06-12-2023, 02:23 AM
Out - Acres, E Curnow, Motlop, Silvagni, Young
In - Dow, Binns, Cowan, Cunningham, Pittonet,
Arguably we're facing a very simple equation i.e. Poor game plan + only 1 AFL standard small forward + average Ruck + 1 AFL standard key back + poor foot speed across the field + raft of players who can't kick or handpass accurately + raft of players who cant make good decisions under pressure + material portion of our salary cap invested in players who are out of form.
With the exception of the game plan, lets discuss in turn
(1) Small forwards - we'd hoped that Honey was the answer and watched Durdin emerge last year, but both are not there for different reasons and it has hurt. Motlop needs time to develop. We need to delist Honey, develop Motlop in the twos and go with makeshift forwards in the meantime that can at least hold the ball in our forward half or have enough pace to pressure the ball carrier. Consider Dow, Docherty, Cottrell, Boyd, Cunningham.
(2) Average Ruck - we may have signed him for 4 years, but Pittonet is just an average AFL ruck, light years behind a Gawn, Darcy etc. TDK is flashy but delivers little & Okeefe and Mirkov are a mile off. We'll need to trade for a decent ruckman at year end.
(3) Key Defensive backs - Young and Durdin are simply VFL players at best & S Durdin is way too slow for AFL. McGovern can't be trusted at all in defence, despite this narrative that he's great for our structure. We'll need to trade off our forwards to address our backline. Consider converting one or more of our talls to key defenders & Mcgovern or Kemp forward.
(4) No pace - Pace gives you time and space and our lack of pace across the ground is consistently putting us under pressure. We cant carry Cripps, Kennedy, E Curnow, Weitering, Silvagni & Acres. Obviously Dow should come in and Cunningham should come in as soon as possible and we should inject some youth in Binns and I would also give McGovern & Kemp a run through the midfield from time to time.
'(5) Disposal and decision making - Probably our biggest issue and the hardest to resolve. All of our highest paid players, with the exception of Cerra, are guilty of of this. Whilst Cripps, Walsh, Docherty & Acres may have good stats, they repeatedly let us down with poor decisions or disposal at critical moments which is in stark contrast to Collingwood's leaders. Acres is a bust.
Laugh if you like, but I'd be putting more faith in the side below than the tripe that we've been watching for the past 8 weeks'
Preferred side:
Boyd Weitering Kemp
Saad TDK Cincotta
Walsh Cerra Cunningham
Cottrell Curnow Docherty
Owies Mckay McGovern
Pittonet Cripps Dow
Cowan, Kennedy, Binns & Martin
Make it happen!
In - Dow, Binns, Cowan, Cunningham, Pittonet,
Arguably we're facing a very simple equation i.e. Poor game plan + only 1 AFL standard small forward + average Ruck + 1 AFL standard key back + poor foot speed across the field + raft of players who can't kick or handpass accurately + raft of players who cant make good decisions under pressure + material portion of our salary cap invested in players who are out of form.
With the exception of the game plan, lets discuss in turn
(1) Small forwards - we'd hoped that Honey was the answer and watched Durdin emerge last year, but both are not there for different reasons and it has hurt. Motlop needs time to develop. We need to delist Honey, develop Motlop in the twos and go with makeshift forwards in the meantime that can at least hold the ball in our forward half or have enough pace to pressure the ball carrier. Consider Dow, Docherty, Cottrell, Boyd, Cunningham.
(2) Average Ruck - we may have signed him for 4 years, but Pittonet is just an average AFL ruck, light years behind a Gawn, Darcy etc. TDK is flashy but delivers little & Okeefe and Mirkov are a mile off. We'll need to trade for a decent ruckman at year end.
(3) Key Defensive backs - Young and Durdin are simply VFL players at best & S Durdin is way too slow for AFL. McGovern can't be trusted at all in defence, despite this narrative that he's great for our structure. We'll need to trade off our forwards to address our backline. Consider converting one or more of our talls to key defenders & Mcgovern or Kemp forward.
(4) No pace - Pace gives you time and space and our lack of pace across the ground is consistently putting us under pressure. We cant carry Cripps, Kennedy, E Curnow, Weitering, Silvagni & Acres. Obviously Dow should come in and Cunningham should come in as soon as possible and we should inject some youth in Binns and I would also give McGovern & Kemp a run through the midfield from time to time.
'(5) Disposal and decision making - Probably our biggest issue and the hardest to resolve. All of our highest paid players, with the exception of Cerra, are guilty of of this. Whilst Cripps, Walsh, Docherty & Acres may have good stats, they repeatedly let us down with poor decisions or disposal at critical moments which is in stark contrast to Collingwood's leaders. Acres is a bust.
Laugh if you like, but I'd be putting more faith in the side below than the tripe that we've been watching for the past 8 weeks'
Preferred side:
Boyd Weitering Kemp
Saad TDK Cincotta
Walsh Cerra Cunningham
Cottrell Curnow Docherty
Owies Mckay McGovern
Pittonet Cripps Dow
Cowan, Kennedy, Binns & Martin
Make it happen!

