Team structure

[audas]

Been a fair bit of noise about our defense being more solid than the constant negative attention it receives and have tried to draw attention to what I see as our big deficiency being the forward line. Looking back over the season there seems to be a consistent pattern of us breaking down through the half forward area. This is due to both a deficiency in this particular region and no targets up forward. Yes we have had Fev , but he has also had a couple of bad smells hanging around him all season, sometimes three. Fish and Waite put in when they came back, Fish seemed more at home in the forward, but neither really showed they have what it takes to win matches yet alone take us to a Grand Final. Leaving us exactly where we were last year. Kennedy will change this balance, but not till the end of the year at least, unless a miracle happens. That only leaves Lance, but thats a fairly good addition to the forward line in any team. So it maybe enough for the time being with Josh for one year.

So our forward line really needs to be looked at. Who else can come in, who from our ranks can assist up forward ?

Also, the draft was clearly aimed at highly mobile, athletic types who were perhaps footballers second to their pace and agility who can be molded into players. Hawthorn tried this some time ago and are now rebuilding. Gibbs starts at 187.4 and will add to that and from then on it only gets taller.

We also have a plethora of short, but slow, mid fielder types, from Stevens, Murph, blackwell, betts etc. Kade although shortish does have some pace.

So where do we go, what are we looking to do ? People tend to put their teams up with the same old faces in the same old spots, week in week out. But maybe we need a complete re-think. What about a smaller agile forward line rather than tall timber lumbering around the yard. If we go with talls, who else can we move in there.

What do people think about the mix of talent, there is obviously a deliberate intention behind the approach, where do people think we are going.

Lot of questions I know, but Id like to hear a bit of fresh stuff, so feel free to say what ever.

 

[Kooley]

Jake edwards to be groomed as a fast leading power forward in the mould of sean rusling. i can see it happening.

 

[Jeremias]

Jake edwards to be groomed as a fast leading power forward in the mould of sean rusling. i can see it happening.

I'd prefer to see him as a defender/midfielder.

 

[AndyWalkersGirl]

i'm not worried about our structure, for the first time in years, i'm excited.

 

[bibi01]

our fwd line does have some concerns

IMO we are too tall in the fwd 50. our only small is betts and on ocassions wiggins.

we need to rest our onballers in the fwd 50, having murphy, gibbs, houlihan, lappin rotating off the HFF could be very damaging.

we all know fev is our go to man, but we still need players around him to pick up the crumbs or provide a different option.

alos we lose a lot by not having whitnall in the fwd 50.
whitnall is a clever footballer and IMO a perfect foil for fev

if you go back and watch whitnall at his best in the fwd line you will notice how easily he ducks out the back or loses his man
now that his fitness is at an competitive level players will be less likely to run off him.

and last of all

GOALKICKING........our goalkicking accuracy has been horrible over the last 2 years
not only does it cost you points on the scoreboard, it also saps confidence from the team and makes your team mates work so much harder trying to get the ball back.

fix our goalkicking accuracy and we are 1/2 way to solving our problems.

 

[Blue_4_Life]

our fwd line does have some concerns

IMO we are too tall in the fwd 50. our only small is betts and on ocassions wiggins.

we need to rest our onballers in the fwd 50, having murphy, gibbs, houlihan, lappin rotating off the HFF could be very damaging.

we all know fev is our go to man, but we still need players around him to pick up the crumbs or provide a different option.

alos we lose a lot by not having whitnall in the fwd 50.
whitnall is a clever footballer and IMO a perfect foil for fev

if you go back and watch whitnall at his best in the fwd line you will notice how easily he ducks out the back or loses his man
now that his fitness is at an competitive level players will be less likely to run off him.

and last of all

GOALKICKING........our goalkicking accuracy has been horrible over the last 2 years
not only does it cost you points on the scoreboard, it also saps confidence from the team and makes your team mates work so much harder trying to get the ball back.

fix our goalkicking accuracy and we are 1/2 way to solving our problems.

Spot on!

If I invoiced the club for all the stuff I've broken as a result of the frustration of watching us kick at goal, they'd really have cash flow problems!!!

 

[audas]

Guys, if you look at every team that we play there are so man guys scoring goals its not funny. They are all snapping them from left right and center out of the field of the play. This almost NEVER happens with us, the only way we get a goal is through A mark , Fev, or a free, Fev. Its ridiculous. We are finishing last NOT because of our weak defense but because we can not score. As soon as we get the ball out of the back line it ends up going in te direction of the half forward line where we lose it every time without having a shot on goal. It just goes straight back and puts pressure on the defense again while the opposition has ANOTHER shot at goal.
Its crazy. The same thing over and over again, no penetration into the forward line, we get completely killed. Putting up a picture of murph, gibbs and kennedy doesn't mean squat. saying that there will be a guy resting in their that can help doesn't mean squat either. We are a one man show in the forward line.....thats it......great. no wonder he won the coleman, no one else can kick a friggin goal.

