One tall forward short AGAIN...

[Enviable Tradition]

I know the first half was horrible but in the end it was the lack of one more tall forward that cost us today. If we had played Salter of Shulz today we would have won.

Ebert compteted well today but he is NOT a key forward. He is a very good HFF in a proper forward structure.

Chad is definitely NOT a key forward. Even when he used to mark the ball his goal kicking was a query but now that he cant take contested overhead marks either he is no good as a forward. Tough as it is for Chad I think it has gotten to the stage that if the opposition doesnt have a big forward line he gets a rest for a week (no SANFL). His body could use it anyway.

Combine with with Trengove being lost to the ruck and the WING! (according to the great man himself in his post match interview) and we were left too short up forward, especially in the crucial last quarter.

How many times did we see the ball kicked long to Ebert with three hanging off of him?

We need to start a counter for how many weeks it has been since we had a proper forward structure (since we dropped Shulz the first time, what round was that?).

 

[tribey]

yeah, here's tha skinny. why the face is with peter rohde coming out before the carlton game and saying we got away with what was a poor structure that was one tall short against essendon, only for us to go in with that structure for each of our next four losses?

i am agog. aghast.

you used to look at alberton during a tough time and think, 'it's ok, we're the masters, we know what we're doing'. but to be brutally honest that hasn't been the case for a very long time - a mediocre football department led by what has been by-and-large a quite spineless board.

 

[PJ Power]

The ruck and the forward line need urgent addressing, while our midfielders need to learn to play for four quarters, not 1 or 2.

I want to see guys like Broadbent get a go, but structurally it was very wrong to keep him in the side ahead of Salter and Lobbe today.

I no longer really care about the Salter v Schulz argument. Whoever kicks more goals in the SANFL can have the spot IMO. More fundamentally though, we have to combine D. Stewart, Trengove and one other mobile, tall forward together. The next players selected in the forward line must be genuine crumbers - not Ebert or Motlop who think that the only form of crumb falls from a cake. Hitchcock and Gray solve this problem when fit. Then whichever of Ebert or Motlop is in form. Our side cannot accomodate both of them in their current goal-kicking rut.

The ruck simply needs for Lobbe to play out the rest of the year at AFL level. That is all.

The rest of the team is then built around this. Not vice versa.

Structure, structure, structure.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Been going on since the Essendon game.

 

[PJ Power]

yeah, here's tha skinny. why the face is with peter rohde coming out before the carlton game and saying we got away with what was a poor structure that was one tall short against essendon, only for us to go in with that structure for each of our next four losses?

Ah, Peter Rohde. The least blamed but equally most responsible culprit for this mess we are in. Weak man, weak football department that he oversees.

 

[Portia]

Been going on since Bowen Lockwood got injured.

Fixed it for you, Ford.

Fourth year of a five year plan everyone.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Cloke 3 goals, best on ground
Salter 4 goals, 3rd best
Schulz 2 goals, 4th best

No shortage of second tall forward options

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Fixed it for you, Ford.

Fourth year of a five year plan everyone.

Thanks Porthos. Didn't think retrospectively enough.

 

[Natman]

Cloke 3 goals, best on ground
Salter 4 goals, 3rd best
Schulz 2 goals, 4th best

No shortage of second tall forward options

Bring 'em all in. - let's start a new footy style - THE LAND OF THE GIANTS.

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

NEXY WEEK

OUT: Carlile, Motlop
IN: Lobbe, Salter

B: Surjan - Trengove - C. Cornes
HB: P. Stewart - Chaplin - Logan
C: Pearce - Cassisi - Thomas
HF: Rodan - Salter - Salopek
F: Davenport - D. Stewart - Ebert
R: Brogan - K. Cornes - Boak
INT: Broadbent, Hartlett, Nash, Lobbe

 

[FishingRick04]

I want Salter in at FF, Schulz at CHF and D Stewart in FP please. replace schulz with Butcher next year

 

[Andre]

Fixed it for you, Ford.

Fourth year of a five year plan everyone.

At least back in 2004 we had Tredrea AND Thurstans and often Lade up there. 2 usually and sometimes 3 tall forwards. And always a tall as the main go to.

These days lucky to have any tall forwards up forward. Or if they are they are the decoy. Still the whole situation could sum up Choco's 'genius' post-2004 GF. He does a mismatch or structure that works as a one-off as it's a surprise, then persists with it for another 10 - 100 times when every other club has figured out how to exploit it.

Personally I'd like Lobbe and Salter in next week for Motlop and Ebert (missed shots on goal yet again early), with Salter at FF, Trengove at CHF and D. Stewart as the third tall. With a couple of smalls to crumb - not used as the focal points. At this point I'd take even Cloke or Schultz back in the side, as long as we lined up at least talls at FF and CHF and used them as the focal points. ****ing tired of Choco being so clever none of our coaches can articulate (hi Matty) what the hell our setup is or how it's meant to win matches.

