Analysis The Matt Taberner effect

[vidwhal]

- Leading goalscorer for Freo in 2020 (equal) would be No1 if he wasn't robbed by Margetts.
- No1 contested marker in the AFL (round still in progress)
- Played on the current AA FB and created contests, kicked goals and put himself in the right positions to create opportunities to kick goals.
- Made some errors that make you want to cry.

Good and bad but I believe he's a net positive. He'll take the No1 defender and Hogan gets the 2nd best. Lobb to the ruck.

I think you're right about Tabs being a net positive but he turns into a turnip at times and undoes alot of his good work. I'm personally looking forward to the time he gets pushed out by an individual with a greater "net positive". I'd also look at offering Margetts our waterboy job just to get the whistle out his hand....but then I guess we'd have to test the gatorade regularly if that happened heheh

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Heart Of Purple]

Using Matera defensively is something i'd expect most people on here to praise, not hate. The role exists and somebody has to play it. If we can get away with playing a natural forward who loves a goal in that defensive spot, we'll be a much more offensive side than if we're needing to play a specialist defensive forward. Look at the difference between Rioli and Banfield ... They both play the same role. But Rioli's crafty af going forward.

Yes, it'd make more sense if he was quicker and could tackle better - but its also worth noting both Sturt and Switowski are out and would probably get the spot before him

 

[bushchook]

Using Matera defensively is something i'd expect most people on here to praise, not hate. The role exists and somebody has to play it.

He's probably the least qualified person on our list to play that role though. Physicality has always been his weakness. Let him do what he is good at which is getting front and centre and kicking goals.

 

[freo_leo29]

Matera had a couple opportunities where he was out by 1 second on his opponent but couldn't get the ball and put it on the boot today, he needs to cease those moments to stay in the team, he did it last year and managed a couple bags from it.


Also the Kebab is back for 2020, round 1 was worrying but Kebab is going to be very good for us this year if *touch wood* he stays injury free.

 

[Heart Of Purple]

He's probably the least qualified person on our list to play that role though. Physicality has always been his weakness. Let him do what he is good at which is getting front and centre and kicking goals.

theres not really a role in modern footy for a bloke thats a one trick pony going forward and can't provide much the other way though. One way or the other, he needs to either create far more opportunities, more consistently, than history suggest's he will - or have an impact without the ball. As a forward It's much easier to perform consistently through effort based things such as tackles and pressure than it is to kick bags.

 

[Fat Nyfe]

Let’s be honest, even if he was paid that mark he’d be 50/50 from the goal square anyway.

 

[Dockernut]

Could’ve just shepherded the goal through.

 

[wild side]

Matera had a couple opportunities where he was out by 1 second on his opponent but couldn't get the ball and put it on the boot today, he needs to cease those moments to stay in the team, he did it last year and managed a couple bags from it.


Also the Kebab is back for 2020, round 1 was worrying but Kebab is going to be very good for us this year if *touch wood* he stays injury free.

He's got no right foot, everybody knows it. he's limited to one side of his body

 

[Scham]

theres not really a role in modern footy for a bloke thats a one trick pony going forward and can't provide much the other way though. One way or the other, he needs to either create far more opportunities, more consistently, than history suggest's he will - or have an impact without the ball. As a forward It's much easier to perform consistently through effort based things such as tackles and pressure than it is to kick bags.

Sorry, I know this is a Tab thread but on Matera you’re right, which makes him a bit redundant tbh. No wonder WC didn’t chase him.

 

[Scham]

Could’ve just shepherded the goal through.

Too much to think about for him. I remember a game at Subi where we were in the game late but just behind, Griffin had a set shot from 45m and the shot looked home for all money and then at the last minute Tabs flew up and got a hand to it right on the line. As if he was a defender! Let’s face it, the guys not bright.

