Strategy Your ideal starting 22

[DoItForCaptBlood]

Vlastuin, Astbury, Broad
Houli, Grimes, Stack
Lambert, Cotchin, Edwards
Caddy, Riewoldt, Castagna
Rioli, Lynch, Bolton
Nankervis, Martin, Prestia
Soldo, Graham, Pickett, McIntosh

emg/ Short, Baker, Ross, Higgins

Great side. The only change for me is Short for Macca.
(Too many mids on the rotations - need one for the backs and prefer Short).

 

[Walt Kowalski]

One thing that really excites me is that if we can have Graham, Ross and Pickett (and maybe Stack) join Prestia in the centre the majority of the time, suddenly we have Martin, Cotchin and Edwards free to a) not get continually smashed, and b) create havoc on the wings and the flanks.

 

[_RT_]

B: Grimes Astbury Vlastuin
HB: Baker Houli Short
C: Broad Cotchin Caddy
HF: Rioli Castagna Bolton
F: Martin Riewoldt Lynch
R: Soldo Graham Prestia
INT: Edwards Lambert Pickett Nankervis

If I'm wanting to ride a 22 towards this years Grand Final and hopefully 3rd premiership in 4 seasons then this is the 22 that I'm using as the foundation.

Defensive Set Up
We like to play with an extra behind the ball, we were using Ellis in 2019 as the defensive winger who would push back into the D50 and be that extra number, which worked really well as a system. Well Ellis has departed and all summer the question has been who gets shifted to the wing to replace him. Well based on the Marsh game on Sunday it appears as though Broad has been given first crack at it, which will still enable us to play the 7th defender once the ball is in play as Broad will fold back and be the 7th. It also means that we can play Houli Short and Baker as the attacking rebounding defenders, which makes it harder to shut down our run and carry from the back half as sides won't be able to simply sit on Houli. It also gives us flexibility to change things up if needed by throwing Broad back and pushing either Short or Baker to the wing.

Midfield
Not a lot changes in the midfield with the usual suspects in the mix. Starting in the middle is Soldo Cotchin Graham & Prestia, Broad & Caddy on the wings, then Martin Lambert Edwards Bolton Rioli Nankervis & Pickett rotating through. IMO that mix gives us the perfect blend of flexibility, ball winning ability, defensive accountability, experience & development. Depending on the opposition we can chop and change starting positions of nearly every player in the group. With Caddy I'm expecting him to be released into a more attacking wing role where he'll be used more forward of centre than he was in the latter part of last season. While Edwards showed during last season that he can go into the back half and provide coverage there if needed.

Forwards
Lynch & Riewoldt form the foundation of the forward line and Martin seems to be earmarked for a starting position up forward which will be giving opposition defenders nightmares the week before we play them. Then there is the 3 Amigos who apply defensive pressure by the bucket load and can also hit the scoreboard in bunches as a result of that pressure. Both Bolton & Rioli have been trialled up on the wings this summer and I expect them to get the occasional run up there this year when we look to add some extra speed through the middle at times.

Now for the inevitable question about why Stack is missing. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm rewarding the premiership players from last year and have seen nothing as yet to suggest that the club are thinking the same way, with Stack playing on the reserve 22 in the intra club and starting on the bench on Sunday while Baker & Short started on the park. Baker proceeded to rack up 30 possessions and gain over 600m, while Short had 25 and gained over 500m, with both running at 80% & 88% disposal efficiency, while Stack had 13 possessions and 204m gained at 92% disposal efficiency. As good as Stack looks in his highlights I believe that both Short and Baker are more highly valued and more of a threat in our game plan at the moment than what Stack is.

To me having Houli Short & Baker running and carrying off the HB line is going to be a real weapon in terms of cutting through the oppositions zones and getting quick ball forward to Lynch Riewoldt & Martin who will likely find themselves in plenty of space. Stack often times will go to a short hit up/sideways kick when coming out of D50, which helps him maintain a high DE%, but he rarely gains big metres. In 2019 before he moved to the forward line in round 15, he only gained more than 300m twice, on his debut game and then against the Crows the week before he moved forward.

 

[Marcel Proust]

B: Grimes Astbury Vlastuin
HB: Baker Houli Short
C: Broad Cotchin Caddy
HF: Rioli Castagna Bolton
F: Martin Riewoldt Lynch
R: Soldo Graham Prestia
INT: Edwards Lambert Pickett Nankervis

If I'm wanting to ride a 22 towards this years Grand Final and hopefully 3rd premiership in 4 seasons then this is the 22 that I'm using as the foundation.

