Riewoldt.

[dima17]

I know there are existing match-up threads at the moment which relate to how we intend to combat the Saints and in particular Riewoldt, however i thought i'd create one to purely discuss Riewoldt and our likely gameplan towards curbing his influence.

I have never been one to pump up a players individual importance in a game, however based on recent form against us and his last 2 rounds he is looking very dangerous. With no Kosi, it will mean that Riewoldt simply holds the key. People can argue against this but he WILL determine whether we win or lose.

As it currently stands we have a few options to play on him...

1. Simon Prestigiacomo - He is a super defender and clearly our best 1 on 1 backman. He is deceptivly quick and he has a hardened body. Despite this, Riewoldt is a 195+cm goliah who has an enormous leap on him. Presti will struggle when he jumps.

2. Nathan Brown - Looks like he is made to play on guys like Riewoldt, however he has not yet proven it. His speed is a worry. If he is to get the role on Riewoldt i would simply tell him that his only life function this week is to heckle/hassle and maintain focus on keeping Nick quiet. Could be a game that brings him back into form.

3. Ben Reid - Doesn't look like a fit, however looks can be deceiving. He is athletic and can jump but is still not strong enough and doesnt have the workrate. I tracked him against the dees and he got lazy at times. If you get lazy with Roo he will slaughter you.

4. Harry O'Brien - This is my smokey. Try something different. Has played on far taller openents in the past. He always kept Scott Lucas quiet who was far taller than him. Granted Lucas and Roo and different builds/players but he has shown he is good on the lead and he brings perceived pressure. Also good at ground level.

5. Nick Maxwell - No. We need him as a 3rd man and general in defence.

People can argue that he is only one man and blah blah. But reality is he will kill us if we dont restrict him. He will have some sort of influence but how much is in our hands. They will mostly attack through him. Quite frankly, their smalls dont worry me. If we can force him wide and clutter the corridor we will be doing well. We must get number in the middle and ush him out wide on the lead. I would have Presti on him is he goes to the goalsquare or consider Brown/O'Brien if he pushes up. I dont care is he gets 25 touches and 15 marks as long as they are not inside 40 and in the corridor. We must play percentages.

I'm interested to hear other peoples thoughts and ideas on how we will combat Roo...

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Presti will be the main man if fit, and Leigh Brown's main priority will be dropping back into Riewoldt's space at every opportunity. We, to a certain extent, will have to concede that he's going to take marks, so we need to force Riewoldt to sections of the ground where he has the lowest percentage chance of scoring. Outside 50, deep in the pockets... whatever we can do to curb his influence.

It might well get ugly if Reid has to play on him. I want Reid to play, but I don't want him anywhere near Riewoldt this Friday.

 

[Heater39]

Presti (if fit) must be given first crack imo. No one can stay with him the whole match though so rotations are a must.So I'd go with Presti for the majority then O'Brien or Maxwell for a chop-out.

Reid on Riewoldt would be a massacre, Roo would kick 7+.

 

[mattys123]

Presti will play, will start on Riewoldt, and Leigh Brown or Harry O'Brien will be the back up.

Ben Reid may play, but he is 10-15 games of experience away from even touching a player like Nick.

Nathan Brown is no chance to play (I hope) because his pre season and current form is woeful.

My order for Riewoldt;

1. Presti.

2. Leigh Brown (has more endurance then most would know, and has the physicality to worry NR in one on one contests)

3. Harry (Athletically the best "run with" player we have for NR)

4. (WE ARE ****ED).

GO PRESTI.

 

[dima17]

Yeah i tend to agree guys. Presti is a must to get him, however not if he if pushing up to the flanks and then running back into the fifty. I think Presti will get lost running up and back.

We have to cramp his space and as said by TRS we have to play percentages. If he kicks 1-2 goals (unlikely) we will win. 3-4 game in balance (most likely outcome) 5+...we are in trouble.

 

[Jedi01]

lol Brown or Reid, your joking right?

