Taylor up forward... Why?

[Larry Donohue]

I don't really like this idea, not to say it won't work and blow me away... but we have long almost ridiculed Taylor going forward as Plan B... now some are accepting that is a good move?

Balance wise I do worry we are too tall in the backline, and this helps there... I'm happy with Doms/Hendo/Kola as the 3 taller players with any of Mackie/Bews/Ruggles/Thurlow/Stewart filling the remaining holes..

But I feel Harry is better value back than forward, I'd prefer Doms/JK to duke it out for that last position and we don't take another player away from his strongest postition to try make him something else.

Just as a once off, was i right to say mitch clark should have stayed on the list

 

[Vdubs]

Just as a once off, was i right to say mitch clark should have stayed on the list

Which list?
The injured list?
The playing list?

 

[Willo_]

Just as a once off, was i right to say mitch clark should have stayed on the list

I'm not so sure about that either, i was all for him being put on the rookie list to be honest, an insurance policy if fit

No real loss or cost if not

 

[numbwombat]

...We have plenty of KPDs to cover for HT...

We don't actually have tested KPD depth if Taylor plays forward - Lonergan and Henderson are the presumptive FB + CHB respectively, after him there's Kolo who has mostly played on smalls, Mackie, Blicavs and the yet-to-debut Gardner.

Kolo might take over Henderson's 2016 intercept marking 3rd KPD role - I'm very keen to see whether he plays as a KPD in the preseason games. I guess he could also be tried at CHF with Henderson continuing on from last year?

Otherwise it might be the first time in years that the preferred backline structure lacks a roaming 3rd tall. Will be good to have more run from defence but puts a bit of extra pressure on Lonners and Henderson.

 

[Cursed Cat]

I don't really like this idea, not to say it won't work and blow me away... but we have long almost ridiculed Taylor going forward as Plan B... now some are accepting that is a good move?

Balance wise I do worry we are too tall in the backline, and this helps there... I'm happy with Doms/Hendo/Kola as the 3 taller players with any of Mackie/Bews/Ruggles/Thurlow/Stewart filling the remaining holes..

But I feel Harry is better value back than forward, I'd prefer Doms/JK to duke it out for that last position and we don't take another player away from his strongest postition to try make him something else.

fair post Willo - do you think the team (and more specifically Hawkins) needs a 2nd permanent Key Forward? And if not Taylor, who?

I'm not convinced on Taylor forward either, but accept that Hawkins needs more tall support in the F50.

Stanley? Blicavs? House/Ratugolea?

 

[Willo_]

fair post Willo - do you think the team (and more specifically Hawkins) needs a 2nd permanent Key Forward? And if not Taylor, who?

I'm not convinced on Taylor forward either, but accept that Hawkins needs more tall support in the F50.

Stanley? Blicavs? House/Ratugolea?

Yeah we need more support for Hawk no doubt.. I'm still thinking we will see a similar Stanley/Smith makeshift CHF set up to last season.
I don't see Blitz as the answer as he isn't a strong enough mark IMO.

House I have high hopes for, contested mark beast... hopefully he can transfer it to AFL level.. Ratugolea/Buzza just to raw

 

[Boxhead_31]

I don't mind the move, unclutters the backline of the 4 talls and gives Tom some Quality support up forward.
Now should it be Harry or Dommsy being the person to go forward, that is the debate.

 

[you pick one]

The move forward was due to his amazing ability to kick long distance goals, his better than average marking, and the fact that although he was a gun KB, we were well served there with Scarlett and Harley and Egan.
I know for a while, he was easily our MVP. Some thought he was not a great KF, but he served us very well, and was one of those players that you would love to have at both ends.

Other than the booming kick,I remember him as a ball player,I always thought he needed to have a more physical presence on the ground to take the next step,I feel very much the same with Hawkins,he needs to make his own space too,own the forward line.

