Opinion How will our forward line function in 2014?

[Tomnat Tigers]

I personally think Vickery is best when he is around the ball often which funnily enough is when he also most dangerous up forward. So I would like to see Vickery used a second ruckman at stoppages around the ground, basically being what Natanui is to cox.

Maric I like in the ruck against under-sized ruckman and ruckman who aren't very athletic so your Jacobs and Mumford types. I don't mind him up forward for small periods but would prefer him to either be in the ruck or if not in the ruck a kick behind play filling in the gaps which he did very well for us in his first year at the club.

Hampson I like in the ruck for 70% of the game with 20% up forward and 10% on the bench. He isn't great up forward but he does have a presence and will require a key back men on him at all times as he will kill lesser backs in marking contest. This will take the focus away from Jack.

McBean could possibly replace Edwards only problem being he is almost 20cm taller then Edwards which despite playing more like a small than a tall, he's less likely to be able to apply defensive pressure which Edwards was quite good at last year.

Elton is IMO our future CHF and with next year being potentially his last I can see him becoming our CHF next year. Whether there will be an opportunity for him to do so will depend largely on how well he performs in pre-season and how well he takes the opportunities he gets next season which I suspect he will get opportunities to impress (should have been given some this year). Other than his kicking for goal the kid is perfect for CHF role and with his athletic ability we could afford to play him up forward with the likes of Jack, Vickery McBean and the resting ruckman as he can push up the ground and cover lots of distance (not to the same level as Nick Riewoldt but similar player to him) thus giving space for the likes of Jack and Vickery to work with, meaning we're not too top heavy.

However if all these guys play next year which is a fair chance if all perform, that means the likes of King, Knights, McDonough, Arnot and both Edwards' will be fighting it out for two positions and while Knights, McDonough, Arnot and S.Edwards can go into midfield, our midfield depth might push them out of the side if they fail to make the most of their opportunities up forward. Which is a shame as other than A.Edwards and King I think all have lots of talent (different talents) and can be very good players on their day.

So lastly I ask who out of King, Knights, McDonough, Arnot and both Edwards' do you guys feel are best 22. I would rank them as: (adding in their potential and what they bring to the team right now)

1. Shane Edwards (Best crumber and best when placed in midfield).
2. Matthew Arnot (Best for defensive pressure and has potiental to play midfield).
3. Chris Knights (Most lethal when in form, could be our Stewart Dew in a final).
4. Matt McDonough (Could be the next Chapman, best all round game, though least proven).
5. Jake King (Second best for defensive pressure but brings leadership to the forwardline).
6. Aaron Edwards (Versatile and reliable in front of goal).

With McDonough having the most potential. Hard to rank as all bring different qualities.

 

[kozi]

After a bit of thinking this is how it should work:


Knights, Vickery, A Edwards*
Hampson, Riewoldt, S Edwards


- Maric main ruck, Hampson fills in 30-40% and Ivan becomes the 3rd tall.
- Knights plays some midfield time, in which time Dusty comes to rest fwd (about 30% of the time)
- S Edwards plays bursts through the midfield, in which time Cotch, Conca etc rotate fwd


*would of looked better with Chappy

 

[Deanos]

I personally think Vickery is best when he is around the ball often which funnily enough is when he also most dangerous up forward. So I would like to see Vickery used a second ruckman at stoppages around the ground, basically being what Natanui is to cox.

Maric I like in the ruck against under-sized ruckman and ruckman who aren't very athletic so your Jacobs and Mumford types. I don't mind him up forward for small periods but would prefer him to either be in the ruck or if not in the ruck a kick behind play filling in the gaps which he did very well for us in his first year at the club.

Hampson I like in the ruck for 70% of the game with 20% up forward and 10% on the bench. He isn't great up forward but he does have a presence and will require a key back men on him at all times as he will kill lesser backs in marking contest. This will take the focus away from Jack.

McBean could possibly replace Edwards only problem being he is almost 20cm taller then Edwards which despite playing more like a small than a tall, he's less likely to be able to apply defensive pressure which Edwards was quite good at last year.

Elton is IMO our future CHF and with next year being potentially his last I can see him becoming our CHF next year. Whether there will be an opportunity for him to do so will depend largely on how well he performs in pre-season and how well he takes the opportunities he gets next season which I suspect he will get opportunities to impress (should have been given some this year). Other than his kicking for goal the kid is perfect for CHF role and with his athletic ability we could afford to play him up forward with the likes of Jack, Vickery McBean and the resting ruckman as he can push up the ground and cover lots of distance (not to the same level as Nick Riewoldt but similar player to him) thus giving space for the likes of Jack and Vickery to work with, meaning we're not too top heavy.

