Welcome to Tigers: Jason Castagna

[Carter]

You really have lost the plot if you think Jack needs to be dropped on form, and Castagna gets to keep giving the ball back to opposition with impunity.

George is giving us more than Jack at the minute.

And there is the question of team balance.

We need more speed, more mobility, more heat, and yes more finishing.

Replacing George, which you seem obsessed about, only addresses one of these factors.

Replacing Jack, who is apparently untouchable, addresses several. But then logic isn’t your strong suit is it?

 

[Coburgtiger]

George is giving us more than Jack at the minute.

And there is the question of team balance.

We need more speed, more mobility, more heat, and yes more finishing.

Replacing George, which you seem obsessed about, only addresses one of these factors.

Replacing Jack, who is apparently untouchable, addresses several. But then logic isn’t your strong suit is it?

Jack is untouchable.

I'll own that.

George is not giving us more than Jack.

The narrative around George has always confused me. Early on, he was a pressure forward who kicked goals on the turnover. This was true and what he was doing.

Then he stopped kicking goals. So we started hearing, he's critical for our forward pressure, which is central to our DNA. I was dubious that we couldn't find the forward pressure with a more skilled user, but at least the logic was there. So were the premierships.

Then he stopped tackling. But his implied pressure was apparently enough.

Then they changed the rules. And throughout 2021 he lost a role. But we still kept hearing that his forward pressure was critical. Then he was finally dropped at the end of last year.

2022 rolls around and suddenly he's a winger? Even while we're playing two other wingers? And his running down the wing is critical to our (lack of) success?

Just no.

Rioli is an interesting parallel, who followed the exact same loss of home, but reinvented a new one. Mainly because he is a skilful footballer.

I've been to every Melbourne based game this year. I sit on the wing. There is a drastic, significant, universe of difference between what Pickett or Kmac does on a wing vs what Castagna does.

You can see the intercepts, the pressure, the gut running all game with the two actual wingers. Castagna spends most of the game floating in a forward pocket, then drifting on to a wing when one of the others takes a break. And when he does get there, he turns it over.

The game has changed.

You must, as an absolute necessity, be able to use the ball. Our scrappiest players happen to be Marlion and Kmac, but both have learned to use their talents, and at least kick long effectively. And they do genuinely offer what Castagna supposedly does.

The game has basically become basketball. Defend using a zone in your back half, and retain the ball going forward. You are now almost required to score when you have a clean possession. Castagna is unhelpful here. And defending the ground is essentially your ability to intercept the pass, which Kmac and Pickett both do well, and George never does.

Jack is someone who allows us to score effectively. Uses the ball well. And can take marks up the ground if we want to use him there. He has a thousand more strings to his bow than Castagna does.

 

[Dyer'ere]

I thought George was a bit off. And I was disappointed in his aerial work. Kicked 2.

I thought the root cause of our poor showing against Adelaide was road game. Good sides don't have them. But eh. Here we are.

There's a lot of 2016 thinking around at the moment. (Brought on by the Phoney Season.)

Fair enough, the fans are disappointed.

How George is of much consequence at all beats the *smile* out of me. That he is pivotal is wildly misguided IMO. That he was bog ordinary, I cannot argue against this week. Despite the two goals.

 

[Carter]

Jack is untouchable.

I'll own that.

George is not giving us more than Jack.

The narrative around George has always confused me. Early on, he was a pressure forward who kicked goals on the turnover. This was true and what he was doing.

Then he stopped kicking goals. So we started hearing, he's critical for our forward pressure, which is central to our DNA. I was dubious that we couldn't find the forward pressure with a more skilled user, but at least the logic was there. So were the premierships.

Then he stopped tackling. But his implied pressure was apparently enough.

Then they changed the rules. And throughout 2021 he lost a role. But we still kept hearing that his forward pressure was critical. Then he was finally dropped at the end of last year.

2022 rolls around and suddenly he's a winger? Even while we're playing two other wingers? And his running down the wing is critical to our (lack of) success?

Just no.

Rioli is an interesting parallel, who followed the exact same loss of home, but reinvented a new one. Mainly because he is a skilful footballer.

I've been to every Melbourne based game this year. I sit on the wing. There is a drastic, significant, universe of difference between what Pickett or Kmac does on a wing vs what Castagna does.

You can see the intercepts, the pressure, the gut running all game with the two actual wingers. Castagna spends most of the game floating in a forward pocket, then drifting on to a wing when one of the others takes a break. And when he does get there, he turns it over.

The game has changed.

You must, as an absolute necessity, be able to use the ball. Our scrappiest players happen to be Marlion and Kmac, but both have learned to use their talents, and at least kick long effectively. And they do genuinely offer what Castagna supposedly does.

The game has basically become basketball. Defend using a zone in your back half, and retain the ball going forward. You are now almost required to score when you have a clean possession. Castagna is unhelpful here. And defending the ground is essentially your ability to intercept the pass, which Kmac and Pickett both do well, and George never does.

