Wojcinski - Is he an important part of the team?

[BigBadCam]

Don't get me wrong, I know he has just come back from injury and he shouldn't be expected to set the world alight, but I honestly do not see him as an important part of our team. At the beginning of last season, he was brilliant with his all out run and attack. He set up many goal opportunities by breaking the lines. This year, however, with the way our guys are moving the ball and keeping possession, I don't think that his brand of footy is needed.

Yes, he's fast, but his ball skills are no doubt worse than most on the team. His running is very low percentage, and too often for my liking results in a turnover, either by him spewing the ball out to the opposition, or getting caught holding the ball. I would much rather see us keep possession and work the ball out as a team. If there's one thing that the Essendon game showed, it's that it doesn't matter how fast you can run... The team that knows how to move the ball well will do so a lot faster and more effieciently than a team who just run.

Thoughts?

 

[catters05]

He is great. The dash out of the backline rocks.

 

[cellis84]

agreed catters05, and if you are concerned about anyones disposal in the catters lineup, just compare it 2 poor old shazza byrnes and it will look perfect! haha. no, i love monica, i personally think he is a great asset to the team and adds speed and decent disposal, something not 2 many can do

 

[BigBadCam]

He is great. The dash out of the backline rocks.

I realise that it is good for the crowd and might get a few of the guys excited as a result, but it is still very low percentage and ineffective.

 

[Cohzee]

You are right, he has just come back from injury.

We need his run and I don't think his disposal is as bad as you make out.

 

[SWISH15]

Are u kidding??

Do u have any understanding of the way football is played at the moment?? It is based around run from the half back line. The ability to break the lines with pace is such a valuable weapon that he would get a game in any of the other of the 15 sides no problem.

 

[catempire]

Would have been in our best 5 players in the pre-season matches before he injured his finger.

His 2007 kicking efficiency was 83.7%. Only D Johnson and Milburn fared better.

 

[thejester]

I know it's old but this video demonstrates why he is important. The slow-mo, where Montagna's ankles give out trying to turn with him and increases his distance on Fiora even while cutting into him demonstrates why he is so important. Not every side is as rubbish as Essendon and he can simply rip apart zone defences.

 

[VoRogue]

Absolutely 100%

Not only is his pace important running out of the backline, but also the fact that he takes the oppositions quick small forwards each week too.

I can think of a couple of other guys that aren't as important to the team than Monica

 

[rizzo]

LOL! One of the first selected

 

[The Casey Cat]

Yes.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Yes Yes Yes

The whole game plan is based around hard running from the backline

Critical member

 

[catswhiskers]

Wojcinski may not be first picked but he is important. He has pace and backs himself, unlike Tenace or Varcoe. He has improved his kicking for goal dramatically and now contributes a goal a game. He also breaks up the opposition by attracting (would be) tacklers and when he does hand the ball on to a team mate it is usually to a man who has space to move. This is because he has drawn players with his attempt to run .

His defensive work is OK and keeps opposition forwards guessing - perceived pressure- but he can get over enthusiastic in his tackling at times.

The opposition rate him very highly I suspect.

A good man to have on our side.

 

[Ricketts]

He most certainly is.

He's the fastest guy in our team (backline anyway) and him running for 30m followed by a 55m kick is the quickest way to get the ball from the defensive half to the attacking half.

And to be honest i really don't care if his long kicks aren't the best, just as long as he can move the ball from their 50 to our 50 so quick.

 

[BlueNWhite]

Is he important? Bl**dy hell yes.
Breaks the lines, takes them on, creates havoc and provides run off HB - hell yes.

 

[PUSSIES_07_FLAG]

Integral part.

 

[a.f.k.a.y.o.p.]

Don't get me wrong, I know he has just come back from injury and he shouldn't be expected to set the world alight, but I honestly do not see him as an important part of our team. At the beginning of last season, he was brilliant with his all out run and attack. He set up many goal opportunities by breaking the lines. This year, however, with the way our guys are moving the ball and keeping possession, I don't think that his brand of footy is needed.