Defensive Set Up
We like to play with an extra behind the ball, we were using Ellis in 2019 as the defensive winger who would push back into the D50 and be that extra number, which worked really well as a system. Well Ellis has departed and all summer the question has been who gets shifted to the wing to replace him. Well based on the Marsh game on Sunday it appears as though Broad has been given first crack at it, which will still enable us to play the 7th defender once the ball is in play as Broad will fold back and be the 7th. It also means that we can play Houli Short and Baker as the attacking rebounding defenders, which makes it harder to shut down our run and carry from the back half as sides won't be able to simply sit on Houli. It also gives us flexibility to change things up if needed by throwing Broad back and pushing either Short or Baker to the wing.

Midfield
Not a lot changes in the midfield with the usual suspects in the mix. Starting in the middle is Soldo Cotchin Graham & Prestia, Broad & Caddy on the wings, then Martin Lambert Edwards Bolton Rioli Nankervis & Pickett rotating through. IMO that mix gives us the perfect blend of flexibility, ball winning ability, defensive accountability, experience & development. Depending on the opposition we can chop and change starting positions of nearly every player in the group. With Caddy I'm expecting him to be released into a more attacking wing role where he'll be used more forward of centre than he was in the latter part of last season. While Edwards showed during last season that he can go into the back half and provide coverage there if needed.

Forwards
Lynch & Riewoldt form the foundation of the forward line and Martin seems to be earmarked for a starting position up forward which will be giving opposition defenders nightmares the week before we play them. Then there is the 3 Amigos who apply defensive pressure by the bucket load and can also hit the scoreboard in bunches as a result of that pressure. Both Bolton & Rioli have been trialled up on the wings this summer and I expect them to get the occasional run up there this year when we look to add some extra speed through the middle at times.

Now for the inevitable question about why Stack is missing. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm rewarding the premiership players from last year and have seen nothing as yet to suggest that the club are thinking the same way, with Stack playing on the reserve 22 in the intra club and starting on the bench on Sunday while Baker & Short started on the park. Baker proceeded to rack up 30 possessions and gain over 600m, while Short had 25 and gained over 500m, with both running at 80% & 88% disposal efficiency, while Stack had 13 possessions and 204m gained at 92% disposal efficiency. As good as Stack looks in his highlights I believe that both Short and Baker are more highly valued and more of a threat in our game plan at the moment than what Stack is.

To me having Houli Short & Baker running and carrying off the HB line is going to be a real weapon in terms of cutting through the oppositions zones and getting quick ball forward to Lynch Riewoldt & Martin who will likely find themselves in plenty of space. Stack often times will go to a short hit up/sideways kick when coming out of D50, which helps him maintain a high DE%, but he rarely gains big metres. In 2019 before he moved to the forward line in round 15, he only gained more than 300m twice, on his debut game and then against the Crows the week before he moved forward.

i dunno Broad on a wing

Baker and Short in the back 6...

looks a bit dodgy to me, bring back Rance

its a well worded argument but id be having Stack in there somewhere for starters. I can you something like the above team happening for the early rounds however, rewarding the successful playing group with the initial games

 

[Ahsog]

Vlastuin, Astbury, Broad
Houli, Grimes, Stack
Lambert, Cotchin, Edwards
Caddy, Riewoldt, Castagna
Rioli, Lynch, Bolton
Nankervis, Martin, Prestia
Soldo, Graham, Pickett, McIntosh

emg/ Short, Baker, Ross, Higgins

McIntosh, yuck. We’re well and truly past him now. He should’ve gone to Freo. Wouldn’t surprise if he never plays another senior game for Richmond.

Other than that nice team lol.

 

[Ahsog]

Anyone with Ross ahead of Graham needs to check themselves.

 

[RobsJourney]

Man... someone I can't believe I had kinda forgotten about recently... Chris Newman...

Imagine how good we'd be if we still had him in his prime? Much love to Baker but I'd obviously have Newman any day. Bring back Lids too....

Grimes, Astbury, Vlastuin
Newman, Rance, Houli
Lambert, Cotchin, Deledio
Caddy, Riewoldt, Edwards
Castagna, Lynch, Rioli
Nankervis, Martin, Prestia
Soldo, Graham, Bolton, Broad

Wowee

 

[AuntyBlindEye]

Man... someone I can't believe I had kinda forgotten about recently... Chris Newman...

Imagine how good we'd be if we still had him in his prime? Much love to Baker but I'd obviously have Newman any day. Bring back Lids too....

