Team Changes for the Eagles

[floppinab]

Now I am a completely biased Paul Bevan fan. He's a real goer a fantastic bloke and has strong links to the Sydney football community. His form in the seniors I thought had been pretty good since he came into the seniors albeit for the last couple of weeks.

However.......

http://www.smh.com.au/news/afl/offthecuff-call-that-turned-season-around/2006/09/03/1157222011018.html

"Roos said if he was to make any changes for the West Coast game, he would look at bringing midfielder Paul Bevan into the team.

"I think Bevo is ? the guy who we need to decide on," he said. "He's fit, he's aggressive, he runs really well. You look at the team and make sure everyone has pulled up, but I can't see anyone other than Bevo forcing their way back in.""

You've got to wonder where Roos is coming from some times. Bevo looked lost in the seconds yesterday, was a full back for a while (and was beaten in a few contests resulting in a couple of Wagga goals) just generally looked out of touch as several others have noted on the Reserves thread. If it's good enough for Matthews then why not Bevan I s'pose.

[graystar]

The old googly by Roos I hope.

[adnar]

Maybe for dempster? He had a shocker, although I don't think Bevo did much to warrant a spot.

[liz]

Originally posted by adnar
Maybe for dempster? He had a shocker, although I don't think Bevo did much to warrant a spot.

Dempster didn't have a "shocker" - more like the curate's egg.

The two shots on goal (term used loosely) were terrible decisions but he also created two with long long long kicks to the goal square and did a few nice things around the packs.

[ScottH]

Originally posted by liz
Dempster didn't have a "shocker" - more like the curate's egg.

The two shots on goal (term used loosely) were terrible decisions but he also created two with long long long kicks to the goal square and did a few nice things around the packs. Yep, not his two best efforts. Fosdike had some of the worst disposal yesterday.

[garethb83]

Originally posted by ScottH
Yep, not his two best efforts. Fosdike had some of the worst disposal yesterday.

Oh come on, Fossie just had a bit of Carlton kicking 2 goals in the first! Since it wasn't looking likely, he had to do something about it! :D

Something you won't see again this year.

[adnar]

Originally posted by ScottH
Yep, not his two best efforts. Fosdike had some of the worst disposal yesterday.

I thought so too. Right before that great goal he made about 4 bad stuff ups in a row, even the shot at goal should not have been, was surprised to hear him talked up by comentators.

[stellation]

I have a soft spot for Bevan, but I can't really pick who would (realistically) make way for him out of the Round 22 side.

Bevan coming in would appear to contradict some of the Roos edicts from this year that kept Davis out of the seniors- Form and Fitness (Bevan wasn't great in the Magoos) and not making changes to a winning side.

[CureTheSane]

I never really post on these type of threads.

But.....

Bevan out.

Anyone else in

[ScottH]

Originally posted by CureTheSane
I never really post on these type of threads.

But.....

Bevan out.

Anyone else in :confused:

Bevan is already out, CTS.

[ugg]

Roos may be concerned about the impact that Le Cras and Armstrong will have as small forwards.

Still, I can't see who you could drop from that side. Dempster is probably the most likely being the "22nd player" on that team but he'll a useful matchup in defence on the likes of Embley.

Unless of course, Roos wants to start another furore by dropping Nicky D!

[DST]

Barring form and injuries the side that played on the weekend is the one that will take us all the way through now.

Only two possible changes and that will be match-up purposes.

Bevan to come into the team as a running, negating midfielder for the wide open spaces of Subi. I reckon from Roos's comments he has put the onus on Bevan to give his all at training this week to get a spot as their may just be one with the Eagles midfield and space at Subi.

Grundy to come into the team as the fourth marking forward, should we go up against an undersized defence such as Melbourne. Can't see Grundy getting a game at Subi due to his slight lack of leg speed.

Overall pretty happy with the balance of the team, but would love to have Crouch in the side to play on those pesky small forwards and move into the midfield when needed (ala 2005 GF).

DST
:D

[CureTheSane]

Originally posted by CureTheSane
I never really post on these type of threads.

But.....

Bevan out.

Anyone else in

Um, yeah.

So much Bevan on this thread I was brainwashed.

What I meant to say was.....

Fosdike out.