 

[HBF]

We do have a plethora of talls at the club, but I agree that 4 talls in our forward line is one too many. Perhaps we can rotate both Fisher and Waite off the bench, and have them play in bursts so they remain fresh for the whole game.

Maybe a better forward line structure could look something like:

HF: Houlihan Waite Kennedy
FF: Betts Fevola Wiggins

This would us the marking ability of Waite, Kennedy and Fev. Wiggins can also take a good mark, but is also mobile enough to play as a small. Hoops gives us some class and skill on the other HFF, and Betts is our crumber.

 

[The Grover]

Guys, if you look at every team that we play there are so man guys scoring goals its not funny. They are all snapping them from left right and center out of the field of the play. This almost NEVER happens with us, the only way we get a goal is through A mark , Fev, or a free, Fev. Its ridiculous. We are finishing last NOT because of our weak defense but because we can not score. As soon as we get the ball out of the back line it ends up going in te direction of the half forward line where we lose it every time without having a shot on goal. It just goes straight back and puts pressure on the defense again while the opposition has ANOTHER shot at goal.
Its crazy. The same thing over and over again, no penetration into the forward line, we get completely killed. Putting up a picture of murph, gibbs and kennedy doesn't mean squat. saying that there will be a guy resting in their that can help doesn't mean squat either. We are a one man show in the forward line.....thats it......great. no wonder he won the coleman, no one else can kick a friggin goal.

I think we are just missing 1 player with goal kicking ability who can play play mostly at groung level & on the lead.

As much as I hate this guy ( probably because he's so good ) a Alan Didak type is what we need, these type of players are so rare.

Hopefully we find one in next years draft, wasn't there a 16 yr old kid playing for Calder Cannons who kicked 8-10 goals in 1 game. His coach is a big wrap for him.

 

[BlueBelle]

As posted a few days ago, guys that can play in the forward line are Betts, Fev, Fisher, Gibbs, Grigg, Houlihan, Kennedy, Kouta, Lappin, Waite, Whitnall, Wiggins.....

I think the biggest problem we have in the forward line is the lack of a game plan.

I know our forward line is pretty young but most of these guys have played together for a few years now (although it doesn't help when Waite & Fisher spend time on the sidelines with injuries).

I think more of a focus should be on strategy. Betts crumbing the balls that go to ground. A nice big open space for Fev to lead into.....

 

[HBF]

I think we are just missing 1 player with goal kicking ability who can play play mostly at groung level & on the lead.

As much as I hate this guy ( probably because he's so good ) a Alan Didak type is what we need, these type of players are so rare.

Hopefully we find one in next years draft, wasn't there a 16 yr old kid playing for Calder Cannons who kicked 8-10 goals in 1 game. His coach is a big wrap for him.

Adam Maric is the guy you are thinking about. This kid can seriously play, don't you worry about that.

 

[Jeremias]

We do have a plethora of talls at the club, but I agree that 4 talls in our forward line is one too many. Perhaps we can rotate both Fisher and Waite off the bench, and have them play in bursts so they remain fresh for the whole game.

Maybe a better forward line structure could look something like:

HF: Houlihan Waite Kennedy
FF: Betts Fevola Wiggins

This would us the marking ability of Waite, Kennedy and Fev. Wiggins can also take a good mark, but is also mobile enough to play as a small. Hoops gives us some class and skill on the other HFF, and Betts is our crumber.

Kennedy is far more suited to the CHF role. I would swap him and Waite around, and replace Houlihan with Gibbs. Fisher in there for Wiggins as well. Then swap Fisher and Waite

Giving us:

HF: Gibbs Kennedy Fisher
FF: Betts Fevola Waite

Looks ridiculously impressive!

 

[BlueBelle]

Adam Maric is the guy you are thinking about. This kid can seriously play, don't you worry about that.

He caught my eye in the TAC Grand Final and from all reports, he is set to be a star player!!!

 

[Jeremias]

He caught my eye in the TAC Grand Final and from all reports, he is set to be a star player!!!

Sounds like we can't go wrong in next years draft either!

Kruezer, Bellchambers, McEvoy, Maric............................hmmmmm.

 

[Kooley]

Sounds like we can't go wrong in next years draft either!

Kruezer, Bellchambers, McEvoy, Maric............................hmmmmm.

pretty sure we wont be the only club participtaing in next years draft.

 

[The Grover]

Sounds like we can't go wrong in next years draft either!

Kruezer, Bellchambers, McEvoy, Maric............................hmmmmm.

It does sound good, although I hope only 1 or 2 more drafts max we get top 8 picks.

Provided we get off field issues sorted out, and all supporters become members, we'll be going places.

Interesting comment from Gibbs, about Blues history & supporter base.

Hopefully everyone jumps on board & lifts us back to the top.

 

[SurreyBlue]

The very reason why we needed to draft Gumbleton.
He and Kennedy would be the combination required for the next 10 years.
Fisher a flank, Waite a flank/midfield and Fevola FF. It's easier to build a midfield than to build your Key Positions.