Will need to be a good team effort, Presti direct opponent and I like the idea of Brown floating around assisting him.

Jolly will also need to work hard and try and drop back into space.

Riewoldt is in some very nice form atm. Hopefully he has an off night with his kicking.

 

[The Norm]

Kick him in the balls.

And please, nobody else suggest Leeroy as a possible opponent.

Not suggesting he should be given a go, but would Tooves be fit enough to play on him?

 

[doppleganger]

Tis an interesting one......

Harry blankets Milne....so would like to keep him there.

Presti simply cant go with him once he pushes up the ground.....

Reid prob not quite clever enough yet.

Bit of a left field option, but Goldsack??

I remember a good game he had against Buddy at Telstra Dome a few years ago, he owned Micky O (yes clearly not in Riewoldts league) and he would have the tank to run with him up on his long leads.

Sure he would need help if Reiwoldt plays deep......but that is when we have L.Brown and Maxwell who can be third man up.

Reckon Goldy would be a decent match-up.

 

[didaka]

He's unstoppable. We may as well concede he'll kick at least 4. That is just about a win for us.

 

[mattys123]

Goldsack won't play, it was all but confirmed in the Presti article on the Pies site today, so we can rule him out as an option.

 

[Jedi01]

Tis an interesting one......

Harry blankets Milne....so would like to keep him there.

Presti simply cant go with him once he pushes up the ground.....

Reid prob not quite clever enough yet.

Bit of a left field option, but Goldsack??

I remember a good game he had against Buddy at Telstra Dome a few years ago, he owned Micky O (yes clearly not in Riewoldts league) and he would have the tank to run with him up on his long leads.

Sure he would need help if Reiwoldt plays deep......but that is when we have L.Brown and Maxwell who can be third man up.

Reckon Goldy would be a decent match-up.

Didn't Goldy only play 20min in the VFL this week? Recovering from some illness or something. If so, he will be no chance, aside from the fact Roo would smash him pysically.

 

[Smoky]

What about Heath?

Fast, Endurance, runs off and creates - make Reiwoldt accountable, with Maxwell loose man in defense.

I think Heath is perfect to run with him...

 

[doppleganger]

Didn't Goldy only play 20min in the VFL this week? Recovering from some illness or something. If so, he will be no chance, aside from the fact Roo would smash him pysically.

Haven't kept up with VFL fitness, so if the case than obviously not an option.

Roo smashes all players physically.....his motor and speed is too much for gorillas like Presti, but then again he physically is too strong and will outmuscle guys who are able to keep up with him.

Goldy, when fit, has the motor to try and keep up with him....he has pinched hit on smaller KPFs before and is listed at 193cm the same height as Roo, so would hopefully have the reach to get an arm in.

By playing Goldy on him, hoping that the saints would then play Roo closer to goal to try to out muscle him.....and then we have to back in guys like Max and Leroy to block his space and not leave Goldy exposed one out.

Will boil down to the midfield anyway......if we get on top like against the dogs in rnd 1, we are a big show........if the saints control the ball Roo will get plenty of opportunity to beat us.

 

[doppleganger]

What about Heath?

Fast, Endurance, runs off and creates - make Reiwoldt accountable, with Maxwell loose man in defense.

I think Heath is perfect to run with him...

Heater is only 184cm.....so would be massively undersized...also he is too valuable for us in create attack to be in lock down mode. If Harry and Heater are both performing lock down jobs we lose one of our main strengths.

 

[mdc]

He's unstoppable. We may as well concede he'll kick at least 4. That is just about a win for us.

Not sure that's true.

We have one of the stingiest defenses in the league, and Reiwoldt's average (against all sides) is less than 4. So conceding at least 4 is a failure, particularly as Reiwoldt isn't a full-forward...if he's kicked 4 he's probably set another up another 3-4.

Saints fans don't often post anything worthwhile, but I do remember one of them writing that Reiwoldt tends to score a lot of goals towards the end of quarters, because that's when his opponent starts to tire and he just keeps going. The solution, I think, is to make it a two man operation.

