The Road Ahead 2016 and beyond

[wolftone57]

Isn't that his brother?

Yes

[wolftone57]

I have already predicted that Hewett, Davis and possibly Aliir will come on this year. Possibly Melican if not Aliir.

[dimelb]

I'm backing Aliir.

[WauchopeAnalyst]

so can Papley or Murray end up as a Luke Breust type of smallish forward ?

Bothe Rookie Draft players like Breust

Breust pick 40 something in the Rookie Draft some 6 or so years ago

goes onto average 2 goals a game for approx 120 games already at age 25yrs for the Hawks

??

You cant ask for Bruest type player with the way we play. No crumbers, Buddy with 3 defenders on him and the midfielders bombing it in.

To do that we need serious changes in the forward line and the whole team game plan.

[Nico]

Tom Papley looks like the RWOers dream come true. The small, crumbing forward goal sneak. RWO has been screaming out for his type for a decade. Play McGlynn in the 2's because Tom is a far better and accurate kick. Finally when he lines up for a goal we know it won't be marked 10 rows back in the forward pocket by Primmy. He should be promoted immediately for AJ on the long term injury list, and declared as the smokey they had up their sleeve, as a grandfather/son selection in preference to Dunkley. How good is Kinnear Beatson.

[Nico]

Lets hope our draftees have an injury free pre season for a change. I want to see these boys playing and performing well in the pre season games.

[wolftone57]

You cant ask for Bruest type player with the way we play. No crumbers, Buddy with 3 defenders on him and the midfielders bombing it in.

To do that we need serious changes in the forward line and the whole team game plan.

I think the draftees show a different direction. every draftee, excepting Galloway, has pretty good to great kicking skills. Elite kicking is where the game is going the Hawks have proved that and the sides that rely too much on the handball game will get found out. I think we are about to change the game plan drastically to a more kicking game. Mills is an elite kick, so is Heeney and given the right circumstances Lloyd, whose kicking skills are very good, could develop into elite. The new recruits all possess a high level of competence in this area. It is up to the senior players to improve in this area or I think they will be moved on. While Kirky had an awkward style his delivery was pretty good and Josh Francou was elite in this area.

I think our coaches have realised defence is not enough and are looking at a high scoring big impact forward line to go into the future while maintaining high degree forward defensive pressure. It is no longer enough to keep most opposition to very low scores you need to be able to score heavily and quickly against them. The Hawks have shown us and Eagles that they can exploit our defensive zones very easily and score quickly. They can also flog any team in the stoppages and win more successive clearances than any other team in the AFL simply by exploiting the other team's greatest assets. That might sound strange but it is true. The example of this is if your ruckmen are winning the taps the Hawks automatically introduce their elite mids to the stoppages and bully their way to the positions your players would normally hold and exploit your rucks. They also get more players around the ball at boundary throw ins to congest, bully the ball out by sheer numbers and then spread. Tactics that other coaches seem unable to counter. We need to be able to react quickly to these tactics.

We must be able to score when we get forward entries. This has been a huge problem and the reason we score the majority of our goals from rebounds. We need to make sure the ball is delivered to advantage and to spots where we have either the numbers or positional advantage. then we need to keep the ball in the forward 50 if it comes to ground and be able to score quickly. This I think is the way the coaches are looking to go. Yes we will still use handball but I believe the players will be encouraged to kick more often or at least look for the kicking option. We also need to have some players visit the shrink about their panicking under pressure and I believe the coaches might be looking at that too from a game point of view. If you have players blocking (shepherding) for the platyer with the ball it gives him time to weigh up the options. Our players don't do that enough they mainly look for the receive. By recruiting aggressive small forwards and mids with grunt we are going in the right direction. By the way don't write off Abe Davis as a big part of our future. He is a huge mid with incredible strength and he can virtually play anywhere, ruck, CHB, CHF, FF, Mid, Wing you name it. He is the atypical swing man, not Reid. Reid needs to play CHF ALL the time now we have Talia (194/94) who can take the KB.

