Strategy Let's talk tagging!

[John Who]

With the 3 losses so far this midseason, it's a good position we're currently in for a tilt at the major rounds. Certainly we can't rest on our laurels, and the whole team still needs some improving. Since in the midfield is where the game is won and lost, there are 2 glaring themes we need to work on:
1. Sloaney needs some ideas to help break the tag. Pound for pound, I have no doubt he is one of the toughest players on the field. However, he doesn't have the most explosive pace to break away from a congestion (unlike Dangerfield or Judd), so what other ways can he deal with a heavy tag, or at times, a 'Sloaney sandwich' (2 players on either side of Sloane)?
2. We seem to be missing a player who can do a full game tagging role. 'Team defense' is the cliche of the day, I get it, but sometimes you got to focus on one or two men of the opposition. The question is, do we need a full-game tagger on our side? And the subsequent question is, who is the best person to fit in this role?

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

Good teams don't tag. And it also seems good teams don't respond to taggers.

 

[Crowman32]

I think we must develop a tagger before the end of the year otherwise we are going to fall short in the finals. We cant keep letting the opposition best midfielder rack up 30 plus possessions every week. At the end of the day teams are making it hard for us by tagging our best midfielder sloane so why wouldnt we do it to them. If we dont tag selwood next time we will lose to the cats again.

I think either jake kelly, riley knight or luke brown could do the job.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

I think we must develop a tagger before the end of the year otherwise we are going to fall short in the finals. We cant keep letting the opposition best midfielder rack up 30 plus possessions every week. At the end of the day teams are making it hard for us by tagging our best midfielder sloane so why wouldnt we do it to them. If we dont tag selwood next time we will lose to the cats again.

I think either jake kelly, riley knight or luke brown could do the job.

Riley Knight is the perfect candidate.

 

[Godallblighty]

Even if we don't use him every match, a tagger up our sleeve for when it's needed will be important. Should try it out before finals.

Sloane should stop getting into the push and shove and, instead, work on some moves to get separation.

 

[mattymac]

I think we must develop a tagger before the end of the year otherwise we are going to fall short in the finals. We cant keep letting the opposition best midfielder rack up 30 plus possessions every week. At the end of the day teams are making it hard for us by tagging our best midfielder sloane so why wouldnt we do it to them. If we dont tag selwood next time we will lose to the cats again.

I think either jake kelly, riley knight or luke brown could do the job.

Knight or Kelly. Brown is too nice

 

[TheLeftFist8]

Riley Knight is the perfect candidate.

I know he gives 100% but, like Douglas, I don't think he's strong enough...need someone who can hold their own in a contest against the inside mids but still be quick and fit enough on the spread.

Only candidates would be Brown or Kelly. B Crouch and Greenwood would be good 'mind them at a stoppage' types but not taggers in general play (BC wouldn't have the mindset and Greenwood wouldn't have the fitness).

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

I know he gives 100% but, like Douglas, I don't think he's strong enough...need someone who can hold their own in a contest against the inside mids but still be quick and fit enough on the spread.

Only candidates would be Brown or Kelly. B Crouch and Greenwood would be good 'mind them at a stoppage' types but not taggers in general play (BC wouldn't have the mindset and Greenwood wouldn't have the fitness).

Charlie Cameron was sent to danger in the last quarter vs Geelong.

 

[marty36]

Taggers need to compromise their game have a huge engine be a bit of a prick and have a little strength about them

Who we got


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[TheLeftFist8]

Charlie Cameron was sent to danger in the last quarter vs Geelong.

There's another option but, while inconsistent, he's a real attacking threat and I'm not sure we should lose that.

 

[TheLeftFist8]

Taggers need to compromise their game have a huge engine be a bit of a prick and have a little strength about them

Who we got


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Kelly fits that description.

 

[marty36]

Kelly fits that description.

Then he's the man can't think of anyone else maybe brown but he seems a little short


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[Carmo]

Plenty of potential options, Hampton would be the no 1 for me, if fit, but all of Greenwood, Kelly, Brown, Dougie, Laird, Knight , Cameron, Cheney and Seedsman have the mentality and enough physicality to do it.

Its just another dot the i cross the t thing we should be test running when we've got games won (that we aren't doing).

 

[19thcrow]

If we are to tag the candidate needs to be tough and understand the centre bounces and ball up set ups. Kelly Knight and Brown don't. If we are to try tagging if I was Pyke I'd say to Scott Thompson this is your chance. I'd try him in that role against Hawks and I'd put him on Tom Mitchell stop him getting the ball less then 25 touches and it could work. Yes Thompson is slow but so are some of the best taggers of past Ling Crowley neither are even close to quick. Thompson has the midfield understanding and has had taggers tag him. He is tough and can handle himself. He in my mind is the best candidate he can't play forward or back he only knows midfield.

 

[fabs33]

For me the answer is an emphatic yes, our midfield just isn't good enough to be relied upon to consistently beat their opposition. So sick the bull on the opposition's best midfielder and let him do what he does best, even when it's not necessary as it serves as practice for the finals. I have a feeling Kelly would relish that role and really own it, and since he's not suited to an offensive role we're not losing much by having him focus on his defensive skills.

 

[Doctor B]

It would be robbing us of his attacking flair, but I think Charlie has the mongrel, strength speed and tackling to go head to head with Danger to minimise his impact.

