Preview Round 11, 2024: Melbourne v St.Kilda - MCG - Sunday 26th May, 3.20pm AEST

[Hubnester]

Game Day - Round 11, 2024: Melbourne v St.Kilda - MCG - Sunday 26th May, 3.20pm AEST

https://www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/5992

www.bigfooty.com

 

[MOLTEN GANGLANDS]

Listening to Joey suggest Higgins to get a run through the midfield, makes me think.. is wilson being pigeonholed as a wing? could we give him a run through the midfield? He's strong and quick, can run all day, good decision maker and a penetrating kick.. why not give him a run?

Obviously Owens comes up too

And the other one D King mentioned is Nas, not sure it'd be worth it moving him from the backline but I do like the principle that we need to get our best players around the ball. I think with opportunity we could unearth some inside mids.

Garcia, Owens, Wilson, Higgins, Nas, Henry, joshy flipping battle..

Love to see steele start up forward or something, just to give us a different look. Ross and jones to play at sandy

We've got some good players, let's try some things out

 

[akaifu]

Heaps to do with that. More illustrating that he's not our problem more than anything. He's maligned but playing a role the club thinks is important. With a limited midfield we want to try to bypass them and use his attacking kicks to try to move the ball. He's not there as a lock on defender, his contested numbers are the worst of his career. He's there to try the risky kicks to open the field up.

Hopefully he's depth or reassigned once we get a few more pieces back but the hysteria around him is quite insane.I'd say as a depth player he's an overachiever.

His risky kicks are going to turn over sometimes or they wouldn't be risky. Guys like Naicos can hit them nearly every time but he's an absolute freak and wouldn't be a fringe player at a bottom 4 club. I'm hoping he improves as the better mids filter back in and that gives us more options.

Lol ur calling it hysteria but u have the exact same thoughts as those maligning him. He has to be depth. We are at full strength, and people are saying he should stay in the team. Absolutely no way. Just cos he's sometimes a good user, doesn't make him a starter. Consistency is key at AFL level.

You're saying he hits risky kicks to open the field up, shouldn't that mean he should be involved with a lot of our scoring chains? How do you explain one score involvement from 26 touches vs Freo?

He's had a total of 6 score involvements vs Freo, Power, Dogs. 12 vs Hawks & Norf. So his stats are boosted by farming the easy teams as well

 

[akaifu]

Listening to Joey suggest Higgins to get a run through the midfield, makes me think.. is wilson being pigeonholed as a wing? could we give him a run through the midfield? He's strong and quick, can run all day, good decision maker and a penetrating kick.. why not give him a run?

Obviously Owens comes up too

And the other one D King mentioned is Nas, not sure it'd be worth it moving him from the backline but I do like the principle that we need to get our best players around the ball. I think with opportunity we could unearth some inside mids.

Garcia, Owens, Wilson, Higgins, Nas, Henry, joshy hecking battle..

Love to see steele start up forward or something, just to give us a different look. Ross and jones to play at sandy

We've got some good players, let's try some things out

Wasn't Higgins supposed to get midfield minutes when he initially crossed over? Never eventuated.

He seems like he has the tenacity to win clearance but his field kicking is shocking so it'd be an extremely tough watch

 

[gringo2011]

Listening to Joey suggest Higgins to get a run through the midfield, makes me think.. is wilson being pigeonholed as a wing? could we give him a run through the midfield? He's strong and quick, can run all day, good decision maker and a penetrating kick.. why not give him a run?

Obviously Owens comes up too

And the other one D King mentioned is Nas, not sure it'd be worth it moving him from the backline but I do like the principle that we need to get our best players around the ball. I think with opportunity we could unearth some inside mids.

Garcia, Owens, Wilson, Higgins, Nas, Henry, joshy hecking battle..

Love to see steele start up forward or something, just to give us a different look. Ross and jones to play at sandy

We've got some good players, let's try some things out

What ever Wilson is doing is working I probably wouldn't mess with what works. Snags could have a run through the guts. If he's having a quiet game throw him on ball. I think he could be a Stringer type who goes on ball for impact. Garcia certainly looked good last week at Sandy.

 

[g_TRAIN]

Wasn't Higgins supposed to get midfield minutes when he initially crossed over? Never eventuated.

He seems like he has the tenacity to win clearance but his field kicking is shocking so it'd be an extremely tough watch

Yes, I remember the same promise was made to old mate Dean Kent too.

Maybe worth a look but I'm, also not sold on his field kicking.,

 

[gringo2011]

Lol ur calling it hysteria but u have the exact same thoughts as those maligning him. He has to be depth. We are at full strength, and people are saying he should stay in the team. Absolutely no way. Just cos he's sometimes a good user, doesn't make him a starter. Consistency is key at AFL level.

You're saying he hits risky kicks to open the field up, shouldn't that mean he should be involved with a lot of our scoring chains? How do you explain one score involvement from 26 touches vs Freo?

