Imagine Eagles will want this years first and next years first, as they already have multiple firsts this year.
Has gotten to the point where I want Richmond to beat us so we can just end any thought of pushing for finals
1 Like
Its only me guessing but I keep hearing his lack of defensive awareness being of concern at the club. Does 30 disposals and 10 clearances negate that? Thats the argument.
Personally my own concern with Elijah is the lack of impact i find he has in games. Even in some VFL games where his stats have been huge… i can come away still unsure if he was actually one of the top 2-3 players that hirt the opposition.
Pre season i thought he was getting much better at it saying that.
I thought we would try him more to see what we have but clearly the coaches feel he is behind in areas. Parish playing VFL this weekend. So if Darcy has a good run with body holding up and plays out the year in seniors. I can see Elijah likely seeking a trade
6 Likes
Results fall our way we could be in the 8 at the end of round 
Port beat Dockers
Blues beat Giants
we win and were in.
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For Richmond?
I think Scott had the midfield too defensively focused.
If he swung it back the other way and played guys who ran forward, then we could really put a bottom team to the sword. Parish, Tsatas, Merrett midfield.
Definetly is a log jam with mids - Hobbs and Tsatas may both be looking for more opportunity. Especially if Reid is rumoured to be coming in as well. Given their lack of versatility.
Last weeks game probably puts question marks over how good Caldwell and Durham might be as mids. Maybe they are just B Graders, Caldwell especially looked to be breaking out this year pre injury, and has been so so sicne returning, but is that due to Brad wanting him more defensively focused?
3 Likes
Caldwell with his history of hamstring injuries should always have been given a run in the VFL just to ensure he has full confidence in his ability to perform at the level.
He has been so far off his benchmark form the last 2 weeks it blows my mind how we continually poorly manage our players both physically and mentally.
6 Likes
You can see the outcome of games unfold early with us. If they turn up, go hard for the pill, bang, crash…,… we a chance. If they pause, wait for opposition to get it to lay takle, game over. The amount of times i yell “FFS get the thing yourself” is enough to have wifey close the door with standard eye roll and Cujo to hide under the bed until final siren.
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Drafted as a half back been playing some wing the past two weeks
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I get that he was drafted as a half back but was under the impression from the VFL highlights and the odd games I catch via streaming that he was playing more forward of centre lately. Wasn’t sure if that was from the wing or actual half forward.
Either way us playing all of Hobbs, Perkins, Langford, Martin forward and now add Guelfi and Gresham too just seems to be a very one paced and predictable mix.
Yep that group of players is glacier slow, like I said in the Saad thread they could have tried him off the half forward flank last week before subbing to show something different up there
4 Likes
Our whole forward line mix and overall team structure is a massive hole that BS and co seem numb to addressing.
3 Likes
I think it’s difficult and problematic judging our midfield moving forward with Goldy the ruck. The group won’t and can’t be as proactive as Goldy is being overwhelmed at times and the group need to be mindful of this. I don’t think Durham and Caldwell are A graders. Durham has potential to be.
I don’t think Tsatas is an A grader and to Scootets point which I’ve also made, he’s not impactful with disposal.
Jay Ashby used to get 30 possies in the VFL each week but turned it over. He was a strong athlete and ran all day. Many wanted him to get chances. He was picked in the seniors for a game I think at Marvel in late 2015 (Vs Saints??), he turned over a simple no pressure kick in the middle of the ground and cost us a turnover goal…. He would never play again and was delisted soon after.
Tsatas isn’t Ashby but I see him in a similar light. He needs to round his game I think.
What forward line structure do we need? Would have thought Wright, Caddy, Langford. Guelfi, Kako and Gresham are our best options at the moment?
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This is a rolled gold opportunity to debut VIGO.
Seriously, presented on a platter. He is up against Samson Ryan FFS. Gives Goldy a rest and then he needs to survive a few weeks until the bye and the MSD pick has bedded in.
Will we take it? Absolutely not. Conservative FC led by Bad Scott would never take such an opportunity.
9 Likes
In a nutshell… Too slow.
For a start you’ve conveniently excluded Hobbs Martin and Perkins who have all been mainstays of our forward line all year.
But having 3-4 marking targets (including Perkins who I think plays best in that hybrid role) that provide no ground pressure kills your ability to lock the ball in your front half.
Gresham isn’t much better or at best inconsistent.
This then flows through the rest of your team defence because the ball just rockets out of the forward line at lightning speed no team in the comp could stop it.
The fact we have held up reasonably well against bottom 6 teams so far this year is a red herring that clearly gets exposed against the top teams.
4 Likes
The thing is goldy absolutely smacked English at hit outs but we got hammered at clearances for two reasons our midfield is average as hell and we have too many defensive players in there
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We got smacked because Caldwell is horribly out of form.
Our midfield wins more than it loses. A year ago our midfield beat the Dogs midfield. I’m not saying our midfield is better than the Dogs bc it isn’t. It is still top half in the comp imo, despite that being an untrendy thing to say… And Parish, an AA isn’t playing in it sadly.
The Dogs had a great night, we had a dirty night. Essendon’s midfield walks talker with Draper playing. It isn’t as impactful with Goldy, it just isn’t.