Analysis Where will our goals come from?

[ImperialPurple]

He's a weapon up forward. So strong one on one, going to often draw the opposition's best defender, will create head aches for other teams. People knock his goal kicking but it's improved greatly from that 2013 grand final.

We can afford to play Fyfe forward courtesy of the exciting development we have seen from our young mids. No matter where Fyfe plays he'll be a joy to watch and he's still going to be rotating through the middle.

We may have the best midfielder in the game but we also have one of the best (admittedly still developing) young midfield groups. Don't know how anyone could be disappointed by having the flexibility to send Fyfe forward.

I see what you’re saying regarding flexibility with Fyfe, and I don’t disagree. Short stints up forward to rest - 100%. But IMVHO he’s primarily a mid - and the best in the comp in the middle - so I think that should be his position first and foremost. Playing him as a forward with short stints in the middle is scamming Peter to throw a few bucks to Paul.

 

[Patty_Moz]

I see what you’re saying regarding flexibility with Fyfe, and I don’t disagree. Short stints up forward to rest - 100%. But IMVHO he’s primarily a mid - and the best in the comp in the middle - so I think that should be his position first and foremost. Playing him as a forward with short stints in the middle is scamming Peter to throw a few bucks to Paul.

I wouldn’t worry about it IP. Fyfe going forward is thrown around by the club because we’re desperate for quality tall options and because he’s such a good player no ones going to argue that it’s a ridiculous idea. The truth is he isn’t really all that good a forward, never has been, he’ll be trialled there for a while and will rest there a bit but in the longer term he’ll just go back to being a mid where he is one of the best ever.


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[Scham]

Brayden Cook.

 

[Bring back Drum]

I wouldn’t worry about it IP. Fyfe going forward is thrown around by the club because we’re desperate for quality tall options and because he’s such a good player no ones going to argue that it’s a ridiculous idea. The truth is he isn’t really all that good a forward, never has been, he’ll be trialled there for a while and will rest there a bit but in the longer term he’ll just go back to being a mid where he is one of the best ever.


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Can’t agree that Fyfe is no good as a forward & never has been.

His WAFL stats as a skinny 18/19 year old say he was a very good half forward at the beginning of his senior career.

Nathan FYFE | WAFL

Nathan FYFE | WAFL

www.wafl.com.au

If he were to play permanently forward he would easily have over 60 shots on goal over the season & that’s being very cautious. He doesn’t train with the forwards so has very little idea on the structures (yes, neither do our coaches & the rest of the forwards, haha), given a preseason training with them I would like to think he could play almost like Ablett Snr.

If Fyfe played permanently forward we could almost have 3 of the best 10 contested marks in the comp, positioned in our forward line. Whether our young mids are up to winning enough ball is the problem, but if not this upcoming season, I reckon 2022.

 

[Megalon]

I see what you’re saying regarding flexibility with Fyfe, and I don’t disagree. Short stints up forward to rest - 100%. But IMVHO he’s primarily a mid - and the best in the comp in the middle - so I think that should be his position first and foremost. Playing him as a forward with short stints in the middle is scamming Peter to throw a few bucks to Paul.

I agree that Fyfe is primarily a mid but I also think in terms of his longevity in the game he should play forward where possible, depending on the opposition. He's had years of being bruised, battered and broken legged* against the oppositions best midfielders and at this stage of his career we need to look at how his body is going to be in 2 or 3 years time when we are hopefully contending for a flag. Against lower rung teams like Adelaide/North we should almost play Fyfe forward the whole game, with short bursts in the middle, if our young midfield brigade are on top. Against Richmond/West Coast/Geelong etc we should play Fyfe in the middle when the opposition midfield is getting ascendancy, so this could mean 80% time in the middle in some games - this would be short stints up forward to rest, like you say. Against middling teams it would be more of a mix.

There was a game last season (can't remember which) where JL admitted that he should have put Fyfe in the middle more. JL showed he is a great game day coach this year with some of the coaching moves he made so I'd back him to get the balance right in each game.

To summarise my post, let's let Fyfe rest up forward wherever we can to preserve him, but god damn drop the Fyfe-bomb into the midfield when required

* thank you Sam Mitchell

 

[Halfbaked]

Having Fyfe forward works on a whole new level if it's unpredictable. It has the potential to be disruptive to the oppositions back line and their midfield set up.

 

[Kapow!!!]

Having Fyfe forward works on a whole new level if it's unpredictable. It has the potential to be disruptive to the oppositions back line and their midfield set up.

Or it needlessly takes away our best midfielder to sit quietly in the forward line as we get smashed in the clearances/get rushed and poor delivery inside F50 as opposition defenders have it thoroughly worked out.

Fyfe isn't a great AFL level KPF and doesn't have a great track record except in tiny patches. Just because Dustin Martin can do it, doesn't mean Fyfe can.

