Who's better at What?

[rgauci]

Is Polak a better CHB than Murphy?
Is Johnson a better FB than Warren?
Is Johnson a better CHB than Murphy or Polak?


Who's better value, Warren at FB or Polak at CHB? or Murphy for that matter? and who could forget Johnson for CHB or FB?

I think the clubs trying to decide this for themselves as McPharlin and Pavlich have cemented themselves in the forward line. I have a feeling that both key positions in the backline are up for grabs because Haddrill is best suited as the third tall. Leaving Parker to play in the last line on a small.

Leaving our backline looking something like the following. Not to mention Schammer having stints across HB and Grover probably edging Mundy on form at the moment. Drum will push for selection sometime this year.

Thornton ?? Mundy
Parker/Hayden ?? Haddrill

All in all our backline looks very unsettled. Hopefully it'll all be sorted out in the preseason and not in the season proper.

 

[ThePope]

Is Polak a better CHB than Murphy?
Is Johnson a better FB than Warren?
Is Johnson a better CHB than Murphy or Polak?


Who's better value, Warren at FB or Polak at CHB? or Murphy for that matter? and who could forget Johnson for CHB or FB?

I think the clubs trying to decide this for themselves as McPharlin and Pavlich have cemented themselves in the forward line. I have a feeling that both key positions in the backline are up for grabs because Haddrill is best suited as the third tall. Leaving Parker to play in the last line on a small.

Leaving our backline looking something like the following. Not to mention Schammer having stints across HB and Grover probably edging Mundy on form at the moment. Drum will push for selection sometime this year.

Thornton ?? Mundy
Parker/Hayden ?? Haddrill

All in all our backline looks very unsettled. Hopefully it'll all be sorted out in the preseason and not in the season proper.

Positions don't matter. You have 1-2 tall forwards, 2-3 medium forwards and a couple of small forwards that you have to match up on. You might try to go tall on a small or medium on a tall at times, you might try to have one player as the run-off/zoning free man. CHB/FB are irrelevant at the moment.

It's who's big enough to handle the BBB Hall/Neitz/Tredrea/Brown/Gehrig types that is the problem. Luckily, there aren't too many of those gorillas around these days and they keep getting injured/suspended!

 

[theGav56]

Positions don't matter. (edit) It's who's big enough to handle the BBB Hall/Neitz/Tredrea/Brown/Gehrig types that is the problem. Luckily, there aren't too many of those gorillas around these days and they keep getting injured/suspended!

Rocca(s), Ottens, Symonds and Richardson too in the gorilla division. Plus the ruckman who goes forward.

I think a fair few teams have a forward who out-sizes the backmen we had last year. It seems to me that we have had backs fighting out of their size and weight divisions ever since we started; and generally not doing too badly. But Parker on Richardson, Tredrea etc is a mismatch that can easily burn us.

Polak, Johnson and Warren to my mind should be handy players if they can get themselves up to an AFL standard of consistency and play. But we probably only have room for one in the team (not a fan of the three ruckmen idea).

Murphy is a different issue to me. He seems more mobile than the others, and I could see him playing a different role, on Croad for example. He seems a long way off being settled in terms of what his role will be. Has been given opportunities that he has yet to grasp, a little like Polak. Plenty of time for both of them.

 

[Dr Ralph Dagg]

Rocca(s), Ottens, Symonds and Richardson too in the gorilla division. Plus the ruckman who goes forward.

Nathan Thompson can be added to the list. And there are developing payers like Daniel Merret from the Lions, Waite at Carlton, Buddy Franklin and Roughhead at Hawthorn, Ash Hansen at West Coast.

I think our young fellas cover most of the other young fellas but you can see why we were interested in Hay. We just lack that monster full-back with experience. Still, we lose 99% of our games in the midfield and that's where we need to improve.

 

[rgauci]

Personally i'd like to see Longmuir play in defence on the resting ruckman. He did a very good job on Kosi in the back pocket in that famous game.

 

[theGav56]

Personally i'd like to see Longmuir play in defence on the resting ruckman. He did a very good job on Kosi in the back pocket in that famous game.

I think that can be an option, but much better when the ruckman can work in both directions with longmuir pushing forward. Would hate to see Longmuir's default position being defensive, as he is a potential weapon.

Agree about needing to improve the midfiled and that it will be the best way for us to help the defence.

I still want a regular in the backline who can take on the gorillas. We are unsettled in the FB and CHB roles, and that is disturbing.

 

[rgauci]

I think that can be an option, but much better when the ruckman can work in both directions with longmuir pushing forward. Would hate to see Longmuir's default position being defensive, as he is a potential weapon.

Agree about needing to improve the midfiled and that it will be the best way for us to help the defence.

I still want a regular in the backline who can take on the gorillas. We are unsettled in the FB and CHB roles, and that is disturbing.

With a bit of hindsight we'd have kept Croady and moved McPharlin and Pavlich forward sooner. But then again who thought Simmonds would be leaving and Polak would halt in development. Waterhouse was still competing for key positions in the forward line back in 2003. Also we thought Medhurst was a option at FF. Its hard to have a successful team with Medhurst or any other small forward at FF.