 

[toenail11]

The fact he gets to that many contests and is involved so much means he does have good game sense and can read the play , it’s just when he gets the footy he panics and that ball drop can be grim
Anyway with Hogan added we are going to be pretty dangerous up front
Until they get injured of course

 

[FreoRicci]

The fact he gets to that many contests and is involved so much means he does have good game sense and can read the play , it’s just when he gets the footy he panics and that ball drop can be grim
Anyway with Hogan added we are going to be pretty dangerous up front
Until they get injured of course

Hes the overthinking forward. Literally every decision he thinks. When he’s going for a mark, it’s natural and rarely even falls over.
But then he marks on the behind post, the replay is checking the mark.. he’s thinking every scenario while it’s happening. Knew he would miss.

 

[Bring back Drum]

He was up against the All Australian full back & had 5 scores which should have been 6 & 3 or 4 goals. It is the hardest position on the field, particularly in a Freo side still working on skills.

He takes the best defender each week & his contested marking is in the top 3 of the comp. I hope he stays fit so we can see his output over the course of an entire season.

 

[Kram]

Let's be honest at 26 he's an average player at AFL level and quite likely always will be, not crap but not that great either either. Not that there is really anything wrong with that when it's still good enough to contribute to the team. Dude has all the tools physically and good marking ability but has pretty horrible footy instincts.

 

[Unique Name]

Feel like if we get better as a team and our forward line improves the mental stress might be lifted somewhat for him limiting his brain-fades somewhat and improving his output/accuracy/decision making, etc.

Our forward line yesterday was absolute trash. Tabs was probably looking around thinking "s**t it's all on me".

Shultz - Lobb* - Banfield
Matera - Tabs - Walters**

I can guarantee Fagan wasn't worrying too much about Schultz and Banfield. No idea what Matera was doing, very ineffective (needs to be stationed front and centre of Tabs' feet). Darcy getting injured took Lobb out of the forward line and even before that he was having a poor game, Walters spends most of his time on ball. Fyfe is a great when he goes up forward because it throws the opposition into a bit of a disarray as they swap over to cover him.


Give Tabs time to settle in and he will obviously get more comfortable being the top dog but more importantly give him some support, a forward line that looks like it might be able to kick a winning scoreline. Adding Hogan is will be a big help for Tabs. Sturt in one game showed he was more dangerous than Banners, etc. Hopefully he comes back in aswell.

Forward line as a whole is still a big work in progress. We need more options, more players for the opposition to worry about.


Henry - Hogan - Sturt
Switta - Taberner - Walters

Good mix of mobile marking talls, mediums, goal sneaks and pressure small forwards. All of them bar Tabs are great field kicks.

 

[Unique Name]

Let's be honest at 26 he's an average player at AFL level and quite likely always will be, not crap but not that great either either. Not that there is really anything wrong with that when it's still good enough to contribute to the team. Dude has all the tools physically and good marking ability but has pretty horrible footy instincts.

Yeah agree with that mostly. I'm sure it's his mental game that his holding him back. When Rossy sent him back to WAFL a couple years ago the pressure was off mentally because it was clear he was well above WAFL standard, couldn't miss a set shot and committed a lot less blunders. Plays at AFL level a misses some quite simple shots, etc.

Even if all he'll ever be is an average AFL forward hopefully as the team improves as a whole so does his output/consistency. A rising tide lifts all boats and so on.

 

[MadMundy]

Taberner had a good game yesterday. Yes, he had a couple of brain fades but for me his positives far outweigh the negatives. Still a lot of work to be done.

 

[Superkoops]

Feel like if we get better as a team and our forward line improves the mental stress might be lifted somewhat for him limiting his brain-fades somewhat and improving his output/accuracy/decision making, etc.

Our forward line yesterday was absolute trash. Tabs was probably looking around thinking "s**t it's all on me".

Shultz - Lobb* - Banfield
Matera - Tabs - Walters**

I can guarantee Fagan wasn't worrying too much about Schultz and Banfield. No idea what Matera was doing, very ineffective (needs to be stationed front and centre of Tabs' feet). Darcy getting injured took Lobb out of the forward line and even before that he was having a poor game, Walters spends most of his time on ball. Fyfe is a great when he goes up forward because it throws the opposition into a bit of a disarray as they swap over to cover him.