I think our direction will be exciting this year and next. We might lose a few coming to terms with the new game plan but it will be worth it in the end. The footy will be incredibly exciting and definitely hard at it. Watch for a transformation of the mids. I don't know if Benny has a role here unfortunately. He is hard at it in the mids but his delivery from that area and out of defence is erratic. His goalkicking is also erratic, sometimes wonderful, sometimes very poor. He is also injury prone and that spells the end for many older blokes. I think we need to move on to the next model, new direction, new needs.

[Nico]

A small article in the Hun today by Ken Hinckley where he says he doesn't intend to change anything in 2016. Said Hawthorn have a unique mix of players who Clarkson has moulded to his game plan. He said it is no point trying to copy their style if you don't have the players to do it.

I think one of the things most clubs are now trying to do is dramatically improve their foot skills. I have no doubt that was one of the reasons we passed on Dunkley.

[Scottee]

I have already predicted that Hewett, Davis and possibly Aliir will come on this year. Possibly Melican if not Aliir.

I think all four will get a go and I can see Aliir as a wingman if he improves his fitness this preseason.

[Faunac8]

I'm backing Aliir.

Great call

[mcs]

If we have another tilt it would be 2017 and that?s about it. Next year will be a bit of hit and miss and we will end mid table - our midfield is too good not to win 11-13 games. Maybe make an elimination. I?m concerned for our defence though - there?s no depth: Richards and Grundy punched above their weight for years and in decline (albeit Reg had a great 2015), no Malchy, Rampe a great find but not big enough, Smith who?s an exceptionally good one-trick pony is getting older, Laids serviceable but not a KP. Ridiculously I?m hoping AJ can come back and make a difference but putting reliance on a bloke who?s had four knee recos is a little optimistic. Improvement in the defence will need to come from Jones and Rohan - inconsistent performers to date. And again, not tall players nor capable of playing tall like Rampe and Laids can in a pinch.

If we get games and consistency into Heeney, Mills, Jones, Rose, Rohan and even Robinson and Hewett we may press the following year. But this would leave Talia, Reid, Aliir Aliir (!!) and Xavier Richards to be KPPs over the next generation. Hmmm. None of these guys are pushing Ted and Reg atm.

Well, as I said to my mate, I?m just glad to snag two flags in my lifetime, cos it won?t happen for quite a while yet.

Hey ho.

Oh dear......

There are some crackers on this thread - well don't to AG for his excellent optimism however

[Ludwig]

Tom Papley looks like the RWOers dream come true. The small, crumbing forward goal sneak. RWO has been screaming out for his type for a decade. Play McGlynn in the 2's because Tom is a far better and accurate kick. Finally when he lines up for a goal we know it won't be marked 10 rows back in the forward pocket by Primmy. He should be promoted immediately for AJ on the long term injury list, and declared as the smokey they had up their sleeve, as a grandfather/son selection in preference to Dunkley. How good is Kinnear Beatson.

Great call!! Especially considering no one even heard of him when he was drafted.

[ScottH]

Oh dear......

There are some crackers on this thread - well don't to AG for his excellent optimism however

Mocaholic is the eternal pessimist!!
I had the pleasure of sitting with him during the 2015 PF and GF.
No faith in his team.

I'll be sure to pass this post on to him mcs, if I see him in the near future!!

[mcs]

Mocaholic is the eternal pessimist!!
I had the pleasure of sitting with him during the 2015 PF and GF.
No faith in his team.

I'll be sure to pass this post on to him mcs, if I see him in the near future!!

Haha Scott - was just the standout of a number of predictions that were made that so far are looking well wide of the mark. I'm sure there are plenty of posts that could be dug up that I've previously made that would be just as embarrassing - I was every bit as pessimistic about 2016 as Mocaholic.

[ScottH]

Haha Scott - was just the standout of a number of predictions that were made that so far are looking well wide of the mark. I'm sure there are plenty of posts that could be dug up that I've previously made that would be just as embarrassing - I was every bit as pessimistic about 2016 as Mocaholic.

He was so pessimistic in the '05 PF, he stayed in the bar and watched the last qtr on TV, while I screamed my heart out from the stands!!
It will give me great pleasure to point out this post!!

Just posted it on his FB page!!