our backline

[Shane Hird]

I think the best defensive unit we can put on the park is:

B: ..McVeigh......Fletcher......NLM
HB: McPhee.......Lucas.........MJ (with Cole/Nash/Lee as backup for a taller backline)

In my view the only switch should be Lee for Lucas, and a youngster (Slattery/Nash/New guy) for MJ, due to team structure/development needs. I agree that I hope Bradley can become a tall winger, and would go further to say I'm not sure if he'll be able to play any other position (I think its rotating wing/HFF or nothing).

In my view Welsh & Cole are backups, and shouldn't be in the 22 (which is why I would've traded Welsh).

Welsh will be back to form next year.Remember,we had a shocking season this year.The worst time at EFC that most of these young players have exprienced. Even the older players lost form and confidence,so imagine what it was like for someone like Welsh. As his form dropped off a bit,he would have been sh---ting himself that his place in the side was at risk.The pressure was on from rd 4-5.

This comes from one bad loss after another and I'm sure every player from Hirdy to Nash will be in a different mind set come rd1 2007 and will forget about poor form that occured during this season.

Time to start the MJ debate again is it? I hope they slot him into the half forward line next year.He is too slow for the backline now. Cole is a mystery on what is gunna happen with his position in the side. It will take a few games to work out where he is most suited I think.

If all these players were in red hot form and playing good footy every week,this is how I'd like to see our backline fire next year.


McV Fletch Welsh
NLM KB Lee

If we could get those six players going well every week,working as a team and flowing together it would be fantastic.


With players such as McPhee,Hird, Lucas,Laycock,Nash,Slattery and Cole
all playing a role down back when needed, it makes for a formidable and intimidating back line.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

NLM Fletch Welsh
Cole Bradley McPhee

As the starting backline.

Mcveigh to play on ball/forward. Nash/Slatterly/Lee/MJ to rotate through there.

 

[drew_j]

Until Bradley can get the fittenss to run out a game against the best CHF he should not be played at CHB. His biggest flaw last season was his gas tank. Was continually lead to the ball in later quaters. We need a Lee to step up or S Lucas there IMHO.

 

[gussy6isagun]

yes id like the look of

b Slatts Fletch Welsh
hb NLM Lee Nash
c McPhee Watson Kepler

that would be fantastic if that could work out

Add Hansen at centre half back and lee might even be able to go forward.

 

[oasis]

• Fletcher is old
• Lucas is a forward
• Bradley got 9 kicked on him by Richo
• Cole is a dud

Not great signs

 

[Longy413]

Until Bradley can get the fittenss to run out a game against the best CHF he should not be played at CHB. His biggest flaw last season was his gas tank. Was continually lead to the ball in later quaters. We need a Lee to step up or S Lucas there IMHO.

Lee isn't going to have the tank to go with the best forwards, no kid is.
Put Kep against Trav Cloke and he'll outrun him.

Put him against Tredrea, Brown, Richo and he's going to get outrun. But you are talking about blokes that have done 6-10+ preseasons compared to a kid in his third season. That's the nature of the beast.

Kep has a very good tank for his age, he just isn't as good as the best in the comp.

 

[drew_j]

Lee isn't going to have the tank to go with the best forwards, no kid is.
Put Kep against Trav Cloke and he'll outrun him.

Put him against Tredrea, Brown, Richo and he's going to get outrun. But you are talking about blokes that have done 6-10+ preseasons compared to a kid in his third season. That's the nature of the beast.

Kep has a very good tank for his age, he just isn't as good as the best in the comp.

I'll concede the Lee point and agree on the tank for age point but I still think S Lucas is a better option than KB. Don't get me wrong, I like the kid, I just think with the condition of the bombers backline SL would be the best choice (. Bradley is a big kid and he tries hard. But needs another year or so to bloom as a footballer, and doing that getting his arse handed to him at CHB may be detrimental. I think it has been unfortunate that he has had to play that role because no one else can last year. I'm sure sheedy would have loved to play him all over the ground. I'm sure KB would have enjoyed that more to. A little bit of freedom is just what the doctor ordered.