He's had a total of 6 score involvements vs Freo, Power, Dogs. 12 vs Hawks & Norf. So his stats are boosted by farming the easy teams as well

You're a very angry little man. I hope he stays in for years just to enjoy the pain he causes you.

 

[gringo2011]

Yes, I remember the same promise was made to old mate Dean Kent too.

Maybe worth a look but I'm, also not sold on his field kicking.,

Ol Rubbertits Kent. What a god. I miss him still.

 

[Cairnsman]

A 50m bomb that leads to a turnover is counted as an effective kick - same for effective disposals. They are horrible measures.

Anyone can be 2nd in rebound 50s as a defensive 50 distributor, its not impressive.

Score assists and launches are ok but for a primary distributor, even those numbers aren't too impressive.

You can't compare Bonner to forward half players like Sinc and Hill, their kicks up the field are way harder to execute. Compared to Nas, sure, but Nas is literally supposed to hit the hardest targets on the field so ofc he's going to have clangers. Bonner kicks it safe down the line and still stuffs it up.

1v1 contested rate is good, but it doesn't highlight opponents exposing him on transition and his opponent running off him and getting out the back. We've dropped from #1 defence to barely top 8 - the only change we've made there is Bonner. Obviously not entirely his fault, but its a correlation.

He had 26 disposals for one score involvement on the weekend. ONE. That's the only stat you need to look at for rebounding half backs. As one of our distributors, that's deplorable.

He's a handy pickup, but not a best 22 pickup. Would much rather Sinclair half back and Clark midfield than Bonner half back Sinclair midfield.

A few long bows being drawn in that lot.

 

[littlecreatures]

It’s worth a shot with Higgins, his ground ball gets numbers are very high, and obviously we’re not getting much effective field kicking out of the centre anyway. Potential rewards outweigh the risks.

 

[gringo2011]

It’s worth a shot with Higgins, his ground ball gets numbers are very high, and obviously we’re not getting much effective field kicking out of the centre anyway. Potential rewards outweigh the risks.

He's got the nuggety build for an inside mid.

 

[denisp]

So we have nothing to look forward to in this game - maybe a few less mistakes and some tackles that stick - I really feel rock bottom is on its way and we need to draft smartly

 

[TheJackal]

This is perhaps the harshest thing I've said on here, so I don't expect it to be well received.... so here we go....

Ever since Darce got hit in the Norf game, he's shirked a contest twice in two weeks. It's happened a few times before then but the past two weeks have been very obvious.

He's just a kid, pretty light on and there to run all day. You don't put that kid in the thick of the action to get smashed in the middle. His job is to run up and down the wing from either wing or half forward - at least whilst he is young, that's his gig.

 

[g_TRAIN]

This is perhaps the harshest thing I've said on here, so I don't expect it to be well received.... so here we go....

Ever since Darce got hit in the Norf game, he's shirked a contest twice in two weeks. It's happened a few times before then but the past two weeks have been very obvious.

He's just a kid, pretty light on and there to run all day. You don't put that kid in the thick of the action to get smashed in the middle. His job is to run up and down the wing from either wing or half forward - at least whilst he is young, that's his gig.

Which contest?

Genuinely can't recall them which is making me think it's probably not something to worry about.

If it means he doesn't get concussion and has a long successful career I'm not against it anyway. We all need to adjust our thinking somewhat nowadays around what is brave vs what is stupid.

 

[moirae42]

I dont think he shirks... at all really. But he spectates a touch, a half second too long before going the ball. He's done it all year. Its like..
Jeez he's got some skills though. I just hope we dont ruin him.

 

[BrutThough]

Listening to Joey suggest Higgins to get a run through the midfield, makes me think.. is wilson being pigeonholed as a wing? could we give him a run through the midfield? He's strong and quick, can run all day, good decision maker and a penetrating kick.. why not give him a run?

Obviously Owens comes up too

And the other one D King mentioned is Nas, not sure it'd be worth it moving him from the backline but I do like the principle that we need to get our best players around the ball. I think with opportunity we could unearth some inside mids.

Garcia, Owens, Wilson, Higgins, Nas, Henry, joshy hecking battle..

Love to see steele start up forward or something, just to give us a different look. Ross and jones to play at sandy

We've got some good players, let's try some things out

I dont mind throwing Higgins in the middle if he isn't getting a touch but he's also one of our only avenues to goal so if won the clearance with him in the middle, do we have the weapons up forward to capitalise on winning it?

Bit of robbing Peter to pay Paul with that. Maybe once Butler is back, it opens that possibility up more because we will have a small forward. Higgins is alsoma beautiful user of the ball so it would be great to have him kicking it inside 50.

Or we give Henry a run in the middle.

 

[Ephemeral Hope]

If they come out firing we could genuinely go goalless in the first half here

we were almost goalless against the mighty richmond tigers.

