FR0GGY
From a cartel villa in Tuscany
He usually lucks out with an injury or something though.
We need to wrap up ANB with cotton wool until round 1
Training 2025 Pre-Season
- Thread starter Thrillthorpe7
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We need to wrap up ANB with cotton wool until round 1
Now a days defenders have to have good penetrative disposal or have the speed and skill to lock down and win one on one.
I don't think he has that. If you were the opposition you would isolate him with a quicker more skilful opponent.
Except we choose which player our defender goes to.
- Nov 5, 2009
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Really?
We were 15th on the ladder in 2024. We finished 14th in clearance differential.
Dawson is easily our best midfielder - but I wouldn't have him as a top 10 AFL midfielder. I am all for optimism, but we are ranked where we deserve to be ranked.
- Aug 30, 2021
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And yet clearance work hasn’t been a focus of preseason, odd
- Nov 5, 2009
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Well obviously you just don't understand the genius that is our coach. I am sure Nicks has found out whats really important to work on this offseason.
Take last offseason for instance. After 2023 we were 9th in the league for points against. We worked all preseason on our defensive gameplan and became 8th for points against.
- Aug 30, 2021
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Hard to measure how our midfield rates from one year to the next with new players and development.
For a majority of last year Laird and Crouch were a combo. Rankine was just started his midfield time and Soligo still developing. No Peatling.
- Oct 2, 2022
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We certainly were last year. We don't deserve to be ranked higher until we prove why.
- Aug 30, 2021
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Oh I understand, I just can’t compute how someone can be so dumb.
For the first half of the match sim against Norwood, he actually had the midfield set up only for him to kick it in any direction. What the ****?
- Nov 5, 2009
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Its definitely our weakest grouping IMO. We have a top 3 forward line and a top 10 backline IMO.
Focus needs to be on drawing level in the midfield. If we can get as many I50's as our opposition we should win 90% of those games with a forward line that has TT, Fog, Walker, Rachele, ANB, Keays and Rankine.
The #1 key focus for our team this offseason needs to be moving the ball a hell of a lot quicker once our opposition turns it over. Move it on as quickly as possible and get it into our forward line and let them win a 1 on 1 battle before the opposition can get numbers back.
In 2023 - we were 13th in the AFL for turnovers - averaging 66.9 a game
In 2023 - we scored 53.8 points per game off opposition turnovers (#1 in the AFL)
In 2023 - Our opponents scored 44.3 points a game off of our turnovers (#5 in the AFL)
In 2023 - we were 7th in the AFL for turnovers - averaging 67 per game.
In 2024 - we scored 44.1 points per game off opposition turnovers (#13 in the AFL).
In 2024 - Our opponents scored 45 points a game off of our turnovers (#9 in the AFL)
Its astounding really - in an effort to improve a small weakness - Mathew Nicks took away our biggest strength.
- Aug 30, 2021
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Moving the ball quicker definitely seems a focus this preseason, funny, how to admit you ****ed up without actually saying it and instead shifted the blame to the players and use your B&F speech to have a crack at the critics. The lack of self awareness.
I agree that has been the case, but Dawson's best is AA quality and Rankine is better again. That's a pretty handy start.
- Nov 5, 2009
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Its interesting and hopefully this is an influence from Murray Davis.
Brisbane were #2 in 2024 for Points off of turnovers (Sydney #1).
Brisbane were #2 in 2023 for Points off Turnovers (Adelaide #1)
Brisbane were 4th in 2022, 5th in 2021, 2nd in 2020. Its obviously been a massive focus for their group.
- Nov 5, 2009
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Not when you compare it to other teams best midfielders.
Take out the obvious midfield groups that shit all over ours - Syd, Brisbane, Bulldogs, Melbourne, Carlton, Freo, Port, GWS and Gold Coast.
Take out the midfield groups I think we are easily better than - WC, Richmond, St. Kilda, Geelong.
Imo - that leaves us in the bottom grouping of other teams whose two best midfielders stack up to ours:
Hawthorn, Essendon, Collingwood, North Melbourne.
I think most would agree that our range is 10 - 14. Personally - I would probably have us behind Hawks/Collingwood but ahead of North and Essendon ending up with a ranking of 12th.
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- Feb 8, 2013
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Hopefully in time it comes good with Soligo, Rankine, Draper, Curtin and a bit of Rachele.
I didn't expect us to be in the top half, but I did expect us to be a little bit higher.
Dawson and Rankine can compete with any quality top 2 midfielders in the top midfielder team but it falls from there. We need Soligo to kick on from his development last year and then add Curtin, Draper and Peatling who are yet to be proven but an exciting core, I still think Rachele can be a very good midfielder but we need him more as a small forward after the recruitment of Draper and Peatling.
I don’t think the midfields of Carlton or Melbourne ‘shit all over’ ours. I’d have them with us in tier 2.
Carlton has one gun (Cripps) and one very good player (Walsh). You can make argument our midfield is deeper.
Melbourne’s midfield used to be great but it wasn’t last year and this year who knows.
WaynesWorld19
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The Saint's game R1 is looking easier ......irrespective of recovery time, it's a big chunk of conditioning missed for the on-ball players
FB Gone ....Ruck Gone .....Mids ouch!
BTW ....I suspect the Saints Medical Room will be renamed "The Hunter Clark Facility" .......by god he's been an atrocious pick !
FB Gone ....Ruck Gone .....Mids ouch!
BTW ....I suspect the Saints Medical Room will be renamed "The Hunter Clark Facility" .......by god he's been an atrocious pick !
Scorpus
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- Apr 16, 2014
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I think you make a point with Carlton because we have a knack of beating them. Their midfield depth is very thin, especially on the outside and in that half forward goal kicker role.
Melbourne though, they are clearly better. The only reason they might not have been in 2024 was injury (they still beat us at home anyway). Petracca would be our best player, Gawn is probably one of 2 or 3 actual game winning rucks, and Viney is better than our inside bulls. That's not even factoring in Clayton Oliver and the mystery of his fitness
Based on the fixture, I think the "Where is our midfield at?" conversations should start around the Suns or Geelong game. That's assuming there isn't some apocalyptic event like losing to North or an injury riddled Saints.
- Jul 6, 2017
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Agree, Rankine has the potential to be a brownlow medalist as primarily a midfielder imo if his body can hold up. Dawson is quality, Soligo has improved year on year, we now have Peatling to add much needed pace and Curtin is one to watch once he gets more midfield time as a massive bodied agile quality ball user. Then we have ANB who no doubt will have stints in there and Draper will get time there and he is a bonafide top end young mid in the making and fast from a contest.
I think what we have built up now is variety - if plan A is not working, then we should have the players to enact a plan B, plan C etc. peatling and Rankine as a combo with Dawson is fast. Crouch, Soligo with Rankine is ball winning with pace outside etc.
You gotta hope that we get better though.
Rankine should break out properly (seems dumb to say that but there we go) and Rash/Sog or both we hope/expect to be AA level at some point soon... and Crouch revitalized, then it's pretty bloody good.
The real top end midfields have a "this guy could win the brownlow" player. I reckon that's Izak.
