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The Road to the Big Dance
- Thread starter bricci
- Start date
no to soldo out. keep playing two rucks. we need to break even at centre clearances over 4Q.
gibcus forward. he just needs to swing. balta (or miller) back, we have plenty of coverage back there.
the argument of settling gibcus back so he can learn is a solid one, no doubt, but I think he's already got a ton of smarts and plenty of time. look at balta, he's been back and forward all his career.
there are too many compelling reasons to send him forward. spring-heeled, mobile, he doesn't need to get crunched. play as a rangy third leading tall with ground ability.
we need that type forward desperately and it could be the missing piece of the puzzle.
gibcus forward. he just needs to swing. balta (or miller) back, we have plenty of coverage back there.
the argument of settling gibcus back so he can learn is a solid one, no doubt, but I think he's already got a ton of smarts and plenty of time. look at balta, he's been back and forward all his career.
there are too many compelling reasons to send him forward. spring-heeled, mobile, he doesn't need to get crunched. play as a rangy third leading tall with ground ability.
we need that type forward desperately and it could be the missing piece of the puzzle.
I think what you are saying aren't mutually exclusive.
My point is Soldo is largely a 1 trick pony, in most cases he does it quite well (he occasionally lowers his colours) but he really has very little that he can provide apart from a chopout in the ruck hence why he burns through so many minutes on the bench. Put it like this, he spends a 3rd of the game on the bench, thats 40 minutes out of the 120. Its way too many.
Those extra minutes are being taken away from players like Cotchin, who needs a but more recovery to impact. I think you are being a bit hard on Cotch here, he's largely been good this season. His best games seem to be those where he plays 70-75% of TOG compared to the 85% he used to play at his peak.
I think our balance was a bit off as well with other positions on Friday. Shedda was playing more as a small forward, along with George, Shai and MRJ so we were a bit short in the midfield. We need to rebalance both of these issues before we play Port as I feel both contributed to the fadeout we had. Add Ross only playing 66% TOG and it all compounded IMO. This is where Pickett is so important, as he will usually play 85%+ TOG, similar to Kmac and Hugo has been doing the same, so they are my preferred wing rotations. With the 3 of them, they ensure that 2 of them will always take the wings. and they also provide chopouts for some of the other mids.
IMO TOG %'s are super important for us these days, less so when we were younger, but a lot more so now so that our stars can stay fresher for longer. Thats where I feel the Cotch / Soldo issues are compounding rather than mutually exclusive, therefore if we have a ruck / forward that can play 80% off on ground, even if their impact around stoppages is weakened compared to Soldo, the overall benefit to the team is much more impactful.
Just on Edwards, we need to move on from him as a mid, if he plays, it has to be forward as he did on Friday, but we got the mix all wrong with all of MRJ, Shedda, George and Shai all playing a lot of time forward.
i dont disagree. Just not sure how we manage if we go with 1 ruck. not sure we can go back to the midget ruck. Tom and Jack wont do it. Balta could play ruck and backline, but it leaves us with a hole in the 20% or so of gametime he is in the ruck, plus the 10% or so he would sit on the bench.
Balta is ok as a 3rd forward/ruck, but he is close to great as a FB so that is where he needs to play.
I want to keep 2 rucks, but feel we get more out of someone who can provide options in other parts of the ground as a forward / ruck, which is why I think we either play Balta there (and keep Tarrant back - he will go well against Dixon for example) or give Ryan a crack in that role. He's coming along nicely in the 2's IMO and gives us a lot more forward when not in the ruck compared to Soldo, enabling us to keep him on the ground for longer.
yeah nah - if you want to break a young player, put him in the ruck.
He is too valuable a player for that role and there is a reason why rucks don’t start rucking till they have been in the system for 2 to 3 years.
And I think Soldo is far better one on one, not in a pack situation. Like him being singled out on the lead and he is a reliable kick for goals.
Might be as simple as lowering the eyes into the forward 50.
Opposition defenders know that we will bomb deep and sag off.
Play Richmond and you just need to play team defence.
We have skilled forwards who are creating options but are ignored.
Make the opposition defence accountable and multiple opportunities are created.
Opposition defenders know that we will bomb deep and sag off.
Play Richmond and you just need to play team defence.
We have skilled forwards who are creating options but are ignored.
Make the opposition defence accountable and multiple opportunities are created.
Your point is valid around the 40 minutes less Soldo plays.
But why not take it further and play an extra mid in his place. Then you get the full 120 extra PLUS another guy to rotate with.
Say Dow for Soldo has so many benefits.
Why do we need the extra ruck? Barely any teams play two ruckman. Say we go with Pickett/Lynch/Balta for 5 mins a quarter what are we actually losing when they will be up against Finlayson, Silvagni and De Koning over the next 3 weeks.
Those backup rucks are no better than our guys.
For all the benefits/reasons you outline, that is the lever Dimma should pull to both increase our midfield output and help us run out games.
Melbourne is rightly premiership favourite. They field Gawn and Jackson. That pair would make jam of a lone Nankervis.
Freo is second favourite among students (if not Richmond). They field Sean Darcy and Lobb. (Not Liability Meek.) Darcy is a vastly better prospect than Gawn and but for his flakiness already a much better footballer imo. Nank could intimidate Darcy. But if he doesn't Darcy will destroy Nankervis.
These are the contenders with rucks.
Is Soldo the answer? Not as it stands. So do we play an antiruck like Marlion? Maybe.
I don't think we know yet. Is there another candidate?
It's Noah, innit? If we can cover for him down back?
Decades of smartarsery, that's all.
The Grigg role is dead. It might work against the lesser likes but not against the contenders.
Our problem isn’t playing Nank and Soldo it’s the geriatric midfield we are playing.
Edwards has been a great of our club but right now he should be playing in our thirds team.
Get Dow in. His one wood is clearances.
Our problem isn’t playing Nank and Soldo it’s the geriatric midfield we are playing.
Edwards has been a great of our club but right now he should be playing in our thirds team.
Get Dow in. His one wood is clearances.
It was funny because it’s so true and the moment I read it I pictured him getting smashed with a baseball bat. Bravo.
I'm talking about Ryan, spooker. But I love a $ on a roughie. Colina?
Furreal, Ryan has to play.
If we could bring in R.P. McMurphy as assistant coach for a couple of months to teach Ryan what a big broom he is, he might rip Clayton Oliver out of the ground and throw him through a window like some kind of redheaded water fountain. While he's there he could try making a man out of Benny Bibbit Miller too.
Fair play to the swans who were without Hickey, Kennedy, Blakey
So #1, old slow onballer, primary hb flanker.
Reasonable outs for them
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