Give Tabs time to settle in and he will obviously get more comfortable being the top dog but more importantly give him some support, a forward line that looks like it might be able to kick a winning scoreline. Adding Hogan is will be a big help for Tabs. Sturt in one game showed he was more dangerous than Banners, etc. Hopefully he comes back in aswell.

Forward line as a whole is still a big work in progress. We need more options, more players for the opposition to worry about.


Henry - Hogan - Sturt
Switta - Taberner - Walters

Good mix of mobile marking talls, mediums, goal sneaks and pressure small forwards. All of them bar Tabs are great field kicks.

I like it for the future but Henry is miles off playing from a physical conditioning perspective. His legs are like toothpicks and is still rehabbing from his patella dislocation. His recovery lagged due to the COVID break when he ventured back home to the Kimberley.

Switta also isn’t ready. We will need either of Schultz or Matera in the fwd line for now.

Really hope Sturt comes in. Schultz was running around putting a bit of pressure on but it just isn’t happening for him. Needs to find more of the pill and make a presence. Matera is struggling. BanfieldI understand kicked 4 goals in a recent match simulation but just lacks any presence. I hate to say it but Colyer was the best of a bad bunch.

I’m with others on this board let’s get Serong into the mix as a half forward.

Schultz (or Matera) - Taberner - Sturt
Serong - Hogan - Walters

The side has a real issue (aside from injured Key Position players) at this small-medium forward spot.

Crowden, Banfield, Colyer, Matera, Schultz are very spud like unfortunately.

We need to get games into Serong and Sturt and when able I agree Switta and Henry, but I suspect Henry more so in 2021.

 

[dockerfemme]

Feel like if we get better as a team and our forward line improves the mental stress might be lifted somewhat for him limiting his brain-fades somewhat and improving his output/accuracy/decision making, etc.

Our forward line yesterday was absolute trash. Tabs was probably looking around thinking "s**t it's all on me".

Shultz - Lobb* - Banfield
Matera - Tabs - Walters**

I can guarantee Fagan wasn't worrying too much about Schultz and Banfield. No idea what Matera was doing, very ineffective (needs to be stationed front and centre of Tabs' feet). Darcy getting injured took Lobb out of the forward line and even before that he was having a poor game, Walters spends most of his time on ball. Fyfe is a great when he goes up forward because it throws the opposition into a bit of a disarray as they swap over to cover him.


Give Tabs time to settle in and he will obviously get more comfortable being the top dog but more importantly give him some support, a forward line that looks like it might be able to kick a winning scoreline. Adding Hogan is will be a big help for Tabs. Sturt in one game showed he was more dangerous than Banners, etc. Hopefully he comes back in aswell.

Forward line as a whole is still a big work in progress. We need more options, more players for the opposition to worry about.


Henry - Hogan - Sturt
Switta - Taberner - Walters

Good mix of mobile marking talls, mediums, goal sneaks and pressure small forwards. All of them bar Tabs are great field kicks.

This comment is not particularly to do with Tabs. I think you are totally right that pressure comes from having dangerous forwards. Tackling and chasing only goes so far.

 

[Unique Name]

This comment is not particularly to do with Tabs. I think you are totally right that pressure comes from having dangerous forwards. Tackling and chasing only goes so far.

No it's not, more that our poor forward line, lack of goal kicking options puts more pressure on Tabs to perform, which obviously doesn't help.

 

[FreoRicci]

Feel like if we get better as a team and our forward line improves the mental stress might be lifted somewhat for him limiting his brain-fades somewhat and improving his output/accuracy/decision making, etc.

Our forward line yesterday was absolute trash. Tabs was probably looking around thinking "s**t it's all on me".

Shultz - Lobb* - Banfield
Matera - Tabs - Walters**

I can guarantee Fagan wasn't worrying too much about Schultz and Banfield. No idea what Matera was doing, very ineffective (needs to be stationed front and centre of Tabs' feet). Darcy getting injured took Lobb out of the forward line and even before that he was having a poor game, Walters spends most of his time on ball. Fyfe is a great when he goes up forward because it throws the opposition into a bit of a disarray as they swap over to cover him.