 

[Yabadoo22]

Higgins is no way near fit enough to play in the middle, it's as simple as that. He looks gassed most of the time playing in a forward pocket..
He's not really quick either, and he's small. Would get smashed in the middle. I can see Wilson playing in there one day, but way to slight at this stage. NAS just doesn't have enough attack on the contest to play in there.

 

[luca77]

I wonder what Webster ‘s discount was for a guilty plea?

Or perhaps only Clarkson got that for his deliberate, calculated, outside the heat of the moment homophonic slur?

I don't think there's any discount for a guilty plea in the AFL these days, it's one of the differences between the VFL and AFL systems from what I recall.

 

[Saintscomemarchingin]

Okay. They do count, which is why he has 4 goal assists instead of 2. You're basing his entire season off of 2 kicks inside 50?

I already told you, score involvements are the best measure for an attacking half back. This is a list of players from his position

View attachment 1996163
Are you impressed by that?

Funny how you're accusing me of ignoring stats. I noticed you failed to mention this one?
View attachment 1996170

Oh, and maybe this one too:
View attachment 1996171

Gee, some decent players there, turning it over above Bonner, surprised by that.

 

[SteeleSaints]

Listening to Joey suggest Higgins to get a run through the midfield, makes me think.. is wilson being pigeonholed as a wing? could we give him a run through the midfield? He's strong and quick, can run all day, good decision maker and a penetrating kick.. why not give him a run?

Obviously Owens comes up too

And the other one D King mentioned is Nas, not sure it'd be worth it moving him from the backline but I do like the principle that we need to get our best players around the ball. I think with opportunity we could unearth some inside mids.

Garcia, Owens, Wilson, Higgins, Nas, Henry, joshy hecking battle..

Love to see steele start up forward or something, just to give us a different look. Ross and jones to play at sandy

We've got some good players, let's try some things out

McLuggage played 5 years on a wing before he was introduced to the midfield. How about we just let the kids develop and find their way rather than expecting an 18yo to be our instant midfield saviour.

 

[Premium]

I find it really hard to get a good read on a lot of fringe players like Bonner or Paton when the entire team is playing like shite.

Paton to me is still one of our best options to play on small forwards - Webster or him.
Bonner has been a great pickup , however I feel you can't run with 2 attacking halfbacks , you need to have one that plays on the most attacking half forward.
This why Sinclair and Nas to me are our best combination.

 

[austinnn]

We've had Higgins out of the forward line for 3 weeks. He has 13 goals in 7 games, kicked 4 against the Pies. He is probably best crumber in the team right now based on experience rather than potential.

Our forwards are static, marking as poor as they ever have, making every possession in the F50 contested. Our inside 50 to score ratio is the worst in the league. We need forwards who can find space and kick goals, who can present and mark. Jack Higgins can do all this.

He's likely to come back into the team this week, into a team that is only in front of the Hawks, Tigers and Roos for goals scored. We need goals, Saints fans. We need players who can kick goals within goal kicking distance of the goal. Go and watch the Saints v Bombers 2023 replay, amongst others we could name.

Please cease this Send Jack Higgins To Rescue The Midfield talk immediately. That's Brad Crouch

5

Brad Crouch

Age

30

Ht

186cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

26.1

5star

K

12.1

4star

HB

14.0

5star

M

2.7

3star

T

5.5

5star

CL

5.0

5star

D

20.3

5star

K

11.1

4star

HB

9.1

5star

M

1.5

2star

T

3.9

5star

CL

4.6

5star

D

21.6

5star

K

10.0

4star

HB

11.6

5star

M

3.4

4star

T

4.2

5star

CL

2.6

5star

's and possibly Hunter Clark

11

Hunter Clark

Age

25

Ht

186cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.5

4star

K

9.5

4star

HB

8.0

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.3

3star

D

16.0

4star

K

9.6

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.1

3star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.9

4star

D

13.2

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.0

1star

's job.

 

[Cairnsman]

I feel you can't run with 2 attacking halfbacks ,

I think coaches would have has many as possible especially with the ability to deliver the ball long and accurately to get through the press, the more you have the easier it is especially if the opposition haven't set up quick enough to cover all of the outlets which is the vulnerability you look to exploit using the long accurate kick. It can be a risky kick and only needs to be slight off to be picked off which looks uglier than it is sometimes hence why Bonner and Dougs are the villains. The peanuts in the cheap seats need to weigh that up against the pros because it's just how the modern game is played.

 

[Otiman]

Higgins, Nas, Owens, Stocker - could be the midfield boost we are searching for.

Collard, Arie, Sharman, Paton - would replace their current positions.

 

[Saintbloke]

Need to do something about our midfield attacking game, or lack of it- we're Ok at blocking and tackling, but that's it, we can't seem to get clean first possessions. Windy is developing nicely, and good defensively, but probably hasn't got the slickest hands in traffic and needs a bit more work there. I would like to see Hastie get a few more senior games on the ball or on a wing as I think there's definitely real potential there, even though he needs to build up a bit more. I could almost see Paton in the middle if we're looking at options. Higgins is a goal sneak and that's his only position.