Page 6 of 8 FirstFirst ... 2345678 LastLast
Results 61 to 72 of 89

Thread: 2018 Best 22

  1. #61
    Veterans List Ludwig's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Chiang Mai
    Posts
    9,310
    Quote Originally Posted by liz View Post
    I can't see them going in with Reg, Aliir and Melican. Not with Rampe too. In theory Rampe could be freed up to be more rebounding with three genuine talls, but he's so good as the general in defence, even when also playing on someone much bigger than he is, that it seems a waste to sacrifice run for additional height.

    I used to marvel at how good Craig Bolton was as a one-on-one defender while also organising and rebounding. I remember the games just after he injured himself for the final time. Our defence looked so shambolic. Rampe is the current day Bolton. He may not be quite as good as Bolton on the bigger forwards but he's a better kick. And to think he came to us via the circular route and the rookie list. We have many very valuable "diamonds from the rough" on our list at the moment but he's the most valuable of the lot.
    The height is not so much the factor as the run. It's really only Reg where we sacrifice run for additional height, but of course Reg just happens to be our best key defender. Both Melican and Aliir are quick, so we won't be sacrificing run with them in the side. Eventually Reg will retire and I would expect Melican and Aliir to be the key defender mainstays. I think it would valuable to get them working in tandem before Reg is no longer there to steady the ship.

    With teams like Richmond playing smaller forward lines it might not be necessary to play 3 tall defenders, let alone 2. But there are still teams playing tall forward lines, like Adelaide, GWS and perhaps Geelong and Essendon to name a few, and we have to be prepared to match the height against those kinds of teams.

    With super talented players like Rampe and Mills there's a logical temptation to continue to play them where they've demonstrated an ability to play well. My theory is that Rampe and Mills would be stars wherever they play and as a general rule play your best players closer to goal if possible. Rampe is our best overall defender, but in AFLX we saw a glimpse of what is possible if he's released to attack the goal.

    We have a plethora of running defenders coming through the ranks. Fox and Stoddart both look good so far this year and I would expect Ling to offer plenty of dash off the backline once he's fit to play. I would rather see those guys playing back and have Rampe and Mills playing more through the midfield. It doesn't mean that they don't drop back to help in defence when ball in coming to our defensive zone. Traditional positions don't mean what they used to.

  2. #62
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    I agree Aliir and Melican both have good pace, but it's good pace for talls, rather than absolute top notch pace. I agree with you that they both shape up as potential long term key position defenders in the post-Reg age but thankfully we're not there yet.

    They are both pretty green, and Aliir, in particular, has a fair way to go with his decision making process. That attempt to play on in Q1 yesterday was a brain fade but I've seen him do it a few times at training in recent weeks. It's as if the coaches are imploring him to take a few more risks (which is good) but he's still working out the right ones to take. In one match simulation I watched he was playing in the ruck and doing well (against Cameron, I think) but there was an instance where he won his own clearance and then tried to barge through about five players right in the middle of the ground. To his credit he got through a couple of them but was never going to make it all the way!

    If Reg doesn't come up for round 1 and we go in with both Aliir and Melican I'm not overly concerned so long as Rampe is alongside both organising them. Great a defender as Reg has become, I don't think he's as much as an organiser / leader as Rampe is. He just gets on and does what he does. I'd feel more nervous with Reg, Aliir and Melican than with Rampe. Aliir and Melican at the moment. In a year or two things might be different when the two younger defenders have more experience. Then freeing up Rampe to play elsewhere might not be quite as scary.

    I also agree that Rampe's cameo in the AFLX was food for thought, but there's no reason he can't have a ping for goal more often than he does, even if he stays stationed primarily in defence. He does actually work forward quite a bit and often delivers into the forward 50. Maybe he just needs to be encouraged to sometimes try to kick them himself (though his most spectacular AFLX goal - the third - was kicked from prime Buddy territory so he might be advise to stay away from that part of the ground).

  3. #63
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    Quote Originally Posted by AB Swannie View Post
    You are probably right. What a nice position we are in though. It is so so tough to pick a side right now without leaving out genuine first graders. For this reason, I�m hoping that Hanners, Grundy, McVeigh et al are not rushed back into the side and are given all the time they need to be ready.
    Definitely agree with your last sentence.

    A lot was made last year of the Swans' injury list at the start of the season, and being without Heeney, Papley, Rohan and McVeigh (and Rampe after round 1) did stretch the side. But in terms of pure numbers that's not a huge injury list, and only Rampe of that group could be described as an absolutely key player. More of an issue was that Parker and Naismith were completely underdone, having had practically no pre-season. Aliir, who came into the team in round 2 was in the same boat. Jack could barely run with his hip injury, and while we don't know exactly when Hanners' hip and groin injuries set in, comments made by Longmire at the AGM recently hint that it was well before the start of the season. Certainly his early form indicated he was struggling.

    The inexperienced players who came in did a pretty good job last year, but I'm far more confident in the abilities of the likes of Florent, Fox and Hayward to make a strong contribution this year than 12 months ago. Melican and Newman have close to a full season of senior football into them, plus first team regulars like Papley, Towers and Hewett are better players than they were this time last year. So hopefully the coaches won't be as tempted to play under-done players at the start of this year as they were for 2017. Longmire's comments (again at the AGM) suggest they have learned from last year's experiences and with Hanners in particular, the focus is on setting him up to have a strong back half of the year rather than needing him to be ready for round 1.

