Stef Martin - Forward

[davey_magik]

Gee this guy can take one hell of a contested mark.

Not sure about his kicking, and long term I think he'll be an excellent defender (For a guy who has played footy for about 4 years he has good composure) but it wouldn't hurt to sit him in the square and bomb it long to him one on one.

 

[master bate]

Maybe down the track, but we can't get the ball forward of centre with enough pace to bomb it long to anyone one on one. It would be 3 on one and Stef wouldn't do much better than the current crop. I think we have to persavere with Miller, Bate, Petterd and Sylvia as the mobile half forward targets, to build some confidence in our midfielders and defenders to move the ball as we did in the first half.

 

[Will.B.Worth.Da.Waite]

Definately keep him down back for now. Havn't seen much of him, but am seriously impressed. With the amount of times the ball will be inside your defensive 50 this year (no offence), you definately need someone as solid as him back there.

When and where'd you get him? Rookie draft?

FWIW guys i've seen both your games this year, and you guys have a good base to work with. Really like your young defenders and you've got some good kids all over. Unfortunately for you, you're very similar to Carlton of a few years back - the effort is certainly there, but your skills just aren't quite up to it yet. Hang in there, you're building a good side

 

[deeswant13]

Interesting you bring this up cause Andy Lovell said that they're trying to groom him into a forward. The reason he's playing at full-back is so he can learn how forwards and defenders play, so he will probably be playing in the forward line before the end of the season

They call him dumb fast cause his feet are too quick for his brain so playing down back will help him gain a bit of composure. He takes a great mark so it will be interesting to see how it works out.

 

[melbournemartin]

He was our first pick in the pre-season draft. Amazingly, he didn't even play football through school at Haileybury. He played basketball. He played amatuers for Old Haileybury and won the under 19s league best and fairest with only a handful of games (not sure if he were playing in the seniors for the other games). He then played 1, possibly 2 years at the Sandringham Zebras which is where he caught our eye. He played a bit in the ruck there and a bit in attack and defence but more in defence I think.

I do like the option of him as a forward. He definitely needs to be in our team and could provide a good tall marking target. That doesn't mean we can just bomb it into his head and expect a result though but it'd help out our medium talls in Bate, Sylvia and Petterd.

Unfortunately Garland is out for almost the year so we are a bit lean in defence. We may be able to do it against some teams though with Warnock, Rivers and Frawley all having the ability to play as key defenders. None of them have Stefan's height unfortunately.

And cheers for the kind words Will.

 

[acuce]

Wouldnt Mind seeing him up forward...in fact i wouldnt mind seeing anyone with a bit of height up front!!!!!!!!!!

I cant understand why the coaching staff dont address this issue!

Martin, Dunn, Newton, Rivers, Frawley...Someone! Anyone!

With Martin, Rivers, Warnock and Frawley all have a bit of height surely at least one of them can be taken from the backline and tried in the forward line.

 

[Flashhh]

Don't want him to get Brad Miller syndrome, playing well at one end then be moved to the other end causing loss of ability in both area's.
Was considering jumping on the bandwagon though seeing as looked to be fifth in the pecking order behind Warnock, Garland, Rivers and Frawley yet now that Garland's gone down he probably needs to play back on one of the big guys to let Frawley take the third tall and allow Rivers to roam.
The bandwagon I am on though is that of Liam Jurrah, get him in there. I know it sounds ignorant but my patience in wearing thin waiting and waiting for Watts and Jurrah in particular to be ready for AFL when the boys are kicking balls on top of guys heads who have no real height advantage.

 

[Marns]

Honestly, I'd be hesitant at moving him around too much. I'd rather be patient and let him develop as a backman. Putting him up forward might be a short-term fix, but let's be honest here, we're in for the long haul. If we want him to be a backman, keep him down there.

 

[demonfan9]

I'm happy to let him continue in the backline. His contested marking is really impressive, and he has such a big body. He will definately be a dominant defender in the future, with some experience under his belt.

As for the forward line, we still have the likes of Newton and Dunn who could readily come into the team, while Robertson, Jurrah and Watts might be options for later on in the year. So I don't think we should move Martin there right now.

 

[Deestroy]

While we have a clear shortage in tall forwards I tend to agree with the majority and let him develop in the backline where he could be a very good player. Hopefully one of the other options (Newton, Dunn, Watts, Jurah, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) can provide us with an actual tall forward target.