 

[Landgraft]

I'm not so sure about that either, i was all for him being put on the rookie list to be honest, an insurance policy if fit

No real loss or cost if not

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the club discussed it with him as a possibility but he wasn't interested. I think after the ride he's had he probably was happier to move on from footy.

 

[DanA]

I'm warming to Taylor up forward. We lose nothing trialling him there IMO as he's experienced enough as a KPD that he won't lose anything missing a pre-season of defence specific training, I think he could quickly convert back if it fails. To me it kills two birds with one stone. It rebalances the backline, four talls is too many, and gives us a potentially quality option at CHF. We just need to see if Harry takes to the position.

We are thread bare at CHF I've got no confidence in Black, our draftees are two plus years away so to me there are three viable options:

1) Menzel CHF: I like this because it would create more forward pressure, the down side would be a further reliance on Hawkins as a marking target but if we lower our eyes a bit bringing it out of midfield it could work well. In this scenario I would definitely drop a ruckmen (Smith, Stanley, Blicavs) but we still have the headache of also dropping one of our KPD's (Taylor, Henderson, Lonergan, Kolodjashnij) with almost no opportunity for Gardiner to break through. Out: Smith & Lonergan

2) Taylor CHF: I like this because I think it gets our best players on the field. In this scenario we get to keep all three of Lonergan, Henderson and Taylor in the starting line up and maybe even give Gardiner opportunity to develop if/when injury strikes. I don't think we lose much if Taylor is a bust up forward and needs to shifts back and in game he could be a swing man. He knows his defensive role inside out regardless of where he trains in pre-season. Out: Stanley & Small

3) Stanley CHF: I like this option because I think Stanley is improving and he's an intriguing player working back on a fast break. We should be a better counter attacking team this year and that could provide more opportunities to use Stanley and his pace/size working back with the flight of the ball. It's a nightmare match up. Same headaches as the Menzel option regarding backline. Out: Blicavs & Lonergan.

I think we should trial all three at various stages of the year and see which works best. But to do that Taylor has to learn to play CHF this pre-season. And it might not be Lonergan that is dropped, it could just as easily be Henderson or Kolo although I like Kolo as a 3rd tall as he's a bit smaller and he should further bridge the gap in ability this season.

 

[Seeds]

Graham was an average key forward. If the Taylor move is to be a success he must be better than that.

39 goals as a centre half forward in a season not good enough for you? If Taylor does that we win the flag.

 

[Bobby_]

I don't really like this idea, not to say it won't work and blow me away... but we have long almost ridiculed Taylor going forward as Plan B... now some are accepting that is a good move?

Balance wise I do worry we are too tall in the backline, and this helps there... I'm happy with Doms/Hendo/Kola as the 3 taller players with any of Mackie/Bews/Ruggles/Thurlow/Stewart filling the remaining holes..

But I feel Harry is better value back than forward, I'd prefer Doms/JK to duke it out for that last position and we don't take another player away from his strongest postition to try make him something else.

And what direction is this football club taking by placing a 30+ yr old at centre half forward?
Supporters are bagging Nathan Buckley for topping up with oldies but you see what Geelong have focused on recently and it's been no different.

If this kid House turns out to be the goods and is doing enough at VFL level, why can't we bring him in for 6 weeks straight instead of relying on a bloke who will retire at seasons end or next.
I'd certainly feel more positive playing youth over other teams rejects (Black).
If it means we lose more games then so be it.

 

[Ricketz]

Graham played the majority of his career in defence.

From my recollection he spent from 99 onwards up forward, so only his first four as a back. Valid point though, but I reckon still comparable to guys like Kersten, Walker and Stanley who spent considerable time outside of the forward 50.

 

[Cursed Cat]

And what direction is this football club taking by placing a 30+ yr old at centre half forward?
Supporters are bagging Nathan Buckley for topping up with oldies but you see what Geelong have focused on recently and it's been no different.