 

[Crave]

• Fletcher is old
• Lucas is a forward
• Bradley got 9 kicked on him by Richo
• Cole is a dud

Not great signs

* Fletcher is still a champion FB
*Lucas is versatile
*Bradley isnt a key back
*Cole has yet to show if he is or isnt anything

 

[Crave]

I think the best defensive unit we can put on the park is:

B: ..McVeigh......Fletcher......NLM
HB: McPhee.......Lucas.........MJ (with Cole/Nash/Lee as backup for a taller backline)

In my view the only switch should be Lee for Lucas, and a youngster (Slattery/Nash/New guy) for MJ, due to team structure/development needs. I agree that I hope Bradley can become a tall winger, and would go further to say I'm not sure if he'll be able to play any other position (I think its rotating wing/HFF or nothing).

In my view Welsh & Cole are backups, and shouldn't be in the 22 (which is why I would've traded Welsh).[/QUOTE]

Welsh has had another consistent season. Still cant understand the criticism against him. He delivers week in, week out, has always presented himself down back as an avenue away from our back 50 and his performances arent as spasmodic as some other seasoned veterans.

 

[dave_27]

None of these backlines posted in this thread have any cred if Jay Nash aint listed on the half back flank.

Unless of course you have named him in the middle.

 

[Darealrath]

None of these backlines posted in this thread have any cred if Jay Nash aint listed on the half back flank.

Unless of course you have named him in the middle.

Damn right.

 

[Not a Wellman]

I mentioned Jay on page 2 he seemed to be a bit bigger and stronger then i thought which is a bonus get some grunt into our side and intimidate other sides.

Also I think Welsh gets a bit of critizism as a lot of people think the possetions he gets are easy ones and needs to get a hard ball a little more. He's good but if we could have got a decent draft pick eg 25 or something we should have thought long and hard about trading him.

 

[Longy413]

Also I think Welsh gets a bit of critizism as a lot of people think the possetions he gets are easy ones

That's his role, to set up for the switch of play.
Watch him, once we win the ball, he peels off and sets up. Not hard to gather that he's playing to instructions.

I've never seen Andrew Welsh fail to put his head over the ball or enter a contest when it was required. Infact, I'd say that's his strength.

He's good but if we could have got a decent draft pick eg 25 or something we should have thought long and hard about trading him.

We're not going to get pick 25 for Welsh.

He's a solid defender that does his job and is a good leader for younger players. He's worth much more to us as a club than he is to any other club, because of those leadership values.

 

[Ants]

6th in the B&F (I know we didn't have a good year), rarely beaten, nearly 20 disposals a game, does his job most weeks.

Your a harsh man.

He was better than MJ.

I never said Welsh wasn't a good player, or that he hasn't done alright for us. What I said was that he is surplus.

In my view McVeigh is clearly our #1 small defender, and will never be much more than a fill-in mid. It would be better to play him in his best role, and have young mids (like Nash) get game time in the middle.

In my view forwards are getting taller, and NLM & McPhee, and depending on the size of the foward line can play either 3rd/4th tall or 4th/5th. In my view, both are best in defense, and should be left there.

In my view, one slot in defense should be left 'open', as a development point for youngsters. So maybe Slattery/Nash/Neagle/Lonnergen, or a new kid should be played through here as a stepping stone to another position.

Flecther gets FB. CHB falls to either Lee/Lucas/Bradley, someone new. And when we need a 3rd tall bigger than McPhee, a second of the aforementioned must fill in.

So after all this, IN MY VIEW, Welsh was not needed (or Cole). And given I have real queries on his choice/time of disposal, I thought we should have traded him. Hopefully for a pick between 30 and 40, who could get a player who might/might not come on, but if he did would be in an area we don't have a surplus of players. And we'd still have had Cole & MJ as backups if someone in the backline got injured.