Plus our midfield really missed Pavlich last season, and would have missed him more back in 03 and 04. It didn't help that Bell and Hasleby weren't fit for the majority of 05. Though the addition of Josh Carr and Black did alleviate some of the midfield pressure.

I've got a good feeling about Josh Carr this season. I think he's settled and should really step up.

Anyway we've got most of the cattle on the list. Its just a matter of everyone firing at once. Hopefully this season.

 

[Dr Ralph Dagg]

With a bit of hindsight we'd have kept Croady and moved McPharlin and Pavlich forward sooner.

Hindsight, my foot. There were literally 1,000's of people telling CC to play Croad in the backline. Having said that there is still doubt as to whether Croady makes for a CHB. He did win AA but it was controversial in that there was no one else up for it. He plays CHB in a team that is dreadful in defence. You'd have to wonder how well hed go holding down the job in a team aiming for the top 4.

Plus our midfield really missed Pavlich last season, and would have missed him more back in 03 and 04. It didn't help that Bell and Hasleby weren't fit for the majority of 05. Though the addition of Josh Carr and Black did alleviate some of the midfield pressure.

Pav had a dreadful 2004. We missed him only because our midfield was so terrible though the middle part of last year.

I've got a good feeling about Josh Carr this season. I think he's settled and should really step up.

I've got that feeling about Hasleby. I didn't think Josh went that bad last year. He just had little backup in the "in and under" department. No Bell. No Hasleby. No Macmanus!! CC quotes that statistically he was exactly the same as he was at Port.

Hasleby is overdue for a good year. He was a hotty for the Brownlow mid-2004 and as been off the boil ever since. If Hase, and Bell, fire up to their 2003 AA form they'll make Josh look good.

 

[dominguez]

Hasleby was injured for most of last season, and looked fat. I saw him on the news the other night, he looks much slimmer and big things should be expected of him in 2006. I rank him in our 3 or 4 most important players, because when fit and inform he is clearly our best ball winner.

Agree with you on Croad, every man and his dog new that he should have played down back.

 

[theGav56]

There aren't many areas we are weak in;
• We struggled for clearances last year, but Sandilands development and a fitter Haselby and Bell, plus some development from some of the younger mids should lift us there.
• We looked a bit iffy in the backline minus a couple of our best (Haddril and Hayden). The club tried to address that through trading, and we have some good young talls. But they will take time.
• Speed. Well it has been talked about as a problem, but I think we have a bit of speed coming through with Peake and Crowley in particular. Plus some of our talls are pretty fast; Pavlich, MacPharlin, Thornton, Mundy.

The BIG upside for the club has got to be how they are used/coached. Hopefully there is development there. I love the thought of a team with a lot of flexibility about how we play and line up. And I expect that to be a feature of 2006

 

[Ysaye]

Hasleby is overdue for a good year. He was a hotty for the Brownlow mid-2004 and as been off the boil ever since. If Hase, and Bell, fire up to their 2003 AA form they'll make Josh look good.

I am sorry, I don't reckon Bell can or will reach anywhere near his 2003 form; past his peak IMO. I'm write him off here and now and hoping he makes me look like a dolt!

If Josh and Hase play at their best we will get close to the finals. Any special performances from others on top of what they do will get us well and truly there.

 

[newlander77]

I am sorry, I don't reckon Bell can or will reach anywhere near his 2003 form; past his peak IMO. I'm write him off here and now and hoping he makes me look like a dolt!

If a player like Bell can play the way he did last year with the injuries he did, then I think your so far off the mark it's not funny. He has been consistently in the top 10 in the Brownlow count for how many years before last season? I wouldn't dare right the man off, his mentality is amazing, a real role model for the other players around him and kids watching at home.

 

[pinkus maximus]

If a player like Bell can play the way he did last year with the injuries he did, then I think your so far off the mark it's not funny. He has been consistently in the top 10 in the Brownlow count for how many years before last season? I wouldn't dare right the man off, his mentality is amazing, a real role model for the other players around him and kids watching at home.

Unfortunately the injury that plagued Belly looks to be with him for the rest of his career,if I read a news report about it a few weeks back correctly

 

[masai]

I am sorry, I don't reckon Bell can or will reach anywhere near his 2003 form; past his peak IMO. I'm write him off here and now and hoping he makes me look like a dolt!

I see where you are coming from, but if he just positions himself well and dishes off the handballs to the speedsters, that is his value. I reckon he could drift down forward and become an annoying goal kicker.

It is time for him to be the general and let the youngsters do the real dirty work.

 

[theGav56]

Unfortunately the injury that plagued Belly looks to be with him for the rest of his career,if I read a news report about it a few weeks back correctly

You may be right, but I wouldn't want to place too many limits on Peter Bell. He is the best player we have ever had and a legend of the game. I can't see any reason why he can't modify what he does and maintain a quality of play that for most can only be aspired to.