Player Watch Wayne Milera

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Even once a game, it's still a comfortable price for what it offers offensively. We pay that price with Smith as is, and you can pretty much say every side does with their respective.

A game built on scoring from turnovers, and quick ball movement requires your best ball movers behind the ball, not in front of it.
Haven’t we changed our game plan away from relying on scoring from turnovers as that’s how clubs had worked us out?
 
Which is fine if that’s your game plan.

Our movement in the last 8 games has slowed, much more considered. Slingshot mostly gone.
Pretty sure it was Paul Roos who mentioned it on the Couch, he praised Pyke who had acknowledged with 6-6-6 we had to change and he’s successfully implemented a change in our game plan
 
Which is fine if that’s your game plan.

Our movement in the last 8 games has slowed, much more considered. Slingshot mostly gone.

I wasn't talking about our gameplan. I was talking about AFL as a whole. The most reliable methods of scoring is to make the most of turnovers, and/or move the ball quickly. Otherwise you're just bashing your head against a brick wall.

That lack of speed in our ball movement is the biggest problem we face currently, as slow ball movement is easy to defend, which is something we've been struggling with for large swathes of every game so far. Equally when we look and perform the best is when we loosen the shackles a bit and begin to move the ball quicker. Inevitably if this side wants to go deep in September we'll have to find a way to reliably create attacking options where we speed up ball movement, whilst retaining that defensive strength. Creating that extra gear if you will instead of just continuously whittling down an opponent in a war of attrition.

Even if you want to play this slower, and easier to defend game plan, you still want your best ball movers behind the ball. Arguably it becomes even more vital as the only "reliable" way your going to produce anything is through a good ball mover, though this style is most likely just a stepping stone this season.
 

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I wasn't talking about our gameplan. I was talking about AFL as a whole. The most reliable methods of scoring is to make the most of turnovers, and/or move the ball quickly. Otherwise you're just bashing your head against a brick wall.

That lack of speed in our ball movement is the biggest problem we face currently, as slow ball movement is easy to defend, which is something we've been struggling with for large swathes of every game so far. Equally when we look and perform the best is when we loosen the shackles a bit and begin to move the ball quicker. Inevitably if this side wants to go deep in September we'll have to find a way to reliably create attacking options where we speed up ball movement, whilst retaining that defensive strength. Creating that extra gear if you will instead of just continuously whittling down an opponent in a war of attrition.

Even if you want to play this slower, and easier to defend game plan, you still want your best ball movers behind the ball. Arguably it becomes even more vital as the only "reliable" way your going to produce anything is through a good ball mover, though this style is most likely just a stepping stone this season.
And in these days of lower scoring you want your best defenders in defence. You can’t load up with attacking options who aren’t great defensively. We’ve already got Smith who plays that role.

Plus Atkins and Seeds push back a fair bit.
 
Haven’t we changed our game plan away from relying on scoring from turnovers as that’s how clubs had worked us out?

All teams rely on scoring from turnovers to a degree, and we haven't changed from that. It's the easiest time to score after all as you're dealing with a defense in disarray.

We've definitely slowed it down, and got the defensive play down pact though usually that kind of strategy change is usually the first step, not the end product. The end product is to make that gear change once an opponent is worn down to be more potent. We're starting to get there, seeing the way we blew away Richmond and GWS in the 4th quarter, and did some damage to West Coast in the back end of the second quarter.
 
Not sure if someone else has mentioned this: Triple M were broadcasting from inside the rooms before the Richmond game. About 10 minutes before the first bounce they mentioned Milera had gone back into the rooms with Pyke and fitness staff and underwent some kind of fitness test.

If he had some kind of niggle that might explain his poor game, didn’t look right from the first bounce.
 
And in these days of lower scoring you want your best defenders in defence. You can’t load up with attacking options who aren’t great defensively. We’ve already got Smith who plays that role.

Plus Atkins and Seeds push back a fair bit.
Hmm...interesting point, and interesting to note Brodie spending more time up on the wing. What does that tell you
 
All teams rely on scoring from turnovers to a degree, and we haven't changed from that. It's the easiest time to score after all as you're dealing with a defense in disarray.

We've definitely slowed it down, and got the defensive play down pact though usually that kind of strategy change is usually the first step, not the end product. The end product is to make that gear change once an opponent is worn down to be more potent. We're starting to get there, seeing the way we blew away Richmond and GWS in the 4th quarter, and did some damage to West Coast in the back end of the second quarter.
Yep agree with the gear change, and it certainly occurred to me Thursday that we seemed to be developing the confidence to do that.
 