I would personally start Harry on him, and then switch over to Maxwell in the last 10 minutes of quarters. They're the only 2 who have the pace and some height. Always keep a spare man in defense so that when he floats deep he's out-numbered. And most importantly make sure we get numbers to the drop, since there's nothing worse than seeing Milne and Schneider kick goals.

We've tried Presti before. We've tried Brown before. Those both failed, repeatedly. Need to try a new approach, and not just concede.

 

[Keele]

We have to make it as difficult as possible for them to have a clear passage to a leading Reiwoldt.

Our mids will be playing an important role as will those who are instructed to drop back to assist whoever is on him.

I would prefer rotations.

 

[Snag Breac]

Yep, knock all their mids flying when they're trying to deliver the ball to him. And plant all our defenders in a circle around him.

I can just imagine it....

Charge of the Back Brigade

Half a lead, half a lead,
Half a lead onward,
All in the forward line
Ran the six defenders.
"Forward, the Back Brigade!
"Charge for Riewoldt!" he said:
Into the forward line
Ran the six defenders.

"Onward, the Back Brigade!"
Riewoldt was sore dismay'd
As the great foward flew
Into Presti he blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the forward line
Ran the six defenders.

Taggers to right of them,
Taggers to left of them,
Riewoldt in front of them
tackl'd and confront'd;
Maxwell worked his magic spell,
Boldly he jumped and well,
Into Riewoldt’s space,
Into the mouth of Hell
Leapt the six defenders.

And Riewoldt didn't take the mark.

 

[Pie eyed]

Not sure that's true.

We have one of the stingiest defenses in the league, and Reiwoldt's average (against all sides) is less than 4. So conceding at least 4 is a failure, particularly as Reiwoldt isn't a full-forward...if he's kicked 4 he's probably set another up another 3-4.

Saints fans don't often post anything worthwhile, but I do remember one of them writing that Reiwoldt tends to score a lot of goals towards the end of quarters, because that's when his opponent starts to tire and he just keeps going. The solution, I think, is to make it a two man operation.

I would personally start Harry on him, and then switch over to Maxwell in the last 10 minutes of quarters. They're the only 2 who have the pace and some height. Always keep a spare man in defense so that when he floats deep he's out-numbered. And most importantly make sure we get numbers to the drop, since there's nothing worse than seeing Milne and Schneider kick goals.

We've tried Presti before. We've tried Brown before. Those both failed, repeatedly. Need to try a new approach, and not just concede.

I agree with the two up approach. Also if we keep the pockets at home instead of running up the field too often we can push Reiwoldt out a bit further. Just out of range would be perfect. This will call for some very good man on man footy from the back 6. If we can strangle supply and make each of the Saints forward work for every possession we have a good shot.

 

[Smoky]

Heater is only 184cm.....so would be massively undersized...also he is too valuable for us in create attack to be in lock down mode. If Harry and Heater are both performing lock down jobs we lose one of our main strengths.

Being taken all over the ground like Reiwoldt does would create alot more opportunity for Heath to create attack.

Agreed height would be an issue, but if a taller player can't keep up with Reiwoldt he might as well be 3 meters tall... it won't make an ounce of difference.

 

[half_back_flank]

Being taken all over the ground like Reiwoldt does would create alot more opportunity for Heath to create attack.

Agreed height would be an issue, but if a taller player can't keep up with Reiwoldt he might as well be 3 meters tall... it won't make an ounce of difference.

I love Heater, but he would get mauled if he played on Riewoldt this week. Sure, he would be able to keep up with him but inside 50 one on ones....it would be scary to watch what Riewoldt could do to him.

 

[lgarth80]

Maxwell first crack, with support from O'Brien and Presti.

The most important thing is forcing him wide, which really can only happen if we get a good percentage of first use from the middle, or pressure their onballers.

