David Astbury, Thank You | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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David Astbury, Thank You

SCOOP said:
I would expect him to have the first four-six weeks of the year at Coburg just getting game time.
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Can't find the thread but IIRC there were reports that David had a knee reco and would not play until round 8 at best.
If so, then your 4-6 at Coburg would take him back to half year at best.
 
Lennox Street said:
Think the club are selling him down the river a bit. Our desperation for a key defender doesn't magically make Astbury one. I think he should be playing the Miller role as the third marking target up forward. His mobility and kicking skills are his strengths, never has been a physical player good in a contest.
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Interesting one, we did give up on him quickly as a forward. When we moved him back in late 2010 we were arguably even more desperate for young key forwards than key backs- Vickery hadn't emerged yet and we hadn't recruited Miller.

In his interviews he has made it clear that he sees (or has been told) that his future is in the backline.
 
Many of the best key defenders have originally played as key forwards as a junior or even early in their AFL career. It is very common in junior footy for the best big blokes to be mainly played up forward. From memory Rance is the only one of our key position sized players that was a main stay defender in his junior years, I think Post played some time back as well as forward. Given Jack is a star forward already, Vickery is going to be one and there is also Griffiths and Post vying for a KP spot up forward it would seem to me Astbury's best chance of establishing himself is to be Rance's wingman in defence.

Personally I think having Rance and Astbury as the 2 key defenders would be a great combination. Rance is 194, Astbury 195. They both can take a good mark, they're fairly mobile for their size, have decent disposal with fairly good decision making. At this stage you'd have to think Rance has more body strength and therefore would take the larger / stronger key forwards while Astbury would take the 2nd biggest / strongest. This would then allow Grimes to be the 3rd tall option. This comination is light years ahead of when we had Moore, McGuane and Thursfield.
 
Reports from the intra club have McGuane playing pretty well down back in the probables team.

Given tat Rance is our one KPP back that will stay in the team baring injury this year. We have Post, Grimes, McGuane battling for spots two and three, and when they return from injury Griff, Astbury and Moore. We also have in the long term mix, Daru, Wright and Turner (although none of them will play this year)

McGuane is not out of contention and I am sure he will play - there are no free spots this year. However is performing the best will play.
 
uhuh uhuh said:
Reports from the intra club have McGuane playing pretty well down back in the probables team.
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Have to do better then McGuane. Grimes, Rance, Post all need to be ahead of him if we are to really improve.
 
With Griffiths now added to the back line mix - I don't see where Astbury fits to be honest. I think it's back up forward with him.

Or maybe he'll be one of those talls that will switch hit depending on needs. Not such a bad outcome.
 
TigerMasochist said:
Of course. Who else we going to use to be the mongrel inflictor of pain from the backline?
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The only pain McGuane inflicts is on the Richmond supporters who have to endure his continued presence on the field.
 
skybeau said:
The only pain McGuane inflicts is on the Richmond supporters who have to endure his continued presence on the field.
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Did I specify?



Won't mind too much if Laceout plays a mongrel third up role in our backline and is ably supported by quality surrounding him.
 
Is he still recovering from injury? Crikey. Given he did it with still a couple of months left last season I was hoping he'd get a decent preseason in. I'm no expert on knee dislocations though.
 
Lennox Street said:
Think the club are selling him down the river a bit. Our desperation for a key defender doesn't magically make Astbury one. I think he should be playing the Miller role as the third marking target up forward.
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Good call.
 
TigerMasochist said:
Won't mind too much if Laceout plays a mongrel third up role in our backline and is ably supported by quality surrounding him.
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That’s the belief that has held Richmond back for 20 years. Get class around him. We say that about McGuane, we say that about Jackson, we say that about White, we say that about Graham.

All of a sudden, four of our starting 18 (as a rule all three have been in our 18 most weeks, I don’t have them in the starting 18) can’t be trusted with ball in hand. Increases the pressure on those around them.

In the backhalf it is even more critical to have six defenders who can all kick and make sound choices with ball in hand.
 
SCOOP said:
That’s the belief that has held Richmond back for 20 years. Get class around him. We say that about McGuane, we say that about Jackson, we say that about White, we say that about Graham.

All of a sudden, four of our starting 18 (as a rule all three have been in our 18 most weeks, I don’t have them in the starting 18) can’t be trusted with ball in hand. Increases the pressure on those around them.

In the backhalf it is even more critical to have six defenders who can all kick and make sound choices with ball in hand.
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Same old same old Scooper. If we expect players like Laceout, Jacko, Whitey etc. to be our core senior players, as has been the case. Then you're right we go nowhere fast.
They are however more than capable of being honest workhorses in a decent team. Every club regardless of position on the ladder has a group of basic workers supporting their quality players. If the balance of workers to quality is out of kilter ie. Too many honest workers, no silk. Or your workers are the senior players trying to cover for developing quality kids, you're in trouble. Just as we've been for years.

We appear to at least be in the position where we have to many workers covering for quality kids recently and should find that a lot of our kids are just about ready to step up a level and command the more important roles on field. which means obviously that our much loved whipping boys can simply become honest role players as they should.
Ask supporters from any club and they'll be all to happy to extol the virtues of their current duds that don't deserve a game in a premiership side. Cap and draft means they're like arseholes and opinions. Everyones got some.
 
TigerMasochist said:
Same old same old Scooper. If we expect players like Laceout, Jacko, Whitey etc. to be our core senior players, as has been the case. Then you're right we go nowhere fast.
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Hang on, White, *smile* & Jackson are not spring chickens. At their ages and experience if they are not core footballers at the very least, they are list cloggers taking up space for some one who can learn the roles they do and over time do it better then them.

Same old same old from those who are unhappy with the status quo but don’t want to change anything.

The madness continues. The sooner Astbury takes McTurnover’s spot the closer we are to starting a era of sucess.
 
Lennox Street said:
Think the club are selling him down the river a bit. Our desperation for a key defender doesn't magically make Astbury one. I think he should be playing the Miller role as the third marking target up forward. His mobility and kicking skills are his strengths, never has been a physical player good in a contest.
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That may well be correct and may well happen, but if he improved at contested marking he'd be a much better prospect. Isn't it a good idea, considering we're a developing side, to stick him in the backline to develop some hardness? It makes sense to me anyway, and has Harwick/ Leppa written all over it.
 
Agree snake. Working to a player's strengths was a Wallace-era approach, now we are trying to improve on weaknesses.
 
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