Indie wrote:
I'm glad to see that you're nailing your colours to the mast there SB. It's a bit like how Ratts' critics were lured out into the harsh light of day when we had a lull midseason. And you've been emboldened by Santy's injury at a time when he'd hit golden form. That's all good, though, because you otherwise you might have been able to beat a discreet retreat.
To suggest that other tall forwards have been able to command the attention of the best defenders just isn't so. Cloke might have "earned" the attention of Hodge in the last game last year, and in a preceding match he might have "earned" a duel with Patty Ryder, but I doubt those match-ups were ever seen by opposing coaches as lock-down roles. Hodge played 30m downfield of Cloke, mocking Cloke's attempts to drag him to the goal line and out of harm's way. Hodge dominated as an essentially loose defender. Ryder went a step further and ran forward into Essendon*'s F50 with Cloke trailing in his wake. Fish might well be regarded as a threat close to goal, but I figure that opposing coaches don't fear his forays between the arcs as he isn't particularly potent when he's more than 40m out from goal. His long-kicking for goal isn't strong, and he lobs his passes rather than firing them I50.
Had Santy been out of the side against Port and had Cloke played in his stead as the 2nd tall forward, then my guess is that Cornes would have played a much more freewheeling game. That's the game that suits Cornes, and he would have been far more able to cut off passes to Fev. Instead, he was often hard on Santy's tail to prevent Santy marking on the wing. To me, that was proof enough that Choco thought that Santy couldn't be allowed off the leash outside 50. And Santy showed why when he managed to fire in a 50m precision pass to Fev's advantage resulting in a Fev mark and goal. Not only can Santy gather possessions outside 50, he also uses his ability and kicking skills to create a potent threat from outside 50.
The problem for Santy against Port was that he was never going to be given a licence to hunt for marks I50 against Cornes. As Cornes is a highly effective counterattacking CHB, the coaches were never going to roll the dice in that way. And on the day, Walks looked as though he might benefit from a mismatch and that created another reason to keep him away from goals.
That's Santy's lot at the moment. For now, he'll be asked to drag top defenders out of the way rather than trying to beat them in the air I50. But when he has the benefit of taking a lesser defender, such as Lovett-Murray, he'll be given carte blanche to create mayhem. Let's see how that goes against a lowly-rated Melbourne defensive unit. The more he punishes the 3rd talls, the more he forces the opposition to send potentially their best tall to him, given that Fev will often be matched up by a fast 190cm player, and that allows the coaching box to play around with forward strategies.
Great post Indie.
You obviously watch the game closely.
If things worked out with the last disposal to goal on the weekend, then Setanta would have ended with 4 extra goal assists. No doubt that he creates goals from his general play. He is becoming creative and clever. His disposal is very good by hand and foot.
I have no doubt that Setanta (the ex Hurley player) is ahead of Cloke and Fisher as a tall forward.
Cloke wasn't selected ahead of Setanta, he was a last minute change for the injured Hammer (the ex soccer player). Hammer was given to the last hour to prove his fitness.
Whilst Waite is out injured and Kreuzer in the ruck we really don't have a better option for the CHF position than Setanta. Oh yeah, we can also throw him back to defend if needed...you wouldn't dream of sending Cloke or Fisher back there.
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