Jack is someone who allows us to score effectively. Uses the ball well. And can take marks up the ground if we want to use him there. He has a thousand more strings to his bow than Castagna does.

Just a load of *smile* with zero understanding of how we play.

Replacing Jack with a Cumberland, MRJ or Clarke is infinitely better than getting rid of one of our hardest runners.

Keep the pressure on. Double down on what we do well.

 

[Coburgtiger]

Just a load of *smile* with zero understanding of how we play.

Replacing Jack with a Cumberland, MRJ or Clarke is infinitely better than getting rid of one of our hardest runners.

Keep the pressure on. Double down on what we do well.

You do like to speak with a certain amount of authority about the way we play. And as appreciated and thoughtful as your posting is, it is as much a punters pov as any other.

And if you do have some greater understanding, then I don't know if you're hoping for more losses so we can get draft picks (you do have form in that area), but dropping Jack for Cumberland would be the way to do it.

You seem to be prioritising running over all other things. No doubt, it's a part of the plan. But you must now be able to use the ball. Absolute must.

Our drafting reflects that. No doubt our selection will reflect that soon as well.

 

[Carter]

You do like to speak with a certain amount of authority about the way we play. And as appreciated and thoughtful as your posting is, it is as much a punters pov as any other.

And if you do have some greater understanding, then I don't know if you're hoping for more losses so we can get draft picks (you do have form in that area), but dropping Jack for Cumberland would be the way to do it.

You seem to be prioritising running over all other things. No doubt, it's a part of the plan. But you must now be able to use the ball. Absolute must.

Our drafting reflects that. No doubt our selection will reflect that soon as well.

Are we talking about 2024 or this year?

You can’t turn tactics off and on like a tap. We recruited for our current style for several years.

We may have changed recruiting tack last year, and that crop looks great, but that tree won’t bear fruit for at least a couple of years.

So are we fighting for 2022 still? With the game plan that is now entrenched and difficult to wind back?

If so then yes, Cumberland, along with the forward line balance he would bring, does currently bring more to the side than Jack. Our farcical forward pressure would certainly appreciate the move.

If we are looking to magically wave a wand and make the team better users of the pill, by all means let us enter your fantasy land.

 

[Coburgtiger]

Are we talking about 2024 or this year?

You can’t turn tactics off and on like a tap. We recruited for our current style for several years.

We may have changed recruiting tack last year, and that crop looks great, but that tree won’t bear fruit for at least a couple of years.

So are we fighting for 2022 still? With the game plan that is now entrenched and difficult to wind back?

If so then yes, Cumberland, along with the forward line balance he would bring, does currently bring more to the side than Jack. Our farcical forward pressure would certainly appreciate the move.

If we are looking to magically wave a wand and make the team better users of the pill, by all means let us enter your fantasy land.

There have been significant tactical changes this year.

Our defensive positioning is completely different (we're teasing for the intercept more than going all in on pressuring the guy with the ball), our ball use has swung way more to kicking than run and gun handball. Our forward line is taller, and our backline faster.

Our forward pressure has been pushed further up the ground, coinciding with players like, Aarts, Rioli and Castagna going from full time forwards to wingers, Mids and defenders, but that has clashed with the need for creative users, which is why Aarts fell out of favour and Castagna will too. Our forwards are playing much more as traditional forwards, which is why we've been scoring much more freely from open play and centre clearances, but proportionally less from forward fifty turnovers. Also why Jack will have a bag of 5 or 6 in the coming weeks.

There's still a lot of tweaking that needs to be done. We're being scored against too easily. A huge issue is tall forwards, partly due to the inexperienced midfield we've been using (Ross, Dow, Bolton, even Aarts at times) not knowing how to put the clamps on, and partly because we've lost Astbury, and barely had Vlossy or Grimes on the park.

As for my magic wand to magically make the team better users of the pill:

In: Lambert, Stack
Out: Castagna, Parker

And that was the easy bit!

 

[Carter]

There have been significant tactical changes this year.

Our defensive positioning is completely different (we're teasing for the intercept more than going all in on pressuring the guy with the ball), our ball use has swung way more to kicking than run and gun handball. Our forward line is taller, and our backline faster.

Our forward pressure has been pushed further up the ground, coinciding with players like, Aarts, Rioli and Castagna going from full time forwards to wingers, Mids and defenders, but that has clashed with the need for creative users, which is why Aarts fell out of favour and Castagna will too. Our forwards are playing much more as traditional forwards, which is why we've been scoring much more freely from open play and centre clearances, but proportionally less from forward fifty turnovers. Also why Jack will have a bag of 5 or 6 in the coming weeks.

There's still a lot of tweaking that needs to be done. We're being scored against too easily. A huge issue is tall forwards, partly due to the inexperienced midfield we've been using (Ross, Dow, Bolton, even Aarts at times) not knowing how to put the clamps on, and partly because we've lost Astbury, and barely had Vlossy or Grimes on the park.

As for my magic wand to magically make the team better users of the pill:

In: Lambert, Stack
Out: Castagna, Parker

And that was the easy bit!