For 2007, WHITNALL must go forward, else we aren't interested in winning.
Fisher, Kennedy, Fevola and Waite is not the right combination and hasn't worked for the past 2 years. Kennedy is too young and not ready, Fisher and Waite are flankers, so the bulk is left to Fev who gets swamped.
With O'hAilpin showing signs down back, Saddington getting fitter (fingers crossed) and hopefully one or both Bower & Hartlett taking the next step or even Austin or Flint suprising us, we should have enough to cover the back KP half. Very reliant on Thornton however, this year even more so.

Fevola & Thornton are our only geniune book ends and that's where Whitnall needs to play at his best and most advantageous position for us to WIN games again.

 

[navier-stokes equation]

Surrey surely that forward line would be too tall. Kennedy and Gumbleton play a similar role and you can't ignore the best available with pick 1 and pick on needs.

 

[SurreyBlue]

Agree and always have with "best" available, so fingers crossed.

 

[Casper Wiggins]

We do have a plethora of talls at the club, but I agree that 4 talls in our forward line is one too many. Perhaps we can rotate both Fisher and Waite off the bench, and have them play in bursts so they remain fresh for the whole game.

Maybe a better forward line structure could look something like:

HF: Houlihan Waite Kennedy
FF: Betts Fevola Wiggins

This would us the marking ability of Waite, Kennedy and Fev. Wiggins can also take a good mark, but is also mobile enough to play as a small. Hoops gives us some class and skill on the other HFF, and Betts is our crumber.

Whilst I think Wiggins is in our best 22, I think the wing is the position he is best suited to. No doubt he will have stiff competition, but expect big things from the man next year.

 

[HBF]

Kennedy is far more suited to the CHF role. I would swap him and Waite around, and replace Houlihan with Gibbs. Fisher in there for Wiggins as well. Then swap Fisher and Waite

Giving us:

HF: Gibbs Kennedy Fisher
FF: Betts Fevola Waite

Looks ridiculously impressive!

I put Kennedy on a HFF so he wan't going to get crucified every time he goes to a contest, and that he really gets the chance to play one on one football.

I'd love to put Lance at CHF, and let Kennedy learn from one of the great thinkers of the modern era. Perhaps if some of our youngsters develop, then we might be able to move Lance back there.

 

[Aussie Joe]

He is my opinion on next years team structure:

B. Lappin O'hAilpin Thornton

HB. Anderson Whitnall Russell

C. Walker Stevens Simpson

HF. Waite Kennedy Gibbs

F. Betts Fevola Houlihan

Foll. Ackland Scotland Murphy

Int. Koutafides, Bower, Fisher, Blackwell

Emerg. Wiggins McLaren Hartlett Carrazzo

 

[Mayesy_23]

My preference for structure would be..

fb thornton o'hailpin flint
hb russell waite lappin
c scotland murphy simpson
hf houlihan kennedy gibbs
ff betts fevola whitnall
fol ackland walker stevens
int mclaren blackwell fisher kouta
emg bower hartlett carazzo bentick
maybes(if up and firing) saddington teague bannister wiggins raso edwards jackson o'hailpin #2

 

[audas]

As posted a few days ago, guys that can play in the forward line are Betts, Fev, Fisher, Gibbs, Grigg, Houlihan, Kennedy, Kouta, Lappin, Waite, Whitnall, Wiggins.....

I think the biggest problem we have in the forward line is the lack of a game plan.

I know our forward line is pretty young but most of these guys have played together for a few years now (although it doesn't help when Waite & Fisher spend time on the sidelines with injuries).

I think more of a focus should be on strategy. Betts crumbing the balls that go to ground. A nice big open space for Fev to lead into.....

All you have done is list a whole lot of talls. Gibbs, is not going to be a permanent forward, and grigg isnt even worth mentioning yet sorry, as keen as you are, have SOME perspective. Kouta is not a marking leading forward, he can play there, but this is NOT his position, hwats more him and lappin are gone after 07, leaving us right back where we started. So no. Which leaves us exactly where I placed us, Betts is a crumber and not really part of the problem, a role we have a zillion guys for. Houlihan is an option and so is wigins, however Houlihan is SORELY needed through the middle and taking him out would be a disaster, Wiggins has played one good game in the forward structure the first half against the weagles in west coast, not enough to butter a piece of bread with. Certainly not enough to build a serious team around. So we are back to where we started, Fev being swamped because wait and fish cant live up to expectations. We move lance or we lose.

 

[audas]

Kennedy is far more suited to the CHF role. I would swap him and Waite around, and replace Houlihan with Gibbs. Fisher in there for Wiggins as well. Then swap Fisher and Waite

Giving us:

HF: Gibbs Kennedy Fisher
FF: Betts Fevola Waite

Looks ridiculously impressive!

Except for the fact that Fish and Waite are both playing like dogs bollocks. ridiculous is the word. The both came back from their injuries, and both were not what you would call match winners, in fact were nothing near it. This is the problem people ahve them on a pedestal and this is completely unrealistic.