Anyone else in :D

[barry]

Originally posted by DST
Overall pretty happy with the balance of the team, but would love to have Crouch in the side to play on those pesky small forwards and move into the midfield when needed (ala 2005 GF).

DST
:D

The only pesky small forward I can think of that cries out "Crouch" would be Farmer, but we may not even meet Freo.

Farmer would be an interesting match up for us at the moment. Who would we use: Matthews, Bevan, Dempster, Schnieder ?

[Sanecow]

Originally posted by barry
Farmer would be an interesting match up for us at the moment. Who would we use: Matthews, Bevan, Dempster, Schnieder ?

Davis, natch.

[TheHood]

In: Bevan
Out: Richards

I am not sure how much faith you can put in Teddy only because his position is not quite settled, seems to be playing loose and if Rossy does not want that tactic, then Teddy is dispensable.

[SimonH]

You couldn't fairly drop anyone from that 22 (well, you could always drop Mathews, but let's not go there yet again) for the Weagles game.

Fosdike had an absolute stinker yesterday despite the miracle goal (got a lot of it, but butchered it with monotonous regularity) but has been in pretty good form generally, so you wouldn't go dropping him on that one performance.

Ted is playing his best footy since turning up, appears to really have gelled with the rest of the team, and is an ideal 'medium-tall utility' benchwarmer who can plug gaps as they appear, whether it's playing a loose man in defence or something else. I agree, though, that if Roos wants to pursue a particular tactical game against the Weagles and he doesn't fit within it, he could be dispensable.

I regret to say that, even though Grundy has somethin', at this stage of his development he would almost inevitably get found out for pace and endurance at the big Subiaco.

If someone was to go, I can actually see the value of Bevan (or alternatively Phillips), but more as a running, negating 'forward' than a midfielder.

I really like the idea of playing Doyle up forward, at least part-time. It creates another option (the guy can take a grab), and minimises the ability of the opposition to double-(and even triple!)team BBBH when he drops back inside our 50. In terms of selection, you're getting a 2-for-1 as there's no question we have to play a 2nd ruckman anyway.

But, especially on a big ground, you can't play a relatively slow big man in the goalsquare without a fairly constant presence of fast crumbing and pressure-creating players; otherwise if he fails to take the grab, the Weagles will be able to waltz out of defence under little pressure. The Weagles discovered this to their detriment in the 2005 GF with Gardiner playing FF, and Matera watching from the grandstand. A forward line with BBBH, MOL and Davis in it, is not exactly a forward line blessed with hard-tackling crumbers expert in keeping the ball in our 50 if the mark isn't taken. Schneider and other part-time forwards can only do so much, and may be required elsewhere. Even against the rabblous Carlton, this seemed to be a weakness with the 'Doyle up forward' plan.

[AnnieH]

They're not Weagles .... they're BUDGIES.

I've never seen a blue & yellow eagle.

(OK everyone, don't dump on me all at once, I can't take it) ....

Ablett out.

Yeah, yeah, he'll jump on top of the ball;
Yeah, yeah, he'll enter a contest;
Yeah, yeah, he'll pull down a screamer ...

His effective disposal rate is atrocious.

[ScottH]

Originally posted by Annie Haddad
They're not Weagles .... they're BUDGIES.

I've never seen a blue & yellow eagle.

(OK everyone, don't dump on me all at once, I can't take it) ....

Ablett out.

Yeah, yeah, he'll jump on top of the ball;
Yeah, yeah, he'll enter a contest;
Yeah, yeah, he'll pull down a screamer ...

His effective disposal rate is atrocious. And replace with whom?

[AnnieH]

Originally posted by ScottH
And replace with whom?

Don't ask me hard questions!!
:D
There's no-one really, is there?
I shouldn't be so hard on poor Ablett. He IS a tough little worker, although I do wish he'd work on his disposals.
I don't envisage they'll drop him.

[liz]

Originally posted by Annie Haddad
Don't ask me hard questions!!
:D
There's no-one really, is there?
I shouldn't be so hard on poor Ablett. He IS a tough little worker, although I do wish he'd work on his disposals.
I don't envisage they'll drop him.

His disposal against Geelong was close to immaculate. He was very good in the games leading up to that one too. He was a little quieter yesterday but don't recall any real shockers and he only just grazed the inside of the post from a shot at goal from 60m out.