Hmm...interesting point, and interesting to note Brodie spending more time up on the wing. What does that tell you
One thing about Smith this year, his 1v1 defending has improved immeasurably.

With the way we play now it needed to.
 
Not sure if someone else has mentioned this: Triple M were broadcasting from inside the rooms before the Richmond game. About 10 minutes before the first bounce they mentioned Milera had gone back into the rooms with Pyke and fitness staff and underwent some kind of fitness test.

If he had some kind of niggle that might explain his poor game, didn’t look right from the first bounce.

I heard he had the flu.
 
Question but where do we people think Milera should play? I personally liked him up forward in the West coast game looked really good up there and provided the forward line another element.

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His best game this year is when he played forward v West Coast.
Yes but every other game he has played forward he has been invisible. He should share his playing time between midfield & half back imo. We miss another player with skill, speed and dare out of defense. Smith is a lone hand and is getting some attention. Laird isn't as influential this season, but even at his best he isn't as daring with his run and kick as Smith & Milera. But with us playing Talia Hartigan Keath Kelly (an extra tall), the extra runner has been kicked out of the defensive 7.
It's a tough call because it's helped us defensively, but for the sake of our ball movement, I think we should put Milera back there instead of Kelly/Hartigan. We are great defensively but the back 7 are very dour and conservative which make it easier for the opposition to press up and lock the ball in their forward half.
 
Question but where do we people think Milera should play? I personally liked him up forward in the West coast game looked really good up there and provided the forward line another element.

On SM-N960F using BigFooty.com mobile app
If he could put up big posession numbers on the wing/hff then there of course... but he can't seem to, so I'd have him either as a HBF runner or a mid. He's been very good in those spots.
 
Having got to watch him live in the Canberra game against GWS, I can only say... cripes. He is all sorts of good.

He must be the short odds for to have the massive breakout season of the comp.

The sky is the limit - AA team is prob too much, given the dumb selection process, but the squad is not out of the question. Still just 21, but has 43 games under his belt, so the time for "learning the game" "get 50 games into him" is over. Apprenticeship done, now show us what you have.

Now is the time to show if he is a match winner, and he looks like a fricken match winner.


I expect a few coaches' poll votes.
Not even close, alas.
 
Not even close, alas.
Why are you constantly on at Milera?

He's deadset the last of our problems

Coping not too bad for a kid that was playing defense a few months ago then shunted forward for a month or two then moved onto the ball for a couple weeks and now moved back to defense again.

If the line coaches stop f'n raffling him between them he might settle into a role eventually
 
Why are you constantly on at Milera?

He's deadset the last of our problems

Coping not too bad for a kid that was playing defense a few months ago then shunted forward for a month or two then moved onto the ball for a couple weeks and now moved back to defense again.

If the line coaches stop f'n raffling him between them he might settle into a role eventually

Needed to spend the year at half back consolidating what he showed last year. Sure he might make the odd error of youth or from taking the game on, but it was clear as day the kid needed some consistency. Instead we shuffled him around to ensure we could fit others in the side.

Had we played him all year in defense, would have become far more settled as a player and then far more likely to transition into the midfield successfully from there.
 
Needed to spend the year at half back consolidating what he showed last year. Sure he might make the odd error of youth or from taking the game on, but it was clear as day the kid needed some consistency. Instead we shuffled him around to ensure we could fit others in the side.

Had we played him all year in defense, would have become far more settled as a player and then far more likely to transition into the midfield successfully from there.
It pisses me off no end how unsystematic we are in our selections/player roles.

Seedsman to a forward pocket just about took the cake. Nothing surprises me any more.
 
Needed to spend the year at half back consolidating what he showed last year. Sure he might make the odd error of youth or from taking the game on, but it was clear as day the kid needed some consistency. Instead we shuffled him around to ensure we could fit others in the side.

Had we played him all year in defense, would have become far more settled as a player and then far more likely to transition into the midfield successfully from there.
Nailed it.

Milera should have been settled on a half back flank where he has played his most consistent football, with the occasional run on ball.

Particularly with Smith no longer in the backline, we need a good ball user back there.

Also, lacks confidence in his shoulder at the moment which is impacting on tackling & marking.
 
Why are you constantly on at Milera?

He's deadset the last of our problems

Coping not too bad for a kid that was playing defense a few months ago then shunted forward for a month or two then moved onto the ball for a couple weeks and now moved back to defense again.

If the line coaches stop f'n raffling him between them he might settle into a role eventually
Because he was our top draft pick, he is talked up as a gun, and he is apparently our future.
 

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