  4. #64
    Veterans List Ludwig's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Chiang Mai
    Posts
    9,310
    Quote Originally Posted by liz View Post
    They are both pretty green, and Aliir, in particular, has a fair way to go with his decision making process. That attempt to play on in Q1 yesterday was a brain fade but I've seen him do it a few times at training in recent weeks. It's as if the coaches are imploring him to take a few more risks (which is good) but he's still working out the right ones to take. In one match simulation I watched he was playing in the ruck and doing well (against Cameron, I think) but there was an instance where he won his own clearance and then tried to barge through about five players right in the middle of the ground. To his credit he got through a couple of them but was never going to make it all the way!
    I was assuming from Aliir's play in the NEAFL last year that the coaches must be encouraging him to take the game on, because he would have been sacked for the number of times it didn't work, had he not had their approval. I'll just have to take it on faith that some happy medium will be found that makes everyone happy.

    Melican is looking super this year and Aliir is no novice, so I'm not too worried about getting the defence organised even without Rampe. We still have Smith and Lloyd is a clever player who looks quite capable to taking over if required.

    I'm more than happy continuing with Rampe in defence, whatever the rest of the defence looks like. It's Mills that I'm really keen on moving to the midfield. It's inevitable, so I don't see the point of waiting.

  5. #65
    Quote Originally Posted by Ludwig View Post
    I was assuming from Aliir's play in the NEAFL last year that the coaches must be encouraging him to take the game on, because he would have been sacked for the number of times it didn't work, had he not had their approval. I'll just have to take it on faith that some happy medium will be found that makes everyone happy.
    I haven't been on RWO as much as I'd like, but it looks as though there has been some take about Allir lately, so I thought I'd contribute what I know.

    I fortunately had an opportunity last year before Christmas to chat with him at the Citibank do for a couple of minutes up at Swans' HQ. I asked him how his injury was and he indicated that: a) his preseason was travelling well and b) it was the thing that held him back from the seniors. I guess it was more serious than I previously thought.

    I also asked him about preferred position. He said (the line that all players use these days) that he was happy to play whatever role the coaches needed, and that it was about the team.

    I asked him about the ruck versus the backline and he confirmed that he spent a little time rucking, but Horse was encouraging him to work on his rebounding out of defence. He said that he was being encouraged to take the game on.

    Maybe the coaches are giving Allir some Leo Barry licence. It will be interesting to see how the coaches react when he gets it wrong, because if you're taking risks out of defence, you'll invariably come unstuck some of the time.

    I'm pretty excited by Allir though. Let's hope his ankle isn't too bad and I'm sure he'll give us many heart-stopping moments like the great Leaping Leo did.

  6. #66
    Round 1 for us is against West Coast, and their Kennedy is yet to be seen this season and is doubtful for the game - as is Nic Nat.

    So, Grundy missing should not be as important as against some other forward lines.

  7. #67
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    Quote Originally Posted by Mountain Man View Post
    Round 1 for us is against West Coast, and their Kennedy is yet to be seen this season and is doubtful for the game - as is Nic Nat.

    So, Grundy missing should not be as important as against some other forward lines.
    Naitanui now 'unlikely' as ruck crisis hits Eagles - AFL.com.au

    Kind of confirmation that NicNat is unlikely to be available for round 1, though there was a report on Fox Sports news a few weeks ago to that effect, only to be followed by a story the next day on AFL.com.au saying he was tracking fine to play in the JLT.

    Maybe Longmire and Simpson should get together and agree that the round 1 game should be a ruck-free game, given it's the one position that we look like having availability issues with too.

  8. #68
    Veterans List Ludwig's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Chiang Mai
    Posts
    9,310
    Footy games should start like soccer games. Just put the ball on the ground and kick it.


  9. #69
    Can you feel it? Site Admin ugg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Chucked into the ruck
    Posts
    15,929
    Nocookies | The Australian

    Few injury updates from this report

    Ling - toe
    Aliir and Sinclair's ankle injuries - "not too serious"
    Jones - coming off back surgery, expected to play Friday
    Naismith - withdrew from JLT1 due to tight back, expected to play Friday
    Grundy - ramped up training in the last 2 weeks after foot injury and outside chance to play Friday. Will play NEAFL practice match if needed for match conditioning.
    Hanners - calf, running out of time to be fit for R1.

  10. #70
    Quote Originally Posted by ugg View Post
    Nocookies | The Australian

    Few injury updates from this report

    Ling - toe
    Aliir and Sinclair's ankle injuries - "not too serious"
    Jones - coming off back surgery, expected to play Friday
    Naismith - withdrew from JLT1 due to tight back, expected to play Friday
    Grundy - ramped up training in the last 2 weeks after foot injury and outside chance to play Friday. Will play NEAFL practice match if needed for match conditioning.
    Hanners - calf, running out of time to be fit for R1.
    Good to hear Naismith's fine! Was getting a bit itchy about our big boy stocks

  11. #71
    I hope that the selectors don't make the same mistake as last season when they played underdone and not totally fit players in the early rounds e.g. K. Jack,
    So don't rush Hanners, Grundy or Jones back until they are fit enough.

  12. #72
    Veterans List
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Crowland :-(
    Posts
    6,096
    Quote Originally Posted by chalbilto View Post
    I hope that the selectors don't make the same mistake as last season when they played underdone and not totally fit players in the early rounds e.g. K. Jack,
    So don't rush Hanners, Grundy or Jones back until they are fit enough.
    Probably due to the fact last year we had almost no depth so guys like Fox, Florent etc were played before they were due.

    Much more experienced depth this year so no need to rush anyone back as all those players on longer rehab can be substantially covered by others outside our best 22.

Page 6 of 8 FirstFirst ... 2345678 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO