Scratch Matches 2020

[Pates 9,659]

3 hours ago, Lord Travis said:

Weids drop in form has coincided with a lack of stability in his assigned role. He was drafted young and is still only 22 years old. He was on a clearly upward trajectory and was regularly kicking goals in the VFL when not playing at AFL. His last two months in 2018 at AFL level were very good and showed he has the tools to be a damaging forward. 

Fast forward to 2020 and he keeps getting thrown around, not being given a stable role up forward that he suits. His development has been poor, and I have no doubt if he leaves the club he will excel at another club. He's just another example of a talented youngster going backwards over time due to poor development. Look at Brayshaw - pick 3 and seven years on he's barely contributing. Petracca has taken forever to "shows signs" he could be a great player. Oliver stagnated years ago and is less damaging now than he was two years ago. And they're the more successful high draft picks. Look at others before them and it's embaressing. Until our club gets better at development, we will not be a competitor. 

Weid needs to come in for Jackson this week, and needs to play as a tall forward for a block of games, not thrown around the ground in a hybrid ruck role.

Absolutely spot on, the one thing our club seems to be consistent with is taking promising players and throwing them around into different roles that don't work for them to the point they lose confidence. Playing Jackson in front of Weiderman on the back of what I'd say was a couple of good signs just smacked of the old Melbourne attitude of "he's a top 3 draft pick so we have to play him", he's raw and got talent but jeez can we just let him develop his body first? And meanwhile I can't actually think of the last time where Weids was just given a simple role as forward target, why does he have to be used in a hybrid ruck/forward role?

If we swap JL out for Weids I'd like to see the match committee use TMac and Thomo as the chop out rucks.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,798]

Is pleasing to read from the reserves match review that Bradke played almost a full game in the ruck and had a good game.  Perhaps it's starting to click for him and his development will accelerate from here.  Also pleasing from the perspective that it permitted Weid to play mostly forward and that he too seemed to find some marking form (whatever actually means in a semi scratch match under non typical fielded player numbers).

I also take some hart in Oscar reportedly getting back some confidence.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,798]

Interesting that under more limited playing numbers on the field (14 a side or whatever) that two key forwards kick 5 goals each and take a bunch of marks.

The combination of unlimited interchange numbers, four on the bench, flooding defensive 50m and zone defenses has absolutely butchered the free flowing, 1 on 1 contested character of our game. 

Perhaps instead of cutting game time, the AFL need to get more radical and aggressive on limiting rotations and perhaps even dropping back to 16 a side and two on the bench?

[Engorged Onion 10,215]

4 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Interesting that under more limited playing numbers on the field (14 a side or whatever) that two key forwards kick 5 goals each and take a bunch of marks.

The combination of unlimited interchange numbers, four on the bench, flooding defensive 50m and zone defenses has absolutely butchered the free flowing, 1 on 1 contested character of our game. 

Perhaps instead of cutting game time, the AFL need to get more radical and aggressive on limiting rotations and perhaps even dropping back to 16 a side and two on the bench?

I hear what you are saying @Rodney (Balls) Grinter, although it's hardly radical as this has been spoken about for nigh on 15 years. It's purpose is for both aesthetic reasons (as you speak about) but also reducing high impact collision injuries.

For me, it beggars belief why it hasn't been signed off.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,798]

11 minutes ago, Engorged Onion said:

I hear what you are saying @Rodney (Balls) Grinter, although it's hardly radical as this has been spoken about for nigh on 15 years. It's purpose is for both aesthetic reasons (as you speak about) but also reducing high impact collision injuries.

For me, it beggars belief why it hasn't been signed off.

Agree that it's hardly a new concept, but I think taking playing positions from the feild and/or even the bench is a more noticeable/radical change for the AFL to have to sell to the football public than just tinkering by restricting 10 or 20 less rotations and shortening quarters by 2 - 5mins or whatever they have tended to do at any one time.  If they were to bite the bullet and restrict feild numbers, the improvement in the game style would sell it to the football public pretty quickly and easily I think.

[Diamond_Jim 12,526]

While talking about one of the players who was playing on the wing the comment is made that the game was played mainly up the centre.

Have not been in favour of penalties for the ball going out of bounds but perhaps its time to discourage the boundary line play (Norf did it non stop against GWS) by penalising the last substantive play.