Review Is our forward line dysfunctional?

[ant555]

Interesting!

Actually I'd start playing him in the twos for his first match back. His scratchyness on return is crazy. Best he works that out in the twos.

Regards the OP. There is much that is frustrating about our forward line, but it holds great promise. Crameri, Hurley and Gumby can work well together if they rotate between power forward, high forward and very high forward. Once they work this out they'll be able to isolate mismatches much better.


In fact I'd like to see Crameri get back to more of that very high forward role and really provide a big body at packs and marking contests around the wings and then trying to win the ball by outsprinting his opponent back towards goal. Hurley as the traditional CHF and Gumby as the good set of hands inside 50.

Would be ideal but there where no seconds games this week so does he wait until next week for a game in the twos when he could have actually played against GWS as he was ready but they gave him another week.

 

[Vander18]

Biggest challenge is landing on the forward composition and structure that works best for us....feels to me like we haven't nailed this yet.

Just looks like 6 blokes running out and playing without a real plan or structure...not predictable to teammates and far too often not where they need to be.

Point being, I don't think our forward line is all that smart. The one bloke who does take charge, demand space and give it structure is actually Jobe when he plays there.

 

[ant555]

Have to say again who's forward line is working at the moment ? Plenty of key forwards struggling.
Plenty of sides only going well in the forwards against the week sides.
You go back to Anzac day and our forward line worked pretty well with a good mix from the talls and smalls plus mids chipping in.

 

[Yoda_]

ant555

Are you happy with our forward line set up from the weekend? what changes would you make to it for the future?

 

[ant555]

ant555

Are you happy with our forward line set up from the weekend? what changes would you make to it for the future?

No but it was more from dumb footy, Blokes flying against each other, smalls flying against talls, two leading to the same spot.
For the future i can only see one of Gumby or Crameri playing if Hurley is forward. Ryder comes in as we need two genuine rucks. With Tommy rucking 80% of the game we missed his stints forward where he took a few marks or made a contest.

Look for Winderlich to bounce back, he will not play that bad or dumb in too many games.

Despite the common thoughts here Kommer stays for mine. His hardness and ability to create stoppages is just as important as having 12 possessions and kicking a couple of goals. He has been creating 3 or 4 goals a game through his pressure and second efforts.

Small forward spot to be between Davey, Jetta and Merrett for now with De olio possibly to get a look in later on when he can be elevated but maybe not a long term prospect.

Last forward spot for the likes of Zaka, Stanton, Watson, Howlett or even Melksham.

2 years from now i hope it is Gumby and Joe with Hurley back or playing both ends when Fletch retires and if Carlisle and Hooker are still doing well.

 

[Ambrosia]

It's no surprise that our forward line is dysfunctional with the amount of personnel that has been rotating through there this season. Off the top of my head Davey is the only forward to have played every game and he is likely to miss next week.

 

[Fin ice Smuggler]

it would help if we kicked better to our forwards, why do we always kick it on their heads? why kick it to Davey as if he would take a strong overhead contested mark?

We also moved the ball very slowly on weekend, and that played right into Geelongs hands, they just zoned back causing less space for our forwards to lead into.

 

[daz17]

I like the traditional FF so I hope we bring that back. Instead of Hurley always leading to the pockets of the F50, they should isolate him 1 on 1 in the square.

Crameri always looks injured so his endurance is way down.

I like Matthew Egan, but is a defender really the right choice for our forward line?

 

[blitzer]

Our forward line lacks experience. Basically its compromised solely of guys with around 50 games or less. The only exception is Davey whose around 100. I won't count Winderlich given he's played a handful of games in the last few years but if you include him then he's played around 100 as well. Also Crameri/Hurley are always getting injured and we are always using different people down there. A bit like our defence last year where we were never able to get a consistent line up due to injuries. For a case in point, I don't believe Crameri/Hurley and Gumbleton have ever played together before.

It also seems that generally we are quite happy for the opposition to have extra numbers in our forward line and clog it up as long as it means we have extra numbers at the contest and win the ball and push it forward more than them. So that's automatically going to lead to a less efficient forward line. This is probably the reason our midfielders are kicking so much of our score as well because we have an extra man there, whilst our opposition has an extra man positioned defensively.

In terms of the limitations of our personnel I agree that we lack a good pack mark . In fact I wouldn't say any of our tall forwards are great contested marks. Crameri is pretty good on the lead, has his moments above his head but not consistent. Hurley is an unreliable mark and is much better on the lead. Gumbleton is a decent mark overhead, but gets buffeted far too easily by defenders and is not really a pack mark. Daniher might be the solution to this problem long term though. In terms of a current solution I reckon Bellchambers has some real potential in that role but obviously we need Ryder in the side for that to be viable and then we sacrifice some forward line pressure. However I will give credit to Bellchambers, at least he chases with intent, even though he's slow.

 

[The Derp]

General question: Assume Gumby plays out a full season with a decent number of games under his belt and gets through next years pre-season, all injury free.

Does he improve substantially in strength to the point he becomes a strong pack mark and agile/fast enough (liberal use of 'fast') to at least maintain some forward pressure? Hard to get a gauge on whether the poor guy's injury run has had a permanent effect on his body or not.

