I partly agree trueblue!

The argument over CHB, FB etc is irrelevant. No one plays those positions anymore. What we need is a group of defenders on our list that can cover most oppositions.

eg. If we play Brisbane they usually sit Brown inside fifty and go long to him. In that case we need a big defender (Setanta) who can match him for strength and agility. Then have a ruckman drop back to help and always have a second defender come over the top to help.

If we were playing Hawthorn (they play a four man rotating forward structure we would look at someone like Walker for Franklin, Thornton for Roughhead, Jamison for Williams and Ando for the smaller type.

In most cases I reckon we are covered and we have good flexibility.

I really believe we need to get more CLASS midfielders and get us using the ball more effeciently and we will do some serious damage next year!

Could cloke play CHB?? has the size and mental attitude to bust packs and match the gorilla's - but what about pace?

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one you knock back is one you never have

We dont need a defence because the ball will never go past our midfield!

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"Dont count the games, make the games count"

Franklin would be too big for Walker..........Walker found himself on T Cloke at one stage during the year and couldnt handle him.
We have to stop bandaiding and get the right players for the right job.....
Geelong tried to make Harley a KPP and it didnt work so they fixed the problem by getting Egan.
Walker should be running midfield in a Kane Cornes fashion rather than being used as a troubleshooter to cover the inept abilities of others.
The only way to beat Brown is to double team him and block the space he works in.....Geelong do it well with Egan/Scarlett.....with a player like Milburn filling the space.
Tactics help but you have to have the size and solid bodies........

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

I like walker on Franklin. I noticed shorter more nimble players were having more success on him than proper key defenders.

Walker as a half back flanker works for me. He has plenty of dash and when the oposition try to take him back to the goal square he can handle himself. He just needs to get his kicking/decision making right and ratts needs get a game plan going where he can kick to space like the cats do (helped Wojinski) and walker he should your classice halfback gun.

I think Elwood Blues 1 is right.



Franklin, T. Cloke, J.Brown, Mooney, Lucas, Rocca, Lade, Pavlich, Kosi, Hall, Neitz, are BIG big boys. Body on body and Walker would be out of the picture. Setanta is the only one with height and reach to match or nullify. I think with another preseason, Setanta will have the strength to match Browny, Lucas and Mooney. So Setanta is a MUST for defense against the BIG big bodies.

I think Jamison or Thornton could take the big boys such as Lloyd, Tredrea, McGregor, Lloyd.

Franklin and Reiwoldt are tall and very agile, so this where Waite steps in



He'd be great in that role. It's in the middle where we have to gain the ascendency and curb the flow of ball into our backline.

But it's when teams like the Hawks have 4 talls plus the shorter Williams where we need Walker in defense, unless Anderson can wear him like a glove.






Scarlett, Egan, Milburn, Harley

Setanta, Thornton, Jamison, Bower, or do we need Waite, Walker or the taller Hartlett with an extra few kg's...this is where tactics and a well drilled backline need to be developed, and that comes from stability, effectively time together.

We have options to develop. I hope we settle on the best possible backline during the preseason and we drill them over and over and over again.

No doubt we are plagued with the one constant weakness; inexperience.

That can turn around pretty quickly with confidence and knowing the midfield will be back to support 9 times out of 10.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I beg to disagree...Walker when taken to the goalsquare looks more uncomfortable and I cite the Cloke example again.
Franklin doesnt take many overheads but the ones he does take are usually when he can go one on one with a smaller player and be the bully boy.
I fancy Joey Anderson in the Wojinski role...Joe is a take them on type player whose disposal can be iffy but given he can make some ground by running with the ball it might take the pressure of his kicking a bit...
Like I said before I think AW should be in the Kane Cornes role where he can get the ball himself and run with it but also be used on a damaging midfielder as a tag if needed.....
AW is a decent size utility and I'd like to see him get more aggressive and give us some grunt in the middle of the ground.....we dont have Kouta anymore and its time to let AW loose in the middle....

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

Hartlett is a forward not a defender.
Grigg is not and will not be a tagger.

I remember the preseason gam that Hartlett played in a back pocket. Some were impressed before he did his hammy, but to me he loked locked with the head lights, albeit desperate to get out of trouble.

But I do believe that he could defend in a well drilled outfit. It's his response time that's of concern for me...the fast leading forwards and his reaction time leaves him a yard or 2 behind.

You just never know.

I do like Hartlett as a leading forward, pack crasher and opposition basher.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

With Vodka,Hampo and Aisake all coming through to look after the ruck, I would love to see Cloke tried as a CHB, leave Waite with Fev and Fish.

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Not so best of TheSexySquad


AWWWWWW STEVENS.

Have to disagree. Would much rather see Walker move into a less defensive role. He has speed, creativity, should be spending more time in the midfield. He started to notch up a few 30+ posession games last season. And I still think back to his debut game and get excited about what he could do in the middle.

BTW Houlihan may be taller than Scotland but IMO Scotland plays taller. He was very good helping out in defence this year, particularly filling the hole and spoiling in front of the leading forward

This is how I would put it.



HERE'S the problem. He shouldn't be filling the hole, he should be on his opponent. If each of our back six played on their men, the problem would be diminished. Scotland and Houlihan are far too loose. This year we had BOTH in the back six. A back six should consist of six defenders. Yes, you've got to have people running off their men to create, etc., but Scotland plays like a midfielder, and leaves us basically a man short in defense. Houlihan is far better at the defensive side of the game, but he too plays too loose for my liking.

We cannot have loose players in the back six.

If every defender stuck to their men all day we might have fewer goals scored against us but we wouldn't be generating any run out of defence and delivering the ball with precision to the forwards. You need to have players with good kicking skills there to deliver the ball out of defence otherwise it would come straight back. All sides play 'midfielders' in defence to do that- Mcleod, P Burgoyne, Shaw etc. Opposition coaches will try to drag those players deep into defence so they don't set up any run.

[quote="blueboysean"] Yes, you've got to have people running off their men to create, etc., but Scotland plays like a midfielder, and leaves us basically a man short in defense. quote]

This is the integral point. The thing with McLeod as a defender is that he doesn't have to go back to his man - he gets tagged! Scotland doesn't get tagged, so he plays really loose.

Like Massie in the Elimination final??

Setanta needs to go as a KPP to the backline, give him a simple task to learn, and stop moving him around (eg no more ruck). He looked great early this year and has the intensity not to take any shit. That said, he did get bags kicked on him, but see how he goes

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Blue is the Colour, Football is the game...

I agree, Setanta could develop into an outstanding big defender - if he's allowed to grow into a single role. The guy is a freak, I reckon he's as desperate and passionate and competitive as SOS. And if Ratts leaves him to learn one role, he might just be (almost) in the same territory one day.

Lance.

i think Waite should be played at CHB and im not sure where setanta is best suited yet but if we dont play him full back we will have 2 play thornton full back and hes not really big enough to play on the likes of hall, richo etc

If he doesn't play well in defence they could move him to CHF