Our Forward line

[theGav56]

Cox has potential, although I am not sure if that should be forward or back.

Taberner is a bust and he should have been delisted.

I still feel we are missing some top end pace through the forward line. If you added someone like a Rioli in there with Bennell and Walters playing through the midfield it would look a lot better to me.

Hopefully Taberner will be replaced shortly with someone who can jump and take a mark.

I thought your thread was about Our Forward Line? Pretty sure the one I posted is what it will look like in 2018.

Cox can jump and take a mark, and it doesn't really matter whether you think that should be forward or back. Taberner just signed for 2 years, and again, it doesn't impact our forward line that in your opinion he should have been delisted. Those two players who you didn't include in your analysis are highly likely to take on forward roles along with Bennell, who you seemed to have forgotten despite advocating for pace.

That is half our forward line that you want to discount and instead advocate for Fyfe and someone not on our list. Don't forget, Crozier has pace, and also had minimum impact on our forward line when played there.

 

[go_the_dockers]

Pretty sure the one I posted is what it will look like in 2018.
.

Maybe it will, but it is lacking talent.

Cox can jump and take a mark, and it doesn't really matter whether you think that should be forward or back. Taberner just signed for 2 years, and again, it doesn't impact our forward line that in your opinion he should have been delisted.

I forgot about Cox, I didn't forget about Taberner I just think is s**t and should be near our best 22. Taberner has poor skills, averages 1 goal a game and can't jump of a jam tin. You will only have two of Fyfe, Matera, Walters and Bennell in the forward line at once, as they are needed in the midfield or will be resting on the bench.

Bennell, who you seemed to have forgotten despite advocating for pace.

I am not sure Bennell has top end pace any more, I could be wrong but I am not sure.

Walters\Bennell Cox <Quesion Marks>
Fyfe\Matera McCarthy <Quesion Marks>

I still see us being two players short of a good forward line. I would love us to target a small forward this year, plus a KPF who can leap and mark but I would settle for two talented small forwards.

 

[theGav56]

Maybe it will, but it is lacking talent.



I forgot about Cox, I didn't forget about Taberner I just think is s**t and should be near our best 22. Taberner has poor skills, averages 1 goal a game and can't jump of a jam tin. You will only have two of Fyfe, Matera, Walters and Bennell in the forward line at once, as they are needed in the midfield or will be resting on the bench.




I am not sure Bennell has top end pace any more, I could be wrong but I am not sure.

Walters\Bennell Cox <Quesion Marks>
Fyfe\Matera McCarthy <Quesion Marks>

I still see us being two players short of a good forward line. I would love us to target a small forward this year, plus a KPF who can leap and mark but I would settle for two talented small forwards.

Very happy for them to go for a medium forward with pace like Stephenson or a small forward/midfielder like Higgins if they want a small, but 2 of them? Why? Small forwards come on pretty fast, and I doubt they would even get games against Walters, Bennell or Matera.

 

[go_the_dockers]

Very happy for them to go for a medium forward with pace like Stephenson or a small forward/midfielder like Higgins if they want a small, but 2 of them? Why? Small forwards come on pretty fast, and I doubt they would even get games against Walters, Bennell or Matera.

Matera is really the only small forward we have (should we get him). Walters, Fyfe, Bennell are mids that can play forward and we need there qualities in the midfield.

Two small forwards would allow Walters and Bennell more midfield time which is good, even if one got squeezed out we would have cover for injuries.

Ideally I would like to add more key position players and one small forward, but you can't always pick and choose and better small forwards are available latter in the draft than key position players.

 

[kingross29]

Methinks your bias is clouding your perception.

Taberner is the leading contested marker (by average per game) for 2017, he has drawn the #1 defender when played - so those contested marks are against people taller than 190cm.

It appears unlikely that we get Hogan this year, no skinny 18 year old will better him - so the talk of delist doesn't make sense. Might as well face the facts, he is our best KPF until we draft/recruit someone better or someone like Cox/Apeness proves better and it's not likely that we have that better player in 2018.

2017 AFL League Contested Marks Per Game Leaders (Minimum 5 Games Played)
Rank Player Team Games Contested Marks for Last Game Average
1 Matthew Taberner Fremantle 8 4 v Essendon, Round 23 2.75
2 Charlie Dixon Port Adelaide 23 3 v West Coast, Elimination Final 2.57
3 Cale Hooker Essendon 20 4 v Gold Coast, Round 22 2.55
4 Jeremy McGovern West Coast 24 4 v GWS, Semi Final 2.54
5 Levi Casboult Carlton 22 2 v Sydney, Round 23 2.36

I agree with Tabs. happy we held him. Marked well and is what we need. Someone needs to teach him how to kick, and an extended run will help his confidence. Will be very important next year.

