Our Forward Line

[johnnypanther]

What i like to look for in a young player the 1st time i watch them play is their attack on the ball whether on the ground or in the air, maybe Fergus hasn't had a great deal of touches at AFl level but when he does go for the ball he doesn't side step or ask for permission he just goes flat out.

Muscle & build will come with natural growth & another pre-season or 2 & the same can be said for his skills.

I agree - and i'm sure whoever the AFC skills,speed,agility coaches are will improve Watts in this area - look at how Rutten & McGregor improved

Furthermore i would add Krueger's name to your criteria above - his attack on the ball is 2nd to none - all we have to do is get his body to hold up.

With Watts & Krueger (and with finger's crossed that they dont takeover Mark Stevo's injury curse) i feel that we may have a forward line to serve us for many years - throw in Hentschel etc

this year's draft/trades i hope we can pick up several midfielders with pace &/or grunt - Waters, Thompson,Monfries, Eckermann - i would be going all out to get 3 of those somehow as our 1st priority

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I would like to see one of either Edwards, Roo or Stiffy always in the forward line, rotating out of the centre. These 3 guys can crumb goals, lead and mark and most importantly, have good goal sense.

What we need is a bigger midflield rotation, which would lead to these guys spending time in the forward line. Midfielders that are handy forwards should be "rested" forward, & those who aren't useful as forwards should be rested on the bench.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

There is no way I can see Carlton getting rid of Fevola, and doesn't Whitnall also want to leave according to current rumour? The Blues would have no forward line if they got rid of those two.

However, on the other hand, Fevola has shown he can play at Football park, so he would be a good pick up!

Carlton won't trade Fevola as he has played his best footy under Pagan. Whitnall on the other hand could well be looking for a new home.

 

[Bockchoy67]

Have only seen him play twice on TV & he definitely looks the goods.

but would he still be available when we have our 1st pick??

I'm am almost certain we will pick up either Monfries or Eckermann. Both a very promising players and both look the goods. At this stage I saw towards Monfries but many people say Eckermann is better.

Add that to (hopefully) Scott Thompson and we will have at least started the construction of our midfield, highlighting the importance of this draft and trade period for the AFC.

Looking at our list, it's pretty obvious that we need to draft 1 midfielder, 1 ruckman and 1 forward. Our backline is actually pretty solid, especially with the likes of Hart, McGregor, Rutten,etc.

I'm quietly confident that Hentschel will play a bigger role next year in terms of goal-kicking power. I wouldn't be surprised to see him play at FF, with Welsh in a pocket. That way, Scotty could become more dangerous, as he would probably not be the center of attention.

 

[Stiffy_18]

There is a thread on the drafting/trade board saying that the Crows are going to ask for Brendan Fevola in a 3 way deal with West coast including Daniel Kerr to Carlton, obviously Stinger to West coast with Carltons 2nd rounder.
The bloke reckons he got it from someone involved with Adelaide's recruting.
Personally I think its a load of crap but im bored so I thought I'd pass it on. I wouldnt mind having Fevola but like I have stated previously I would prefer to work on our midfield.

We wish

 

[Stiffy_18]

Furthermore i would add Krueger's name to your criteria above - his attack on the ball is 2nd to none - all we have to do is get his body to hold up.

I think thats part of his problem. You almost wish he would pull out of some contests because thats how he gets injured. I think its a pretty big statement but this bloke would be the most courageous player on our list. He goes places where no man should go. He just doesn't have any regard for his safety and many think its the reason he keeps getting these impact injuries.

He just needs to slow down a bit so his body can hold up. You are right with Watts and Krueger we potentially have a couple of courageous monsters in key forward positions. If these 2 develop as expected and their bodies hold up I can guarantee you there will be a lot of pack splitting from these 2.

I just hope Freddy can get his body right and make FF his own.

 

[jmorg1]

jmorg1, I got those stats from the Official AFC website.

I took the players total goals, and divided by total games. That is how I worked that stat out.

Yeah those look wrong lol. Have a look at the player profile page for Jericho at the AFC website here.

It says 15 games and 8 goals. Yet when you look at the 15 games he's played at the bottom and add up the goals they come to a total of 10.

I think this would be closer to what you're looking for.

 

[Skippy_14]

Have only seen him play twice on TV & he definitely looks the goods.

but would he still be available when we have our 1st pick??

Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not.

 

[Skippy_14]

Yeah those look wrong lol. Have a look at the player profile page for Jericho at the AFC website here.

It says 15 games and 8 goals. Yet when you look at the 15 games he's played at the bottom and add up the goals they come to a total of 10.

I think this would be closer to what you're looking for.

Skip's is wrong too. He's played 17 games and kicked 8 goals, I think.

 

[relapse]

Some changes I would consider about our forward structure

1. Test McLeod's knee if it isnt strong enough for him to play midfield well then I think we have him in a pocket permanently with the hope that he can create some crumbing magic ala farmer.

2. Jericho, the guy has tremendous speed, lets use it. Play him at half forward get him a license to run and use his pace to his advantage.

3. Watts, the only way this guy will develop is in the side. No more of the crappy development cycles were young players would sit year after year in the SANFL and then the crows expect them to come in and set the world on fire. If a guy has talent you get him into the side and allow him to develop and get used to playing AFL.

There does have to be some structure changes, no point just playing the same forward line again next season. We definately need some changes in personnel and structure next year. I think moving the stiffmeister into the centre and bringing McLeod in as a crumbing forward is a good way to start with some changes.

 

[Stiffy_18]

3. Watts, the only way this guy will develop is in the side. No more of the crappy development cycles were young players would sit year after year in the SANFL and then the crows expect them to come in and set the world on fire. If a guy has talent you get him into the side and allow him to develop and get used to playing AFL.

I think Watts still needs a year in SANFL. He is far from being AFL ready and there is such a thing as burnout when it comes to your players. Sometimes playing youngsters before their time slows down their development. We need to be patient with this. Watts needs time and we need to do this thing properly.

 

[tztommo]

yes i agree relapse. when ayres was coaching he would give the youngsters sitting on the bench maybe the last quarter. that was never enough considering a lot of the times the game was already over. half way through this year they needed to stop waiting for stevens to be fully fit and just blend much more youth into the forward line.maybe in the midfield to. they did do this in somerespects but i dont think they did it enough.neil craig elevated those three rookies to the senior list but didnt even give a chance to play and to me that seemed like a waste of time elevating the of the rookie list. the season was over so why not take a chance.

tommy

 

[drakeyv2]

Some changes I would consider about our forward structure

2. Jericho, the guy has tremendous speed, lets use it. Play him at half forward get him a license to run and use his pace to his advantage.

I wouldn't mind seeing Jerico on a HBF. Breaking away, running through lines & kicking LONG. The pace would be handy with Rutten & McGregor back there.

 

[tztommo]

thats reillys job

 

[baaaallllll]

thats reillys job

Methinks Radar will be playing a bit more in the midfield next season.

 

[tztommo]

from watching reilly under Craig i thought he played well running of the back flank and produved some good run through the team.

 

[Stiffy_18]

from watching reilly under Craig i thought he played well running of the back flank and produved some good run through the team.

He did but its time we move him into the midfield. He will end up being a midfielder and we need as many midfielders as we can get to replace Roo, Goody, McLeod and Edwards in a couple of years.