Team selection disection

[Thryleon]

Thomas won't be a mainstay if the others come on.  I wouldn't have considered Silvangni anything more than a young kid either so how he is considered a next tier player I have no idea.  Casboult too isn't a direct selection- I'd have him in tier two or three.

What I was hoping to highlight, is how important the older blokes are to our side, and irrespective of how well players come on, the 1st tier will absolute be the first names written on the team sheet most weeks.  The fact that there are others relatively cemented on there too, is quite irrelevant to whether or not they get selected and you will find the youngsters will only keep the mature players out if they REALLY kick on and become not just decent performers, but 4 quarter players each and every week. 

We are very thin for mature, experienced top liners, and they will be in the mix for selection most weeks.

Look at this back bone, and pick your starting 22:


--BP-------------------FB-------------------BP

HBF-------------------CHB-------------------Simpson

Wing------------------Murphy------------Thomas

HFF-------------------Casboult---------------Wright

FP----------------------FF---------------------FP

Followers: Kreuzer-----E. Curnow--------------Mid

Int: 1-----------2----------3----------4



There is plenty of space for the kids and there, and whilst I can appreciate that many have pencilled in Cripps Im not writing him in here, because he is ahead of schedule and we need to be thinking a little bit more about that, when we look at our team, because the second you start dropping the likes of the above names, for kids, all of a sudden Cripps effectiveness will be reduced because he is no longer worried about his own game, but having to lead the line (Murphy, Kreuzer and Daisy are underated in this facet) and whilst Cripps might relish it, its not something we should take for granted.

[Raydan]

I'll be interested to see the team balance if we play a lot of kids for development  and get off to a bad start to the year and cop a few beltings...will Bolton and crew hold their nerve and keep playing  the kids or will BB go back to some of the experienced players and old ways of playing men behind the ball looking to limit the damage.
He has been exempt from scrutiny but thats going to change at seasons end and he needs wins not green shoot cliches....

I would say the teams that we have seen so far is what you will see next Thursday.

I don't see O'Brien being an inclusion, has looked timid and scared both games and needs to get used to playing against men. I fully expect Dow to be there to experience a 90K crowd against the reigning premiers.

Backs; Jones, Weitering, Marchbank, Plowman, Simpson, Byrne

Mids; Kruezer, Cripps, Kennedy, E.Curnow, Murphy, SPS

Forwards; Casboult; C. Curnow, McKay, Pickett, Fisher, J.Silvagni

I; Dow, Thomas, Wright, A.Silvagni/O'Shea (depending on injury recovery)

Sure our backs are significantly bigger than their smalls but if we keep it in the air, block Riewoldt from marking this gives us a clear advantage in the air. I would like to see A.Silvagni in to cover Martin when he goes forward but don't know if he's ready. McKay needs to play a block of games say 3-5 and re assess. Jack is holding on by the bare minimum as Pickett would be very handy this game. If Rance plays off his man we need to go through our player as often as possible.

[PaulP]

I would say the teams that we have seen so far is what you will see next Thursday.

I don't see O'Brien being an inclusion, has looked timid and scared both games and needs to get used to playing against men. I fully expect Dow to be there to experience a 90K crowd against the reigning premiers.

Backs; Jones, Weitering, Marchbank, Plowman, Simpson, Byrne

Mids; Kruezer, Cripps, Kennedy, E.Curnow, Murphy, SPS

Forwards; Casboult; C. Curnow, McKay, Pickett, Fisher, J.Silvagni

I; Dow, Thomas, Wright, A.Silvagni/O'Shea (depending on injury recovery)

Sure our backs are significantly bigger than their smalls but if we keep it in the air, block Riewoldt from marking this gives us a clear advantage in the air. I would like to see A.Silvagni in to cover Martin when he goes forward but don't know if he's ready. McKay needs to play a block of games say 3-5 and re assess. Jack is holding on by the bare minimum as Pickett would be very handy this game. If Rance plays off his man we need to go through our player as often as possible.

Generally agree with this Raydan. Except Wright is our best forward, and he has to start on the ground IMO. And I would also start Silvagni in the 18, but I take your point regarding his readiness.