 

[yaco55]

It may have a minimal impact on his ability to maintain forward pressure, but think its mainly a product of his playing style.

 

[Rack Watts]

Problem isn't with the talls, it's with the men that are supposed to score if they don't grab it in the air.
We need another good small, give Del a go if Davey is out.

 

[Rack Watts]

Also, instead of kicking it to Davey in a marking contest, dribble it infront of him.
He'll lick his lips and snap a sausage.

 

[Ambrosia]

Also, instead of kicking it to Davey in a marking contest, dribble it infront of him.
He'll lick his lips and snap a sausage.

Or at least kick it as low and hard as you possibly can. Its amazing how many times we lob the ball on his head.

 

[gbwolvie]

Our forward line lacks experience. Basically its compromised solely of guys with around 50 games or less. The only exception is Davey whose around 100. I won't count Winderlich given he's played a handful of games in the last few years but if you include him then he's played around 100 as well. Also Crameri/Hurley are always getting injured and we are always using different people down there. A bit like our defence last year where we were never able to get a consistent line up due to injuries. For a case in point, I don't believe Crameri/Hurley and Gumbleton have ever played together before.

It also seems that generally we are quite happy for the opposition to have extra numbers in our forward line and clog it up as long as it means we have extra numbers at the contest and win the ball and push it forward more than them. So that's automatically going to lead to a less efficient forward line. This is probably the reason our midfielders are kicking so much of our score as well because we have an extra man there, whilst our opposition has an extra man positioned defensively.

In terms of the limitations of our personnel I agree that we lack a good pack mark . In fact I wouldn't say any of our tall forwards are great contested marks. Crameri is pretty good on the lead, has his moments above his head but not consistent. Hurley is an unreliable mark and is much better on the lead. Gumbleton is a decent mark overhead, but gets buffeted far too easily by defenders and is not really a pack mark. Daniher might be the solution to this problem long term though. In terms of a current solution I reckon Bellchambers has some real potential in that role but obviously we need Ryder in the side for that to be viable and then we sacrifice some forward line pressure. However I will give credit to Bellchambers, at least he chases with intent, even though he's slow.

In the VFL games I saw this year, Joe Daniher is more a Paul Salmon-type lead and mark player. Haven't seen any junior reviews to suggest that his pack marking is exceptional and would be the long term solution on that front.

 

[kfc1]

Watson 8.10

Imagine how many goals he'd kick if he could handball it through for a goal

#watsoncantkick #welcometo2007

 

[Ben the Gooner]

Imagine how many goals he'd kick if he could handball it through for a goal

#watsoncantkick #welcometo2007

There was a classic thread on here years ago about a guy complaining that his local footy umpire wouldn't pay a goal when he handballed it through.

 

[daffo]

Geelongs defense makes a lot of forward lines look average.

 

[The Bomb]

Our forwardline looks heaps better when Bellchambers or Watson are coming out of the goal square.
soon enough I rekon Gumby will fall behind Daniher as Daniher can really do some awesome work once the ball hit the deck, ala Ryder.

 

[Darealrath]

For the future i can only see one of Gumby or Crameri playing if Hurley is forward. Ryder comes in as we need two genuine rucks. With Tommy rucking 80% of the game we missed his stints forward where he took a few marks or made a contest.

Totally agree.

 

[Can Opener]

IMO in the past 2 rounds This has been our major weakness at the moment. Its not our forward line. Slow ball movement off the HBF which hasnt helped because dempsey isn't playing. We opt to Bomb long to packs instead of chip around the arc or spot lead up targets. We have an abundance of talls but for some reason we always seem to sit it on their heads. You still need to kick it to them on a lead or on a 1on1. Opposition have worked us out and have seemed to have implemented a flood, then we seem to get carved out on the rebound by speed. Although brisbane won due to more hunger. is this the issue?? Have teams worked us out. I dont mean to be reactive in a loss, but it just seems in both games we have lost this year it has been our down fall

 

[Yoda_]

Isnt there another thread about our forward line?

 

[Can Opener]

is there?? albeit this is about f50 entries. anyway merge it if ya want
im only trying to stimulate discussion

 

[FatChicksRejectMe]

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Crammeri only plays good against the weaker sides and is so inaccurate its not even funny anymore

Hurely has potential but is always injured. And he has been promising forever to get to the next level but he is too lazy and inconsistent.

Jetta is a fake, the most hyped of up spud to come out of essendon in years. They should of traded him to an WA team last year when he had some value.

Winderlich is not really a true forward, but he is up and down in form.

Davey is on and off as well, but honestly i think right now he is one of their more important players. He at least chases and tackles, and he appears to be the only small forward the bombers have atm.

The bombers need at least a key tall forward, ideally two, one as a full forward and another at CHF. And they also need to smaller options as well. Davey is doing ok but there needs to be another smaller option.

It is a real worry that the bombers best forwards are the resting ruckmen

I think its great the bombers have a first class ruck division and midfield (a weakness for them for almost 10 years) and a fantastic backline, but they need to sort out their forward line ASAP if they want to save their 2013 season

 

[doug85]

do you really go for Essendon?