Key position players

[Hamburger]

IMO the biggest problem for the eagles this year is the key position players....or should I say the lack of them.
I think we have been extremely fortunate in picking up very good midfielders who have cemented a place in the side at an early age....Judd and Kerr are the obvious examples.
But where are the younger KPP that we need? I do not live in Perth so have no access to the local WAFL games to determine how well some of the younger KPP on the WCE list are going, but it seems some at least must be going backwards this year?
I am thinking primarily of Lynch and MacDougall.....neither of whom has managed to get a chance in the any of the games this year.
Lynch looked pretty good at times last year and so I wonder why he has not made it into the side so far?
MacDougall seems to be a very unlucky guy with illness and injury but apparently has the talent, is it likely we may see something of him soon?
Staker and Hansen? Both of these are apparently doing very well in the WAFL, and last year, that kind of form got Lynch a run in the seniors where he did pretty well....will they get a chance as well?

 

[iceman]

The players you mentioned are our KPP. What ive noticed however, is that theyre being given considerable time in the WAFL before being allowed to play AFL.

Maybe Woosha feels that WAFL will make them better players?? Or that developing them in the WAFL is better than throwing them into the deep end as some clubs have had to do in the past.

Lynch is ready made IMO, dunno about the rest though

 

[larrikin]

Johnson looks ready to go. He's built like Lynch (if not a bit bigger) and seems to have a good footy brain. I'd be suprised if he doesn't get a game this week.

Gaspar is the bloke we are missing. He has become extremely important to that forawrd line in the way he presents.

The future does look strong for us in thia area IMO.

We have

Gaspar
MacDougall (needs to get an injury free 12 months)
Johnson
Lynch
Hansen
Staker

All look like solid CHF/FF types. The weakness I see is at least 2 of this group need to turn into backmen (which I think Lynch definitely will).

 

[iceman]

My concern is regarding whether Lynch is quick enough to hold down a KP in the backline??

Seems pretty big to hold down a position there, he reminds me of Jakovich with the bulk that makes him great against strong body on body players but weak against quicker forwards

 

[ozzult]

Originally posted by iceman
My concern is regarding whether Lynch is quick enough to hold down a KP in the backline??

Seems pretty big to hold down a position there, he reminds me of Jakovich with the bulk that makes him great against strong body on body players but weak against quicker forwards

Lynch is very quick. He used to run in the national 400m. West Perth uses him as Full Back pretty regularly, so he definitely does have the pace to hold down a defensive slot.

 

[Sera]

Originally posted by larrikin
The weakness I see is at least 2 of this group need to turn into backmen (which I think Lynch definitely will).

I think Staker will be the other as he has played most of his junior football at CHB. Has also played good football there in the WAFL for East Fremantle.

McDougall will be a ruckman or forward.

 

[ozzult]

I don't think they have any plans of developing Doogs in the ruck, not for long periods anyway. Everything I have heard from Woosha and Sumich, is that he is being moulded as key player in the Eagles forward line for the next 10 years.

 

[Sera]

Originally posted by ozzult
I don't think they have any plans of developing Doogs in the ruck, not for long periods anyway. Everything I have heard from Woosha and Sumich, is that he is being moulded as key player in the Eagles forward line for the next 10 years.

Interesting because in the WAFL game on the weekend, he spent half the game up forward and the other half in the ruck. Considering his constant injuries, I doubt he could take the amount of buffeting that most AFL ruckmen do.

 

[iceman]

Originally posted by ozzult
Lynch is very quick. He used to run in the national 400m. West Perth uses him as Full Back pretty regularly, so he definitely does have the pace to hold down a defensive slot.

Promising news - id never heard that about him. I just assumed that with his body mass, he wouldnt be as quick

 

[Sera]

Originally posted by iceman
Promising news - id never heard that about him. I just assumed that with his body mass, he wouldnt be as quick

It's not Lynch's pace that worries me. In straight lines he is quite quick, but he doesnt have the nous, agility, recovery or turning circle that defenders need to have at AFL level. Maybe these could be improved in time, I don't know, but he needs time to develop as a backman. As a forward, I think he could play AFL tomorrow but he isn't our best bet long term so I'm guessing they want him to learn the ropes as a defender.

