Same to you fella.
Thatās really mean. I 100% approve, keep up the good work.
1 Like
Hurls struggles one on one all year, the final it got exposed when they put a much talller player in with premium service. If we had been better we would have zoned off to help him due to the height difference. But we were getting smashed all over the park and it didnāt leave much opportunity for the defenders who were chasing tail all game.
Fix the stoppage issue and ensure there are no easy entries from the midfield and that wonāt happen again. Hurls is so good he only neads a half a chance, hopefully the mids can put the pressure on and win more contested footy.
Hurls was fine after he adjusted and started playing defensively in q3. Swans recognized that he was instructed to zone off and they took advantage of it.
The closest replacements would be:
Gleeson - lacks size.strength
Brown - has done this job excellently previously, but lacks consistent quality
Francis - has potential only at this point
Yep, we have nobody in or defence that is elite or consistently wins from week to week.
I believe only Francis has the talent but itās whether he wants it bad enough.
I know. Weāve gpt just about the bet CHF in the game and Hooker was ā ā ā ā ā ā good at FF - why change it now?
I know youāre playinā.
But Iām gonna point out that Iāve already said why youād change it.
Everyone knows Hooker is the best FB we have in our squad
However he is also one of the best contested marking & goal kicking key forwards in the league. We donāt have anyone else of his type in our squad. His value to us fwd outweighs him playing back.
We also have Hartley who is only 24yrs old & have to remember at same age EFC would have traded Hooker to WC had he wanted to go, and most of blitz wanted him gone. There was a lot Hooker needed to work on & that he did.
Iām backing Hartley in to have an improved year. He has bulked up which means will help in marking contests (the grabbing of jumpers is a response to being outbodied), more efficient & effective transition out of defence plus our midfield pressure to drastically improve so defensive unit not seeing so much ball coming back in.
Woosh has said Hooker is playing fwd, and whilst they could move him back they believe the teams defensive improvement will come from the side as a whole not just one position in the back 6.
2 Likes
Iāve got a few different names to most, as well as some positional changes I would like to see.
I thought one of the weaknesses we had last year was a lack of height and marking power through the middle of the ground which was exposed against some of the bigger teams, and particularly against Sydney in the final.
B Bags Francis Ridley
HB Saad Hurley Laverde
C McKenna McGrath Stewart
HF Fanta Joe Stringer
F Tippa Hooker Smith
R Belly Heppell Zerrett
Int Goddard Ambrose Parish Colyer
I think Francis would benefit from being given a role of responsibility and full back would potentially have less aerobic requirements than other positions.
I really like the look of Ridley both in the air and on the ground and think the third tall position would suit him perfectly when fit
Laverde at half back could suit his game perfectly along with adding some mid size height strength and marking power
I would like to see McKenna given a go on the wing adding extra speed across the middle and also more goal scoring from the centre of the ground
Stewart on the other wing is a bit controversial but would give us much needed height for the clearing kick out of defence, at the same time reducing the overall height on the forward line
Ambrose on the bench could be a great utility, interchanging with Francis and the other talls on the backline as well as even doing tagging roles on bigger mids like Bontempelli, Fyfe and Martin
I havenāt given up on Colyer and at his best his speed adds a lot to the team.
I think overall this team is very balanced with height, speed, marking power all over the ground and plenty of rotations through the midfield with both bigger and smaller bodies.
Some notable omissions:
I donāt share the same love for Gleeson as others. I think heās good without being great in a number of areas,
Zaharakis wasnāt a deliberate omission, there just wasnāt anyone I preferred him to and I went with the pace of Colyer instead but no doubt he will get games
I would also like to have Myers and Langford in the team but again not enough spots
Iām hoping like hell that Ridley can take a big step up this year.
Love the way he looks.
1 Like
Same with me. Particularly with the extra height heās added since being drafted should allow him to take the big key position players, he could real X factor to the backline. Heās really good below his knees and is also a good kick for his size
Zaha has form fluctuations from year to year but when playing well is an absolute lock. He has added tackling to his game over recent seasons and is a better player because of that. I just cant see him out of best 22, but if he is down on form or does not maintain/improve the 2 way running aspect, he will now face the prospect of a stint in the 2s
3 Likes
Agree i would say our second best midfielder behind zerrett.
I donāt normally best 22ās, but with this talk in the Begley Iāve had a crack.
This is how I see it currently, without knowing who is really jumping out of the ground in pre-season:
Baguley Ambrose Saad
McKenna Hurley Gleeson
McGrath Zaharakis Parish
Fantasia Daniher Stringer
Green Hooker Tippa
Bellchambers Zerrett Heppell
Colyer Smith Stewart Goddard
Tall depth is ok but not great imo. It would help a lot if 1 or 2 out of Francis, Ridley and Draper starts to come on or Hartley improves, but Iām not confident about much of that for this season. Probably 2019.
Mid/small depth: Guys like Langford, Myers and Begley are next in line.
My point about Begley is that the role he could be best suited to and most capable of taking straight away, is Greenās. The question is, is it going to be better for his development to play that role or spend some time playing bigger midfield minutes in the 2ās first?
Our mid/small depth doesnāt look great on paper to be honest unless some of the younger guys really start to show improvement straight away. Hopefully Langford and Begley lead that charge.
2 Likes
I reckon thatās a pretty accurate list.
However picking up on the Begley thread I think Colyerās spot is also there for the taking, possibly by Fridge.
If thereās a weakness in that 22 itās big bodied players in midfield, and having Stringer and Begley up around the action might be better overall than Colyerās raw speed (and fumbling / disposal)
Good point. Colyer (similarly to Myers) needs to improve a lot on his 2017 form to keep his place. Iāve really picked Colyer based on his 2014/2015 form and hoping the second pre-season after suspension gets him back to there.
I reckon colyer has a pretty ordinary year last year but some of his latter games, including the final were very good. Heās still best 22 for mine. He was one of our rare winners in that final, along with Gleeson and parish who were pretty good too