If this kid House turns out to be the goods and is doing enough at VFL level, why can't we bring him in for 6 weeks straight instead of relying on a bloke who will retire at seasons end.
I'd certainly feel more positive playing youth over other teams rejects (Black).
If it means we lose more games then so be it.

I'd be all for that.

But the club has a strange aversion to giving KF's an extended run; Mitch Brown and Josh Walker could attest to that, neither were probably going to be the long-term answer, but then again neither got an extended run at it either - would be very surprised if either played 6 games straight in the hoops, ever.

I like House and if the Taylor experiment (which I expect the club to follow through with) fails then I'd love to see a genuine CHF be given a go in the CHF spot ..

 

[Ricketz]

39 goals as a centre half forward in a season not good enough for you? If Taylor does that we win the flag.

39 goals in the current comp is like 50 in his time - the defensive focus and third man up didn't exist back then. I would expect Graham to have kicked only about 31 last year, based on the relative ratio of goals from now to then.

 

[you pick one]

From my recollection he spent from 99 onwards up forward, so only his first four as a back. Valid point though, but I reckon still comparable to guys like Kersten, Walker and Stanley who spent considerable time outside of the forward 50.

Captain,Geelong Hall of Famer and best and fairest,you compare Graham to the bolded

 

[Ricketz]

Captain,Geelong Hall of Famer and best and fairest,you compare Graham to the bolded

The question was what was he like as a KPF. My opinion has something more than bluster behind it, so if I offended, the issue is yours not mine. Happy to spend a bit more time breaking down his stats, but I remember him play pretty well and apart from a few bags of 5 and 6, he was definitely not a star CHF.

 

[Willo_]

And what direction is this football club taking by placing a 30+ yr old at centre half forward?
Supporters are bagging Nathan Buckley for topping up with oldies but you see what Geelong have focused on recently and it's been no different.

If this kid House turns out to be the goods and is doing enough at VFL level, why can't we bring him in for 6 weeks straight instead of relying on a bloke who will retire at seasons end or next.
I'd certainly feel more positive playing youth over other teams rejects (Black).
If it means we lose more games then so be it.

We are clearly looking at the now, trying to win a flag in the next 2 years.
It's an all or nothing strategy and while I think we potentially could win a flag we are likely relying on everything to go right for that to happen

 

[catempire]

39 goals as a centre half forward in a season not good enough for you? If Taylor does that we win the flag.

Average, as I said.

If he kicks 39 and Hawkins kicks 60 and Menzel kicks 30, yeah, maybe we will.

 

[you pick one]

The question was what was he like as a KPF. My opinion has something more than bluster behind it, so if I offended, the issue is yours not mine. Happy to spend a bit more time breaking down his stats, but I remember him play pretty well and apart from a few bags of 5 and 6, he was definitely not a star CHF.

None of the three you mention have done enough to entitle them to tie Benny's boot laces,and to suggest Kersten was in anyway a CHF is just wrong.

 

[The rabbi]

Henderson said the other day that it is a "suck and see thing" with Taylor up forward.

 

[Ricketz]

None of the three you mention have done enough to entitle them to tie Benny's boot laces,and to suggest Kersten was in anyway a CHF is just wrong.

I'm not sure what your case is - how would you rate him by today's standards?

 

[catempire]

Henderson said the other day that it is a "suck and see thing" with Taylor up forward.

Better than a "we'll see it sucks" thing.

 

[Vdubs]

Average, as I said.

If he kicks 39 and Hawkins kicks 60 and Menzel kicks 30, yeah, maybe we will.

He did not have an elite premiership MF feeding him back then, they were embryos.
He was not a Carey, but several AFL teams were after his services

 

[Stan The Caddy]

And didn't play on the main goal kicking forward once in the whole season.

Actually, he did mate. Taylor played on Jeremy Cameron around mid season and kept him goalless and absolutely owned him from start to finish.