Yes, he's fast, but his ball skills are no doubt worse than most on the team. His running is very low percentage, and too often for my liking results in a turnover, either by him spewing the ball out to the opposition, or getting caught holding the ball. I would much rather see us keep possession and work the ball out as a team. If there's one thing that the Essendon game showed, it's that it doesn't matter how fast you can run... The team that knows how to move the ball well will do so a lot faster and more effieciently than a team who just run.

Thoughts?

My thought is you need to go back to the drawing board before you dazzle us with your total lack of football knowledge again.........the Flyin' Kielbasa is a gun......

 

[Tay29]

I agree with the majority posters here. His ability to break lines or draw more than one opponent to him are vital to freeing the ball which makes him an incredible asset. His passing is actually quite good but he tends to miskick it when running at full tilt and giving it all he's got. The great thing though is that they may look ugly in the air but they are surprisingly straight. Just have a look at some of his goals last year.

If there is any criticism you could say that he's not the tightest defender and he can give away some cheap free kicks(through over aggressiveness). But on the whole he's a valued player in our first 22.

 

[DanA]

I think our game is more about moving the ball out of defense quickly rather than running the ball out of defense quickly. There is an important difference.

In saying that Wojak offers us something that's important. Our first choice is to hit up a loose man on the wing but if the opposition zone off and we can't find a free man guess what happens. Wojak tucks it under his arm and runs through the zone breaking it down. Ablett does it too but more so on the offensive half of the ground.

 

[BigBadCam]

He most certainly is.

He's the fastest guy in our team (backline anyway) and him running for 30m followed by a 55m kick is the quickest way to get the ball from the defensive half to the attacking half.

And to be honest i really don't care if his long kicks aren't the best, just as long as he can move the ball from their 50 to our 50 so quick.

See, that's where you guys are wrong. Essendon are full of speedsters who like to break the line just as Wojcinski does. It's a golden football rule that the ball can be moved a lot faster and a lot more efficiently by hand and by foot than by running with the ball. As was suggested on the weekend, Geelong's style of play is very efficient and unselfish and involves chains of handballs and lots of trust in a team mate. As much as I enjoy watching Wojcinski, I do not think there is a lot of room for a selfish ball hog, which in reality, is what Wojcinski has become, in the Geelong squad. It is a lot easier for the opposition to stop one man trying to run the length of the ground by himself than a team working it up the ground together which is what Geelong have been doing.

You can rubbish my football knowledge if you'd like, but I've played football for long enough, and at a high enough level to know that when a team can move the ball as quickly and efficiently as Geelong can, I'd much rather players play as a team rather than try and be heroes by themselves and break lines at every opportunity. This reckless style of play was good at firing up the players when club morale was low and they needed that spark to get going, but now that we are operating like a well oiled machine, I don't think it is the best plan of attack.

 

[Philhawk]

If he was ever traded, he'd get a Top 10 pick for him - if not better.

I rate him that highly. Gun.

 

[BigBadCam]

I think our game is more about moving the ball out of defense quickly rather than running the ball out of defense quickly. There is an important difference.

Exactly. I know you guys are one eyed, but surely you can see this. The reason we are the best team in the league is not because we have a list of players who try and win the game off their own boot, but because we have a list of players who work together.

 

[Marklar_33]

While I'm in a Wojcinski thread... I have been looking for years for footage of the longest goal I have ever seen... it was kicked in the wet by Wojcinski vs Melbourne, and it was late 2003 (Rounds 18-20)

Does anyone remember this?

 

[DavidInellaFanClub]

After his knee injury, he was shotty for awhile, but last year his speed and form returned, and so did Geelong's and it wasn't a coincidence...

 

[DanA]

I think our game is more about moving the ball out of defense quickly rather than running the ball out of defense quickly. There is an important difference.

Exactly. I know you guys are one eyed, but surely you can see this. The reason we are the best team in the league is not because we have a list of players who try and win the game off their own boot, but because we have a list of players who work together.

Everyone can see what your saying but sometimes a ball hog is required. You need many different types in a game. It is a rare player that can do what Wojak does successfully, most clubs don't have one and it is one of a few things that separates Geelong from other clubs. Last year against North we zoned off and North not having a Wojak keep try to move the ball causing a turnover.

A very important player. Brereton I think was right early last year when he said Wojak wasn't our best player but was arguably our most important.