 

[wayToGo_]

There should be some half decent small forward options with our 2nd/3rd pick this year (ie early 3rd round). Names like Miers, Johnston, Sambono, and maybe even Spargo could possibly slide that far. But even using #5 on Higgins won't dramatically improve our forward line next year. There is no quick fix - we've just got to back in and work with what we already have in 2018.

Assuming we go mid/fwd with 1st pick, I'd prioritise a KPF prospect with our 2nd pick (looking at Krueger, Dixon, Wooller, De Koning, McLean) and a small forward with our 3rd pick. Although both picks seem likely to be ~40 so order probably doesn't matter much.

 

[sherrif]

Im really hoping for Stephenson with Pick 5. The last two Premierships have been won by teams who found ways to score without relying on a gun key forward. I like the idea of playing a six man forward line consisting of five super quick forwards and one player who's job it is to bring the ball to the ground and contest in the air when we kick long. I also like Walters midfield as he kicks goals when playing there. If we get Stephenson I could see our forward line by the end of 2018 season consisting of:
HF: Weller McCarthy Bennell
FF: Stephenson Tabs Matera
With Fyfe and Walters rotating with Weller forward/midfield.
Personally think the last two Premiership winners demonstrate the game has moved passed the view that you need three genuine marking talls in your forward line to be successful in modern football. Yes, having marking targets helps, but multiple options is more effective as an overall strategy.

 

[Deathly]

The solution not fix to our scoring is experience and luck believe it or not. As of next year Ross won't need to keep stirring the meat and veggies with the sauce anymore, he'll just let it all simmer slowly in the pot.

 

[M_rash]

Forward pressure line up:

Langdon McCarthy Weller
Walters Tabs Matera

Bit of pace there. Weller and Langdon haven’t had much exposure up forward, but both are very quick, capable of putting on pressure, and can kick goals from outside 50.

 

[Mincho]

I watched Costagna play as a lead up forward in the finals series. His job was simply to contest.

He bought the ball to ground consistently and let the tiger wave wash over his spillage spectacularly.

If the players are shown a system that works and they buy into, you can make sweet, sweet lemonade out of lemons.

Stick with this slow, congested bullshyte and we'll have another year of watching Mcarthy run away from the footy and opposition teams waltz out!

 

[Wally Walpamur]

This season we kicked a paltry 231 goals, what is our expectation next season?

Tabs: 33
Cam: 30
Walters: 22
Kersten: 25
Bennell: 25
Matera: 30
Fyfe: 15
Mundy: 15
S. Hill: 10
B. Hill: 10
Neale: 10

That gets us to 225 and I suppose anyone else chipping in is a bonus. Unfortunately I don’t see us significantly scoring more next season.

 

[Freo]

Cox has potential, although I am not sure if that should be forward or back.

Taberner is a bust and he should have been delisted.

I still feel we are missing some top end pace through the forward line. If you added someone like a Rioli in there with Bennell and Walters playing through the midfield it would look a lot better to me.

Hopefully Taberner will be replaced shortly with someone who can jump and take a mark.

Bit harsh on Tabs I would have thought. I think he'll end up pretty good.

 

[manpurple]

This season we kicked a paltry 231 goals, what is our expectation next season?

Tabs: 33
Cam: 30
Walters: 22
Kersten: 25
Bennell: 25
Matera: 30
Fyfe: 15
Mundy: 15
S. Hill: 10
B. Hill: 10
Neale: 10

That gets us to 225 and I suppose anyone else chipping in is a bonus. Unfortunately I don’t see us significantly scoring more next season.

I would anticipate that either cox or balla would chip in with a few.

Weller, Blakey and some of the other young rebounding hb’s are good for 1 a game combined at least.

Whilst I might quibble with some of the numbers you have. I am just more optimistic. We scored 231 last year but I believe we are building and I anticipate lots of improvement. I think we will go past 255.


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[eastfreo75]

Number one rule for me, is develop a game style with the player you have not the players you want.

I would run our forward line by committee.

Let's run the likes of Neale, Mundy, Fyfe and pick 5 through the forward line. Also, give the likes of Walters, Grey and Matera time in the middle.

Mix it up a lot and allow players the freedom to run forward or the midfield any time to exploit a mismatch.

 

[Wally Walpamur]

I would anticipate that either cox or balla would chip in with a few.

Weller, Blakey and some of the other young rebounding hb’s are good for 1 a game combined at least.

Whilst I might quibble with some of the numbers you have. I am just more optimistic. We scored 231 last year but I believe we are building and I anticipate lots of improvement. I think we will go past 255.


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Even if we get 255 that’s only an extra goal a game or roughly 66(?) points. We need to be getting close to another three to four goals a game to compete for a spot in the 8.