Grimes, Astbury, Vlastuin
Newman, Rance, Houli
Lambert, Cotchin, Deledio
Caddy, Riewoldt, Edwards
Castagna, Lynch, Rioli
Nankervis, Martin, Prestia
Soldo, Graham, Bolton, Broad

Wowee

Love Newwy. Don't know if cotch would be as good a captain as he is if it wasn't for Chris. He also taught the boys to love the jumper, something that still stands.

 

[Marcel Proust]

Short and Baker have been good - well done lads

Balta and DES must stay in the back 6 ....

 

[Marcel Proust]

Richmond's Round 7 team:

B Nathan Broad, Dylan Grimes, Noah Balta
HB Nick Vlastuin, Liam Baker, Jayden Short
C Kamdyn McIntosh, Jack Graham, Josh Caddy
HF Daniel Rioli, Jake Aarts, Jason Castagna
F Tom Lynch, Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt
Foll Ivan Soldo, Marlion Pickett, Kane Lambert
I/C Shai Bolton, Jack Higgins, Derek Eggmolesse-Smith, Mabior Chol
Emg Ryan Garthwaite, Callum Coleman-Jones, Jack Ross, Sydney Stack

No change

 

[Genghis Tron]

Wouldn't mind seeing this.

B Nathan Broad, Dylan Grimes, Noah Balta
HB Liam Baker, Nick Vlastuin, Jayden Short
C Kamdyn McIntosh, Jack Graham, Sydney Stack
HF Marbiol Chol, Jake Aarts, Jason Castagna
F Tom Lynch, Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt
Foll Ivan Soldo, Marlion Pickett, Kane Lambert

I/C Shai Bolton, Jack Higgins, Derek Eggmolesse-Smith, Jack Ross

Emg Ryan Garthwaite, Callum Coleman-Jones, Thompson Dow, Daniel Rioli

 

[Marcel Proust]

Nankervis
Vlastuin
Prestia
Caddy
Astbury
Edwards
Houli

 

[Goshaa]

What’s our best 22?

 

[RobsJourney]

What’s our best 22?

s**t, good question. Easy to get excited about everyone after a good win, gotta try temper it but, let's be honest, our best 22 in last night and we could have won by more, we were still a mile off our best 22.

Question for people: With the emergence of Balta and knowing that, eventually, we'll have to face the sad reality of Riewoldt retiring, could Astbury go back to the forward line? He is a great mark and is a natural forward, we just turned him into a great defender. I remember him looking dangerous when we briefly threw him up there vs. Melbourne in 2018 (I think it was, mighta been 2017). Could be a solid option for his final years whilst we find a new replacement. It could even end up being Chol!


Anyway, currently I'd like to see:


Vlastuin, Astbury, Grimes
Houli, Balta, Broad
Lambert, Cotchin, Caddy
Edwards, Riewoldt, Bolton
Rioli, Lynch, Castagna
Nankervis, Martin, Prestia
Chol, Baker, Graham, Pickett

emg/ Short, Higgins, McIntosh, Stack (the good Stack, not the current Stack)


(I get that Short is stiff but it's he or Baker really, given Dimma prob wants both of Astbury and Balta in the side, and you're probably wondering why Rioli, but he's best 22 when he's at his best for sure, definitely ahead of Aarts on best form. Same with Graham, he is an upgrade on Ross at his best.)

 

[sregit]

sh*t, good question. Easy to get excited about everyone after a good win, gotta try temper it but, let's be honest, our best 22 in last night and we could have won by more, we were still a mile off our best 22.

Question for people: With the emergence of Balta and knowing that, eventually, we'll have to face the sad reality of Riewoldt retiring, could Astbury go back to the forward line? He is a great mark and is a natural forward, we just turned him into a great defender. I remember him looking dangerous when we briefly threw him up there vs. Melbourne in 2018 (I think it was, mighta been 2017). Could be a solid option for his final years whilst we find a new replacement. It could even end up being Chol!


Anyway, currently I'd like to see:


Vlastuin, Astbury, Grimes
Houli, Balta, Broad
Lambert, Cotchin, Caddy
Edwards, Riewoldt, Bolton
Rioli, Lynch, Castagna
Nankervis, Martin, Prestia
Chol, Baker, Graham, Pickett

emg/ Short, Higgins, McIntosh, Stack (the good Stack, not the current Stack)


(I get that Short is stiff but it's he or Baker really, given Dimma prob wants both of Astbury and Balta in the side, and you're probably wondering why Rioli, but he's best 22 when he's at his best for sure, definitely ahead of Aarts on best form. Same with Graham, he is an upgrade on Ross at his best.)

