How to replace Howe?

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Extremely encouraging we have so many legitimate options. I wish we had the same at the other end of the ground.

For mine, Madgen gets first crack as he really didnt do much wrong early in the year and was only dropped for team balance, with a midfielder coming in to the side to replace him. But without VFL form to go by its impossible to tell from a distance. Would love to see Shaz get another crack. Dunn would be my last choice, hes too similar to Roughead.

 

[Help My Club]

I suppose we could get Reid out of his sarcophagus and unwrap him.

 

[jathanas]

I suppose we could get Reid out of his sarcophagus and unwrap him.

Liked for clever use of sarcophagus. Kudos good sir!

 

[jathanas]

Replacing Howe with Langdon if he was fit would be the obvious plan A. Letting Darcy roam could also work if we could get another year out of Dunny as a 1-on-1 specialist.

Less likely options are giving Shaz a chance to shine (that would be a great story) or bringing in a youngster like Murphy.

Even with a loss as big as Howe I still feel that it won't be his absence from our defence line that stops us from winning a flag this year.

 

[Piestration]

No love for Reid?

 

[loki04]

Replacing Howe with Langdon if he was fit would be the obvious plan A. Letting Darcy roam could also work if we could get another year out of Dunny as a 1-on-1 specialist.

Less likely options are giving Shaz a chance to shine (that would be a great story) or bringing in a youngster like Murphy.

Even with a loss as big as Howe I still feel that it won't be his absence from our defence line that stops us from winning a flag this year.

Imo its easier to plug a whole in defense then in the fwd 50 of equivalent talent.

It's also why I don't know why people are so keen to throw all the KPP talent down back in todays game. When most athletic types can hold their own defensively and you can create drive through your HBF/small runners. We currently use Moore for this but I would love to see that stats on his interceptions and launches and how many actually end in scores up the other end vs coming back into the defensive zone?

 

[loki04]

No love for Reid?

Isn't he injured? Last i knew he had his typical yearly soft tissue injury.

 

[Piestration]

How is this kid going.

 

[jmac70]

If Dunny is ready I’d go with him. Moore can then do Howe’s job.

 

[jathanas]

Imo its easier to plug a whole in defense then in the fwd 50 of equivalent talent.

It's also why I don't know why people are so keen to throw all the KPP talent down back in todays game. When most athletic types can hold their own defensively and you can create drive through your HBF/small runners. We currently use Moore for this but I would love to see that stats on his interceptions and launches and how many actually end in scores up the other end vs coming back into the defensive zone?

That's a very interesting conversation in its own right Loki.

I think your point applies to our side this year; we lack balance. Our defence > midfield > forward line... Last year our forward line looked threatening, even without a KPF.

I can't understand why WHE is not leading out the 50 as he was in 2018 and Phillips is played in the forward area instead. Putting Billy and JDG on the ball is robbing Peter to pay Paul especially now that stevo is still finding form.

We have the human talent to field a potent forward line IMO even with Darcy as a defender. In a way Howe's injury forces our hand to keep him in the backline.

 

[mullpig88]

That's a very interesting conversation in its own right Loki.

I think your point applies to our side this year; we lack balance. Our defence > midfield > forward line... Last year our forward line looked threatening, even without a KPF.

I can't understand why WHE is not leading out the 50 as he was in 2018 and Phillips is played in the forward area instead. Putting Billy and JDG on the ball is robbing Peter to pay Paul especially now that stevo is still finding form.

We have the human talent to field a potent forward line IMP even with Darcy as a defender. In a way Howe's injury forces our hand to keep him in the backline.

Agree, De Goey and Elliot do not look at all damaging in the midfield. Treloar coming back should balance that out I believe and keep those 2 as potent forwards to support Checkers and Stepho.

Sounds like Will Kelly has been good as a forward in the scratch matches so far.... Any chance he could come in and push checkers to the backline??

 

[partypie]

One thing to bear in mind is that we probably wont have Roughy for rounds 6-8, so that will affect any decision we end up making.

Need to see what the scans show with Howe first and work it out from there.

 

[pablo disco bar]

One thing to bear in mind is that we probably wont have Roughy for rounds 6-8, so that will affect any decision we end up making.

Need to see what the scans show with Howe and I'm unsure whether we'd even still be able to add Dunn to the list at this point? Probably not even something the AFL has even considered before now, but we might be expected to work with players currently on the list given that most are available, rather than bringing someone else onto the payroll.

What you mean regarding Dunn??


Anyway maybe miocheck to backline is an option

 

[stormskye]

One thing to bear in mind is that we probably wont have Roughy for rounds 6-8, so that will affect any decision we end up making.

Need to see what the scans show with Howe first and work it out from there.

Howe is confirmed ruptured PCL, he won’t be back in a short season. Sharenburg for Howe and if Roughead doesn’t make the trip Dunn is a no brainer for me.

 

[partypie]

What you mean regarding Dunn??


Anyway maybe miocheck to backline is an option

I'd realised I'd forgotten he'd been rookied as soon as I posted and edited straight away. Just delete this one.

 

[Forethought]

A few different options

I like Moore playing the role he currently is, taking the dangerous forward...Cameron last night, but still backing himself to go for marks. Don’t change that.

