I thought this article would be worth posting to add to the occasional discussion on this forum regarding our perceived need for more "tall forwards". Here's Garry Lyon's feelings on the matter.

Garry Lyon article

Lost me when he said Bate was deceptively quick! Has he seen him try to turn?

I suppose that's why he's "deceptively" quick as opposed to "obviously" quick.

Incidentally, I haven't posted this as a form of praise for Matthew Bate, moreso part of an ongoing discussion about the need for forwards taller than the (as nominated by some) magic number of 193cm.

Yeah true.

I think he has a very good argument.

I think Watts also fits into this mould as well...

With the need to be able to move around the ground a lot the monster will find it more difficult. But there will always be a need for a brown or hall i think

An interesting read.

Leading forwards are very much in fashion at the moment. However, one day there will be a player as good as Alister Lynch was at standing in the goal square and beating his opponent one on one. Just because Hawkins and Neagle are no good at this doesn't mean there isn't a place for it. Hale got a couple of goals on us last weekend doing exactly that.

Hale got 1 goal doing that.

He's not saying that big forwards will never kick goals again, he's saying the more mobile "big" forwards are going to kick the lion's share of the goals in years to come.

If Watts can play this style of game at 196cm+ it makes him extremely dangerous.

look back a few years ago to when bate was drafted and youll find that he was one of the quickest on our list over 20 meters.

since then we have drafted a number of players with good pace, so he may have dropped down the list a bit and 20 meter pace is not the first few step 5 meter pace which lets you break those lines sometimes.

but if he is in a straight line he goes alright.

pace has nothing to do with turning either. he has the turning circle of the QE2

Lost me when he said Bate was deceptively quick! Has he seen him try to turn?

He said he's quick because he IS quick. In his first couple of seasons he played in the middle of the ground. In straight lines Bate is VERY fast. Kind of like Merrett at the Lions.

Just because you're a big man and don't have great lateral movement doesn't mean there aren't other kinds of pace to be extracted. Against the Lions he was way out ahead on leads.

But don't let me stop you on your Bate hatred.

Matty Bate = The new Bruce (as soon as he retires). A player unfairly mailigned for no particular reason.

MFC fans 2010 = Richmond fans 2004.

look back a few years ago to when bate was drafted and youll find that he was one of the quickest on our list over 20 meters.

since then we have drafted a number of players with good pace, so he may have dropped down the list a bit and 20 meter pace is not the first few step 5 meter pace which lets you break those lines sometimes.

but if he is in a straight line he goes alright.

pace has nothing to do with turning either. he has the turning circle of the QE2

somtimes that can be an advantage for a left footer though. Many of the taller left footed forwards are like that: Cloke, Hart, Lloyd. It need not be a disadvantage. Interestingly much of Bate's running is up the ground on a long lead where he has more than adequate leg speed. On those sort of leads he is almost always sufficiently ahead of his opponent to be able to mark.

Gary Lyon I know is a bit of a fan of his. He has stated on many occasions that in a side with an elite mid field Bate would be a top 50 player in the competition. Maybe that time is about to arrive. With Liam, Wonna, Morton, Sylvia,Trengove and a fit and firing JW in full flight, it will be quite a forward line.

Bring it on.