playing him in a forward pocket.

One of our biggest areas of concern at the moment is leg speed and they've just omitted 3 of our fastest players. I can understand somewhat at the narrow ground of KP but it's just papering over the cracks.

I just don't understand how we expect young players to come in and perform when they're playing in position that aren't natural to their instincts and style of play.

What I will say is Sam DeKoning is a natural defender - I've seen a bit of him - and he's being asked to play in the hardest spot on the ground.

Let's start playing these kids where they're best suited and forget about the want for versitility.
 
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I offer this as an explanation,it's a team game run to a strict game plan and ours is to push our forward high up the ground and flood the oppositions forward 50,there we hopefully regain control of the footy and painstakingly work it out of defence giving time for the forwards go get back and re organized in their own forward half,with such a vanilla and defensive game plan the quick break from the backline will see players like Clark devoid of options in front of them,it's sort of like he's an odd man out in his environment so might just as well play safe leave him out and go with another defensive turtle that won't lookout of place.
That's my only take on it.
Yep it's what has hurt Miers this year and it's a system we've used without success before. What it does is frustrates Hawkins and we've seen the consequences of that before. It's why he doesn't lead as much because by the time we're in a position to try and score he's knackered.
 
Well to be fair...it's not like he's even been given a chance, as we're not playing him in his natural position that he was drafted in - and looked like a superstar in. Even playing him on a wing nullifies those talents, as it doesn't allow him to read the game from the back end of the field, and rebound ala Ash for the Giants, Short for the Tiges, CJ for the Hawks, Saad for the Blues etc.

Really wish we had that 'ask the coach' thing they had a couple of years back, as it's the one question I'd like answered more than anything - why do we play players out of their natural positions, and ultimately stunt their natural growth? They've played in these positions all their underage career, than we draft them and we decide that they need to play elsewhere to fit others in. It's just maddening, and it's a serious issue for us over and over again.
Frankly, I don’t think we will play him where we drafted him for quite a while. Scarlett won’t want him in his group so long as he continues to not be able to defend. Runs a lot faster one way if you get my drift
 
Scott has more information than us so Dahlhaus plays. Enough enough!
But really why not help him out and give him a 10 minute run in the midfield to break things up for him a bit?
Why no melts over Stanley and kolo?
Those two .....

Stanley wasn't great last week but unless we're going with Blicavs as our ruck doesn't seem we have a lot of options - coaches have said Fort isn't quite ready for a recall: “Darcy needs a bit more footy in our view, but he is getting to the stage where he can be considered on his merits as opposed to having to overlay his lack of preparation and injury status.”

As for Kolodjashnij, he was one of our better players last week - he was named in the best across multiple reports and his teammates praised his game, so he was never being omitted this wee
 

Shadow89

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Frankly, I don’t think we will play him where we drafted him for quite a while. Scarlett won’t want him in his group so long as he continues to not be able to defend. Runs a lot faster one way if you get my drift

But if you have 5 other guys in the defensive half doing that job, why not free him up to be the attacking one - and let the rest take care of itself? Yeah he might leak a goal, but he also might create two more, by breaking lines and allowing swift delivery to forwards on the lead. He clearly has the stamina and the pace, so there's no need for him to be an 'accountable' defender, if enough other guys are providing that cover.

Besides, our D50 is always swarming with players, so what's one less going to do in the scheme of things? lol
 
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