 

[Halfbaked]

Or it needlessly takes away our best midfielder to sit quietly in the forward line as we get smashed in the clearances/get rushed and poor delivery inside F50 as opposition defenders have it thoroughly worked out.

Fyfe isn't a great AFL level KPF and doesn't have a great track record except in tiny patches. Just because Dustin Martin can do it, doesn't mean Fyfe can.

My post was in response to the idea of playing Fyfe as full time forward , which I agree is a bad idea. However Fyfe said at the start of the last season he hoping to play less time as an inside mid because of the toll on his body.
So if fyfe is going to play time forward and it sounds like he will, in my opinion it's better to do the most effective way.

 

[ChimpaWompa]

If we have to have Fyfe playing midfield constantly to avoid getting "smashed" in the middle then we aren't a good side and won't be winning a premiership anytime soon

 

[wayToGo_]

I'm not expecting Fyfe to play exclusively as a forward but I am expecting closer to a 50/50 split in 2021. Think he played about a third of his time forward this year?

I'd also back in both he and Walters to cause a fair bit more havoc in our forward line under the system JL is implementing this off season. Expecting both to hit the scoreboard more but more importantly to be key pieces in scoring more overall. You don't have to watch too many highlights to see how often these two are involved in generating most of our scoring opportunities.

I remember observing JL transform West Coast's forward line in 2011 when he went there as their Forward Line coach. I personally think we have plenty of talent available to us (arguably just as much or more than WC did back then), we just need a far better system forward of centre to start getting the results.

There is also no reason our young midfield can't take another massive step in 2021 and rely even less on Fyfe and Mundy. I think we saw at Melbourne in 2018 with Oliver, Petracca and Gus Brayshaw what a young group can do once they mature enough. And unlike them we have senior bodies like Fyfe and Mundy that we can use if needed. Yes, they might still get smashed sometimes but it's the right move with the future in mind.

 

[heavho]

Im all in on fyfe forward.The reins need to be handed over to the future of the engine room in serong,brayshaw,cerra and extend fyfes playing days by being a plating majority forward. Goals to come from walters,fyfe,tabener,shultz,switkowski,sturt,
lobb

 

[FD2646]

Hopefully Liam Henry is going hard in the gym .

Saw him in a bakery at Margaret River at the start of November. In fairness, he didn't appear to have eaten any

 

[Patty_Moz]

Can’t agree that Fyfe is no good as a forward & never has been.

His WAFL stats as a skinny 18/19 year old say he was a very good half forward at the beginning of his senior career.

Nathan FYFE | WAFL

Nathan FYFE | WAFL

www.wafl.com.au

If he were to play permanently forward he would easily have over 60 shots on goal over the season & that’s being very cautious. He doesn’t train with the forwards so has very little idea on the structures (yes, neither do our coaches & the rest of the forwards, haha), given a preseason training with them I would like to think he could play almost like Ablett Snr.

If Fyfe played permanently forward we could almost have 3 of the best 10 contested marks in the comp, positioned in our forward line. Whether our young mids are up to winning enough ball is the problem, but if not this upcoming season, I reckon 2022.

Which is really my point isn’t it? If we have to go back to 2010 wafl stats to prove Fyfe is a great fwd then he hasn’t been all that good a fwd at AFL level.

Just to be clear I have no problems with Fyfe going fwd full time, actually I think it’s the only way he becomes a really damaging fwd. However with that I’m also willing to accept that maybe he’s only a 20-30 goal fwd and I’m not sure anyone else on the planet would be willing to accept that when they know what he can do in the middle. The media will murder JLo, fans will want his head and if he had a dry patch which almost all fwds have at some point, then inevitably it will be back to the middle.

I’d prefer him being a 60 goal fwd to a midfielder as we don’t have a lot of options but simply switching him fwd isn’t as simple as him as people are making out.


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[BigRang]

Which is really my point isn’t it? If we have to go back to 2010 wafl stats to prove Fyfe is a great fwd then he hasn’t been all that good a fwd at AFL level.

Just to be clear I have no problems with Fyfe going fwd full time, actually I think it’s the only way he becomes a really damaging fwd. However with that I’m also willing to accept that maybe he’s only a 20-30 goal fwd and I’m not sure anyone else on the planet would be willing to accept that when they know what he can do in the middle. The media will murder JLo, fans will want his head and if he had a dry patch which almost all fwds have at some point, then inevitably it will be back to the middle.

I’d prefer him being a 60 goal fwd to a midfielder as we don’t have a lot of options but simply switching him fwd isn’t as simple as him as people are making out.


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We have to go that far back because he's been running around in the midfield not in the forward line mate.

 

[Bring back Drum]

Which is really my point isn’t it? If we have to go back to 2010 wafl stats to prove Fyfe is a great fwd then he hasn’t been all that good a fwd at AFL level.

