Wanted... A Forward Line

[aardvark]

How to lose all credibility in one post - by aardvark.

He he i expected that. I'm only playing devils advocate here...
I was talking hypothetically if a mid season draft was available and yes i knew i'd cop it. but consider for a moment that we have only one KP ressie pushing for selection,LJ. Goodes near the end and B2 near the end and White who is struggling and Braddy who is a week to week proposition .
So that leaves us with Key position players LRT, Reg, Henry, Ted, and..........
Unless we want to play 20 midfielders every week where are our KP players coming from? The top 4 sides are all very strong down the spine. Thats why they are top 4 sides.
Its also unlikely we will be able to draft ready replacement for at least another 2 years.

[aardvark]

If you ran the club and another club was prepared to trade you a fringe young CHB and CHF with the potential to be 10 year players, similar to the Mumford situation, this week for Kirk and B1 wouldn't you consider it?

[liz]

If you ran the club and another club was prepared to trade you a fringe young CHB and CHF with the potential to be 10 year players, similar to the Mumford situation, this week for Kirk and B1 wouldn't you consider it?

Putting aside the fact there is no mid-season trade process, which clubs do you honestly think would trade for Kirk or Bolton? Much as we love Kirk and what he has done for his club, his ball winning ability has declined noticeably this year. He has done some decent shut down roles but less consistently than in the past. Which contender would he add anything to? He certainly wouldn't be pushing Ling or Jones out of the number one tagging role at the Cats or Saints.

Similarly, there is no way the current Jude would find himself in the midfield of any of the top half dozen sides. He can still turn it on at times - like against the Bombers a couple of weeks back - but he does it nowhere near consistently enough for a current contender.

We love them both in their own ways. They still have something to offer the Sydney team in 2010 (and Jude maybe for another year or two) given the rest of our in-and-under mids are pretty young. But you're in cloud cuckoo land if you think another club would trade even a half-decent KPP prospect for one of them.

There is close to no similarity with the trade for Mumford for pick 28, a player who the Cats didn't even want to trade but had little choice.

And even if your hypothetical situation did exist, would you really feel comfortable with shunting out a player like Kirk, who has bled for the club, in his last 3 months at the place? I know I would hate it.

[laughingnome]

White definitely needs a spell in the reserves, he is young and clearly his mind is limiting his game, needs to take a few weeks to get over the wall that is in front of him.

The more I watch of him the more I'm convinced he doesn't like leading. He wants the mids to bomb it in long so he can take a screamer 20-out and in front. Sure, it looks nice the couple of times it works but so many opportunities are wasted by the ease at which defenders deflect the ball away and then run up the field.

I don't know if this is because he's a ruckman-cum-forward who's initial instruction was probably just that (though it can't possibly be now as a KPP) or if he's just lazy, but some time in the Ressies hsould at least give him some confidance in what the hell he's doing.

[aardvark]

And even if your hypothetical situation did exist, would you really feel comfortable with shunting out a player like Kirk, who has bled for the club, in his last 3 months at the place? I know I would hate it.

No Liz i dislike the idea immensely. I think loyalty to our players is one thing that makes our game so much better than any other yet Ablett will go to GC, and limited free agency will come in and mid season drafts will return in some form because its a business now more than a game. Just like NBA and Soccer,much is the shame.

I am still interested to know where people see our future "Spine" coming from because it worries me a lot. We could be in for a few rough years again.

[smasher]

Surprised the absence of Moore hasn't got a mention.

For sure we've missed Bradshaw & McGlynn up forward, but the lovely RWO stats page also indicate that up until Moore finally succumbed to his ankle injury in Round 7, he had 13 goal assists to his name. If he had continued on that trajectory, it's pretty likely he would be topping the goal assists charts.

Moore's intelligence, tenacity & leadership shouldn't be wasted in the Reserves, if he's fit enough to play out a game, he should come back into the side.

I agree.Moore puts on defensive pressure and can take a grab.

[Captain]

Similarly, there is no way the current Jude would find himself in the midfield of any of the top half dozen sides. He can still turn it on at times - like against the Bombers a couple of weeks back - but he does it nowhere near consistently enough for a current contender.

Probably better saying that the top half dozen sides wouldn't trade for him.

If they got him for free, Jude would easily get a gig at Collingwood, Fremantle, Dogs and potentially St Kilda.

[ScottH]

Put the Rhesus Monkey up forward - he can then run into the open and spray it - aka Hawks game MCG?

Wasn't exactly that easy. Plenty of pressure on at the time.


Roos to change forward line


Good and bad news here.

Roos told AAP on Monday Bradshaw's knee was improving, and along with Irishman Tadhg Kennelly, would be checked after running at training on Wednesday.

Irrespective of whether Bradshaw plays against Richmond at the MCG on Sunday, Roos flagged changes to his forward line.

Strong marking but inconsistent youngster Jesse White will be heading back to the reserves.
...

Among the contenders for promotion are rookie Trent Dennis-Lane - who kicked seven goals in the reserves last weekend - and Henry Playfair, who landed five majors.

[Melbournehammer]

[QUOTE=707;493790]Just rewatched the painful game from Saturday night and here's what I think. A great contrast between the two sides.



Goodes is badly off song. Hands up those amongst you that thought before the game that Presti would win that battle? Thought so, no one.

i did -which kpp backman has goodes beaten ?

[dimelb]

I agree.Moore puts on defensive pressure and can take a grab.

And he is a handball wizard.

[RogueSwan]

If only Seaby hadn't broken his ankle.... (I could also add in "If Bradshaw didn't have a bung knee" )
I reckon he would have been good for a couple of goals a game resting in the F50. This would have taken another defender away from either Goodes or White and our Fwds could be that much better.
This was something significant we lost when Jolly moved on. I am glad we have Mummy and the way he plays around the ground, but he is not (yet) a threat around goals.

[Jewels]

If only Seaby hadn't broken his ankle.... (I could also add in "If Bradshaw didn't have a bung knee" )
I reckon he would have been good for a couple of goals a game resting in the F50. This would have taken another defender away from either Goodes or White and our Fwds could be that much better.
This was something significant we lost when Jolly moved on. I am glad we have Mummy and the way he plays around the ground, but he is not (yet) a threat around goals.

Not to mention he would also be good for a few effective possesions around the ground.

[RogueSwan]

And he is a handball wizard.

There's got to be a twist
A handball wizard
He's got such a supple wrist (ankle?)
...
That short, slow and solid kid
Sure plays a mean football

[Nich]

There's got to be a twist
A handball wizard
He's got such a supple wrist (ankle?)
...
That short, slow and solid kid
Sure plays a mean football

[Triple B]

There's got to be a twist
A handball wizard
He's got such a supple wrist (ankle?)
...
That short, slow and solid kid
Sure plays a mean football

Who ??