Just shows how valuable drafting is and how it’s all about drafting for what your team needs in 3-4 years. Sure we’ve been lucky nabbing readymade Tippa and Green in quite quick succession (and for virtually nothing) but we also invested in Daniher, Fantasia, Langford, Laverde and Colyer 3-4 years ago. We seem to have improved up forward due to better ball movement but also because alot of these players are no longer skinny inexperienced kids. Daniher in particular has been unbelievable having to develop as our main focal point from such a young age when he’s had ■■■■ delivery and minimal support around him. Will be an outstanding leader for us for years to come.
Our forward line will be better than our back 6 this season, Just have that feeling.
Dunno that you could say either were “Readymade”, Green was at a low ebb after just a year or two of being in it, … and Walla?? We took him under our wing, spent loads of time and encouragement on him, … even gave him a job, … and he put in tonnes & tonnes of hard work to reach where he has, … so absolutely not.
And just bye the bye, watching the Geelong JLT game, … (or more correctly 1st half) again,… I couldn’t help but marvel at Walla’s physique now after this pre season.
Pinch test?? be stuffed, , .it would be like trying to do a pinch test on a fkn Watermelon.
By God he’s a solid little bugger now.
He deserves everything he has coming his way.
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More than anything else, it has been the quick ball movement that has solved most our issues in the fwd line. We just need to be careful not to go to far the other way. Or else our backline will be exposed and we will be saying how do we fix our back line? Getting the balance right is tricky.
So what your saying is how do we fix the midfield?
Readymade meaning having a mature body. Readmade meaning they are old enough and mature enough to run out a full season in their first seasons for us. Both seem to be masterstrokes selections, premiership sides are full of bargain recruits like these guys.
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OMGHOOKERGREENEFRANCISFANTAWALLAJOEDANOMFG!!!
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I suspect we’ll be Ok to close this thread now.
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we havent even played a game…
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Forward Line fixed. QED.
#closethread
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Doesn’t make me wrong
3 players in the top 31 goal kickers in the league, which needs to consider the monsoon conditions we played Carlton in and the lack of supply versus Adelaide.
When you add Green and Walla to the above, we’re going pretty well!
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Close thread
All hail Skipworth
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Rename thread, is the forward line fixed? Or have we just fixed our ball movement?
I think we’re bottom 4 in the league for I50’s, so I don’t think its necessarily the ball movement!
But our movent is unquestionably faster, when we do go inside it is to quite an open 50. I think it is an open question whether the forwards are now getting to the right spots or whether there are now spots to get to because we move it well.
I think you’ll find that a lot of sides with high entries have low efficiency because they are often getting repeat entries to a clogged forward line. When we get out, we score.
I guess ultimately the goal is to decrease our turnovers in the middle and thus increase entries but I think if we start generating more repeat entries our efficiency will decline. Balancing the desire to press high but also spread the field is probably the next tactical Nirvana.
In association football you can use 2 to press 4 and still create the odd goal. You can’t do that in our game , primarily because of marking, so a good high press tends to create a very congested forward line. I’m not convinced the high press is an effective way of scoring but it is certainly an effective way of reducing scoring against so long as you don’t get caught out the back regularly.
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Option 2
But we’re not IMO that far out of the woods on point 1 that we can pick too many slow guys.
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A lot of people should man up, and apologise for all the ■■■■ they’ve said about the guy without actually knowing their arses from their elbows.
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Laverde, Langford, Begley and Stewart all likely not in the side this week that a lot had in here had in contention or penciled in for round 1 forward line.
They’re far, far from proven talent but sh-t that’s a good sign.
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