No Oppo Supporters General AFL and other clubs discussion thread. **Opposition fans not welcome** Part 7

[TheFourPillars]

Carlton doesnt really have a spread of midfielders. They rely on the 5 or 6. If they get a few more going through there they reduce their fadeouts looking good though

 

[grumbleguts]

Duckwood lining up for goal, kicks it. Howie: DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES THAT MAN!

Yes he does Howie, he's just not penalised for them.

 

[grumbleguts]

Best run down tackle ever, Umpire: In the back.

 

[theiaofseed]

Chol with the Langford bounce.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

No offence mate but you post this same post every couple of days it seems, and just ignore that we had a top up strategy for most of those years that didn’t give us access to any high draft picks. We thought we’d bring in our midfield (outside Worpel), via trade and FA.

We know it didn’t work and are paying the price now. But that’s just where we are at.

Since the strategy has changed we are targeting mids, but we just have to be patient.

The top up strategy and lack of draft picks that entails would explain why we didn't have access to midfielders/rucks in the high end of the draft.

It doesn't explain why with the draft picks and trades we did have we seemingly drafted sweet FA midfielders (and to a lesser extent rucks) and concentrated on drafting an absolute plethora of back flankers. I mean we could have been drafting midfielders via the rookie draft/mid season draft/etc but we didn't (not untill Newk anyway).

The good sides roll with midfields that are 10 deep, ours would be what 4 to 5 at a stretch?

Just seems like a total misread of how you structure an AFL list and it wasn't all due to the top up strategy.

My only thoughts was that Clarko was designing some kind of gameplan that based its entire attacking flow from run off half back or something similar?

Which sounds nice in theory but when you are getting smashed around the ball and in centre square it is a low yield strategy for winning games of footy.

But fine I will let it go. I am actually really positive about Sam's direction for the club and his comments earlier this week show me he is well aware of the imbalances in our list profile.

 

[theiaofseed]

Rosas could be something special,

 

[Off The Couch]

Not liking the long sleeve Langdon wearing

 

[grumbleguts]

Haven't watched a lot of Melbourne this season but if today's game is anything to go by thus far, they are getting the bulldogs run from the umpires. Ridiculous.

 

[hfc70]

Not liking the long sleeve Langdon wearing

Looks like a pajama top

 

[Mercy Seat]

The top up strategy and lack of draft picks that entails would explain why we didn't have access to midfielders/rucks in the high end of the draft.

It doesn't explain why with the draft picks and trades we did have we seemingly drafted sweet FA midfielders (and to a lesser extent rucks) and concentrated on drafting an absolute plethora of back flankers. I mean we could have been drafting midfielders via the rookie draft/mid season draft/etc but we didn't (not untill Newk anyway).

The good sides roll with midfields that are 10 deep, ours would be what 4 to 5 at a stretch?

Just seems like a total misread of how you structure an AFL list and it wasn't all due to the top up strategy.

My only thoughts was that Clarko was designing some kind of gameplan that based its entire attacking flow from run off half back or something similar?

Which sounds nice in theory but when you are getting smashed around the ball and in centre square it is a low yield strategy for winning games of footy.

But fine I will let it go. I am actually really positive about Sam's direction for the club and his comments earlier this week show me he is well aware of the imbalances in our list profile.

I just think when you get to late in the draft, there aren’t that many decent mids left, and our strategy was to take the best players available, some which happened to be defenders.

But, to your point, plenty of our half back flankers weren’t brought in to play that role, it’s just that they settled in and played their best footy there. Clarko even said at times that part of the education of players was to give them a spell behind the ball, and given the way the game is being played off half back, it’s not the worst position to be over-stocked in.

Even Sam has put forward Morris and wingman Downie at half back flank this year for Box Hill where they are finally playing their best footy .

 

[rei154]

North looking quite solid in this one. Melb definitely getting a little more support than deserved.

 

[SJT76]

JHF already North’s best by some margin. They should make him captain and offer a Buddy level contract

 

[Off The Couch]

North hanging in there
Would be amusing but not surprising if Melbourne lose one against a bottom side but I expect that they will turn it on in the last

Or can they

 

[jenniferHAWKinS]

Hawks 2012-2015 would easily beat this Kangaroo team by 100 points plus

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Duckwood lining up for goal, kicks it. Howie: DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES THAT MAN!

Yes he does Howie, he's just not penalised for them.

It's like those 3-4 "rare errors" every quarter from Chris Judd, followed by the inevitable "Only Chris Judd could have done that" when he actually did something well

 

[H00t]

JHF already North’s best by some margin. They should make him captain and offer a Buddy level contract

He might not be there best player yet. But he’s the only one playing with the intensity required. LDU and Thomas look especially lazy.

 

[grumbleguts]

It's like those 3-4 "rare errors" every quarter from Chris Judd, followed by the inevitable "Only Chris Judd could have done that" when he actually did something well

Uncharacteristic turn over from Judd.

Uncharacteristic eye gouge from Judd.

Uncharacteristic head-ducking, shoulder-shrugging, knee bend from Selwood.

 

[jenniferHAWKinS]

Thomas and Simpkin have gone backwards in a hurry this year. Simpkin’s kicking is atrocious and Thomas looks as disinterested as any footballer I have ever seen.

 

[Titch3Votes0MooreAA]

Thomas and Simpkin have gone down hill since beating us last year.

 

[Jables]

I just think when you get to late in the draft, there aren’t that many decent mids left, and our strategy was to take the best players available, some which happened to be defenders.

But, to your point, plenty of our half back flankers weren’t brought in to play that role, it’s just that they settled in and played their best footy there. Clarko even said at times that part of the education of players was to give them a spell behind the ball, and given the way the game is being played off half back, it’s not the worst position to be over-stocked in.

Even Sam has put forward Morris and wingman Downie at half back flank this year for Box Hill where they are finally playing their best footy .

Only star we had that we rarely rotated back was Cyril that I can think of. Lewis probably went forward more often. Even with probably our most balanced team ever, Grant Birchall was athletic and had all the skill in the world but he never really made that shift to an outsider we wanted. We kinda lucked out Smith and Hill were pretty cheap in the draft and that they could slot right in to flag teams with little experience.

It's funny if you look back on things, everyone predicted Scully to be a huge get, he sucked. Jaeger was right in the discussion as the brightest midfield prospect in the AFL before we got him, everyone was saying Mitchell was the freebie. And Wingard oof what a midfield. Jaeger is inconsistent, Scully was cooked, Wingards body can't handle the midfield, Mitchell's back is probably broken by now from carrying us for so long.

With Worpel you'd think we'd hit more than 1 dart out of freaking 5. Was the strategy really that bad? I don't think so. Don't even mention O'Rourke, and Smith leaving to join Geelong.

 

[I got the outside word]

Jeez the Tigers like to bully/rough up young players in their first and second years.
Weak as piss.

 

[SA HAWK]

Still annoyed we lost to *

 

[theiaofseed]

That's the way Adelaide

 

[Tuck In]

I temper this with the knowledge that we lost to both these teams but my god, what a shite game of football this is.

 

[macdaddio]

Lynch was ok at GCS but since becoming a Tiger he’s a knob.