Our Best 22 Position Fights........

[Roughies Boys]

There is always a fight for who's in our best 22 but they bring up players and compare them to see who's better these are some of the wars:

Carl Peterson vs Rick Ladson vs Rhan Hooper
Rick Ladson vs Xavier Ellis

Starting 18:
Murphy vs Brown



Who win's out?

And point out other position fights if you choose to.

 

[bards]

Hooper, if fit - He adds greater forward pressure than Peterson, and finishes better. Could quite easily have a day out and kick 5 or 6. Peterson can't, yet. Peterson will be a player. Ladson, IMO isn't in the running for this position.

Ellis - Can go into the middle, something that Ladson hasn't really been able to do over the years. Again, I don't think this is necessarily the spot Ladson can get. I think its more the murphy spot. Smart defender who can pick up clever forwards. Murphy has the advantage of height, he is a better mark, but less penetrating kick. Doesn't turn it over as much as people try to say, Murphy has more strings to his bow, when playing with confidence.

As for the starting 18, its not that important and comes down purely to match ups. I really like Murphy on the Stevie J, Milne, Betts types. I don't like Brown on these so much because Browny can't help but go to the contest. This is great, except when the little shits dag out the back and get the easy ball created when Browny smashes the pack. Murph is a little better at when to go and when not to. No where near as tough as brownie, but a little smarter at times.

 

[Roughies Boys]

Hooper, if fit - He adds greater forward pressure than Peterson, and finishes better. Could quite easily have a day out and kick 5 or 6. Peterson can't, yet. Peterson will be a player. Ladson, IMO isn't in the running for this position.

Ellis - Can go into the middle, something that Ladson hasn't really been able to do over the years. Again, I don't think this is necessarily the spot Ladson can get. I think its more the murphy spot. Smart defender who can pick up clever forwards. Murphy has the advantage of height, he is a better mark, but less penetrating kick. Doesn't turn it over as much as people try to say, Murphy has more strings to his bow, when playing with confidence.

As for the starting 18, its not that important and comes down purely to match ups. I really like Murphy on the Stevie J, Milne, Betts types. I don't like Brown on these so much because Browny can't help but go to the contest. This is great, except when the little shits dag out the back and get the easy ball created when Browny smashes the pack. Murph is a little better at when to go and when not to. No where near as tough as brownie, but a little smarter at times.

We got 2 many backman plus i would say Murphy over Ladson but i'm talking about the wars in general cause Ladson would be in the fight for the last spot in the best 22!

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

If fit...

FB: Murphy - Gilham - Guerra
HB: Stratton - Gibson - Birchall
Ce: Young - Hodge - Burgoyne
HF: Hooper - Franklin - Bateman
FF: Riioli - Roughead - Osborne

Ru: Renouf
RR: Sewell
Ro: Mitchell

I/C: Taylor, Lewis, Brown and Ellis

Emerg: Skipper, Ladson, Peterson

 

[Brant]

If fit...

FB: Murphy - Gilham - Guerra
HB: Stratton - Gibson - Birchall
Ce: Young - Hodge - Burgoyne
HF: Hooper - Franklin - Bateman
FF: Rioli - Roughead - Osborne

Ru: Renouf
RR: Sewell
Ro: Mitchell

I/C: Taylor, Lewis, Brown and Ellis

Emerg: Skipper, Ladson, Peterson

Change red for red and blue for blue & I agree with you C-L-A.

 

[Cynic]

If fit...

FB: Murphy - Gilham - Guerra
HB: Stratton - Gibson - Birchall
Ce: Young - Hodge - Burgoyne
HF: Hooper - Franklin - Bateman
FF: Riioli - Roughead - Osborne

Ru: Renouf
RR: Sewell
Ro: Mitchell

I/C: Taylor, Lewis, Brown and Ellis

Emerg: Skipper, Ladson, Peterson

I'd have Peterson over Hooper simply as I fear Hooper's hamstrings will cost us a game in the finals.

Splitting hairs on a good team though.

 

[burner1]

To me the following players are safe and definitely in our best 22 when fit:

Tall Backs: Gilham, gibson, stratts
Small Backs: guerra, murphy, birchall
Inside mids: Hodge, mitch, sewell, burgoyne
Outside mids: young, bateman
Tall fwds: Buddy, roughie
Small fwds: rioli, ossie, hooper
Rucks: renouf

So basically we need to pick a bench.
-1 ruck spot - skipper vs taylor - I think we need taylors size in finals
So three spots to be taken from: Brown, ladson, lewis, ellis, peterson, WX

-brown - murphy and guerra are better playing on the smalls, stratts, gibson and gilham are better on talls/mid sized so not a lot a first picked defender. Clearly not a mid and has had limited impact up fwd this year. Recruitment of gibson and development of stratton has hurt his place in the team IMO. Plus is his guts, determination and courage.