However if all these guys play next year which is a fair chance if all perform, that means the likes of King, Knights, McDonough, Arnot and both Edwards' will be fighting it out for two positions and while Knights, McDonough, Arnot and S.Edwards can go into midfield, our midfield depth might push them out of the side if they fail to make the most of their opportunities up forward. Which is a shame as other than A.Edwards and King I think all have lots of talent (different talents) and can be very good players on their day.

So lastly I ask who out of King, Knights, McDonough, Arnot and both Edwards' do you guys feel are best 22. I would rank them as: (adding in their potential and what they bring to the team right now)

1. Shane Edwards (Best crumber and best when placed in midfield).
2. Matthew Arnot (Best for defensive pressure and has potiental to play midfield).
3. Chris Knights (Most lethal when in form, could be our Stewart Dew in a final).
4. Matt McDonough (Could be the next Chapman, best all round game, though least proven).
5. Jake King (Second best for defensive pressure but brings leadership to the forwardline).
6. Aaron Edwards (Versatile and reliable in front of goal).

With McDonough having the most potential. Hard to rank as all bring different qualities.

Arnot will end up being purely a midfielder who occasionally goes forward, thats how he is played for coburg and how dimma has stated where he wants him to play. They may happen early in the year or halfway through the year but with one more pre season under his belt, that is where he will be playing.

I would say S.Edwards and king (as they rate him highly) and maybe knights and mcdonough on the cusp. while A.Edwards, i believe will become just depth this year because if they play the two ruckman and three talls like hawthorn did this year then the third tall will be either Mcbean (most likely as he is exactly like gunston at the moment before he puts on some muscle over a couple of pre seasons) or Griffths or Elton.

 

[Tiger71]

Dont want to side track the thread but out of all players I am so excited about Arnot. I really think this small wrecking ball will be a great addition to the midfield and may even replace King as that aggressive defensive forward when he is down that part of the ground.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

I personally think Vickery is best when he is around the ball often which funnily enough is when he also most dangerous up forward. So I would like to see Vickery used a second ruckman at stoppages around the ground, basically being what Natanui is to cox.

Maric I like in the ruck against under-sized ruckman and ruckman who aren't very athletic so your Jacobs and Mumford types. I don't mind him up forward for small periods but would prefer him to either be in the ruck or if not in the ruck a kick behind play filling in the gaps which he did very well for us in his first year at the club.

Hampson I like in the ruck for 70% of the game with 20% up forward and 10% on the bench. He isn't great up forward but he does have a presence and will require a key back men on him at all times as he will kill lesser backs in marking contest. This will take the focus away from Jack.

McBean could possibly replace Edwards only problem being he is almost 20cm taller then Edwards which despite playing more like a small than a tall, he's less likely to be able to apply defensive pressure which Edwards was quite good at last year.

Elton is IMO our future CHF and with next year being potentially his last I can see him becoming our CHF next year. Whether there will be an opportunity for him to do so will depend largely on how well he performs in pre-season and how well he takes the opportunities he gets next season which I suspect he will get opportunities to impress (should have been given some this year). Other than his kicking for goal the kid is perfect for CHF role and with his athletic ability we could afford to play him up forward with the likes of Jack, Vickery McBean and the resting ruckman as he can push up the ground and cover lots of distance (not to the same level as Nick Riewoldt but similar player to him) thus giving space for the likes of Jack and Vickery to work with, meaning we're not too top heavy.

However if all these guys play next year which is a fair chance if all perform, that means the likes of King, Knights, McDonough, Arnot and both Edwards' will be fighting it out for two positions and while Knights, McDonough, Arnot and S.Edwards can go into midfield, our midfield depth might push them out of the side if they fail to make the most of their opportunities up forward. Which is a shame as other than A.Edwards and King I think all have lots of talent (different talents) and can be very good players on their day.

So lastly I ask who out of King, Knights, McDonough, Arnot and both Edwards' do you guys feel are best 22. I would rank them as: (adding in their potential and what they bring to the team right now)

1. Shane Edwards (Best crumber and best when placed in midfield).
2. Matthew Arnot (Best for defensive pressure and has potiental to play midfield).
3. Chris Knights (Most lethal when in form, could be our Stewart Dew in a final).
4. Matt McDonough (Could be the next Chapman, best all round game, though least proven).
5. Jake King (Second best for defensive pressure but brings leadership to the forwardline).
6. Aaron Edwards (Versatile and reliable in front of goal).

