Paps & Heeney removed from the leadership group
Club decided to reduce the leadership group from 8 to just five so there was going to be casualties even with the retirees moving out.
It's the three co-captains, Buddy and Mills were top of the voting obviously although we won't ever know if anyone ruled themselves out.
Just for interest I put the date of birth for the "Best 22" from a recent post.
Buddy 1987 30-Jan
Kennedy 1988 20-Jun
Rampe 1990 2-Jun
Reid 1991 27-Dec
Parker 1992 25-Oct
Sam Gray 1992 1-Feb
LLoyd 1993 20-Sep
Cunningham 1993 6-Dec
Aliir 1994 15-Sep
Hewett 1995 29-Dec
Heeney 1996 9-Apr
Papley 1996 13-Jul
Mills 1997 2-Apr
Dawson 1997 9-Apr
Florent 1998 22-Jul
Hayward 1998 26-Oct
McCartin 1999 30-Dec
Blakey 2000 27-Feb
Rowbottom 2000 19-Sep
Lewis Taylor if he gets fit 1995 17-Feb
plus we need at least one ruck
(Sinclair 1989 23-Sep
/Naismith), 1992 16-Jul
plus another KPD
(Melican 1996 4-Nov
/Brand) =22 1994 8-Apr
COR I really rate and see him best 22 at some stage this year, 1995 12-Oct
i went back and watched the richmond swans game 2019 at the MCG
quiet day today with family all overseas or away or working
funny enough it was a relaxing read a book, exercise, eat some seafood/salad and watch some footy...... perfect kind a day
so first qtr was tight against the tigers
2nd qtr Jones made 3 turnovers in 5mins which lead to 3 turnovers and 3 forward 50 entries by richmond and as richmond do x 2 goals
we lost by 3 goals
i wanted to watch closely how Richmond pressure, set up defensively, create turnovers, counter attack, then flood in numbers forward.........their main difference for me is their ability to flood forward in numbers via handballs once they cause the turnover..........they dont pull the trigger on the kick to early......they are patient for the right option but keep it alive via handballs so they dont have to mark and stop
we held our own for good parts of the game......but the patch where Jones made 3 turnovers in a row in the 2nd qtr gave richmond the fuel to keep pressuring in numbers and not back off
.........
i suspect we will see better forward entries with the likes of Taylor, Gray and maybe Stephens in 2020
"be tough, only when it gets tough"
Interesting thoughts there AG.
Jonesy was a bit of a teaser, varying between hard nut goal kicker and klutzish runner who either thought he could outrun the opposition or didn't get a "hot" call from his mates - or perhaps did, but didn't hear it or perhaps believe it.
In the end I don't regret losing him after seeing what some of our youngsters are producing.
He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)
I'm predicting that Jones will have a good season for the Saints. He was pretty good for us last season when fit. He is now coming into his prime. Sadly, we did not get much in return for him. Problem when they're coming out of contract.
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ps noticed nannygate is the third best clearance player at the tigers and as mentioned before, the tiges are well down the list on clearances
it is almost like the way the tigers play nanny in the initial ruck...... is to re-set the clearance away from the original contest by him following up so quickly while the other ruckman is getting to his feet
A little like how AA did for us......chasing after his own hit out or spoil.
nanny aint that quick..... but he is there before the other ruckman to create a tackle or a clearance........it almost appears pre meditated to negate the dominance of a bigger taller better tap ruckman
simple but seriously effective
"be tough, only when it gets tough"
I'm going to have a go:
Lloyd Rampe Brand
Dawson Aliir Mills
Naismith JPK Parker
Florent Hewett Blakey
Papley Reid Heeney
Hayward Buddy McCartin
Rowbottom, Harry C, Stephens, Gray
If Buddy is not available, consider Sinclair/Squizzy/COR depending on match ups (if COR, then I guess Dawson or Lloyd gets pushed upfield so COR can play back).
That is not a bad team. The midfield is not A grade but could become so - is a good mix of youth and experience and also of ballwinners (JPK, Parker, Hewett) with outside speed. And apart from those lining up in the middle, players like Papley, Gray, Rowbottom, Stephens, Heeney, Dawson and Squizzy (if selected) able to rotate through as well. The forward line is excellent, especially if Buddy is playing. If he isn't, we have taller and shorter options depending on match ups. The backline has lost a lot of experience but is well drilled enough to cope adequately. It might be a smidge on the shorter side but with Reid and McCartin able to swing back that should not be too much of an issue.