Just to be clear I have no problems with Fyfe going fwd full time, actually I think it’s the only way he becomes a really damaging fwd. However with that I’m also willing to accept that maybe he’s only a 20-30 goal fwd and I’m not sure anyone else on the planet would be willing to accept that when they know what he can do in the middle. The media will murder JLo, fans will want his head and if he had a dry patch which almost all fwds have at some point, then inevitably it will be back to the middle.

I’d prefer him being a 60 goal fwd to a midfielder as we don’t have a lot of options but simply switching him fwd isn’t as simple as him as people are making out.


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The only reason I mentioned his Claremont stats was that in your OP, you mentioned he has never been a good forward. He played State junior footy as a forward & kicked 13 goals in 4 games of league Wafl footy, so he was a very good forward.

I only make a case for Fyfe forward, once our midfield is capable without him & once we have a midfield that breaks even with other opposing teams. If I'm coaching against Fremantle, in this situation I want to see Fyfe in the middle of the ground, not running around the forward 50.

My point is, if we had the luxury of playing Fyfe forward for a whole season, I have no doubt he would be an All Australian half forward.

 

[Joao]

Dixon to do a Tabs level TTHD pre-season and kick 50 goals in 2021.

 

[Freomaniac]

Brayden Cook.

I would love him at Freo. He is from my SANFL side south Adelaide.

He would be better than Freos last south Adelaide player they got 10 years ago. Justin Bollenhagen

Justin Bollenhagen

Age

32

Ht

184cm

Wt

74kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

7.5

2star

K

4.0

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

1.3

2star

T

2.3

4star

CL

0.5

2star

No current season stats available

D

7.5

2star

K

4.0

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

1.3

2star

T

2.3

4star

CL

0.5

3star

 

[theGav56]

The only reason I mentioned his Claremont stats was that in your OP, you mentioned he has never been a good forward. He played State junior footy as a forward & kicked 13 goals in 4 games of league Wafl footy, so he was a very good forward.

I only make a case for Fyfe forward, once our midfield is capable without him & once we have a midfield that breaks even with other opposing teams. If I'm coaching against Fremantle, in this situation I want to see Fyfe in the middle of the ground, not running around the forward 50.

My point is, if we had the luxury of playing Fyfe forward for a whole season, I have no doubt he would be an All Australian half forward.

The big question for me is how Valente goes. Has barely played, but is physically developed. Seems to be only suited to inside midfielder as a position. If he does come through this coming season I can see the Fyfe forward strategy having a stronger chance.

 

[Ysaye]

The big question for me is how Valente goes. Has barely played, but is physically developed. Seems to be only suited to inside midfielder as a position. If he does come through this coming season I can see the Fyfe forward strategy having a stronger chance.

Valente played as a medium forward at junior level as well as midfield, and arguably you can see him potentially playing a Cerra like role on a wing as well given his kicking ability; personally I see Valente hopefully being a useful player off the bench who can play any one of these roles as required.

 

[theGav56]

Valente played as a medium forward at junior level as well as midfield, and arguably you can see him potentially playing a Cerra like role on a wing as well given his kicking ability; personally I see Valente hopefully being a useful player off the bench who can play any one of these roles as required.

Good options to have. My thinking has been that he becomes the big bodied mid that allows Fyfe and Mundy go to forward. And also be part of the solution to our forward transition with his kicking and footy smarts.

 

[Shadow Man]

If the decision was made for Fyfe to be predominatly forward and he was onboard with it, with his drive and application no doubt he could become one of the best going around.

 

[theGav56]

If the decision was made for Fyfe to be predominatly forward and he was onboard with it, with his drive and application no doubt he could become one of the best going around.

My concern with that line of thinking is that our forward issues begin in the midfield. It isn’t as simple as that we need another forward option.

We need improvement in transition across the ground and we need more forward entries. If we get those things, especially if we get them as a result of our young players development, then we may be able to afford the move of our greatest midfielder forward.

 

[bushchook]

I don't think Fyfe is a good enough kick for goal to play as a forward. It works for Dusty because he's a deadeye. Fyfe, despite his obvious strengths elsewhere, is not.

 

[Troy Cooked It]

I truly don't understand the belief that Fyfe cant kick for goal, I would appreciate someone with the access to goal kicking accuracy stats to back this up by I would have a guess it is at least league average.

If the decision was made for Fyfe to be predominatly forward and he was onboard with it, with his drive and application no doubt he could become one of the best going around.

Which I would also point to this^, he is a meticulous preparer and ultimate professional who gets every drop of ability out of his body. Of all the 'long shots' and 'potential stars' we are hoping to come on for us to score, I would place the most faith in that Fyfe is the key to the forward line potency.

 

[Joao]

I truly don't understand the belief that Fyfe cant kick for goal, I would appreciate someone with the access to goal kicking accuracy stats to back this up by I would have a guess it is at least league average.

158-113 all time. Doesn't include OOF but 58% would be about the league average I think. It is a ****load better than Bont and Billings who are far superior field kicks.