 

[wayToGo_]

I would run our forward line by committee.

Should improve our efficiency. Works for government

 

[go_the_dockers]

Bit harsh on Tabs I would have thought. I think he'll end up pretty good.

He can't jump, he has a slow turning circle and has average skills. Not AFL level.

 

[LeftFootBanana]

The solution not fix to our scoring is experience and luck believe it or not. As of next year Ross won't need to keep stirring the meat and veggies with the sauce anymore, he'll just let it all simmer slowly in the pot.

MMMMMMMMMMM my mouth is watering.

 

[LeftFootBanana]

My preference would be two talls - Tabs and Ape with Matera, Bennell, McCarthy as the core. You can then run Mundy, Fyfe, Sonny and whoever else you like through there for variation. Tabs plays the high KPF role with Ape staying deep as the long option.

I don't see Ape being ready round one so I wouldn't mind trying Hodor instead. Obviously he can ruck, he's physical, can take a contested grab and is better than ok when the pill is on the ground. He can also slot them from outside fifty. The big fella has his share of footy smarts too. Worth a shot I reckon.

 

[Freo]

He can't jump, he has a slow turning circle and has average skills. Not AFL level.

Your opinion...
Tabs- Huge tank, good contested mark. Pretty good kick. Plenty to work with IMO

 

[theGav56]

Your opinion...
Tabs- Huge tank, good contested mark. Pretty good kick. Plenty to work with IMO

Yeah I agree. At the basic level you are looking for someone who needs to draw a decent defender, and Taberner can do that. I think he can be used better and I don't really see that the club has put enough effort into strategising our forward line with him as a key component. But there are definitely some qualities he possesses which can create a problem for the opposition and that is something to build on IF we go into the pre-season with him in mind. Unless someone else steps up, he is our best option to partner with McCarthy next year.

 

[Shadow Man]

Yeah I agree. At the basic level you are looking for someone who needs to draw a decent defender, and Taberner can do that. I think he can be used better and I don't really see that the club has put enough effort into strategising our forward line with him as a key component. But there are definitely some qualities he possesses which can create a problem for the opposition and that is something to build on IF we go into the pre-season with him in mind. Unless someone else steps up, he is our best option to partner with McCarthy next year.

Agree, I'd like to see a recently retired Nick Riewoldt added to the coaching panel and as a bonus, mentor Tabs and continue his development.

 

[Schauermann]

Personally think the last two Premiership winners demonstrate the game has moved passed the view that you need three genuine marking talls in your forward line to be successful in modern football. Yes, having marking targets helps, but multiple options is more effective as an overall strategy.

I'd say both lineup work. But you need to figure out a working combination. You obviously need to have the right personal to do so.

Actually think our forward line looks decent on paper again, with the right players firing the whole year we could do ok. But probably a few will get injured or missing gain.

 

[Scham]

I watched Costagna play as a lead up forward in the finals series. His job was simply to contest.

He bought the ball to ground consistently and let the tiger wave wash over his spillage spectacularly.

If the players are shown a system that works and they buy into, you can make sweet, sweet lemonade out of lemons.

Stick with this slow, congested bullshyte and we'll have another year of watching Mcarthy run away from the footy and opposition teams waltz out!

I'm extremely confident that in 2018 we won't go with a forward line anything like the premiers used in the GF. We'll have at least 3 talls and 2 rucks.

 

[Johnny Dalmas]

If we bring in Wilson & Matera, it allows Weller to go more midfield/forward than midfield/back. It also releases Walters to play more midfield time.
Langdon should come back in and, hopefully, Bennell stays fit. If Bennell is fit I would play him more forward than in the midfield.
If Sandi rucks I would expect Darcy to play at least a little deep in the forward line.
Personally I like Tabs deep because he can hold up play when he is up the ground -- he's not the quickest thinker in the team. So keep him deep and keep the game simple for him: contest hard & try to get separation from the Full Back.
McCarthy is more of a tall half forward than a KPF: he's best with a bit of space where he can do the unusual, not as a big mark player at the hot spot.
Cox, however, is a good mark and perhaps shows some good signs at reading the play and being a good link player. I would use him at CHF. I would definitely play Cox ahead of Kersten in Rd 1. Kersten is a good kick but just needs to do more to play each week.
Grey will play again as a hard nut pressure forward. And we didn't re-sign Ballantyne to play 22 weeks at Peel.
So given that no-one plays 100% game time, I reckon our basic depth/rotations in each possie is:

Weller/Walters Cox/Kersten McCarthy/Bennell
Matera/Ballantyne Tabs/Darcy Langdon/Grey

It's not the best in history, but it's not the worst either.