Has the injury to Harris Andrews dented our finals campaign

[Pikuks]

Further to the discussion above about source of goals I think we've lost a few in this period. No Rich for those games had a huge impact on our ball movement. Neale dropping way off in contested footy has hurt our clearances, especially the centre clearances which are usually a great source of goals. No Stef and a slow Zorko has made it tough to score goals from inside 50 stoppages.

On top of this our goal kicking and an out of form Charlie has really hurt.

I think Hipwood has been in great form though apart from goal kicking. One of our better contributors over that stretch of games.

Whilst Oscar has been great, I think the midfield is still getting used to his ruck work. With Stef in the centre, it was like the mids had a better understanding of where it would go, both when he won the tap and where the opposition ruckman wouldn't / couldn't place it. That sort of understanding takes time.

 

[Cockliff38]

Wouldn't be surprised if we saw both Payne and Eagles in the same side before the end of the year.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Payne and Eagles have been playing together for two years and know how each plays and when to help and not. They know each others game. IMO if you want to replace Andrews and give the replacement the best chance of success you bring both in. It addresses the undersized issue we have, it moves Gardner to a role he is more suited and lets the two newcomers work off a guy they know.

I assume you want to drop Lester then?

 

[martinson]

On the points made I don't think Andrews is the end of us because as Quigley pointed out we do have guys who fit the bill physically and though obviously he is a massive loss we need to keep our backline structure in place and back them in.

I'm not factoring in 3 wins to finish off by any means. We need to play really well to get these 3 wins . 2 , I would be happy enough with if not entirely satisfied.

As for the drop off in our scoring and accuracy how long's a piece of string. Some of our playmakers are a bit down on form ,maybe tired or low on confidence . We just aren't getting enough run out of our back half and the inaccuracy in our forward half has led to rebounds out of there that hurt and rattle your confidence even further. It can all turn around but we need to start playing and executing better. Simple.

 

[3KZ is Football]

Good teams can win even struggling. We looked absolutely rooted against North and St Kilda yet still won. Against Collingwood we dominated the second quarter and looked set to blow the Pies away, only to lose two important pieces of our gameplan and changed our strategy mid game which meant winning & keeping Collingwood to a 60 year low score.

We can win ugly, we can win close games, we can change strategies mid game and can flog opposition. We've debuted six players and have dropped just two games since the season actually started.

I've got a lot of belief in this team. I have faith we'll win at least 2 of the next three games and set ourselves to in a strong position heading into finals

I’m loving this post because you used the phrase “rooted.” Never mind the 1980’s, you have gone the full 1970’s.

 

[Nunez]

I think you got that right Nunez, except for the bit about flogging teams. Been missing for a while. But the sentiment and assessment is spot on. Just be good to see the attacking, precision game style we had against Port earlier this year. Gee that was good to watch.

I think we were set to do that to Collingwood on Friday and would have done so if we didn't lose two talls. I agree though, it's a wonderful sight to see!

I am sure we've got that form in us and we'll see it again between now and finals.

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

McStay back. Forward line of
Coleman Rayner Cameron
McCarthy Hipwood Ah Chee

Send Ah Chee into the ruck to give omac a chop out. Boy can jump.

Do you remember when we would put Brennan into the ruck and he would injure himself and miss the rest of the year? It happened at least twice. Ah Chee just isn't big enough.

Like the forward line as McCarthy and Rayner can take a grab. Reminds me a bit of Collingwood's small forward line. Hard to match up on and may make a big defender of the opposition useless.

Time to play a youngster though.

 

[Quigley]

I assume you want to drop Lester then?

That is a good question. I would probably give each of Lester, Birchall and Starc a rest in one of the last three games. Freshen them up a bit going into the finals and put off the need to drop someone before the finals. All of those guys have had big years and could use a game off in the compressed end of the season. When finals roll around I make the call about dropping someone based on form.

 

[Full Wingspan]

While no doubt a devastating blow, I'm backing the resilience of our group and coaching staff to find a solution to cover Harro moving forward. The mantra of our team having one man step up to fill the role still applies. Although this is extraordinarily difficult when dealing with someone as valuable as Harris.

My preferred strategy would be to swing McStay back and play Skinner up forward. Payne and Eagles may also have a defensive role to play and there will be an opportunity against some less potent forward lines to pick up the pace of AFL.

I am not suggesting our final home and away games are certain wins, however there will at least be some chance for our back 6 to build some defensive chemistry and confidence leading into our first final. Hopefully we are good enough to get the double chance and snatch that first final to give Harris every opportunity to return deep into October.

Notwithstanding the questions on his defensive ability, I would be feeling much more comfortable having Walker in the side. The only explanation I can come to regarding his departure would be salary or opportunity related.

 

[dlanod]

Do you remember when we would put Brennan into the ruck and he would injure himself and miss the rest of the year?

Well I guess I'm not sleeping tonight if I'm going to be reliving those nightmares.

 

[Quigley]

With my advocating of Payne and Eagles I wonder if we might go the Bulldogs route with the second ruck and go with Ellis-Yolmen as the second ruck. He lacks height but is a big body that could be thrown around and when the ball hits the ground he provides another midfielder. Improves mobiliyt when he is in there and he is not a terrible forward option.

 

[Dylan12]

With my advocating of Payne and Eagles I wonder if we might go the Bulldogs route with the second ruck and go with Ellis-Yolmen as the second ruck. He lacks height but is a big body that could be thrown around and when the ball hits the ground he provides another midfielder. Improves mobiliyt when he is in there and he is not a terrible forward option.

