What Iโd really like to see from Laverde now is the confidence to make a hard lead. He just appears to be holding back a little and waiting for the ball to come out the back. It was patently obvious against the Swans. Maybe heโs still not sure of his own abilities, or just still too inexperienced at this level and with his team mates to know where to position himself. I would hope the forward coach/es would be addressing this. Maybe bring in someone like Lloyd to speak to these young guys about such things.
It was humming beautifully when Skippy had the forward setup and he had them playing well as a group.
The next year he was taken off the group and non-stop injuries have hit.,
But the setup and structure is all wrong as well.
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Can see him kicking 5 - 6 goals against the Roos this week
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Vs their VFL side?
Would be iffy to retain spot this week
10 possessions. 0.2 scored. 1 tackle only
If we honoured his leads or at least hit one or two of them he might kick a few more.
Heโs ready to Xplode. I need you to believe Mr Gonzales
3 Likes
Leave him deep fwd. Have him as the one who doesnโt follow the ops backman up the field. Have him lead at the ball carrier when Saad or Mckenna Burst through from the backline. Donโt follow what most of the other teams do and have the whole farking fwd line up the field. Then have the coach complain our fwds had no time to set as we moved the ball to quickly.
Time and time again Tippa is the only one there to kick it too and he has 2 6f5 blokes on him. If its not Lav it should be stringer. Part the problems with the mids kicking is that there are no fwd presenting. As they are in no mans land as there where to far up the field. Its BS footy, and doesnโt play to our strengths.
If we have a clear leading option, it makes it much easier for the kicker and the fwd.
4 Likes
His form overall has been solid though. Canโt drop him after one down game
Stays in. No question.
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Didnโt he have Dane โDan Whelanโ Rampe on him most of the game? Rampe might be a douche but he is a good defender
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itโs a hard one.
I dontโ think he will be dropped, cos heโs a favourite.
yeah he had a bad game, but his form has been ok.
The main reason iโd drop him is team balance.
when you look at it, he will be essentially 4th in line now going forward.
mckernan, brown/hooker, stringer will be the main go to forwards.
maybe it could work if the playing group could hit the side of a barn with any of their disposals, but they canโt at present and arenโt getting better.
Raz is offering little in the way of defensive pressure, should be dropped for snelling.
but lav just is gonna be in this no mans land if they keep playing him, heโs a predominately marking forward, whoโs 4th in line in that respect and will be expected more to apply defensive pressure, which isnโt his strong suit and isnโt his strength
possessions donโt tell the whole story no doubt, but 10, 9 and 13 possie games in the last 3, 4 tackles across the 3 games, 4 goals, and 8 marks which 5 was in one game.
If that sort of output came from Baguely, youโd have people screaming for him to be dropped in every thread.
Exactly my thoughts on the fwd pressure and reverting to the 2 talls + Stringer and 3 smalls structure as far as pressure goes.
Snelling is banging down the door
Thatโs said yep absolutely all our fwds would benefit from us actually being able to execute a series of basic kicking however.
Zakaโs pathetic kick to Lav that didnโt get to him but they were able to work it forward to Raz for his freakish snap one that comes to mind
2 Likes
brown offers โ โ โ โ all at etihad.
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I disagree, Lav time and time again is able to pick up the ball when it hits the deck, break a tackle and effectively dispose the footy by hand to setup a player who is in position to kick the goal. I reckon heโs done it every week since heโs come back in, or unselfishly give off an easy goal for himself to someone in a better position. Many others, especially tippa and raz will bomb away whenever they see the goals or only pass when absolutely necessary and usually the chance is gone by then.
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People want Lav dropped after 1 poor game.
He is young.
Brown has had 4 poor games in a row!
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Brown plays a structurally important role and versatility allowing us to have the Hooker switch
Lav looked good whilst Stringer was out as essentially he was playing that 3rd tall role and getting more footy directed through him.
With Stringer back Lav really needs to play more like a small, and with only 1 tackle last week & minimal impact he isnโt.
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No he hasnโt.
He got injured against Collingwood. He was probably in the better half of the team against WC. And hasnโt been great the last 2.
And the 2 games before Collingwood he dominated.
So give it a rest.
7 Likes
When lav gets to a contest he usually has a positive influence over it. Heโs just got to get to more contests. We need look at why he isnโt getting to enough. Is he getting burned? Is he not getting to the right spots? Is work rate preventing him from getting to the right spots enough?
On Saturday I often thought his starting position was too deep and/or he was heading back towards goal when he needed to come at the ball. Heโs nowhere if heโs more the 70m away from the ball carrier trying to enter 50 or the front half.
I think this is an issue with our forward structure generally. Not enough guys hit up to the ball to close the distance to the back carrier and create connection. We take very few marks 60 to 70 metres from goal from where it is easier to direct 30 to 40 me passes inside 50. The more of those marks we create the more dangerous we will look.
7 Likes
What he needs is to spend a bit of time practicing kicking goals.
Got injured literally 5 mins before the end of the game. Until that point had 7 touches, no score and no tackles.
Before that he was a forward cashing in against teams that were belted