Yep agreed he is ace - good job matt Rosa. We need three more like him this year in the draft
That was kinda my take away. Their short 45” passes where longer and to players in space. They just always waited for an open player and there was always an open player.
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We struggle with both the hitting of the open player and the being in the open bit
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He’s got a bright future this kid - been one of the few positives over the last 3 weeks
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Thank god we picked up this gem.
A lot of our issues can be solved by good decision making and kicking out of the backline. That’s why Johnson, Reid, Ridley and Redman are crucial.
There was one play yesterday where Laverde had the ball in the D50 and caddy was coming down the wing with open space in front and Lav tried to hit him up but kicked it drirectly to him straight on instead of into space which allowed the defender to close on Caddy. Those kinds of plays are what makes you an avg team v a great team.
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The fact he is so young and missed the preseason makes it all the more impressive.
He looks a genuine star in the making.
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Kid has a bright future, he has a great IQ and is good kick
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It was quite obvious from the first couple of VFL matches that his “radar” is top notch. Has an awareness of where everyone is around him and makes decisions to suit. Can also adjust his kicking from loop to flat depending on the situation.
We need other players of similar footy IQ to really capitalize on his traits.
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I mentioned his aerial strength for a kid his size. I was happy to see more of that on the weekend. 8 marks and 4 spoils.
If he sticks as a defender, I see him more as a replacement or complement for Redman in that medium sized rebounder role. Similar to Lachie Ash for GWS.
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I went and checked the stats shortly after that one and it wasn’t put down as a turnover to Martin but i kind of feel it should be.
Our designated kickers have been making this mistake a lot recently. Trying to force the play into the corridor when it isn’t really on isn’t what we want.
We want them to take on this kick when they’re really on. We don’t want non designated kickers taking them on when they’re available because they will conspire to fark up the easy ones.
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I think it showed how much we miss Zach Reid at the moment. There were a number of sequences where we just couldnt get out. Kept switching play from side to side looking for an option, but the Cats zone and pressure was too good. The guys that tried and failed to hit the dangerous 45 degree corridor kicks… I feel your frustration but at least they were trying something to open the game up. Reid can miss those kicks as well at times, but he’s the best we have currently at executing them successfully.
In the future perhaps Zak Johnson will also be able to do it but he’s still adjusting to the pace of AFL. The ability of guys at AFL level to leave a larger teasing distance and still get there to disrupt makes decision making much tougher at this level than VFL.
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I’m sorry to say but we can’t rely on Reid. He is injury prone.
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My point wasn’t really about Zach Reid. The point was that the lack of elite disposal in the back half was a significant part of our problem last night. I don’t think it was the decision making, it was the ability to execute the difficult option that was missing. You may well be right that we can’t rely on Zach Reid going forward, but that just increases the urgency to address this shortcoming with development of guys like Zak Johnson, and drafting for elite foot skills.
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Isn’t it just common knowledge to draft players who can kick the football? What have we been drafting for otherwise, leadership?
No its not. Foot skills are just one of a number of attributes recruiters look at. A number of the best players in the comp over the last 10+ years have been poor kicks of the footy, such as Dangerfield, Fyfe, Petracca etc.
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Right, So i’ve got a genius idea for the club.
Start drafting blokes who can kick the footy.
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Recruitment and list management are a little more complicated than that.
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So, you wouldn’t play Tsatas then 
That statement is the drafting/list management equivalent of ‘just kick it long’.
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I missed most of the game, but 29 touches!
Seems promising!
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Written wearing knickers, as per updated Blitz TOS