 

[ozzult]

Originally posted by Sera
It's not Lynch's pace that worries me. In straight lines he is quite quick, but he doesnt have the nous, agility, recovery or turning circle that defenders need to have at AFL level.

Neither does Jako, and look where he ended up.

 

[Sera]

Originally posted by ozzult
Neither does Jako, and look where he ended up.

Yeah but Jacko is a champion, I'm not convined Lynch is a champion just yet. Plus Jacko was quite agile early in his career. It's a different game today than it was in the early 90s. Speed and agility is almost everything these days...

 

[Hamburger]

Quinten Lynch may have a big turning circle, and is not particularly agile, but then neither does Alastair Lynch, and he can perform a very important role as a key marking forward deep in attack.

IMO, the eagles urgently need a couple of talls who can take a big grab in the forward line. Brisbane have Lynch, Bradshaw, Brown and Leppitsch. Collingwood have Tarrant, Rocca, Fraser, and who do we have?

Against Essendon in last years final, the eagle forwards were constantly outmarked by the Essendon talls...Fletcher and Wellman. If those two could not mark it, neither did anyone else. I know the delivery was not good, but both Fletcher and Wellman were able to judge the flight of the ball, and get themselves into position to mark it with monotonous regularity.

A look at the stats for the game against the crows suggests that our midfield did get a lot of the ball, but our tall forwards provided no marking power...something that has been a feature of WCE for years now, particularly when it comes to contested marks. By contrast Carey and Stevens provided that focus for the crows midfield.

Wilson sometimes provides that focus, but just as often he is given a bath by a good FB like Fletcher.

IMO to go any further this year or next, WCE needs at least two, probably three talls to provide strong contested marking options inside 50. So far we can identify Gaspar....if he can remain injury free. That leaves another two positions.

Of all the talls we have recruited in recent years, none has been able to cement a place in this team, and many of the talls we have were recruited before people like Kerr and Judd. Sometimes I think it might have been more value in the long run to have drafted someone like Polak. I hope some of the young talls on the eagles list prove me wrong this year.

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

We have the cattle, they're just not getting a run in the first squad due to injuries. Gaspar and McDougall would be regulars if it wasn't for injuries, apparently Seaby and Hansen suffered injuries a fair bit too, while everything from 2000 draft and earlier were mostly duds and midfielders/mediums.

 

[The Passenger]

Originally posted by larrikin
The future does look strong for us in thia area IMO.

We have

Gaspar
MacDougall (needs to get an injury free 12 months)
Johnson
Lynch
Hansen
Staker

I think that group more looks solid than strong.

Its nothing special, but thats a bunch of guys who will get a reasonable job done. I think we'll be pinning big hopes on picking that Moody kid up in this draft.

I think our game plan in the future will be to win in the middle, go forward, compete in the air, if we mark, have a shot, if we don't, win at ground and have a snap.

in defence, it will be simply to win it in the air and rely on Wirrpunda-type players to mop up at ground level.

 

[jod23]

Originally posted by daddy_4_eyes
We have the cattle, they're just not getting a run in the first squad due to injuries. Gaspar and McDougall would be regulars if it wasn't for injuries, apparently Seaby and Hansen suffered injuries a fair bit too, while everything from 2000 draft and earlier were mostly duds and midfielders/mediums.

I agree, Doogs and Gaspar would be permanent fixtures in the forward line if it wasnt for injury. As for the other youngsters, they just seem stuck behind Milli, Jako, Glass, Wilson, Gaspar etc for CHB, FB, FF, CHF gigs.

I think Buffy and Johnson will get a game sooner rather than later and Doogs must come into the side, hopefully this weekend. Lynch I think is certainly a part of our future, not sure where just yet. He looked real strong up forward last season and in limited games IIRC he kicked 17 goals.