-ladson - struggled at start of season, got dropped and came back a far better player. Has suffered from illness recently and lost some weight and conditioning. Very smart player and composed under pressure. Can link up well and has occasionly been damaging up fwd. Cant play inside though. Reckon AC will try to fit him in.

-Lewis - a lot of depth in our mids now (mitch, hodge, sewell, burgoyne, rioli) means lewis gets limited time in there. Was good one week as a defensive fwd then bad the next. Can accumlate the pill but not a great user. Slow, but big engine.

-Ellis - utility/linkman type player. Reads play well, links up well, can play inside if needed but struggles with footskills atm. Can play inside and linkman + quarterack/hbf if required

-peterson - played some good games as a fwd but likely to inconsistent to get a game in finals.

-WX - Good mixture of pace, endurance, skills, strong body however inexperienced and hasnt really found his way at afl level this year. Comfortable as a defender or small/mid fwd and can also play midfield. Has two weeks with brown out to make his mark.

Quite some tough choices as each player is different and each could add something to a specific area of the ground. Lewis, brown and ladson don't appear first choices in the area of the ground they are suited to while ellis and WX are your utility types.

May end up being horses for courses
-if we need grunt: lewis, brown
-need to close down small fwds (i.e. geelong): ladson, WX
-need run and carry: WX, ladson
-midfield depth: lewis, ellis, WX

 

[walhawk]

Skipper has been our best ruck.
Unlike Taylor or renouf, he knows how to get involved in the game.

If Taylor comes in, Renouf goes out.

 

[Hodges]

Agree with you there mate. I think Renouf is our number one, now and for the future. Considering his age, he is incredibly developed for a ruckman.

When it comes to a backup ruck, Skipper offers a lot more around the ground than Taylor. He can slot goals, has a very precise kick (useful link up man) and is solid defensively. Taylor offers very little other than size and good tapwork - he needs to be a number one or not in the team.

 

[Hawkinspired]

Unfortunatley for Ladson, he doesn't fit in the best side... He is a rebound defender like Birchall and Guerra and can only come in for these two. Gibson can defend as well as rebound so he is safe. And Murphy, Stratton and Gilham are our main stoppers so they are also safe.

 

[diggydig]

Starting 18:
Murphy vs Brown

Brown starts on the bench but is the more valuable player as he can relieve (or cover an injury) at either end

 

[diggydig]

To me the following players are safe and definitely in our best 22 when fit:

Tall Backs: Gilham, gibson, stratts
Small Backs: guerra, murphy, birchall

Note Birchall is taller (193cm) than Gilham (192cm), and Gibson or Stratton (both 189cm) - the difference is more between stay at home and rebound defenders

 

[Cynic]

Note Birchall is taller (193cm) than Gilham (192cm), and Gibson or Stratton (both 189cm) - the difference is more between stay at home and rebound defenders

Difference is Birchall couldn't defend against the U9s.

 

[Great 2008]

I have some concerns over Campbell Brown.

- I dont think he is the best player in any position at the HFC.
- He has not made any position his own.
- Is a pinch hitter at best.
- There is a large gap between his best and worst
- can go missing for large chunks of games having a minimal impact.
- Not convinced about his disposal by foot either.
- I think even the coaching staff are unsure what his best postion is or how to best use him on gameday. He was a bad match-up for Schneider on the weekend.

I will never question his effort and he has put in some match saving efforts at times for the Hawks. Trade bait for mine.

 

[Ryzo81]

Renouf has been fantastic this year, and what a pick up skipper has turned out to be. I think Taylor will struggle to get back into the side

 

[diggydig]

Difference is Birchall couldn't defend against the U9s.

LOL. But he is an All Australian winger ...

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Change red for red and blue for blue & I agree with you C-L-A.

Completely happy with your blue for blue suggestion Brant. Couldn't figure out which way to go and felt Changa would provide us with a little more forward pressure. Probably a decision based on match-ups. If there is a soft outside wingman like Dal or Varcoe playing, I'd follow your suggestion.

Re red for red, I picked Rioli in the pocket as he is likley to do less work there than on a flank, and hence could rotate into the centre for longer. Just love seeing him in the guts in bursts.

Either way, found it hard to fit in Laddo or Carl.