If you see Montagna, Hayes and Dal Santo strolling through the middle with no players within 10 metres of them, then you know Riewoldt will be shooting for goal 30 out right in front and will nail 75%+

The job needs to be all over the ground. It really needs big games from the tough nuts Ball and O'Bree, a competitive match from Fraser and Jolly to give us first use, and the entire forward line busting a gut in running - Cloke, Anthony, Didak, Medhurst, all of them.

In effect we need to do a better job of "Saints Footy" than they do.

Nothing would please me more than for this style of football to be beaten consistently by the best teams, and for people to not be fearful when Riewoldt and Lyon talk "Saints Footy" but instead becomes a joke at the water cooler.

 

[conodie05]

I don't think the creature can be stopped to be honest. Our best hope is to push him wide on his leads and hope he has the yips.

Nothing against our offenders at all. Riewoldt is a freak of nature. If he kicks less than 4 we will win. Only if we are on our game though. No Sam Fisher is a huge bonus for us as he kills us normally.

 

[Professor Knowall]

...
I can just imagine it....


Charge of the Back Brigade

Half a lead, half a lead,
Half a lead onward,
All in the forward line
Ran the six defenders.
"Forward, the Back Brigade!
"Charge for Riewoldt!" he said:
Into the forward line
Ran the six defenders.

"Onward, the Back Brigade!"
Riewoldt was sore dismay'd
As the great foward flew
Into Presti he blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the forward line
Ran the six defenders.

Taggers to right of them,
Taggers to left of them,
Riewoldt in front of them
tackl'd and confront'd;
Maxwell worked his magic spell,
Boldly he jumped and well,
Into Riewoldt’s space,
Into the mouth of Hell
Leapt the six defenders.

And Riewoldt didn't take the mark.

Genius. "Tennyson, thy have outdone thee"!

 

[hellfire]

I don't think the creature can be stopped to be honest. Our best hope is to push him wide on his leads and hope he has the yips.

Nothing against our offenders at all. Riewoldt is a freak of nature. If he kicks less than 4 we will win. Only if we are on our game though. No Sam Fisher is a huge bonus for us as he kills us normally.

The Saints have quality all over the field, their midfield is vastly superior to ours. What makes you think keeping Riewoldt to 4 will result in a win for us? We still have to stop Goddard, Dal Santo, Montagna and Hayes in the midfield. We have to worry about Gram and Gilbert off half-back, we have to watch Schneider, Milne and even Peake very closely across half-forward, we have to ensure Gardiner doesn't go forward and have a game like he did against the Cats last year. Then we have to make sure Jones doesn't destroy us on the rebound because Didak is unaccountable, and we need to make sure we work really hard around stoppages to free-up Didak and Davis from Jones and Baker to actually get the ball in their hands to deliver forward, rather than having Obree and Ball hitting the roof of Etihad when delivering to Jack [no offence to these two, it's just not their role].

Unfortunately for us, St.Kilda is an outstanding team. Riewoldt is a superstar, but stopping him - which almost seems an impossibility - won't ensure anything for us. We need to bring out A-grade tackling game, and we need to be clean and fast with the ball, and actually hit leading forwards rather than bombing in hope, allowing them to carve us up on the rebound as usual.

 

[nonamehack]

I know this is totally out of left field and it will either be seen as stupid troll or just laughed off and yes to me it sort of sounds stupid also but...

What about Rusling?

I know hasn't played any backline games at AFL level, but in the VFL has been playing down back, and I believe has the speed and agility and aerial capacity to match (or maybe negate to some extent) riewoldt.

It would probably never be considered, and I have no idea what Ruslings current fitness motor is like but its something out of left field. I just know that from watching him lead up in previous seasons, he's got pace to burn and could match him height and size, only a couple of cm shorter and a couple of kgs lighter but I see it as an ok match up.

And as I dont see presti getting up, I dont really see anyone else in the line up that doesn't already have a match up able to take him, and I wouldn't want to see Reid take him as think that'd only end in tears.

At some stage Presti isn't going to be around and I really dont see anyone that is coming to the front as the next stopper full back. Could Rusling be that person?