As it is, I suspect we'll either have Welsh & Cole playing for Bendigo (real useful), or we'll be playing defenders such as McVeigh/McPhee/Cole/NLM out of position in the midfield, at the cost of development time for youngsters who will be real midfielders. Neither situation in my view is a good result for the EFC.

 

[dave_27]

Welsh was extremely fustrating in the first half of the season.

The brand of football he was playing was pathetic, chip side ways, chip backwards. There was no direction at all.

It was all cheap possies with no run out of him whatsoever.

But credit to him he really made an effort after the mid season break to change that.

Was great to see him just go back to what made him in the first place which was just grabbing the bloody ball and running straight down the middle with it.

 

[stander]

Until Bradley can get the fittenss to run out a game against the best CHF he should not be played at CHB. His biggest flaw last season was his gas tank. Was continually lead to the ball in later quaters. We need a Lee to step up or S Lucas there IMHO.

What has happened to his fitness ? He came over and everyone said he could run all day and should have built on that in his first 2 years. Stanton came over at the same time, and can run all day, and night. Give Bradley another year, but I didn't like him punching at thin air all night against Richmond. Ability is a worry.

 

[DaSawx]

We should dismiss any hopes of him being a key defender IMO, lose some weight, gain some pace and fitness and utilize him all around the ground

 

[drew_j]

What has happened to his fitness ? He came over and everyone said he could run all day and should have built on that in his first 2 years. Stanton came over at the same time, and can run all day, and night. Give Bradley another year, but I didn't like him punching at thin air all night against Richmond. Ability is a worry.

He can run all day. But he can't wrestle all day. And he definitely can't do both. Barry Hall can. His core strength won't be at it's peak until he is about 28 (the physical strength peak for the average male).

 

[stander]

He can run all day. But he can't wrestle all day. And he definitely can't do both. Barry Hall can. His core strength won't be at it's peak until he is about 28 (the physical strength peak for the average male).

J Brown did all right as a youngster- but 28 is a long time to wait for Kepler.

 

[DaSawx]

Barry Hall didn't always have his head screwed on straight either

 

[drew_j]

J Brown did all right as a youngster- but 28 is a long time to wait for Kepler.

Soz, not making myself clear. 28 is the general peak, but the closer you get you peak in anything the slower your progress will be. Remember he was only 20 last year. Would expect him to improve dramatically with core strength over the next year or two and tapper of the improvement to a steady gain until he reaches about 28. I think most would agree he's not a naturally strong boy. A lot of twitch muscle but not strength. That will change with time.

 

[Shane Hird]

strange to read about peoples negative views on Welsh. The whole team lost the plot this year,not just him. He will bounce back next season.

If we get Gumbleton or Hanson (which I think are the front runners for our first pick) expect them to start in the backline.\


eg. Welsh DF McV

NLM KB Gumbleton/Hanson

with Lee and Cole and McPhee making up the numbers if the young blokes drop form.

It also f-cking sh-its me when someone says Fletcher is gone.

What are u gunna do, drop him to the BB's? Don't think so Jan.....

 

[DaSawx]

2 other things that get to me as well is

a) they say he's crap, he had one of his best seasons in 06 and

b) he only has a couple of years left, how does anyone know that, he could have 3-4 left for all we know

 

[Shane Hird]

2 other things that get to me as well is

a) they say he's crap, he had one of his best seasons in 06 and

b) he only has a couple of years left, how does anyone know that, he could have 3-4 left for all we know

Dread to think about how much success we wouldn't have had if DF wasn't at FB for us the last 13 years. An EFC immortal in my book.

And still a few years left in the old lanky legs

 

[Not a Wellman]

I get laughed at by oppisition idiots when I say fetcher is easily the best fullback in the league and has been for some time. Silvagni is the only other one that comes close from the last 15 years.