2nds VFL and Rookie Draft Preview

[Vinnie Vegas]

Is there any chance Michael Hartley will be played fwd, seem we have an abundance of tall backs especially if Taz plays 2013. Has he been played there at all.

Hartley is on the rookie list, so wouldn't be expected to make a dramatic impact for the next two years anyway. Ben Reid never became a regular in the side until his fourth season - It would probably be fair to expect a similar timeline from Hartley if all goes well.

By then, Taz will be retired, and we'll have a much better insight into Nathan Brown and how he's recovered from a couple of knee surgeries.

Jackson Paine, Corey Gault, Lachlan Smith, Jarrod Witts, Jon Ceglar and Shae McNamara are all going to spend time playing as key forwards in the VFL side, so there's an abundance of tall forward options as well. Obviously the last three are ruckmen first, but they will spend time playing FF and CHF.

 

[Copeland]

So who do you think they would bring in if Clokey went down for an extended period.

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

So who do you think they would bring in if Clokey went down for an extended period.

It's hard to speculate without knowing who's going to be in form or healthy, and particularly without knowing whether Paine and Gault in particular are going to be up to it, physically or mentally.

Obviously, Keeffe and the ruck types that might be able to pinch hit are less than ideal, and Paine and Gault are first year players, so you can't just expect them to step up and play AFL footy in their first seasons.

Hartley wouldn't be any more capable of filling in than anyone else that we'd try though, so what's the point of grooming him as a forward?

Ultimately, the point is, if Cloke goes down, we can't replace him, but that's true of any star forward in the comp. No team has an ideal backup for an AA CHF sitting in their reserves.

 

[Ed D]

Hartley is on the rookie list, so wouldn't be expected to make a dramatic impact for the next two years anyway. Ben Reid never became a regular in the side until his fourth season - It would probably be fair to expect a similar timeline from Hartley if all goes well.

That's true although with Ben Reid a big reason he didn't play much in his first few years were due to injury. He'd play one or two games then get and leg/foot injury etc. He was nowhere close to what he is now so he had plenty of development to go.

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

That's true although with Ben Reid a big reason he didn't play much in his first few years were due to injury. He'd play one or two games then get and leg/foot injury etc. He was nowhere close to what he is now so he had plenty of development to go.

He was also hot and cold with his form as a forward, and then spent year three on the list learning the trade down back as a defender.

The point is that guys can take a slower track with development, and particularly when we're a good team, we would be willing to wait for them to break through.

 

[Ed D]

He was also hot and cold with his form as a forward, and then spent year three on the list learning the trade down back as a defender.

The point is that guys can take a slower track with development, and particularly when we're a good team, we would be willing to wait for them to break through.

Definitely, especially with KPPs. I'm not sure there are many key forwards or defenders around that are big name players who played well from early on. J.Brown and N.Riewoldt are the only two that come to mind, but even they didn't hit great form until a few years into their careers.

 

[Copeland]

Ultimately, the point is, if Cloke goes down, we can't replace him, but that's true of any star forward in the comp. No team has an ideal backup for an AA CHF sitting in their reserves.

I understand its very difficult to replace an AA CHF, but we dont even have a handy backup atm let alone an ideal one. I didn't see the reserves last year so who showed the most promise? Looks like CFC liked Keeffe as the next option last year and we know how that turned out, weather they will persist with him remains to be seen. Are Gordon, Perham and Reilly still on our list, I'm a bit out of touch there.

 

[SchuPie]

I understand its very difficult to replace an AA CHF, but we dont even have a handy backup atm let alone an ideal one. I didn't see the reserves last year so who showed the most promise? Looks like CFC liked Keeffe as the next option last year and we know how that turned out, weather they will persist with him remains to be seen. Are Gordon, Perham and Reilly still on our list, I'm a bit out of touch there.

I think that if the Pies had a high draft choice (a bad season / Pendles leaves) then if a Patton type player was there they would grab him as a Cloke replacement...a type of player that is so rare - however, at this stage with no real chance of a top draft pick of that type of player being available, i think drafting/trading has provided a number of different tall forward options that have different styles of game. Our forward structure would alter if Cloke was out with different players playing different roles depending on opposition and conditions.
Ceglar is Paul Salmon like in his lead up / marking style
Witts brute size
Paine perhaps the Aaron Hamill role
Gault spring healed, athletic option

Unlike others, i don't think Keefe would go forward. It's my opinion that he would come in and play back releasing (firstly) Reid to go forward or then an option of either Brown or Tarrant (depending on what's needed)
(I also haven't mentioned options such as Caff, Wood)

Dawes would then play a role depending on what the strengths of his forward line parters are.

That's my opinion for what it's worth

 

[Ed D]

The thing with Keeffe not playing well as a forward is that he didn't even play in the VFL as a forward, so he got thrown in the deep end. It's too hard to say whether he could make it or not because really he has barely played the position. If the club sees him as a back up forward he really needs to have a season minimum in the VFL playing the role to get used to it. IMO he's done fairly well as a defender up to this point.

As for other forwards, Witts & Ceglar sound like they're going to be given a fair bit of time as forwards in the VFL so they might step it up.

 

[Copeland]

Yeah with Keeffe, he hasn't really got a football background (would he have played 50 games of aussie rules yet), so he's come along way to pick up playing down back so well. So many options to try fwd now, it'll be interesting to see how it pans out.
Just hope we find another gun in the group we've got, will take time unfortunately. If Ried wasn't going so well down back he would find himself trialled back in the fwd line imo, especially with Nate coming back.

 

[SchuPie]

If Ried wasn't going so well down back he would find himself trialled back in the fwd line imo, especially with Nate coming back.

I'm with you - i think Reid could be an unbelievable forward - fast, good mark, long kick - i think the stutters are fixable - but as you say, just playing so well down back

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

What stutters?

He did it once.

 

[SchuPie]

What stutters?

He did it once.

yep - but for some reason it comes up every time he's mentioned as a forward (i mentioned it as something that i see as insignificant now). I loved the way he lead up and left his man - that match against Hawthorn really impressed me - real shame he had foot stress fracture / broken bone (?) at the time as i really wanted to see him play more there.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Reid would be a great forward, hopefully even better than his brother! Why would this not be the case? He can mark and kick, has courage and seems to have a genuine footy brain. He would cause some problems if played in the third tall role that Leigh Brown played, and could probably prove a decent CHF. If Keefe ever got to the level where he could assume Reid's role in defence, then we could play Reid as a permanent forward.

 

[Ed D]

I agree, but when he's doing a great role down back and we have 2 power forwards who work well together, it mightn't be wise to play him as a forward when the side is in premiership mode. If we were a side that was a step or two away from winning a premiership it could be worth doing, but not at this point in time.