With McDonough having the most potential. Hard to rank as all bring different qualities.

Good summary of those options for the medium and small forward roles Tomnat. Would you also consider O'Hanlon in this group maybe?

As you say, each of them bring something unique to the table. At the moment, I can see Arnot becoming more of a midfielder than a forward. He said in his season review that he was challenging himself to become the fittest at the club and wanted to become a battering ram for the classier players around him. Would bring a much needed defensive element to our midfield. With Tuck retiring and the club looking like they will not be too active in the trade period, Arnot is one I hope can stake a claim for that spot in the side.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Dont want to side track the thread but out of all players I am so excited about Arnot. I really think this small wrecking ball will be a great addition to the midfield and may even replace King as that aggressive defensive forward when he is down that part of the ground.

Agree Tiger71 - has a great attitude and hunger to succeed. Hoping for big things next year from him

 

[DustinsGuns]

Round 1
FF: Hampson Vickery King
HF: S Edwards Riewoldt Martin

By finals:
FF: S Edwards Riewoldt McBean
HF: Martin Vickery McDonough

I reckon Hampson and King won't be best 22 by the end of next year.

 

[fumbler]

A. Edwards is a lot better with the ball than Vickery and he chases harder if we lose it.

I'd like to see:
S. Edwards/Cotchin, Riewoldt, King/Martin
Hampson/Maric, A. Edwards, Mc Bean/Knights

 

[oh_my_hat]

Clear it out and play McBean's paddock! He's going to be the story of the year.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

HF: Knights Vickery Hampson/Maric (resting)
FF: A. Edwards Riewoldt S. Edwards

Ideally, would have another crumber or resting midfielder at the feet of those 3 talls but failing that, Titch is our best crumbing forward IMO. He can rotate through the middle but with other guys stepping up, I'd like to see him spend more time forward.

Excited for McBean but don't want to put too high expectations on him - think Choco mentioned the club would aim to try and play him in 10 or 12 games next season.

 

[bananatigz]

RUC: Hampson
HF: Knights Reiwoldt King
FF: S.Edwards Maric Vickery

Think Maric will start forward, he is a better forward than Hampson and Hammer is a better tap ruckman, pretty easy decision really.

Sounds like Jack might roam around Half Forward a bit, don't mind in the sense he is a very clever and skillful player especially going inside 50, although it does take our best goalkicker away from goal a tad, although does drag the oppositions best defender away as well. Depth- A.Edwards

That gives Vickery the space to work around 25-50m where he is able to use his marking ability and be most dangerous, taking the second forward will usually mean he has a height advantage which will just play to his strengths. Could kick 40+ goals doing this. Depth- T.Elton/B.Griffiths

Then just leave Ivan deep, he is a very good contested mark and you would think he would be a nightmare for most teams to combat, a lot of teams would be very nervous seeing their third tall standing Ivan at the top of the Square, he's pretty clever as well. Swaps with Hampson obviously into the ruck Depth- L.McBean

Knights provides a valuable link-up between the midfield and defence, was starting to play some really good footy before he got injured and I think he is one of those guys who just makes as function a whole lot better and smoother, can rotate with Dusty/Cotch/Lids into the middle. Depth- O'Hanlon

King provides the grunt and forward pressure that is so important, every year you expect him to get replaced in the 22 but just so many good things it's near impossible to drop him because of the way he structures our forward line, we just function better with him there. Depth- Arnot although he may take an inside mid role with Tucky gone and no Adams

Sheds showed early last season that when left alone as a small forward he can be extremely effective in that role and when he was added to the midfield rotation he became evidently less dangerous, although with the modern game it is inevitable and has to be done. Will no doubt swap with the above mentioned mids but think he could be quite effective as a stay at home small forward. Exactly the same applies to McDonough who is the depth option here

 

[fred swift]

depends how many rucks is it possible to play. we have 4
I reckon 1 will have to miss out

-Maric is number 1 ruck
-Vickery is full time forward
-Number 2 ruck is between Mcbean and Hampson. I see Mcbean as a better forward and Hampson as a better ruck.

Mcbean has never played in the ruck and never will has played mids - forward all his life.

 

[Spluff]

Mcbean has never played in the ruck and never will has played mids - forward all his life.

He played quite a bit in the ruck in the U18s, filling in as a second ruck when he wasn't at CHB, which is where he spent most of his time. I can't see him ever being more than a pinch hitter though, he would get broken in two by any AFL level ruckman, and even against lower tier ruckman he's found very wanting in the strength department.