 

[BWST]

If Salter doesn't get a crack now something is seriously demented.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Fixed it for you, Ford.

Fourth year of a five year plan everyone.

Spot on Porthos. We got away with it by having Lade when the game was played different to today's footy and Lade wasn't so slow. Even Toby in 2003 and 2004 and even Chad in his early days, who unfortunately kicks for goal like a backman. But hey what would us fans know, when our coach knows it all and says "I've got the greatest winning percentage of any current AFL coach. I've won a premiership. Why the f*** do I need you in my program?"

As I wrote in the official team thread, when Primus was interviewed on 5AA on Friday and asked by Rowe, who was going to play the Tredders power forward thread, he was totally perplexed and had no idea, because one, he had no idea who was that player potentially is and/or two, I don't think he and the coaching panel has ever considered it.

 

[Peck]

Anyone know exactly how stewart went?

The afl doesn't appear to recognise his existance...

 

[tribey]

Looked quite lively and presented here and there until Chance Bateman decided to drop a knee in his spine.

 

[b0ydman]

Ah, Peter Rohde. The least blamed but equally most responsible culprit for this mess we are in. Weak man, weak football department that he oversees.

agree emphatically

too many school teachers for mine

 

[b0ydman]

If Salter doesn't get a crack now something is seriously demented.

something IS seriously demented.

look, salter may not be the solution, but he is a metaphor for the arrogance and pig headedness of the coaches and match selection committee that their pride has consigned us to 4 losses which we should have won all 4 if we had have played a set stay at home forward line in each of those games

dont blame schultz, dont laud salter, blame willie wonka for not playing set forwards

we got our wish with worsthoff gone, now we might see the end of ebert or play him 90m from goal, and motlop banished and done for

 

[Peck]

Looked quite lively and presented here and there until Chance Bateman decided to drop a knee in his spine.

Ahhk he seemed like he was playing well the few bits i saw of the game.

Thanks.

I Hope he stays in, I really like Daniel Stewart.

 

[Schulzenfest]

If Salter doesn't get a crack now something is seriously demented.

Which is exactly why he probably won't get a crack.

 

[Platinum]

I heard on Ch7 news that Stewart ended up with a sprained ankle.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Unfortunately given Choco's ideas on forward line structure, the equation is simple for us fans.

No Tredrea = No forward line structure of AFL standard = No wins so far.

 

[PJ Power]

Anyone know exactly how stewart went?

The afl doesn't appear to recognise his existance...

Started the game off really nicely. Got 3-4 clean possessions at high HF in the first quarter by finding space. Took the ball cleanly out in front and on one occasion wheeled around off the mark straight away and passed very neatly into our forward 50 to Motlop, who couldn't make the distance from 40m out .

From that point on, he seemed to struggle through the second quarter and had a couple of efforts just outside our 50m arc where he fell over after missing the mark to allow his opponent to clear the footy.

His third quarter was an improvement capped by a memorable juggled mark in a contest with.....Ebert . Converted well for his one and only goal.

The only memorable thing in the last quarter was a great smother on our HB line when we desperately needed him presenting up forward.

He did ok, but unlike the matches against Geelong and Richmond, he did have opportunities on a smaller opponent and in reasonably fine conditions. Goes to ground too easily, but the cleanness of his marking is very encouraging. He also genuinely looks like he can take the odd pack mark, although too few and far between.

Given the early stage he's at in his career, there is something to work with, but he would have benefited enormously from having a Tredrea of 2001-2005 in front of him at CHF.

Trying to play him as the lone tall forward (Chad didn't count on yesterday's effort) was pretty rough.

 

[MrMeaner]

Trying to play him as the lone tall forward (Chad didn't count on yesterday's effort) was pretty rough.

He wasn't really the lone tall forward for much of the game though, unless you consider the 'decoy, lead up to the wing, leaving Ebert to compete against two defenders role' as a lone forward role.

All of our losses (except maybe the Geelong game) started at the selection table and were continued by bizarre coaching.

Once again yesterday, we over-possessed, ran it around the boundary and created pressure upon ourselves. It happens too frequently to be solely the players' fault. It is instructive to see that when we began to bring it up the centre, we scored more often, more efficiently and put pressure on Hawthorn. The problem is that once we hit the front, we reverted to the (failed) original game plan, bringing it around the boundary and reverting to 'bomb-scare' handpassing to flat-footed teammates. It must have been an instruction. Things don't change that quickly without it.

 

[FishingRick04]

Don't forget Stewart got that lovely knee right i nthe middle of his back, I am sure that would have helped him move around.

I thought he presented well, the coomentators reflected it wasn't a good day for the taller players yesterday.