someone please explain our forward line set up???????
As far as I can tell there is no CHF, no real HFF and a forward pocket (betts) who is not up to AFL standard. Fev is constantly multi-teamed yet we still try to bomb it to him despite the fact its not working.

Edwards continues to lead into the 3rd row of the stand.

We break down across half forward and players look clueless as to how to "build" a goal and lack any flair or creativity. in fact the players look resigned to the fact they will turn the ball over when they go forward.

where is Fishers best position? - leading forward pocket?? not demanding enough of the ball to be CHF

I want answers!!!!!!!!!!!
More importantly Ratts wants answers because clearly he has none

Don't blame Edwards, it was only his second game.

Defenders don't rate the rest of our forwards so they leave their man and get in Fev's way. Maybe our midfielders when they look forward don't rate any of the youngsters up there besides Fev so even if they are free won't kick it to them.

Many on this site don't rate Hartlett but IMO he would straighten the team up, he would give an option outside the 50.

Cam Cloke should move forward

_________________
If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

its the gameplan.
slow it all down. chip it around. wait for the opposition defense to flood back. then bomb to a 2-3 contest...

Ratten has brought the same rubbish from last season. how many losses in a row now?

We need a chf but we gave him away.

Are you still lost?

http://www.magpies.net/nick/

so our game plan is to miss targets

to kick it to a 3 on 1 (their way)?

*snip* its the execution by senior players not the gameplan, and there is @#$%&! all we can do about that until our kids are not our kids but our senior players!!!! Long haul.

_________________
This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Without Wiggens we have no forward structure

_________________
Delulio is a member of TISM

Funnily enough, Wiggins might have helped tonight as a lead up target.

We do not use the corridor enough and still insist on pushing to the flanks. This sets up low % scoring opportunities and a lot of turnovers.

Confidence should help fix this. I have no doubt that this is not part of Ratt's instructions.

Cloke to CHF might be a good call. If Ackland and Kreuzer play next week that gives us some more tall options and also stretches the opposition backs.

You will have to wait next year,Fisher could turn out to be Full Forward next year,while we recruit some one out of contract and get a key position player.

_________________
Bang Bang.

Does the gameplan actually control the skills of our players by remote? What good is a structure if players make schoolboy errors?

You cant coach that out of the players, the skill level tonight was just plain AWFUL.

Mind you, Saints were bad too on many occassions with their disposal, and we still lost by 40 points - doesnt that scare the hell out of you? Imagine if we came up against a slick Geelong outfit tonight.

I know its only round 2, I dont want to sound negative, but it just seems as though weve been going round and round in circles for the past 6 years, I dont know where we are headed, I mean we pretty much had a full strength side aside from Walker, realistically you cant expect much from Kruezer, and we were just plain awful after quarter time, and no amount of spin doctoring and threads about "positives" will change the fact that we are a bad football side and have been for the past 6 years. And before you crucify me for being a pessimist, we have been saying the same thing for years - oh yeah its early in the season, weve got some good youngsters etc.

The club just seems lost on the field, the passion of years ago is gone, we need something to spark the players up, we are low on confidence and we arent putting enough pressure on the opposition.

Rediscover the passion!

Was just thinking the same thing myself - our structure is in pieces atm. Wiggins hard leading from HF could be bey useful, at least until we get some form of meaningful target at CHF.

Would love to Special K come straight in if fit to provide a long target in the FP and FFS play Houlihan up forward - he's one of the few guys in our team who actually has natural goal sense. This is our best forward line-up at present.

Fev needs to play up the ground and Fish deep. The problem is Fish is slow, every team we play against match him up with a dashing player who can run the ball out. Like Sam Fisher did

Missed that lead up target Hartlett had been playing during pre-season. Plus his ability to concuss Milne

_________________
Mjonc signing off at 8888

Honestly I think our future CHF is sitting in the pits waiting for the green light. Won't happen straight away, but after seeing his game against the Dogs a few weeks ago, I've got no doubt the boy will (at least one day) fill those shoes.

_________________
WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Ratten confirmed on radio pre-match that Kreuzer will play next week. I still think once Hartlett's suspension is completed he should return to the side.

We have no forward structure because we have no forward line

You should've seen Montgomery talking to the forward group at 3/4 time. It was Fev fisher and 4 irrelvancies.

_________________
They will know that they've been playing against the famous old dark blues

You're on fire tonight dannyboy. Everything you've said about our team has been spot on.

Our biggest problem is we're missing leadership from those players who have played more than 50 games.

We don't have a lot, but most of the ones we have let you down time after time with either poor disposal, poor discipline nd a lack of effort.

Its been the same old story for the past 5 years. We had the most unaccountable midfield you could imagine back then, with our senior players leading the way. Nothings changed, they're still doing it.

Murphy, Gibbs etc are going to lead us out of this mess when they're the ones setting the example and we have younger players looking to them.

_________________
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

I posted this in my review of Fish's game but is relevant here too

The other issue I had with him (and all of our forwards) is that once they are ignored they jog back into position rather than running hard to make another option. If you watch Richo last week he was constantly making leads, forwards, backwards or sideways, and that was often where he lost his opponent. I don’t think I saw any of our forwards really do that tonight (in fact I am not sure I have seen it for a long time).

I think the main problem in or forward line is that they don’t work hard enough as the ball is coming in which is why we kick to packs so often. It should be possible to co-ordinate the leads so that there is a hole which someone else can run into.

The key to a good forward line is constant movement. We just dont do it. Each forward offers maybe one lead the stands there calling for the ball while standing still. As a result we get kicks to 3 on 1's because the oppisition reads it better and get to the contest.