[AnnieH]

Originally posted by Dr Diabolical
Well, I'd put him on Fletcher and they can both turn over the ball with monotonous regularity, but i think that is Mathews' job, so probably put Ablett on Cousins. But Cousins is in great form at the moment, so it's a big ask! We need to find someone else (who?) to play on Judd.

Put Ablett on Cousins so he can KICK IT TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

[ScottH]

Originally posted by Dr Diabolical
Well, I'd put him on Fletcher and they can both turn over the ball with monotonous regularity, but i think that is Mathews' job, so probably put Ablett on Cousins. But Cousins is in great form at the moment, so it's a big ask! We need to find someone else (who?) to play on Judd. Ablett has said he likes being given the tough assignments. So give him another crack.

[hammo]

I don't know how anyone can have complaints about Ablett's form. He played really well yesterday (including a perfect delivery to Hall ?? from heavy traffic in the 3rd quarter) and has been in good touch for a number of weeks now.

[AnnieH]

Originally posted by hammo
I don't know how anyone can have complaints about Ablett's form. He played really well yesterday (including a perfect delivery to Hall ?? from heavy traffic in the 3rd quarter) and has been in good touch for a number of weeks now.

Yes, he's been in good touch "for a number of weeks now". A fine time to be coming into some sort of form.

His "effective" disposal rate is still atrocious.

Maybe next year (with the value of experience) he'll pick it up a notch.

[floppinab]

Originally posted by SimonH


Ted is playing his best footy since turning up, appears to really have gelled with the rest of the team, and is an ideal 'medium-tall utility' benchwarmer who can plug gaps as they appear, whether it's playing a loose man in defence or something else. I agree, though, that if Roos wants to pursue a particular tactical game against the Weagles and he doesn't fit within it, he could be dispensable.


Disagree with you there Simon. Was keeping a close eye on Matthews and Richards yesterday and while both improved as the game went on I was particularly pissed when a couple of times Richards yet again pulled out of a contest, one was in the first q. forward line ffs when he should have hit the contest hard and he bloody pulled out and put a soft body on the Carlton marker. He will get eaten alive in the finals IMO, the other teams will target him knowing how soft he is.

[ScottH]

Originally posted by Dr Diabolical
He might like it, but he sucks playing on Judd. I meant Cousins.

[SimonH]

Originally posted by Annie Haddad
Ablett out.

Yeah, yeah, he'll jump on top of the ball;
Yeah, yeah, he'll enter a contest;
Yeah, yeah, he'll pull down a screamer ...

His effective disposal rate is atrocious. Ablett well and truly justified being dropped up until about 5 weeks ago, but since then has been playing good footy. The occasion yesterday where he swooped on a Matt Lappin error in front of the Carlton bench and then ran away from Lappin like he wasn't trying (well, okay, he wasn't trying), was a pleasure to watch.

When looking at 'errors' (i.e. ineffective disposals), you have to compare apples with apples. If you're getting the ball in defence, or receiving outside of the pack, you're expected to make few errors. If you're fighting hard to get the ball out at the bottom of a crowded pack, or taking a chance to create a goal, you'll commit more. BBBH leads the entire AFL for errors, whereas you'd expect Jarrad McVeigh to commit relatively few (and he does). NOG's error rate is not terribly good (3.4/game), but he's not the worst in the competition nor in our side in that respect.

Today's fun fact: Sydney has the fewest disposals (http://www.pro-stats.com.au/psw/web/team_rankings?ts=TT) of any side in the comp by a massive margin (over 400 fewer than the second-lowest team), but commits the most errors (see the same page)!

Play Goodes in the middle, and it's up to the Weagles if they want to play 'shoot-out footy' and put Judd on him again. If not, esp with Crouch out, you have to rotate on Judd. Among the contenders are Fosdike, Buchanan and Kirk. NOG and Dempster are among those who can take Cousins, depending on where he plays.

[goswannie14]

Originally posted by adnar
Maybe for dempster? He had a shocker, although I don't think Bevo did much to warrant a spot. You can't have been watching the match I'm watching on the TV at the moment. Dempster is playing quite well. Unfortunatley Fozzie had a shocker.

OOOOHHHH this is my 4000th post, better make it count.