 

[_RT_]

How I would like to see it set up:
HHF: any 2 of Knights Deledio Martin Cotchin Ellis Conca Grigg Jackson Vlastuin S.Edwards Foley
HF: Vickery Riewoldt
Deep Forward: Maric/Hampson King

High Half Forward: basically the resting midfielders play higher that the regular HFs would. In other words they sit up around the wing while the ball is in our D50 so they provide an outlet.

Half Forward: Vickery and Jack working in tandem as leading targets around the 50m arc. Pretty simple really both of them give their opponents to run around by covering as much ground as possible. This also gives us 2 tall targets to go to rather than just the one. This means that the opposition can't double team either Jack or Ty. In 1-1 contests I'd back them to at worse break even over the course of a game in this type of situation.

Deep Forward: Maric or Hampson as the deep tall target that keeps the opposition guessing. With a reliable tall target deep we won't always have to go to Jack and Ty which means the opposition can't simply zone off and double them up. Kingy at their feet is the defensive small forward who can put on pressure while also being good enough to score goals.

As I've said in other threads having 3 genuine talls in the F50 will stretch most opposition backlines as they just won't have the talls to cover all 3. At the same time using our midfielders resting across the high half forward positions will further restrict the ability of sides to zone off.

 

[juss]

Riewoldt, Vickery, McBean, Hampson/Maric.
It's just too top heavy it won't work.

Riewoldt and Vickery are locks, and I think the club intends to use Maric resting forward at times. I think McBean is gonna have to wait in Coburg for a little while longer yet, and then there's Elton and Griffiths contending too. This depth is good, because I don't think we can fit them all in the same side.

Most likely will see something like

Martin Riewoldt Arnot
McDonough Vickery Resting ruck

Obviously those smalls will be rotating midfielders.

 

[tigerz18]

what i believe our team will look mostly like

Hff - King, Reiwoldt, Titch/resting mid
FF - Hampson/Maric, Vick, A. Edwards

What i would like to see at some stages
HFF - Knights, Reiwoldt, Titch/resting mid
FF - Hampson/Maric, Vick, Griffith

This forward line would be hella good. Have talls to take marks and crumb, Knights, Titch and 4-5 mids coming through for the crumbs.

with King, McDonough to be back up smalls, and azza, mcbean and elton as backup talls

edit - resting mids are Lids, Cotch, Martin, Jackson, Arnot (vlas, Conca and Ellis rotate on the HBF)

 

[LuKe2428]

Do people see Matty Arnot playing more small forward or midfield? I think he has the size and endurance to really kick on this year if he gets his head straight, Will be a regular in the 22.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Joker91]

HF- Knights Riewoldt ?
FF- Hampson/Ivan Vickery S.Edwards

The last place is up for grabs and will depend on opponent/form.

Obviously resting mids will spend a lot of time rotating through the forward line with the interchange cap coming in next year.

 

[RichTigs]

HF- Knights Riewoldt ?
FF- Hampson/Ivan Vickery S.Edwards

The last place is up for grabs and will depend on opponent/form.

Obviously resting mids will spend a lot of time rotating through the forward line with the interchange cap coming in next year.

Agree with this. However I'm gonna put S. Edwards on the Interchange and put King in the permanent pocket spot... simply because I think S.Edwards is versatile and that lets Kingy into the team

HF- Knights Riewoldt (This spot for... Mcbean/Mcdonough/A.Edwards/O'hanlon... maybe)
FF- Hampson/Ivy Vickers King
I/C- S.Edwards

 

[El Tigre]

Primary setup - Hampson rucking, jack chf, maric plonked in the goal square, vicks in the pocket

Rotating with - maric into ruck, hampson to high chf (athletic enough, and avoids him having to shoot for goal) jack to ff (spell from increased running load of chf) and ty stays in pocket.

If a tall defender goes down, hampson goes down back on a tall athletic forward (edit: down back he wont have to mark, or shoot for goal). Maric if it needs someone to sit on a stay at home ff, or he plays as a loose defender (which he did on a number of occasions in 2012)

 

[jreesosb]

What a dilemma hey, cos our forward line didn't function very well at all in my opinion. In fact it was nothing short of atrocious at times. Maybe if Hampson gets it he should immediately handpass to someone running past

 

[Madtiger2006]

FF Mcdonough Reiwoldt Mcbean
HF King Vickery Knights

Griffiths can take Mcbeans spot also

 

[THE_GUN]

Dusty is going to Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Hampson