 

[cradle of filth]

B: Brent Guerra - Stephen Gilham - Campbell Brown
HB: Grant Birchall - Josh Gibson - Ben Stratton
C: Chance Bateman - Sam Mitchell - Shaun Burgoyne
HF: Jordan Lewis - Lance Franklin - Cyril Rioli
F: Rhan Hooper - Jarryd Roughead - Michael Osborne
R: Brent Renouf - Brad Sewell - Luke Hodge
I: Xavier Ellis - Clinton Young - Wayde Skipper - Tom Murphy
E: Carl Peterson - Rick Ladson - Ryan Schoenmakers

Wayde Skipper has proven to a more reliable ruckman than Simon Taylor. Although Rhan Hooper hasn't played much this season, his forward line pressure and goal scoring ability are a class above Peterson at this stage. At this point in the season, i'd easily have Tom Murphy over Rick Ladson or Ryan Schoenmakers.

 

[burner1]

Unfortunatley for Ladson, he doesn't fit in the best side... He is a rebound defender like Birchall and Guerra and can only come in for these two. Gibson can defend as well as rebound so he is safe. And Murphy, Stratton and Gilham are our main stoppers so they are also safe.

The think the recruitment of gibson (who can play tall but is also a good rebounder), improvement of murphy and unexpected rise of stratton (great in air, agility to play small and also offers run from hb) has put brown's and ladsons positions in jeopardy as both prob not in our best back 6 anymore and havent yet shown they can consistently play anywhere else on the ground. Brown's only other position is a fwd and hasnt been any good this year up fwd, while ladson can play as a running mid, small fwd but again hasnt demanded a position there.

I think brown is competing with WX for that fwd/back utility role with WX having the advantage of also being able to play in the middle.
Ellis and lewis are vying off for the backup inside midfielder role, while ladson and ellis are vying off for the linkman, spare hbf role.

 

[Brant]

Re red for red, I picked Rioli in the pocket as he is likley to do less work there than on a flank, and hence could rotate into the centre for longer. Just love seeing him in the guts in bursts.

Ahhhh - I like what you have done there - very good. I had him playing on a Flank & drifting into the middle / deep forward during play - but now I like your idea better!

 

[Hawks1523]

I've got to say when we brought Skipper to the club, I was sceptical. I'd even asked myself 'how desperate must we be for rucks?' But, at the present time. I'd EASILY have Skipper in the team ahead of Taylor. Provides a contest at the stoppages and is actually useful around the ground.

 

[beau river]

I have some concerns over Campbell Brown.

- I dont think he is the best player in any position at the HFC.
- He has not made any position his own.
- Is a pinch hitter at best.
- There is a large gap between his best and worst
- can go missing for large chunks of games having a minimal impact.
- Not convinced about his disposal by foot either.
- I think even the coaching staff are unsure what his best postion is or how to best use him on gameday. He was a bad match-up for Schneider on the weekend.

I will never question his effort and he has put in some match saving efforts at times for the Hawks. Trade bait for mine.

Unfortunately I have to agree. Very inconsistant, but come finals his experience and leadership could be the difference. Very tough call.

 

[Hawksgirl4eva]

Unfortunately I have to agree. Very inconsistant, but come finals his experience and leadership could be the difference. Very tough call.

he was playing great footy before he did his knee, he has only just returned from injury and may have come back too soon he a better player than Gibbson and Burch (IMO), he is in our best 22.
hopefully the two weeks off will help him get back to full strength.

 

[WWSD]

B J.Gibson S.Gilham T.Murphy
HB G.Birchall B.Stratton X.Ellis
C C.Bateman S.Mitchell J.Lewis
HF S.Burgoyne L.Franklin C.Rioli
F C.Brown J.Roughead M.Osborne
R B.Renouf L.Hodge B.Sewell

INT R.Ladson W.Skipper C.Young B.Guerra

Back up players, M.Bailey S.Taylor B.Dowler B.Muston J.Morton R.Hooper S.Savage T.Tuck R.Schoenmakers L.Shiels G.Moss M.Suckling J.Lisle B.Whitecross C.Stokes J.Kayler-Thomson L.Bruest C.Peterson, other teams wish they had depth like we do!! any of those players can fill in a position when needed, our best 22 is settled atm!

 

[Cynic]

B J.Gibson S.Gilham T.Murphy
HB G.Birchall B.Stratton X.Ellis
C C.Bateman S.Mitchell J.Lewis
HF S.Burgoyne L.Franklin C.Rioli
F C.Brown J.Roughead M.Osborne
R B.Renouf L.Hodge B.Sewell

INT R.Ladson W.Skipper C.Young B.Guerra

Back up players, M.Bailey S.Taylor B.Dowler B.Muston J.Morton R.Hooper S.Savage T.Tuck R.Schoenmakers L.Shiels G.Moss M.Suckling J.Lisle B.Whitecross C.Stokes J.Kayler-Thomson L.Bruest C.Peterson, other teams wish they had depth like we do!! any of those players can fill in a position when needed, our best 22 is settled atm!

I'm going to make the assumption that you are high.