jenny61_99
Premium Platinum
This is from the latest Qld Supporters Newsletter. Thought some of you might be interested:
The Season So Far…
So how do you think we are going? 3 wins and 3 losses means we are just in the 8 on percentage, 3 wins behind West Coast and unfortunately 2 wins behind Port. The season seems delicately poised for us.
An interesting feature has been our capacity to shut down the goal scoring of the opposition with our heavy flood tactics. Scores by Collingwood (11goals-20points), Fremantle (7-16), Sydney (5-14), and Port (8-15) in our last 4 games suggest that we are applying a lot of pressure to rush behinds. Probably this has been a bit flattering because Coll, Syd and Port at least missed many easy set shots that were not in pressure situations. More worrying is our goal scoring 9-8, 8-9, 9-7 and 13-9 in those same last 4 games. Something clearly needs to be done about our forward entries, our goal scoring capacity, and our forwards’ pressure on opposition defenders who are clearing the ball far too easily.
The Youngsters….On the plus side, while our injuries have certainly tested our depth, they have also enabled the youngsters to get some valuable game time. Knights and Van Berlo have really impressed and should be regulars for us now, just need to start them on the ground for their confidence. Vince has really come on this year and could be a good midfielder or forward by end of the year if he keeps playing. Griffin has held up his end and showed some promise in ruck – it will be interesting if he can hold his place when Maric becomes available. Douglas has shown some ability playing out of the back pocket (clearly a learning experience for him though) and kicked goals up forward too. Seems a little slow for a small guy – but perhaps its just the tempo of AFL? Porplyzia and Hinge have made good contributions in between injuries. We are yet to see any of the new draftees in 2007.
The Defence : The defence has held up extremely well. Rutten and Bassett have been outstanding in most games, with Rutten so far only having 5 goals kicked against him despite the quality opposition (Rocca, Pavlich, Hall, Treadrea, Lloyd, etc). McLeod played some blinders between Rounds 2-4 and created goal scoring opportunities in most games, but is probably needed in the middle or up forward right now. Torney has really been valuable in defence and this has enabled the coach to use Stevens up forward. Mattner, Torney and Bassett have taken the second, third and fourth tallest forwards after Rutten. This has surprisingly worked in early games, with the second tall defender (Stevens or McGregor) not used since round 1. It did not work against Collingwood, but then what did?
The Midfield : In the midfield we have struggled. Thompson and Reilly have been superb and been our best there. Edwards and (especially) Goodwin have looked unfit in a few games but have contributed well. Hudson has also battled manfully in ruck although his best efforts are around the ground where he gets plenty of the ball. At this stage we lack a run-with player capable of stopping Judd and other danger mid-fielders (could Mattner be that option?). Our wingers have also not been too effective, and we need more prolific performers contributing to our clearances and offence.
The Forwards : Up forward, Perrie is now up and firing and looked the part against Collingwood after refusing to shoot for goals at 5metres out in an earlier game. Welsh has been excellent in 2 games (4 goals each) but unnoticed in the others, consistency has always been his problem. Bock started extremely well at CHF with bags of goals but faded in the last few games (perhaps he could be a leading full forward like late last year or revert to CHB?). Stevens has been very good in several games. And that’s about it. The lack of effective crumbers might see Johncock used up there when he returns from injury. Thompson, Edwards and Porplyzia are probably our most reliable kicks for goal but have not been down there much, and we have had very few goals from other midfielders for the same reason. Riccuito may not play a role this year and Burton has struggled with an obvious running problem this year. Bode and McGregor could still add something up forward for us.
What’s Next : Perhaps the big question right now is whether the coaches will hold the same course and style of play this year or change the game plan? Will we continue to play 80% of the game in defence and look for quick breaks into the forward line, something that has worked well for us in home-and-away games for the last 2 years (although it has come unstuck in finals)? Or will we change to a more attacking game plan to increase our goal scoring capabilities?
The Season So Far…
So how do you think we are going? 3 wins and 3 losses means we are just in the 8 on percentage, 3 wins behind West Coast and unfortunately 2 wins behind Port. The season seems delicately poised for us.
An interesting feature has been our capacity to shut down the goal scoring of the opposition with our heavy flood tactics. Scores by Collingwood (11goals-20points), Fremantle (7-16), Sydney (5-14), and Port (8-15) in our last 4 games suggest that we are applying a lot of pressure to rush behinds. Probably this has been a bit flattering because Coll, Syd and Port at least missed many easy set shots that were not in pressure situations. More worrying is our goal scoring 9-8, 8-9, 9-7 and 13-9 in those same last 4 games. Something clearly needs to be done about our forward entries, our goal scoring capacity, and our forwards’ pressure on opposition defenders who are clearing the ball far too easily.
The Youngsters….On the plus side, while our injuries have certainly tested our depth, they have also enabled the youngsters to get some valuable game time. Knights and Van Berlo have really impressed and should be regulars for us now, just need to start them on the ground for their confidence. Vince has really come on this year and could be a good midfielder or forward by end of the year if he keeps playing. Griffin has held up his end and showed some promise in ruck – it will be interesting if he can hold his place when Maric becomes available. Douglas has shown some ability playing out of the back pocket (clearly a learning experience for him though) and kicked goals up forward too. Seems a little slow for a small guy – but perhaps its just the tempo of AFL? Porplyzia and Hinge have made good contributions in between injuries. We are yet to see any of the new draftees in 2007.
The Defence : The defence has held up extremely well. Rutten and Bassett have been outstanding in most games, with Rutten so far only having 5 goals kicked against him despite the quality opposition (Rocca, Pavlich, Hall, Treadrea, Lloyd, etc). McLeod played some blinders between Rounds 2-4 and created goal scoring opportunities in most games, but is probably needed in the middle or up forward right now. Torney has really been valuable in defence and this has enabled the coach to use Stevens up forward. Mattner, Torney and Bassett have taken the second, third and fourth tallest forwards after Rutten. This has surprisingly worked in early games, with the second tall defender (Stevens or McGregor) not used since round 1. It did not work against Collingwood, but then what did?
The Midfield : In the midfield we have struggled. Thompson and Reilly have been superb and been our best there. Edwards and (especially) Goodwin have looked unfit in a few games but have contributed well. Hudson has also battled manfully in ruck although his best efforts are around the ground where he gets plenty of the ball. At this stage we lack a run-with player capable of stopping Judd and other danger mid-fielders (could Mattner be that option?). Our wingers have also not been too effective, and we need more prolific performers contributing to our clearances and offence.
The Forwards : Up forward, Perrie is now up and firing and looked the part against Collingwood after refusing to shoot for goals at 5metres out in an earlier game. Welsh has been excellent in 2 games (4 goals each) but unnoticed in the others, consistency has always been his problem. Bock started extremely well at CHF with bags of goals but faded in the last few games (perhaps he could be a leading full forward like late last year or revert to CHB?). Stevens has been very good in several games. And that’s about it. The lack of effective crumbers might see Johncock used up there when he returns from injury. Thompson, Edwards and Porplyzia are probably our most reliable kicks for goal but have not been down there much, and we have had very few goals from other midfielders for the same reason. Riccuito may not play a role this year and Burton has struggled with an obvious running problem this year. Bode and McGregor could still add something up forward for us.
What’s Next : Perhaps the big question right now is whether the coaches will hold the same course and style of play this year or change the game plan? Will we continue to play 80% of the game in defence and look for quick breaks into the forward line, something that has worked well for us in home-and-away games for the last 2 years (although it has come unstuck in finals)? Or will we change to a more attacking game plan to increase our goal scoring capabilities?