We are still sweating on turnover, no two ways about it.

Stand and 666 have halted our momentum and taken the edge off our hunger.

Our 2021 recruiting suggests real tactical change is on the wind, perhaps driven offensively by D Teague, but it won’t be rolled out just yet.

And meanwhile, your obsession with dropping Castagna (the least of our issues) continues unabated.

 

[Coburgtiger]

We are still sweating on turnover, no two ways about it.

Stand and 666 have halted our momentum and taken the edge off our hunger.

Our 2021 recruiting suggests real tactical change is on the wind, perhaps driven offensively by D Teague, but it won’t be rolled out just yet.

And meanwhile, your obsession with dropping Castagna (the least of our issues) continues unabated.

I think we see the game very differently if you think dropping Riewoldt and playing Castagna improves the side.

Not much else to say really.

 

[Carter]

I think we see the game very differently if you think dropping Riewoldt and playing Castagna improves the side.

Not much else to say really.

We are losing because we can’t run out four quarters.

Look at each of our losses.

Jack can’t run at all. George runs all day. We need an extra runner.

But yeah, we see the game differently, thank christ.

 

[lamb22]

We are losing because we can’t run out four quarters.

Look at each of our losses.

Jack can’t run at all. George runs all day. We need an extra runner.

But yeah, we see the game differently, thank christ.

Bring in Usain Bolt then. His understanding of the game is probably better than Castagna's as I'm sure he's seen it in a sports bar somewhere.

How dropping good footballers and playing dud footballers improves a side beats me.

 

[lamb22]

Castagna 4 contested possessions on the weekend so for an uncontested player you have good disposal efficiency, right!. No - 50%

Parker 5 contested possessions and 45% DE.

Really easy outs this week, unless you're 2016 Hardwick.

 

[Tigers of Old]

I kept him in my team this week only because I think there's a real chance the Demons will run us off our legs.

 

[Carter]

Bring in Usain Bolt then. His understanding of the game is probably better than Castagna's as I'm sure he's seen it in a sports bar somewhere.

How dropping good footballers and playing dud footballers improves a side beats me.

lol let’s keep Aarts Parker and Ross eh Lamby?

Dow was super timid against Adelaide, Graham was just super *smile*.

Not saying George set the world on fire, but there are half a dozen blokes to drop before Castagna.

 

[Bullarto Tiger]

A running machine Castagna may be, but I don't believe he is part of the future now. He'll play some more games no doubt but reckon it would be good to see him superseded come season's end.

 

[Bullarto Tiger]

By the way, a very interesting discussion/debate between Coburg Tiger and Carts. I enjoyed reading your contest of ideas and perspectives. Thanks

 

[Carter]

A running machine Castagna may be, but I don't believe he is part of the future now. He'll play some more games no doubt but reckon it would be good to see him superseded come season's end.

I think you are correct BT. We rolled a dice this year and he is still firmly tied up in it all.

 

[MD Jazz]

Jack is untouchable.

I'll own that.

George is not giving us more than Jack.

The narrative around George has always confused me. Early on, he was a pressure forward who kicked goals on the turnover. This was true and what he was doing.

Then he stopped kicking goals. So we started hearing, he's critical for our forward pressure, which is central to our DNA. I was dubious that we couldn't find the forward pressure with a more skilled user, but at least the logic was there. So were the premierships.

Then he stopped tackling. But his implied pressure was apparently enough.

Then they changed the rules. And throughout 2021 he lost a role. But we still kept hearing that his forward pressure was critical. Then he was finally dropped at the end of last year.

2022 rolls around and suddenly he's a winger? Even while we're playing two other wingers? And his running down the wing is critical to our (lack of) success?

Just no.

Rioli is an interesting parallel, who followed the exact same loss of home, but reinvented a new one. Mainly because he is a skilful footballer.

I've been to every Melbourne based game this year. I sit on the wing. There is a drastic, significant, universe of difference between what Pickett or Kmac does on a wing vs what Castagna does.

You can see the intercepts, the pressure, the gut running all game with the two actual wingers. Castagna spends most of the game floating in a forward pocket, then drifting on to a wing when one of the others takes a break. And when he does get there, he turns it over.

The game has changed.

You must, as an absolute necessity, be able to use the ball. Our scrappiest players happen to be Marlion and Kmac, but both have learned to use their talents, and at least kick long effectively. And they do genuinely offer what Castagna supposedly does.

The game has basically become basketball. Defend using a zone in your back half, and retain the ball going forward. You are now almost required to score when you have a clean possession. Castagna is unhelpful here. And defending the ground is essentially your ability to intercept the pass, which Kmac and Pickett both do well, and George never does.

Jack is someone who allows us to score effectively. Uses the ball well. And can take marks up the ground if we want to use him there. He has a thousand more strings to his bow than Castagna does.

I’m a big George fan and always will be but very hard to argue with this well written post. The game has changed, the rule changes are gonna spell the end of the festivus of George methinks.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Can we please move on.

 

[Dont Argue]

Can we please move on.

But he runs hard