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- #2,951
Well put together.He doesn’t get involved enough and at times seems hesitant to go in hard and get the hard ball and take the hits that will come. He had 4 possessions. I mentioned three occasions where the umpires didn’t look after him and pay a free kick. Two ended up ball ups the other HTB when he got a clear handball out. The other matter that made things worse for him yesterday was the forwards were starved of opportunities. Wilson 5 possesions, Voss/Tabs 7 possessions. Emmett got up the ground a bit more for 10 possessions.
From what I could tell Cooper played forward line - predominantly HFF. He was deeper in the forward line at times. I think what Cooper needs is space on the outside. He doesn’t have the tank for Wing yet, so they play him High Half forward and he gets caught out of position. I see him playing the sort of role we had earmarked for Liam Henry. Wing / High half forward. He needs to jus play and challenge himself to get more involved. If we were in round 10 there would be the luxury of playing him in the reserves for a few weeks to build confidence. Other than the past 3 weeks he has been solid enough if you look at his stats. Prior to the last round vs East Perth, then finals vs Swans/Claremont he was around 12 possessions and a goal or two plus 5-7 tackles. The lift in intensity (that last round game against East Perth was a tough finals like game), has caught him out a bit. Keep him in the team and challenge him to get more involved. It will do his development the world of good and he can hit pre-season with clear knowledge of where to improve.
Next year I think a stint of half back would be worthwhile before moving him through wing and half forward.
He is young first year player that didn’t play a lot last year. I guess for the same reason I admit I’ve been a bit harsh on Delean. My concern with him is he wants to do the flashy stuff and doesn’t get many tackles.
The other thing (I think ahs been mentioned), is the the WAFL clubs flood the fwd50, and try and expose Peel's young(ish) defence on rebound.
Hard as a young small when there's 30 players in the immediate area.
Really think they need to get him out to half back/wing for some stints. Or floating on the outside of a midfield stoppage?