So we are needing to replace the peel off loose intercept defender.

IMO that would rule out Magden and a Dunn.

Berg or Murphy probably leading candidates from outside the 22 (with Langdon not being fit).

But a left field suggestion, how about WHE!?

He isn’t giving much up forward to date, and I think we need to get Philips back on the wing, also will squeeze Treloar into the mid/forward mix this week.

So put WHE behind the ball? He has good hands, is a good user, can intercept, and has decent pace to cover a 3rd tall type if required.

Totally agree, Bombers only have 1 fWD playing this week over 193cm with a Stringer the 2nd Key forward.
WHE or Mayne back allows greater attack from defense.

 

[jathanas]

Agree, De Goey and Elliot do not look at all damaging in the midfield. Treloar coming back should balance that out I believe and keep those 2 as potent forwards to support Checkers and Stepho.

Sounds like Will Kelly has been good as a forward in the scratch matches so far.... Any chance he could come in and push checkers to the backline??

Was talking about Kelly last night. We would be lucky if he could step-up to fill the role of the KPF we've missed since Cloke.

 

[sr36]

I think Mayne will take over Howe's spot. Whilst Howe gives us brilliance, more importantly he gives us canny positioning and organisational and structural nous. No one can replace all of what Howe offers, but Mayne may be the best bet to keep us immaculately organised.

 

[danielnajdek]

Ruptured PCL. Get well mate and only come back when 100%.

 

[mullpig88]

Was talking about Kelly last night. We would be lucky if he could step-up to fill the role of the KPF we've missed since Cloke.

We need someone to play that role badly. Cox can't be that guy and unfortunately neither can Cameron.... Seems like the only one on our list with the potential to be that guy otherwise we need to be aggressive in the off season for a true KPF

 

[sr36]

That's a very interesting conversation in its own right Loki.

I think your point applies to our side this year; we lack balance. Our defence > midfield > forward line... Last year our forward line looked threatening, even without a KPF.

I can't understand why WHE is not leading out the 50 as he was in 2018 and Phillips is played in the forward area instead. Putting Billy and JDG on the ball is robbing Peter to pay Paul especially now that stevo is still finding form.

We have the human talent to field a potent forward line IMO even with Darcy as a defender. In a way Howe's injury forces our hand to keep him in the backline.

I just think we need a bit of a mindset change. WHE and JDG when playing higher are still too busy looking to duck out the back to receive zone busting goals, like they did so successfully in 2018. But that style has been worked out. I'd be persuading JDG to adjust his style and replacing WHE with either a genuine tall, a genuine small or getting him to play as a defensive forward who ensures a contest rather than trying to get separation out the back.

 

[mullpig88]

I think Mayne will take over Howe's spot. Whilst Howe gives us brilliance, more importantly he gives us canny positioning and organisational and structural nous. No one can replace all of what Howe offers, but Mayne may be the best bet to keep us immaculately organised.

Certainly wouldn't be relying on his foot skills to create play like Howe does and definitely not kicking out from full back!
But the way he pressures, yes! Totally agree

 

[jathanas]

I just think we need a bit of a mindset change. WHE and JDG when playing higher are still too busy looking to duck out the back to receive zone busting goals, like they did so successfully in 2018. But that style has been worked out. I'd be persuading JDG to adjust his style and replacing WHE with either a genuine tall, a genuine small or getting him to play as a defensive forward who ensures a contest rather than trying to get separation out the back.

A style of play can be worked out but still remain effective but I totally agree on the need for a mindset change. We have shuffled the deck too much and ought to go back to playing to each player's strengths, especially in our attacking zone.

To me that means WHE and JDG both lead and they switch with Elliot. This is a headache for any defence.

 

[mullpig88]

The more I think about it the more I think Reid might be the man for the job. That extra flexibility to be able to move forward as well, raking long boot and great hands and pace for a big man. Without his horrid injury run he could've been a great for the club. His experience alone should win out and free Moore up to take over Howe's role as the main interceptor.

Thankfully we do have some depth in defence and not too many on the injury list for a change and with the rest of the backline in good form we should, to a degree be able to cover him

 

[KillerMagpies]

Won't be easy to replace given his form this season and the role he plays - intercept mark, quick to close space, neat field kick, leader
May take a while to bed down his replacement too.

You're Bucks this week, how do you tackle the problem?

Murphy - similar height, courageous, good intercept mark, neat kick but inexperienced. Plenty of talent and needs to be given a go to develop him

Scharenberg - Good intercept mark, but limited kick

Langdon - not realistic at present, but perhaps later in the season as another strong overhead marking option

Magden - Becomes a stopper and Moore attempts to pick up some of the intercept marking slack

Keane - Roll the dice on a big bodied, aggressive key back type and let Moore come off to intercept. Little underdone post quarantine return

Dunn - still a great one on one defender (I've been watching him a bit lately), good kick, experienced voice to pick up leadership and has played all of the scratch games against Richmond, Saints, Dogs

Discuss......

If you’ve been watching Dunne and you reckon he’s covering the ground, then he’s the one. Him. Dunne. He defends and Moore floats around doing Howes intercept marking.
If not Dunne, Schaz/Murphy... whoever is looking fitter.
What happened to Kelly? (“Ned’s” don).