Parker to kick 35 goals playing mostly as a forward
Parker to kick 35 goals playing mostly as a forward
The minimal or nil appearances from our key players has provided a fast track opportunity in 2021 for our youth and fringe players .....this has been earlier than expected and healthy for our squads trajectory.
Downside, have we seen the best from Bud or worse still the last ?
Can our key forward Sam Reid kick 40 plus in 2021 to help paps etc make us dangerous up front with more scoreboard hurt? Unlikely !
Can more games played from those injured in 2020 actually lead to more wins in 2021....answer yes !
How many? maybe 3 to 5 more wins vs 2020 depending on total games played next season.
Is this acceptable to be outside the top8 again? Answer no. Not for 3 years running.
If we see a massive jump in games won in 2022 and we shoot into the top4 .....will the years outside the top8 be just a distant memory? Answer ... most likely unless a flash in the pan and we shuffle sideways or backwards because we can not attract enough strike power via fair dinkum mature marque talent.
So many people are mentioning getting the injured players back and keeping them on the park. This is imperative. As for Heeney's best position, I now believe it is forward. I think he could do a Modra for many year more than Modra did. Unless, like Modra, he gets the bug to just surf his life away lol. I also believe Mills mush come into the mids. He was really good the couple of times he went in there last season. Replace him in the backs with Gould. Hewee back into the mids will make a hell of a difference. He does not need 30-35 to hurt opposition. He is such a good user, creative and elusive.
I also thing That the Kennedy/Parker partnership has to be broken up as it is too predictable. With Hewett the third it is even more predictable. So I would like to see the mids split like this as the first two groupings;
Kennedy, Rowbottom, Hewett
Mills, Parker, Florent
Alternatively these players if they are playing pinch hit in there as well; Taylor, Papley, Clarke, Ronke, Warner, Campbell, Dawson, Blakey & Gulden.
The outside mids; Stephens, Dawson, Harry, Bell, Blakey, McInerney
Whenever Mills is thrown in the middle it's because there are injuries or we're desperate. I really hope in 2021 we get 3 months straight of time in there for him to see what he's got.
I agree with all of this. For us to do improve, our midfield needs to find an extra gear. I doubt it will come from Kennedy and Parker - their contributions are already at their respective peaks.
We need midfielders who can run all day and compete. Get back into defense to help propel us out of the backline, move through the middle swiftly, then get forward to help keep the ball in our F50 and generate repeat inside 50s. Hard tackling and overwhelming the opposition by swarming them. Modern footy, like it or not, is all about pressure. We have gone from a team that thrived on the pressure to one that more often than not, cracks under the pressure of our opposition, who now run and tackle harder than we do.
I feel if our young midfielders don't continue to make significant strides, we won't improve our ladder position significantly in 2021. Love to see one of our young mids have a breakout season - maybe Ollie Florent?
Ollie was a bit of a whipping boy on RWO last season, he looked to be in sparkling form early on, then the possessions seemed to dry up.
It wasn't till the Saints game (against Hill) that I noticed that he was often being given more defensive roles.
I suspect these may well enhance his development and perhaps, as you suggest lead, to just such a breakout season.
Loose translation from the Latin is - I am tall, so I hit out.
If and only if we have a good year with injuries anything but finals would be a fail.
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