Pre Game -Port v Blues R2 (Sat, March 30, 5.10pm)

[LP]

No one suggested Matty K or any other ruckman fly against our three tall forwards!

That is not to say a ruckman can't push forward - at an opportune time _ and present another marking option?

What is the appropriate time, given they are rucking(whoever it is) while McKay, McGovern, Charlie or Cripps isn't?

Would we then complain about the opposition defence easily running the ball out of our F50?

The request sounds so easy, the execution is almost impossible without interfering with each other's space. Let's say the rucks push forward but they have dragged their opponent forward, then we don't kick it to them, we've just added a very effective opponent to compete with our F50 talls.

It seems to me the major problem is more likely to be midfield decision making and skills rather than who is the target! I appreciate it could be a coaching problem, do players naturally behave predictably? Which is why I mentioned Macreadie, Williamson, Doc and Weitering in the earlier post.

When Nankervis pushed forward against us and received the footy, I appreciate he has to do that to be an option, but is his getting the footy the result of his actions or is it the decision making of the Nthmond defenders and mids streaming forward to use the loose option?

I've spent years watching our mids and defenders stream forward and predictably kick the ball on the head of Betts or Garlett types outnumbered by talls, while ignoring better loose options, and that behaviour hasn't changed in recent times. I also watched on last Thursday only to see Nthmond KPDs punch the ball clear to Nthmond small defenders with an almost complete absence of Carlton small forwards. Thank-you whoever set that up!