Annie, how can you call for Ablett to be dropped, he is always at the bottom of the pack, getting the ball out, and his kicking is great most of the time, particlulary, as Simon said, in the last few weeks, he is really putting in and has justified his place in the team.

[stellation]

Originally posted by liz
His disposal against Geelong was close to immaculate. He was very good in the games leading up to that one too. He was a little quieter yesterday but don't recall any real shockers and he only just grazed the inside of the post from a shot at goal from 60m out.
Didn't he pop a few out on the full?

[JudesaGun]

No one deserves to be dropped for Bevan. He's a Ben Matthews want-to-be, no awareness, low on skill, gets tackled far too easily, an average defensive player at best.

I'm with SimonH. Go Goodes on Judd, head-to-head, Goodes kille dhim in the first half at Subiaco earlier thsi year and given his rapid improvement since then, teh results could be scary. If Judd gets out of hand I thinK Dempster is probably our best match-up. He has both the speed to take Judd around the ground and the height to take him overhead.

As for the others:

NOG - Cousins
Bolton - Kerr
Kirk - Fletcher
LRT - floating ruckman
Barry - Lynch
Bolton - Embley
Schnieder - Sampi

[AnnieH]

Originally posted by goswannie14
You can't have been watching the match I'm watching on the TV at the moment. Dempster is playing quite well. Unfortunatley Fozzie had a shocker.

OOOOHHHH this is my 4000th post, better make it count.

Annie, how can you call for Ablett to be dropped, he is always at the bottom of the pack, getting the ball out, and his kicking is great most of the time, particlulary, as Simon said, in the last few weeks, he is really putting in and has justified his place in the team.

I've admitted that in the last four or so weeks his game has improved 30% .... it's just that it's really, really, really frustrating to see the kid put in all the hard work, just to kick it straight to the opposition or into a contest that nine time out of ten goes back to the opposition ('cause I don't know what happened to the rovers).

I don't really wanna see him dropt, I wanna see him continue to improve like he has.

I don't mind eating my words at all, and I wish to God he'll make me eat a full plate of them.

[Gary]

As i noted earlier in the year, & after the Carlton game, & Adnar took it up here, the Fozzie disposal is a lottery at times...3 or 4 times in a few minutes he got the ball well & kicked poorly with no pressure. Then he kicked that goal. He's in my team but...we can't afford to have a high error rate this week.
Dempster was ordinary but I wouldn't drop him for Bevan...are they crazy? Dempster has a nice kick but plays with blinkers i.e. no peripheral vision...no lateral skills...so if he is on a "bad line" it goes OOB...like twice on Sunday. Too late to find a suitable replacement.

[goswannie14]

Originally posted by Annie Haddad
I don't mind eating my words at all, and I wish to God he'll make me eat a full plate of them. LRT has done that to all of us.:o

[DST]

Current wisdom this year seems to suggest that you play your quick hard running midfielder on Judd and hope to make him accountable and thus reduce his effectiveness some what.

It worked for us in the last game at Subi, so it's Goodes for me head to head with Judd. Goodes can take him deep forward and try and stretch overhead as well.

DST

[DST]

Originally posted by Dr Diabolical
I think there are flaws with this.

It worked very well in the first half and very badly in the second half.

The sensible option for WC would be to put someone on Goodes (ie: not Judd) and let Judd run off and do his own thing.

While Goodes will ultimately be responsible for Judd, it would also be up to others in the team to make sure that Judd is blocked and has body pressure applied to make sure that Goodes is given space at the contest.

I think it's a good idea and obiviously coaches in the AFL think so as well (including Roos) as it is how teams are currently playing Judd, especially after the heavy tag option didn't seem to work.

I would much rather see Judd trailing Goodes than making space and being dangerous himself.

DST

[dendol]

I think we'll see Embley or Stenglein on Goodes. I dont think Worsfold will allow our one and dangerous midfielder to have a free reign in Brownlow winning form. I know Roos has, to some extent, taken Judd headon at times (Willo vs Judd in 2004 final), I dont think Worsfold will do the same with Goodes.

[TheHood]

The Judd Goodes match-up has an air of inevitability about it.

For the first half yesterday Goodesy was at every contest. He wasn't necessarily ?n"every contest but he was there just-in-case.

Judd does basically the same thing, they are both everywhere-men.

Hard to see them not going head to head!