Rod Spooky Galt wrote:
BV - I agree with you in that the half-forward flanks pushing up to the midfield is unsustainable (especially with Pitto back), do you reckon it's better to go back to a conventional 6-2-4-6 set up, or is there some value in throwing Walsh behind the footy for a couple weeks, and try to replicate the issue we've had in our forward 50 with other teams?
Think teams after last week are going to put a lot of time into Saad and to a lesser extent, Doc as much as possible, getting the extra quality ball user in the back half might be useful also.
Looking at Melbourne's key stats in the second half of the year - their ability to keep the ball in their inside 50 has been below comp average, compared to setting the standard in the finals last year. I think it's a weakness that could be exploited.
That's why we miss Williams. He's a good ball user and his run is helpful. He's not a great defender but his weapons make up for it. If the opposition are going to shut down Saad, Williams and Docherty, good luck to them. They'll end up with a totally dysfunctional front half.
FWIW, I think McGovern is the key. He's our best ball user in the back half and we should be using him more. We're freeing up Weitering or Doc as our spare, that's crazy. Free up McGovern and get the ball in his hands more often. Saad is a great runner and breaks the lines beautifully but McGoverns kicking is surgical. Saad can still run past for handballs but it's important his priority is his opponent and not the contest.
As for the front half, I agree with you that we need to sort out the spares. Forget sending 2 up to the storage. Walsh is being picked up by the winger or opposition half forward anyway so the strategy is no longer a surprise. I think we need to start taking something away from the opposition.
Get Cottrell to tag Neale or to pick up the opposition defensive spare. If we persist in playing a 4 or 5 man forward line, we should decide who's the spare defender, not the opposition coaches. Play Cottrell half forward (he's shown he can mark and kick goals) and get him to go to the defender that suits us.
If the lesser defender wants to go with him as well, that's even better. A 2 on 1 is far preferable than a loose spare.
I like how the coaches want us to play "our way". But "our way" needs to evolve and counter the strategies that are being employed against us.
We've significantly improved our defensive profile by playing a more risk averse game style but it has stymied our offence.
I think we need a bit more balance. Our small forwards are pushing up to defend and as a result, not getting back to provide groundball support deep forward. Hopefully the coaches are working on it. I have a lot of faith in Voss and Hansen.
Let's see what they come up with.
Agreed - Williams is going to (hopefully) be an interesting addition - do we play him on a wing because the position is there for the taking, or do we put him in a more preferred position down back and potentially unsettle the balance there (our numbers for defense are as good as anyones at the moment, I suspect he comes in at the expense of Newman - if Newman's not fit for finals, its a moot point, but if he's fit, I think there's questions to be answered there). Either way, I think the answer isn't him playing as a high half-forward in the role Cottrell has made his own of late. He just doesn't work hard enough off the ball and doesn't offer as much as Cottrell overhead.
Alternatively - the other option could be to have the two defensive flankers hit the centre bounces instead of the two forward flankers - Saad and Doc aren't exactly playing their man tight enough as it is. If we do make it to finals, I'd rather live and die by small forwards taking the most of their chances, rather than lose the midfield battle or have a poor link-up inside 50. We're playing tall enough in that back 6 to make it work between Plowman/Gov/Young/Weitering.
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