The amount of depth waiting in the wings (much of it raw and untested or not ready yet) is so exciting. Selection will be tough and that's a great problem to have.
You have opted for the same old midfield that was not cutting it last year. I would break the mids into three groups with Hewett, JPK and Parker in different groupings not together. This changes the whole concept of our midfield, allows for more flexibility and creates an unknown factor for opponents
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Wolfy, I don't really know what you mean about three groups. Please can you elaborate? How would it work on the field? What are the other 2/3 'groups' doing if they are not in the midfield? How does it look when you write it down on paper? Have you posted your best 22?
The point is we have about a dozen players moving through the midfield. The ones named in the centre for the starting line up don't spend the whole game there. They are simply the most experienced, best credentialled midfielders so I've named them there in the starting line up. All of the players named in the starting midfield (excluding Naismith) can rotate forward as well. At a pinch a couple of them can also be rotated back, although the back 7 (including Harry C) are more stable/less fluid.
If you have read anything of me before you will realise I don't particularly believe in Best 22. What I mean by 2-3 groups, you always have rotations, is this;
JPK, Rowbottom, Harry
Parker, Florent, Mills
George, Heens, Paps
This is only an example. Dawson, Blakey, Grey, Taylor, Ronke, O'Riordan etc could all rotate through there depending on who we are playing. You need to more than match up on the opposition in this day and age. You need to have the wildcards to beat them in every position or at least match them and have several clear winners who snatch the victory for you. This is all a matter of personnel and tactics.
I would probably see Grey getting a gig in the mids as an experienced mid and helping a younger mid. If you have at least one super experienced mid at each contest with the talent we have he sets the tactics and the others fall into line. George, JPK, Parker, Grey, even Heens and Paps are experienced enough to be able to set the young guys and Dawson is a natural if he plays mids. We have the chance to be totally unpredictable if the tactics change completely. We can absolutely bamboozle other coaches and teams because our mids are an unknown factor playing like this. If we continue to play JPK, Parker and Hewee we are super predictable. JPK gets most of the hitouts, Parker blocks then takes the ball, Hewee receives and delivers. When it happens the other way it is because we are getting trounced in the ruck.
The set ups up the ground and in defence need to change. There is far too much reliance on Franklin in the forward line. This needs to be addressed. It is one of the reasons we have not evolved. If we have a more sharing forward line then I believe we are capable of kicking many more goals than we do. At this stage not only are forward entries down but when we get it in there we often have it there for long periods without scoring. This is because we tend to be tunnel visioned and mostly look for Lance. There are some really dangerous players there and some of them are going to be free when the opposition go two or three to Franklin. Let's use them and be a more holistic group.
As for the backs. There is no way Gould does not get a Guernsey. He will show in the preseason games just why we wanted him so much. He will play round one. He can play tall or small. He ran off young Foot in the Match Simulation which is no mean feat because Foot is damned quick. He burned off young Bell too. This is a guy who is nearly 100 kilos who can run off a winger or quick half back or half forward. He was a wonderful intercept mark at SANFL level. He is twice All Australian Under Ager. At 191 and 98 he is certainly body ready. The backs might have two new players this season. Brand could play. That would leave Rampe to do a more attacking role. We need to get rid of the panic kick out of defence. This kills us on too many occasions. It also puts the backs under severe pressure and they do not need that. With the new players all being very good ball users and now having Gould who can kicks as long as Lance or Dawson this is going to change things up a bit. I think we will be looking for a more coordinated and cool way out of pressure situations. We need to protect the player with the ball to allow them time to dispose well. In other words, shepherd. Not something Roos or Longmire have ever been fond of unfortunately. I think if we had protected the player with the ball we may have won more premierships instead of just being competitive. I hope Johnny finds he suddenly loves the shepherd and starts implementing it. One of the reasons for the blow out in 2014 was our lack of protecting the player with the ball. They hunted us. Our backs especially deserve more. We have the makings of a really strong backline.
I look at teams we play and then make my mind as to who out-matches their opponents in what position. I think that is the more holistic approach these days. A set team is going to be predictable. Certainly you need a certain amount of stability, I mean you would not have to change the team every week or even change the core group that are walk up starters unless you rest them. which could be an option for Kennedy, Naismith, Lance, Parker etc at different times, even Rampe. Just to freshen them up and keep them really crisp for the finals.
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