Player Watch Riley Thilthorpe

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Upon reflection I'm still super impressed with the bulk Riley has put on. Seems like he's put on the better part of 10kg and somehow kept his athleticism.

It will be cool to see him up against Ben McKay this week. A fellow 202cm player, but for some reason I feel like Riley might monster him as well!
 

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GreyCrow said:
Despite my initial funny dig I do agree and I also think its a strong tactic

1. Gives him less wear and tear running up and down - save that for next year
1. He is just so strong
3. It gives our midfielders - if directed properly - to alternate short kicks or long kicks depending on the numbers
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It was noticeable the stress he put on the St Kilda back line.

If he starts taking contested marks 15m out he is going to be extremely dangerous for us.

Fog will be the biggest beneficiary long term, tex in the short term
 
Binuk said:
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If there's one insane thing (among many) about the AFL in 2024 it's that Thilthorpe did that totally textbook but if the Saints player had led with his head there he'd have scored a free kick (and a concussion) and Thilthorpe would be the one with a 2 week holiday. Thankfully they both did what they were trained to do as juniors and not what the coaches train them to do to win high free kicks.
 
Cap said:
It was noticeable the stress he put on the St Kilda back line.

If he starts taking contested marks 15m out he is going to be extremely dangerous for us.

Fog will be the biggest beneficiary long term, tex in the short term
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That free kick Howard gave away was pure panic. It said “I don’t know how to contain this guy”. They’re the kind of frees you see defenders give away when they know the forward has they measure.


BRL121 said:
Did Owens get a kick in that match?
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Was more referring to the fact that any ruck worth their salt SHOULD dominate Owens, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ready to match it with the big boys.

That being said I’ve always thought that Thilthorpe could be a great ruck or forward, but that he is far more valuable as a forward.
 
40porpoise said:
I loved his fend off. How quickly has he gone from skinny guy to absolute beast? He now knows he's stronger than everyone else and he won't be afraid to use it.
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If I was a coach, hands down I'd empty the 50 tell Thilthorpe to never roam further than the 50m arc. Just have him one out about 20 metres from goal.
 
Soggy2112 said:
Hate being that guy, but I said a lot last year that Thilthorpe was playing really well, and that his ability to take a contested mark between the arcs and quickly roll and find a target (particularly a 20m kick inside) was hugely valuable.

More and more it looks like we’ve held him and us back by focussing on Tex inside 50 too much.
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Do you though?
 

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adelaidecrows said:
If I was a coach, hands down I'd empty the 50 tell Thilthorpe to never roam further than the 50m arc. Just have him one out about 20 metres from goal.
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The problem is, he wouldn't get to be one out. He would get double-teamed, or a spare defender would intercept, etc.

I think Thilthorpe's ability to get outside of the 50m arcs, and use the ball well out there, is a real boon. With his size and strength you will need a real gorilla defender to mind him up forward, and that kind of player won't be able to go with him when he gets away from goal for a bit. Alternatively, if they put a more mobile player on him, then Thilthorpe can drag him back towards goal and monster him in the air. Make the opposition work out whether they want to try to swap on and off him, or just concede he is going to damage you somewhere on the ground. And all the while, their focus is off trying to stop Fogarty or whoever else.

Up forward, I think the real key is to have a good structure, where the forwards are creating space for each other, and leading to different spots. Who does the spare want to cover, Fogarty leading out at the ball-carrier, or Thilthorpe back near goal, or Cook slipping out towards a wing, or Keays sprinting back towards goal, etc.
 
cmndstab said:
The problem is, he wouldn't get to be one out. He would get double-teamed, or a spare defender would intercept, etc.

I think Thilthorpe's ability to get outside of the 50m arcs, and use the ball well out there, is a real boon. With his size and strength you will need a real gorilla defender to mind him up forward, and that kind of player won't be able to go with him when he gets away from goal for a bit. Alternatively, if they put a more mobile player on him, then Thilthorpe can drag him back towards goal and monster him in the air. Make the opposition work out whether they want to try to swap on and off him, or just concede he is going to damage you somewhere on the ground. And all the while, their focus is off trying to stop Fogarty or whoever else.

Up forward, I think the real key is to have a good structure, where the forwards are creating space for each other, and leading to different spots. Who does the spare want to cover, Fogarty leading out at the ball-carrier, or Thilthorpe back near goal, or Cook slipping out towards a wing, or Keays sprinting back towards goal, etc.
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This is the thing. the best sides dont just bomb it long to the tall player who is double teamed. We do. If thilthorpe is one out in the 50 and as we move the ball down the field and he is double teamed we should be immediately looking to bipass him and look for the free man who should have followed his defender into the 50 and ran to space. Every team has the exact number of players on the field. So there is literally not a a single excuse to be outnumbered in your forward line during an attacking transition.
 
adelaidecrows said:
This is the thing. the best sides dont just bomb it long to the tall player who is double teamed. We do. If thilthorpe is one out in the 50 and as we move the ball down the field and he is double teamed we should be immediately looking to bipass him and look for the free man who should have followed his defender into the 50 and ran to space. Every team has the exact number of players on the field. So there is literally not a a single excuse to be outnumbered in your forward line during an attacking transition.
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But that's also Filthy being valuable right? Creating a free player just by being there.
 
Coopers said:
But that's also Filthy being valuable right? Creating a free player just by being there.
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Of course. The very premise of football is you kick it to the best available option and often we have been caught obsessively bombing it to the tall players so they bring it to ground instead of hitting up the lead or the free players. We have been better as highlighted by picking out Sholl in the forward pocket who finds space behind the contest. Geelong dont just bomb it to Hawkins they pass to him in 1:1 situations. So by emptying the 50 we are likely to create that free player who can freely run into space if teams obsess about Thilthorpe.
 
adelaidecrows said:
This is the thing. the best sides dont just bomb it long to the tall player who is double teamed. We do. If thilthorpe is one out in the 50 and as we move the ball down the field and he is double teamed we should be immediately looking to bipass him and look for the free man who should have followed his defender into the 50 and ran to space. Every team has the exact number of players on the field. So there is literally not a a single excuse to be outnumbered in your forward line during an attacking transition.
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Its just smart football

Oh wait its Nicks
 
adelaidecrows said:
This is the thing. the best sides dont just bomb it long to the tall player who is double teamed. We do. If thilthorpe is one out in the 50 and as we move the ball down the field and he is double teamed we should be immediately looking to bipass him and look for the free man who should have followed his defender into the 50 and ran to space. Every team has the exact number of players on the field. So there is literally not a a single excuse to be outnumbered in your forward line during an attacking transition.
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When +1 at stoppages is your gameplan, you are almost always outnumbered when you go forward.

On SM-A115F using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
beartoo said:
When +1 at stoppages is your gameplan, you are almost always outnumbered when you go forward.

On SM-A115F using BigFooty.com mobile app
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We’re you at the match on Saturday night?

In the first quarter St Kilda were rolling an extra man back in defence and we had an extra man at the stoppages.

From the second quarter we had equal numbers at the stoppages and both teams had a plus-one in defence. This seemed to work better for us. Was this mentioned on the tellie? It was obvious at the game.
 

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Player Watch Riley Thilthorpe

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