My hobby horse for a while has been that I want Krooz to play as a mid and bring in Lobbe as a ruck. Lobbe is the best ruck we've had on our list for years, so why not use him ? We've been bullied around the stoppages for too long by the big bodied mids like the Swans, Crows etc. I have no idea who's in or out for the Tiges, but having Cripps, Kennedy and Krooz as genuine mids is real muscle around the contest. People say that Krooz can still do that as well as ruck, but IMO it's not quite the same.

The club won't do it, nobody on here likes the idea (I've mentioned it previously), so I doubt it will ever see the light of day. But I'd like to see it trialled for a block of games. The JLT series would have been perfect for such an experiment.

I note that Cripps was drifting forward a lot more in the JLT series, and Krooz could be Crippa MKII in this respect.

[Pratty]

I think the round 1 team will be something like:

B: Byrne, Jones, Marchbank
Hb: Plowman, Weitering, Simpson
C: E.Curnow, Cripps, Petrevski-Seton
Hf: Pickett, C.Curnow, Fisher
F: Wright, Casboult, J.Silvagni
Foll: Kreuzer, Kennedy
Rov: Murphy
I/c: Dow, Cuningham, Thomas, Lamb
Emg: Garlett, McKay, Mullett

[flyboy77]

I think the round 1 team will be something like:

B: Byrne, Jones, Marchbank
Hb: Plowman, Weitering, Simpson
C: E.Curnow, Cripps, Petrevski-Seton
Hf: Pickett, C.Curnow, Fisher
F: Wright, Casboult, J.Silvagni
Foll: Kreuzer, Kennedy
Rov: Murphy
I/c: Dow, Cuningham, Thomas, Lamb
Emg: Garlett, McKay, Mullett

It's a strong team Pratty. Will be too good for the Tigers.... if dry, I'm thinking McKay for Jack. Reckon Lamb and Thomas haven't rarnt their spots...or maybe Cuners will miss for Jack, but I'd prefer the extra runner...

[LP]

My hobby horse for a while has been that I want Krooz to play as a mid and bring in Lobbe as a ruck. Lobbe is the best ruck we've had on our list for years, so why not use him ? We've been bullied around the stoppages for too long by the big bodied mids like the Swans, Crows etc. I have no idea who's in or out for the Tiges, but having Cripps, Kennedy and Krooz as genuine mids is real muscle around the contest. People say that Krooz can still do that as well as ruck, but IMO it's not quite the same.

The club won't do it, nobody on here likes the idea (I've mentioned it previously), so I doubt it will ever see the light of day. But I'd like to see it trialled for a block of games. The JLT series would have been perfect for such an experiment.

I note that Cripps was drifting forward a lot more in the JLT series, and Krooz could be Crippa MKII in this respect.

I think if they had wanted it they would have trialled it in JLT, but I think as a quartet Lobbe, SpecialK, Cripps and Kennedy are too slow.

If Meat hadn't played so well in JLT I might be persuaded to swap him out, bring in Lobbe to ruck and Kreuzer as a mid/wing as you suggest. But again it would have to be trialled in the pre-season, in the main season if that setup goes wrong you end up in a world of pain with no way out! Even when it seems right, it would only be fit for use in a horses for courses scenario.

During JLT when we broke from the midfield SpecialK is just another runner. Some of those segments of play with SpecialK, Cripps and Kennedy linking with the smaller mids were spectacular.

What teams would SpecialK as a mid work best against, teams with strong and heavier mid-field like an Adelaide or Freo? Could SpecialK go head to head with someone like Nat Fyfe, but even so wouldn't we prefer Cripps or Kennedy to go head to head with Fyfe? What about Charlie Curnow? Kennedy looks like a ready made to take on a Fyfe type!

Plus, I think SpecialK's best work comes in his 2nd and 3rd efforts, he recovers from the ruck contest and rejoins the chain of play faster than anybody else(Except maybe Natanui who is probably SpecialK's equal in this regard) which is why when SpecialK rucks he is so influential without winning lots of taps.

FWIW, Casboult's 2nd efforts were much better in the JLT, I hope he takes that into the main season as well, but he still let play move away rather than rejoin the chain of disposals like SpecialK does. Casboult's emphasis seemed to be ruck then sit back behind play, SpecialKs emphasis was to ruck then push towards the next contest.

