Not along ago people were crying for Cloke in he forward line to take defensive pressure of Fev. The addition of a couple of likely looking young pocket rockets to the mix seems him out of favour.......

We can't have it all - horses for courses I say

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How can I be blue when I support Carlton and The Fev?

The question is whether we can carry only one marking option in our forward line if we don't play Cloke there.

Other than Fev the only other bloke that seems capable of taking a big mark is cloke or fish (we can only play one). At least when cloke gets it he converts more often than not. It's all very well having quite a few crumbing goal kickers, but you also need someone who can provide an option for a bomb in the forward line if the midfield in under extreme pressure. I know this is not our preferred option to goal, but there will be many times in a match where there are no other options and by having another option to fev and USING that option will force defenders to man up our forwards not just triple team Fev.

Hawthorn

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

If I'm not mistaken, the general tone here is that Fisher might be in a wee bit of trouble.

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

Cloke may be fine for some opponents but he doesn't help with our overall 'team balance'. I don't mind him in the side but I still think he is best for our future as a pinch-hitting utility.

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Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

Got any footage to back up that claim?

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

I have stats:

Talls leading last year's Coleman medal race:

Tackle count:

=<1 a game
Riewoldt
Brown
Mooney
Richardson
Hall


=<2 a game
Franklin
Roughead
Fevola
Bradshaw
Pavlich
Lloyd
Cloke
Hall
Lonergan

I will accept that these are not the whole picture, but look through that list of names and you know that only Fev and Franklin have a chance at the ball carrier while operating in the forward line. No one else is quick enough on a short burst.

But please, encourage putting a mosquito fleet in the forward line, that will be interesting. We need two to three genuine tall marking options in the forward 50 each game. If that's Fev, Cloke, Kreuzer or Fev, Cloke, Walker or whatever, accept that after flying for the ball it's a little difficult to get up off the deck and give chase.

It's not a liability, it's how the game works. In saying that, they should still be prepared to get up and chase... but it will generally be a futile effort.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

I would imagine that the average you have quoted for these individuals would not be too far off the team average?

No, they would be: Richmond had the lowest team tackle total per game at 48.7, which is still 2.2 if you average it across all 22 players, which is a bit of a rough stat considering that 22 players cannot have 100% game time.

Like I said, it gives a simple indication, but does not factor in how many times a chase actually pressures a kick. Even laying a hand on the opposition doesn't really count unless you make a tackle.

Just wanted to bring some level of perspective when it came to marking options and forward line pressure (Fisher is still rubbish at this though).

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

..at the time being, before having to give chase you want your big forward to be able to crash the pack and bring down the ball, if they can't mark.. ..and for that its fev and cloke.. ..fisher and krooz can take contested marks but fisher isn't strong enough to crash packs, and we don't want krooz doin' that [yet].. ..it comes down to forward structure, set-up and discipline.. ..too often our crumbers are no-where in sight, but that's changing.. ..betts now has help up front with gartlett, and we'll see how yarran slots in when he gets some game time.. ..also note that when wallx returns hopefully he's played up forward too, cos he also flies high, busts packs and has that all-round mongrel that we've lacked up front since hamill days..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..