Rok

[tasswan]

I thought ROK showed us on sat night where his best position is.
And for once i agreed with the comentators who said although he has a big tank and can run for ages doesnt mean he should.
I realise Hall was out so ROK became the focus, but his marking is very good and his kicking was great as well.
In the second half I thought ROK had started to revert to his other game stlye when he should have stayed playing like a forward.
Although his name is often metioned in our 'champion forward team' he rarely spends much time there.
I would prefer to see him play a role closer to BBB or even MOL as I would think he would be more dangerous.
What do others think?

[NMWBloods]

I agree. I noted during the game that his best position appears to be in the forward line. I think that's partly because he's really not a midfielder and partly because he is an extremely effective half forward. He could be as a good as or better than Tony Morwood.

[reigning premier]

We need to stop playing him like another Adam Goodes. Yes, he's mobile, goood overhead and will go all day. But his real strength is in the fwd line. With such a beautiful kick, you can't help but get excited when he gets hold of it inside 50.

[mcs]

I agree completely with what has been said here. ROK is a superb half forward- has a cracking kick and is an excellent mark. I hate it when he is in the midfield and around the stoppages or even back on the half back line at times- he has to play in his true role as a half forward. As he showed in the 1st half on Saturday night he is a fantastic kick and he hasnt been kicking enough goals for us this year. He is wasted when he pushes back.

[TheHood]

Malcolm called it well. ROK's accuracy was back too, probably because he wasn't knackered while lining his shots up for goal. He had the energy to concentrate and be super dangerous in front of goal.

[Ludwig]

When LRT comes back we can restructure the team to exploit ROK's talents as well as others.

Richards can go to the HFF where he doesn't have to burdened by man on man defending, which is not his strong point. Along with MOL, Richards can take on some of the work through the midfield, lessening the load on ROK.

I would envisage playing Hall and ROK in a similar way that Collingwood play Rocca and Cloke.

And with Kennelly also in the backline, Malceski can move into the midfield. When we have a core defender group of LRT, Barry, CB and Dempster, we look a lot more solid in defence. As good a kick as Malceski is, he doesn't quite have the knack for getting the ball out of defence that Kennelly has. I think time will fix that, but Malceski is better off in the Midfield where he can get more opportunities to set up forwards and kick a few more goals himself.

By the way, I didn't see too many accolades for Craig Bolton's performance on Saturday. He often looked like he was beaten, but he seemed to be everywhere, and at times kept the defence together by sheer will alone. I thought it was a great performance under very trying circumstances. The kind of performance that too easily gets unnoticed.

[NMWBloods]

When LRT comes back, Richards can swap with him in the reserves and we can get some quick players (eg: Laidlaw) into the side.

[TheMase]

When LRT comes back, Richards can swap with him in the reserves and we can get some quick players (eg: Laidlaw) into the side.

[timthefish]

i think ROK got moved away from the goals because he lost his kicking boots in the 2006 preseason. now that he's found some accuracy again, i think (and hope) we'll see more of him where he's played best in the past.

i had been hoping that the absence of hall would force a trial of ROK as a forward target again.

[connolly]

By the way, I didn't see too many accolades for Craig Bolton's performance on Saturday. He often looked like he was beaten, but he seemed to be everywhere, and at times kept the defence together by sheer will alone. I thought it was a great performance under very trying circumstances. The kind of performance that too easily gets unnoticed.

Be careful. He had the same number of possesions as Bevo (one more mark) but one less tackle. Perhaps he will be dropped along with the hapless and "hopeless" Bevo for the Tiges?

[NMWBloods]

Be careful. He had the same number of possesions as Bevo (one more mark) but one less tackle. Perhaps he will be dropped along with the hapless and "hopeless" Bevo for the Tiges?

Wow, that's silly!!

[timthefish]

Perhaps he will be dropped along with the hapless and "hopeless" Bevo for the Tiges?

only if the selection committee is stupid enough to rate performance on the basis of stats alone.

Bevo is not hapless, in fact he is so overbrimming with "hap" he's known by some as the luckiest premiership player in the land.

[liz]

One of the team's weaknesses is its relative lack of strong marking ability along the wings. Kirk occasionally takes a super contested mark but it's not his stock in trade. Jude and Ablett are both pretty good overhead contested marks but don't seem to present very often, or get themselves in the right position to compete. Fossie, Schneider, Buchanan - forget it. Goodes ought to be, but doesn't nail as many as he should given his height advantage.

That's one of the reasons why O'Keefe has been gradually sucked further up the ground I reckon - to provide that target who can actually take a pressured mark along the wings and then deliver it forward. And recently O'Loughlin's been running harder to provide that target too, especially this season while Hall has been unable to do so.

If O'Keefe is going to play closer to goal, we ideally need at least one other player to step into the breach and offer that genuine marking target along the wing. Dempster possibly has the endurance to play and O'Keefe-type role but he's shown nothing approaching the same marking nous. In the longer term, maybe Laidlaw could be the answer - he is a super overhead mark. Or as a longer shot, if he continues his recent improvement, Barlow is another possibility -tall, ultra-athletic, a decent mark and a good kick.

[TheMase]

If O'Keefe is going to play closer to goal, we ideally need at least one other player to step into the breach and offer that genuine marking target along the wing. Dempster possibly has the endurance to play and O'Keefe-type role but he's shown nothing approaching the same marking nous. In the longer term, maybe Laidlaw could be the answer - he is a super overhead mark. Or as a longer shot, if he continues his recent improvement, Barlow is another possibility -tall, ultra-athletic, a decent mark and a good kick.

Brennan

[tasswan]

The other game I saw ROK ply like this was the Saints Final in 2005 where he was prob BOG, but by staying further up field he not only took the marks but was in a position to hurt them on the scoreboard.

Tasswan