BSD didn’t actually say you had to have coached ‘at the highest level “ to be an expert in his eyes.
So organising kick to kick with six year olds at a family Xmas is a quick pathway to AFL Guru status.
I’m sure you can all award yourselves some sort of internet accreditation to acknowledge this.
He’ll have to listen to you then.
Ambrose isn’t ten percent the player Hooker is.
I’d say he gets the gig ahead of Hartley as he doesn’t make as many mistakes. But he will require others to pick up the slack on his deficiencies that Hooker ordinarily brings whilst also stopping as well as Ambrose. Francis is going to have to intercept more, Hurley, Francis and Ridley are going to have to mop up around the contest when packs get busted. Somebody is going to have to become the organiser/leader down there.
Hooker is a much better footballer than Paddy. I don’t think anyone would dispute that.
But lets look at Hookers current weakness Speed is a massive issue. There are lots of forwards today who will out run him. Franklin outran Hooker. That was 5 years ago.
Hooker will need to match up on talls out of the goals square. He would not be able to follow Cameron, Riewoldt Gunston, Buddy, up the ground. But would be ideal against those “stay at home” types like Brown.
I would think that at the moment if any of Francis, Hooker or Hurley were out, Ambrose would probably get the gig and you are right, others would have to pick up the slack on his deficiencies.
Edit: Which begs the question: who is the bench defender? If Dea, Marty or Redman were fit, I would pick one of them depending on matchups.
I think acceleration is a problem with all our key defenders, including Ambrose - who also lacks the agility to go with the nimble “short” talls and the height to go with the larger 200cm forwards which makes finding favourable match ups difficult.
Hurley has a similar problem albeit he also lacks in aerobic capacity and strength, he is however a lot smarter and a genuine offensive option.
Hartley, aside from his height, has no real physical advantages - he isn’t quick, doesn’t have an elite tank and isn’t overly strong, which means he is usually exposed in some way by his direct opponent. He does have a good boot, which will suit the new kick out rule.
Hooker is our best defender imo. He has the strength one-on-one to outmark his opponent unlike any other defender I’ve seen but he is getting older and his body may be starting to let him down
Now we’re talking. 
I know I don’t qualify as a coach, so a response is unlikely
But in all seriousness, do you see Ambrose, hooker, Hurley and Francis in the same defense and if so, how does it work?
Just a sprinkle of this and problem solved:
Gleeson is the missing piece to the puzzle despite his haters. Obviously doesn’t have the strength to take a big bloke, but that doesn’t matter if hurley, hooker and francis are all fit and in the side. He’s a good height and shown he can play even taller than his own height, but also moves well enough to take someone smaller. Good intercept mark, provides enough run out of the back 50 (at least more than ambrose) and his skills and decision making have only ever improved since coming to the club. Don’t know when he’s ready to play, but he’ll have to come through the VFL due to being out for so long. I do think there is a place for both him and ridley in the side, if they rotate bench and half back, or ridley onto a wing. Regardless, he’s very important.
Fully fit imo it should be:
Gleeson Hooker Mckenna
Saad Hurley Francis
With ridley and maybe a mcgrath rotating down back when needed.
But until then, Ambrose needs to play and imo it should be:
Mckenna Amrbose Francis
Ridley Hurley Saad
I get the feeling that if there were no injuries then Patrick might miss out on being selected, however history shows there’s always someone out from injury or suspension who causes the need for things to be re-shuffled and Ambrose gets a gig.
Since being drafted at the end of 2013, he’s played 16,16,18,10 & 7 senior games for the club and only 4 games in the VFL (seems low but that’s what the stats tell me).
He’s a no nonsense defender and adds hardness and consistency to our backline.
I know blitz likes to pick defenders based on their ability to attack but that’s not how the coaches see it.
OH ■■■■ WADDUP
Last in, first out ?
Dea was doing a fair bit of running this morning.
where’s the training report?
Not much happened, mate.
Saad, Ham, Guelf, & Clarke did a few ground ball & clearance drills for about 45 mins, as Stringer, Gown, Zerk & Mutch did marking/spoiling with Harvs. Dea ran laps. A lot of the others were around, inside.
Are we saying Francis is too tall (193cm), or too slow, to replace Goddard (193cm)?
BJ is 191, no?
Not that it makes much of a difference.
And what am I doing arguing with HAP ffs lol
Both listed at 193 on footywire, which generally keeps track of guys, rather than continuing with using the height from when they were drafted (which was 189cm Goddard and 191 Francis).
That’s semantics though - I’m intrigued as to what matchup/situation Goddard could cope with that Francis couldn’t?
Stuffed if I can think of one.
Francis is far more athletic, and far more agile than late-career Goddard.
Gleeson, yes, gives a very different athletic profile. But he wasn’t there last year, and won’t be there early this year.
EDIT and I’m not just arguing here. It’s a genuine question. I think Francis in for Goddard makes us better balanced, not worse.
I agree. Experience is the only difference I see from Elder Goddard. Both have laser passes, take the difficult shot, are good marks, fluff a few.
BJ had a massive tank, but poor acceleration. Francis has great acceleration but a relatively poor tank at this point. The lack of agility and speed off the mark and increasing lack of awarens were BJs main problem in the end.