I would honestly rather try that than go with Smith or Skinner or even Ballenden who I was genuinely excited to see get his shot.

 

[xplo]

Notwithstanding the questions on his defensive ability, I would be feeling much more comfortable having Walker in the side. The only explanation I can come to regarding his departure would be salary or opportunity related.

Might have been a bit of coin flip with him and McStay early, but I seem to remember him on the Roar Deal Podcast reasonably early last season when he was not in the senior team. He wasn't exactly openly disenchanted, but to me it sounded like it wasn't far beneath the surface. He wasn't finished then, but I remember thinking that was the way it was heading. Just the tone.

 

[3KZ is Football]

With my advocating of Payne and Eagles I wonder if we might go the Bulldogs route with the second ruck and go with Ellis-Yolmen as the second ruck. He lacks height but is a big body that could be thrown around and when the ball hits the ground he provides another midfielder. Improves mobiliyt when he is in there and he is not a terrible forward option.

Bust out the old tapes of Michael Reeves.

 

[martinson]

With my advocating of Payne and Eagles I wonder if we might go the Bulldogs route with the second ruck and go with Ellis-Yolmen as the second ruck. He lacks height but is a big body that could be thrown around and when the ball hits the ground he provides another midfielder. Improves mobiliyt when he is in there and he is not a terrible forward option.

Not the worst idea because when we go with Archie it takes a lot of mobility out of our M/F and he's basically useless if resting. So any other options including McStay are worth considering.

 

[Dylan12]

These guys think so:

 

[Section 5]

With my advocating of Payne and Eagles I wonder if we might go the Bulldogs route with the second ruck and go with Ellis-Yolmen as the second ruck. He lacks height but is a big body that could be thrown around and when the ball hits the ground he provides another midfielder. Improves mobiliyt when he is in there and he is not a terrible forward option.

I mentioned this earlier in the GC game thread. It's a good option. He has done a little rucking with Adelaide. Pinch hitting only.
Overall he will give us more during the game and provide more options than Archie or Ballenden.
It is just that Fagan has repeatedly said he prefers 2 rucks

 

[Tom14]

Ah well if Damo and Lloydo think so, must be true!

 

[blackers]

Ah well if Damo and Lloydo think so, must be true!

Man, Kane Cornes is wrong so consistently, it suggests he actually does know what's going to happen and is deliberately saying the opposite to throw us off the scent. It's like calling 100 coin flips wrong, it requires as much skill as calling them right.

 

[Sanchez365]

Some really interesting thoughts here. The number of goals Geelong has kicked, as well as against some "quality" opposition has been telling. Pumped both St Kilda and Port Adelaide, clearly in red hot form.

We were clearly struggling massively in the midfield before the bye, and I think most of our goal scoring woes stem from that. I thought the pies surprised us early, namely Pendles with 5 touches, 3 I50 and a couple goal assists very early on. We have a tendency for the real stars of the competition to do a number on us, but once we shut his influence down they looked a lot less potent. What I saw from us in the second quarter really looked like we were getting ready to put them to the sword, but had to change tack when we lost andrews down back with rotations catching up to us.

I am really looking forward to see how Payne goes, he's had really big wraps on here and seemed pretty solid for the most part against the tigers. His performance will most likely be the answer to the thread title. While I wouldn't put the line through us just yet, I would say we are looking very much the underdogs right now. Thankfully that's a mantle that suits us a lot more then favourites.

 

[xplo]

With my advocating of Payne and Eagles I wonder if we might go the Bulldogs route with the second ruck and go with Ellis-Yolmen as the second ruck. He lacks height but is a big body that could be thrown around and when the ball hits the ground he provides another midfielder. Improves mobiliyt when he is in there and he is not a terrible forward option.

It has a slight whiff of desperation, but it's not a crazy idea. I was a little surprised the Dogs went with it, as they'd just got Dunkley back but Bevo has never been afraid of a left-field move. Dunkley has been as good as any of their mids since he started playing that role (though he must have just about laughed when he found out that NicNat wouldn't be trying him on like a shoe all night). Sydney have no ruckmen, so not a bad chance to trial it there.

 

[luthor]

I am really looking forward to see how Payne goes, he's had really big wraps on here and seemed pretty solid for the most part against the tigers. His performance will most likely be the answer to the thread title.

Well, there's one thing he needs to get out of his game.

That's allowing guys like Reiwoldt to put his hands on his shoulders and use him as a step ladder, without getting a free kick


Must do better (*SARCASM*)

 

[M Malice]

I've put my thoughts out there about Archie so yer I'd prefer CEY as the relief ruck who rests forward.

 

[Maroon Monsoon]

We can win ugly, we can win close games, we can change strategies mid game and can flog opposition. We've debuted six players and have dropped just two games since the season actually started.

Hey you're right, we have only lost two games since the restart! Its weird how easy it can be to forget that sometimes

 

[3KZ is Football]

These guys think so:

These guys pay so little attention to our team, let alone our list that they wouldn’t know who we had to replace Andrews or how we might restructure. We might have SUPERMAN ready to fill the void and they wouldn’t know. I’m sure they don’t even know who Payne is. THE ONLY THING THEY DID GET RIGHT is that we need to kick more goals and we won’t win a premiership if we can’t kick a winning score against elite company. As I said in post #55 - a big part of the solution is to kick a winning score.