Rioli best is 2 years ago. He does not even deserve emergency role.

 

[RobsJourney]

Rioli best is 2 years ago. He does not even deserve emergency role.

Right now maybe not but I have faith in him.

 

[RobsJourney]

A guy I have high hopes for is Hugo Ralphsmith. He is probably the run-all-day winger we will turn to in the next season or two. Has some great highlights and has already been an emergency.

One for the near future I think!

 

[Mr Magic]

Right now maybe not but I have faith in him.

Not sure the 16 minute game suits him like Graham

 

[juss]

B Broad Astbury Grimes
HB Vlastuin Balta Short
C Caddy Cotchin Edwards
HF Martin Riewoldt Lambert
F Castagna Lynch Higgins
Foll Nankervis Prestia Bolton
I/C Houli Chol Baker Aarts

EMG Soldo Stack Pickett Eggmolesse-Smith

That's probably what I'd run with if everyone was fit tomorrow. To be fair I could easily swap in the EMG players interchangeably with a few in the 22.

 

[Hamsatma]

Gee that's a bloody good side! If we can scrap into finals and unleash that beast we'll go alright. I'd probably put pickett in for aarts and start houli over short but as you said with that 26 it's much a muchness really

 

[freezer]

FB Balta Astbury Grimes
HB Broad Vlastuin Houli
C Caddy Cotchin Pickett
HF Castagna Edwards Lambert
FF Martin Lynch Riewoldt
Foll Nankervis Prestia Bolton
IC Chol Baker Short Higgins

EMG Soldo Ross Eggmolesse-Smith Aarts

Tough choice between Snags and Ross for the last IC spot. Depend on who we’re playing in terms of midfield strength. Also if Ross recaptures his 2019 form he’s got more upside than Snags

 

[Marcel Proust]

Astbury. Grimes. Broad.
Houli. Balta. Vlastuin.
Pickett. Cotchin. Caddy.
Edwards. Riewoldt. Lambert.
Martin. Lynch. George.
Nank. Prestia. Bolton.
Chol. Short. Baker. Aarts.

Ross. Higgins. Soldo. McIntosh.

 

[Marcel Proust]

Tough choice between Snags and Ross for the last IC spot. Depend on who we’re playing in terms of midfield strength. Also if Ross recaptures his 2019 form he’s got more upside than Snags

Aarts is an option too if they want more fwd firepower.

Nice option to swap with Chol too , big /small

You lose a bit of midfield rotation without Ross and Higgins ...

B Broad Astbury Grimes
HB Vlastuin Balta Short
C Caddy Cotchin Edwards
HF Martin Riewoldt Lambert
F Castagna Lynch Higgins
Foll Nankervis Prestia Bolton
I/C Houli Chol Baker Aarts

EMG Soldo Stack Pickett Eggmolesse-Smith

That's probably what I'd run with if everyone was fit tomorrow. To be fair I could easily swap in the EMG players interchangeably with a few in the 22.

I can see Pickett getting better. Staying in the team.

He looks good on a wing. Might get off the chain with prestia. Edwards. Eventually returning.

Gee that's a bloody good side! If we can scrap into finals and unleash that beast we'll go alright. I'd probably put pickett in for aarts and start houli over short but as you said with that 26 it's much a muchness really

Baker and Short have worries me previously but they've been going well. Hard to see either lose a spot. Even if it looks like too many defenders?

 

[Marcel Proust]

Broad. Grimes. Astbury.
Houli. Balta. Vlastuin.
Short. Cotchin. Pickett.
Bolton. Riewoldt. Lambert.
Edwards. Lynch. George.
Nankervis. Martin. Prestia.
Chol. Baker. Caddy. Higgins

Ross. Aarts. Soldo. McIntosh.

 

[lumpinee]

B Broad Astbury Grimes
HB Vlastuin Balta Short
C Caddy Cotchin Edwards
HF Martin Riewoldt Lambert
F Castagna Lynch Higgins
Foll Nankervis Prestia Bolton
I/C Houli Chol Baker Aarts

EMG Soldo Stack Pickett Eggmolesse-Smith

That's probably what I'd run with if everyone was fit tomorrow. To be fair I could easily swap in the EMG players interchangeably with a few in the 22.

caddy on the wing is a bust,not up to it torched by elite wingman like gaff and hill we need plan for future