 

[Elite Crow]

If we are to tag the candidate needs to be tough and understand the centre bounces and ball up set ups. Kelly Knight and Brown don't. If we are to try tagging if I was Pyke I'd say to Scott Thompson this is your chance. I'd try him in that role against Hawks and I'd put him on Tom Mitchell stop him getting the ball less then 25 touches and it could work. Yes Thompson is slow but so are some of the best taggers of past Ling Crowley neither are even close to quick. Thompson has the midfield understanding and has had taggers tag him. He is tough and can handle himself. He in my mind is the best candidate he can't play forward or back he only knows midfield.

I'm sorry but that's a horrible call.

Thommo makes Ling and Crawley look like Cathy Freeman.

How long do you reckon it would take to teach one of the defenders the set ups? Besides they are there to stand next to and scrag a player, he follows them around not look for the ball.

 

[TheLeftFist8]

View attachment 380809 It would be robbing us of his attacking flair, but I think Charlie has the mongrel, strength speed and tackling to go head to head with Danger to minimise his impact.

The advantage of Cameron in there is he's not a dead loss with ball in hand like Kelly. He's actually a low possession winner traditionally but following the key opposition playmaker would actually get him in the thick of the action...if he wins possession it's also likely his star opponent won't defend too well but just run into space for the next play so Charlie could hurt the opposition massively!

 

[19thcrow]

I'm sorry but that's a horrible call.

Thommo makes Ling and Crawley look like Cathy Freeman.

How long do you reckon it would take to teach one of the defenders the set ups? Besides they are there to stand next to and scrag a player, he follows them around not look for the ball.

Like 2017 Cathy Freeman. Ling is one of the slowest players ever. Something like this would be the only chance Thompson plays AFL again. Its only a suggestion and there will be pros and cons as there is with a Kelly type as well.

 

[Elite Crow]

The advantage of Cameron in there is he's not a dead loss with ball in hand like Kelly. He's actually a low possession winner traditionally but following the key opposition playmaker would actually get him in the thick of the action...if he wins possession it's also likely his star opponent won't defend too well but just run into space for the next play so Charlie could hurt the opposition massively!

I was going to post similar, I reckon it's got the potential to be a great move.

Would like to see it tried at least. Someone call Pykey.

 

[Elite Crow]

Like 2017 Cathy Freeman. Ling is one of the slowest players ever. Something like this would be the only chance Thompson plays AFL again. Its only a suggestion and there will be pros and cons as there is with a Kelly type as well.

Thompson doesn't need to play again. He should have retired last year, we don't owe it to him to find a spot for him.

 

[TheLeftFist8]

I was going to post similar, I reckon it's got the potential to be a great move.

Would like to see it tried at least. Someone call Pykey.

When considering my 'best 22' recently I wanted Cameron on the ball for his point of difference amongst the other solid inside mids. Similarly I'd love Smith to get up through the middle at times.

However I wasn't thinking of the tag role! Unlike Smith, Cameron is a contested freak (this may be news to Cameron Ling who was shocked by the discovery last week).

If I were an opposition player I would absolutely hate the angry, fast, strong Charlie Cameron with me all game long...one of our few with some real mongrel!

 

[Thetrader15]

I was going to post similar, I reckon it's got the potential to be a great move.

Would like to see it tried at least. Someone call Pykey.

Cameron is the best option for me too, but don't know if he has the endurance.

I'd like to see us go after Ed Curnow next year as a cheap pick up. Seems to do a good job when he is given a task. I really think we should be trading for someone....I've seen Kerridge do some good tagging roles before

 

[John Who]

Good healthy discussion so far!
So far the prime candidates for a tagging role:
- Hampton
- Kelly
- Brown
- Cameron
- Thommo (interesting out-of-the-box thought, but I don't think this is gonna happen)
I've had some further thoughts on this, and I think it might be best to have a player play a full-on tag for half a game, and to play to their strengths.
For example, the 1st half, someone like a Hampton or Cameron play a full-tag role, and they can burn off their opposition or chase them down. When in the 2nd half things would slow down a bit, we can then move in someone like a Kelly or a Brown, with their good one-on-one harassing. Or maybe let the 4 names above play a full-on tagging role for 1 quarter each? Just some thoughts!
But how about the original Sloane-tag question, should we shift Sloane in some other position to give him more space out of the congestion?

 

[BunjiMac]

Don't think you need pace to be a tagger, but endurance is a must. Ling, Crowley, kornes etc all had it.

Not sure if tagging is necessarily the answer either. I think the bigger problem is the timing of our moves and the lack of courage from our coaching staff to make the game day calls.

I get the whole "backing in our system" thing but the best coaches seem to know exactly when it's time to try something different. It's obviously a fine line between making a move too early and one too late, but that's what separates your great coaches from your average ones.

Clarkson is, in my opinion, the master at this. He always nailed the timing of he's moves when things weren't going well to turn the tide of the game.

We seem to wait way too long, a quarter too long. Whether this is our conservative nature or blind faith in our system I'm not sure.

So I question our ability to recognise, in game, that we need to tag someone until the damage is well and truly done.

However, having said that, yes it would be great to have someone identified that could do that role. If beech is still in the side, I'd give him a crack. Big and strong, good endurance, keeps his feet and very hard to push off the ball. Whether he can stick that closely to a player I'm not sure.

The other one would be Doedee. The guy is an athletic specimen that never losses his feet and never seems to panic. Has great defensive awareness, endurance and closing speed. The downside is he's not even played a senior game, so very high risk option.

I'm happy to give Kelly a crack, but for me he is a little lacking in awareness. The most successful guys, like Ling are focused on their man, but also equally focused on the ball and surrounding play to be able to anticipate the best negating tactic and nullify an opponents power and speed. I feel Kelly may get lead around like a dog on a leash. We will never know unless we try though and happy to see how that goes.