Give Tabs time to settle in and he will obviously get more comfortable being the top dog but more importantly give him some support, a forward line that looks like it might be able to kick a winning scoreline. Adding Hogan is will be a big help for Tabs. Sturt in one game showed he was more dangerous than Banners, etc. Hopefully he comes back in aswell.

Forward line as a whole is still a big work in progress. We need more options, more players for the opposition to worry about.


Henry - Hogan - Sturt
Switta - Taberner - Walters

Good mix of mobile marking talls, mediums, goal sneaks and pressure small forwards. All of them bar Tabs are great field kicks.

Great post. Teams don’t give a rat’s about a Schulz or a Banfield has they have no significant impact on the scoreboard. Could tell that Brisbane just allows them to gather junk possession outside 50.
Tabs is the leading and only forward, hence Schulz’s And often Matera’s opponent drifting away to impact the Tabs’ contest. The forward line we have isn’t dangerous enough, not even close.
Add a Hogan, then Sturt then perhaps a full time Walters and suddenly Tabs has far less pressure.
He had 5 chances which he has to convert. Compared to Schulz with 0, got an opportunist goal. Matera has one mark I50 and 1 shot. Right there is the problem. Walters is the only specialist forward capable of dangerous and he’s required inside midfield. Need to become less predictable and next week with Hogan will be great to see two contested marking bulls work in their preferred roles.

 

[apuchar]

Bombed it in long all day yesterday. Ignore a lot of leads ups including those by Matera. I think our structure and dumb kicking into the forward line is as much an issue as anything.
Obviously we need to convert our goal kicking opportunities more. Especially Tabs

 

[Scham]

Let's be honest at 26 he's an average player at AFL level and quite likely always will be, not crap but not that great either either. Not that there is really anything wrong with that when it's still good enough to contribute to the team. Dude has all the tools physically and good marking ability but has pretty horrible footy instincts.

Do you have the suitable qualifications to make this comment?

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Feel like if we get better as a team and our forward line improves the mental stress might be lifted somewhat for him limiting his brain-fades somewhat and improving his output/accuracy/decision making, etc.

Our forward line yesterday was absolute trash. Tabs was probably looking around thinking "s**t it's all on me".

Shultz - Lobb* - Banfield
Matera - Tabs - Walters**

I can guarantee Fagan wasn't worrying too much about Schultz and Banfield. No idea what Matera was doing, very ineffective (needs to be stationed front and centre of Tabs' feet). Darcy getting injured took Lobb out of the forward line and even before that he was having a poor game, Walters spends most of his time on ball. Fyfe is a great when he goes up forward because it throws the opposition into a bit of a disarray as they swap over to cover him.


Give Tabs time to settle in and he will obviously get more comfortable being the top dog but more importantly give him some support, a forward line that looks like it might be able to kick a winning scoreline. Adding Hogan is will be a big help for Tabs. Sturt in one game showed he was more dangerous than Banners, etc. Hopefully he comes back in aswell.

Forward line as a whole is still a big work in progress. We need more options, more players for the opposition to worry about.


Henry - Hogan - Sturt
Switta - Taberner - Walters

Good mix of mobile marking talls, mediums, goal sneaks and pressure small forwards. All of them bar Tabs are great field kicks.

At 26/27 I think we've seen enough of Tabs to know what we are going to get and its not going to change. He is who he is, which is a KPF with all the physical attributes but not the football IQ to make the most of them. He'll never be a truly elite KPF and that's ok, Hogan is

 

[fnerd]

He was up against the All Australian full back & had 5 scores which should have been 6 & 3 or 4 goals. It is the hardest position on the field, particularly in a Freo side still working on skills.

How many times does this get said after a game with tabs tho??..... he’s the king of “almost” games or “what ifs “
- at his age and at some stage you just gotta accept that what youve got from tabs is exactly what your going to get-the odd killer game mixed in with a lot of almost and down right ordinary games.