[PaulP]

I think if they had wanted it they would have trialled it in JLT, but I think as a quartet Lobbe, SpecialK, Cripps and Kennedy are too slow.

If Meat hadn't played so well in JLT I might be persuaded to swap him out, bring in Lobbe to ruck and Kreuzer as a mid/wing as you suggest. But again it would have to be trialled in the pre-season, in the main season if that setup goes wrong you end up in a world of pain with no way out! Even when it seems right, it would only be fit for use in a horses for courses scenario.

During JLT when we broke from the midfield SpecialK is just another runner. Some of those segments of play with SpecialK, Cripps and Kennedy linking with the smaller mids were spectacular.

What teams would SpecialK as a mid work best against, teams with strong and heavier mid-field like an Adelaide or Freo? Could SpecialK go head to head with someone like Nat Fyfe, but even so wouldn't we prefer Cripps or Kennedy to go head to head with Fyfe? What about Charlie Curnow? Kennedy looks like a ready made to take on a Fyfe type!

Plus, I think SpecialK's best work comes in his 2nd and 3rd efforts, he recovers from the ruck contest and rejoins the chain of play faster than anybody else(Except maybe Natanui who is probably SpecialK's equal in this regard) which is why when SpecialK rucks he is so influential without winning lots of taps.

FWIW, Casboult's 2nd efforts were much better in the JLT, I hope he takes that into the main season as well, but he still let play move away rather than rejoin the chain of disposals like SpecialK does. Casboult's emphasis seemed to be ruck then sit back behind play, SpecialKs emphasis was to ruck then push towards the next contest.

Yes, no doubt Krooz has been on the list long enough - if they haven't tried it by now, they clearly think it's no good.

IMO, the issue with speed is not so critical with the inside extractors / ball winners, but this needs to be offset with genuine pace on the outside. What is the optimal size/speed ratio to get us a win in any given game ? We don't have players like Buddy, who are "both/and" type players, i.e, both big and great pace, agility etc. If we give something extra in one department, we lose something in another department. The critical issue is do we gain more than we lose in any such move ?

I'm still gobsmacked that my idea hasn't been tried even once. We've been in the bottom rungs of the ladder for ages. It's not as if we're putting a flag tilt in jeopardy.

[kruddler]

As a ruckman, Kreuzer is an excellent at stoppages.
As a midfielder, Kreuzer is average.

No point playing Kreuzer as a pure midfield type as you'd probably get more from a pure midfielder in that role.

The advantage is playing him as a ruckman, then you get the midfield advantage he brings compared to the other ruck, but not at the expense of a pure midfielder.

[PaulP]

As a ruckman, Kreuzer is an excellent at stoppages.
As a midfielder, Kreuzer is average.

No point playing Kreuzer as a pure midfield type as you'd probably get more from a pure midfielder in that role.

The advantage is playing him as a ruckman, then you get the midfield advantage he brings compared to the other ruck, but not at the expense of a pure midfielder.

Not wishing to start a 10 page derailment, much less a train wreck, but I think it's hard to judge Krooz as a pure mid unless he actually plays that role. The inside mids around him set themselves up for this role, pre game and in game, whereas Krooz has to spend a few seconds entangling then extricating himself from the opposing ruckman - in that few seconds, a lot can happen, and as a mid, he's behind the 8 ball to begin with.

At any rate, it's clear that it ain't gonna happen, so it's best to just fuggitabouit.

[kruddler]

Not wishing to start a 10 page derailment, much less a train wreck, but I think it's hard to judge Krooz as a pure mid unless he actually plays that role. The inside mids around him set themselves up for this role, pre game and in game, whereas Krooz has to spend a few seconds entangling then extricating himself from the opposing ruckman - in that few seconds, a lot can happen, and as a mid, he's behind the 8 ball to begin with.

At any rate, it's clear that it ain't gonna happen, so it's best to just fuggitabouit.

How long does it take Kreuzer, and any ruckman, to get the ball to their boot? Its a long way down there.
What about if the ball is on the ground? Thats an even longer way down there.

He's a big body, a slow moving body by comparison.

Those few seconds extracting himself from a ruckman is no difference from extracting yourself from a tagger. In fact, its easier given he is given a clear path to the ball, no blocking of ruckmen allowed, and he'd have the first idea on where the ball would be going from the hitout too.