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Mitch Hannan - wing?

old55
in Melbourne Demons

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23 minutes ago, A F said:

Have an ability to give us a kicker at stoppages ala Bontempelli. If he can play a Merrett like role, that will provide us with increased flexibility and diversity. So he can be moved from half back to a wing to the midfield and back again.

Isn't that because of the role he is given: defender and not midfielder.  Also most of our field stoppages are taken by the midfielders which would be by design rather than inability on Salem's part.

I recall in the 2019 preseason/season he trained/played in the midfield but after a few games he was moved back.  imv that was because our 4/5 starting midfielders are so inflexible they can't play other roles (except Petracca) rather than Salem lacking the ability for midfield/stoppages. 

I'm not sure how he can take the 'next step' you suggest without a positional change.  Maybe if we recruit Saad it would free Salem up to play a wing role like Langdon.  He could then be the outlet player at stoppages, roam the backline like Langdon and pop up for a few goals. 

Edited by Lucifer's Hero

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    21 hours ago, nosoupforme said:

    Yes! good call..........Polly.  

    He probably hasn't  the endurance that Langdon has but who does.  Hannan is a good mark and a good size for a wing position.. His pinpoint  passing is almost perfect. He will be 27 at the start of the  2021 season with a mature body.

     Could be a masterstroke !   It would probably come down to a strong pre season from him.   Is Goody listening.

    Trouble with him is thinks he's in the army. He then goes awol far too often. Plays 1 good impact game in 5, hard to carry someone like that. He's always done it and probably always will. 

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    3 hours ago, Lace Out said:

    I’d strongly consider moving Melksham to the wing. He has the legs and the distribution. 
     

    Struggled to get into games this year but also played some defensive roles, my enjoy the freedom. I think if we shifted him to the wing, Hunt could cover the role up forward.

    I’m a fan of trying Melk as well if we don’t bring in Polec or similar. The defensive work on the wing is often less intense than at half forward, not as many quick changes of direction and less congestion. I get the feeling Melkshams work rate is find, it’s his intensity that goes missing.

    Plus he’ll find more of the ball and it opens up a half forward spot for a better defensive player or another tall. 

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    1 hour ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

    Isn't that because of the role he is given: defender and not midfielder.  Also most of our field stoppages are taken by the midfielders which would be by design rather than inability on Salem's part.

    I recall in the 2019 preseason/season he trained/played in the midfield but after a few games he was moved back.  imv that was because our 4/5 starting midfielders are so inflexible they can't play other roles (except Petracca) rather than Salem lacking the ability for midfield/stoppages. 

    I'm not sure how he can take the 'next step' you suggest without a positional change.  Maybe if we recruit Saad it would free Salem up to play a wing role like Langdon.  He could then be the outlet player at stoppages, roam the backline like Langdon and pop up for a few goals. 

    My read on this, which could be wrong, is that we're not sure if Salem's contest game and ability to win ball himself is good enough to play mid. As we know, a lot easier to play the half back role than win your own ball in the middle.

    I want him to utilise his kicking more than he does. If he ever pushes up to the 50m arc, he usually hits a leading target that results in a score. We need more of that from midfield. For this reason I think Fritsch and Melksham (if both are playing), should play high half forward, because their delivery is usually brilliant. Salem is another I'd like to try between centre wing and forward 50. 

    The inflexibility of the midfield is absolutely a problem, which is why I'd play Viney in the forward pocket and be open to trading Gus if we could land an A grader (Merrett).

    I think if we land Saad he'll almost certainly move up the ground, but even without Saad, I'd like to see Rivers given more responsibility and even bring in Lockhart to play deeper and allow Rivers a bit of latitude to attack.

    If Salem played on a wing, I think you'd have to try and stretch him defensively (as an opposition), but I think playing at half back for as long as he has, he's a lot better defensively these days and often wingers are a bit on the softer side by nature, so tackle and run hard and use your kicking to set up scoring chains and you'll be doing your job. I'd like to see it tried. (and I'm not claiming Salem is inherently soft at the contest)

    If you let Salem get a look from just outside 50 he'll hit up a leading target or kick the goal himself. He could become a weapon. 

    Edited by A F

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    In general our half forwards need to work up the ground more and consistently impact games and connect our attacks. We have too many low possession half forwards who will have their day in the sun every 4 or 5 weeks, but give us nothing in between. A player like Hannan should be averaging ~15 touches a game with a bunch of inside 50s and score involvements, but I’m guessing he wouldn’t even average 10 touches.

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    33 minutes ago, A F said:

    My read on this, which could be wrong, is that we're not sure if Salem's contest game and ability to win ball himself is good enough to play mid. As we know, a lot easier to play the half back role than win your own ball in the middle.

    I want him to utilise his kicking more than he does. If he ever pushes up to the 50m arc, he usually hits a leading target that results in a score. We need more of that from midfield. For this reason I think Fritsch and Melksham (if both are playing), should play high half forward, because their delivery is usually brilliant. Salem is another I'd like to try between centre wing and forward 50. 

    The inflexibility of the midfield is absolutely a problem, which is why I'd play Viney in the forward pocket and be open to trading Gus if we could land an A grader (Merrett).

    I think if we land Saad he'll almost certainly move up the ground, but even without Saad, I'd like to see Rivers given more responsibility and even bring in Lockhart to play deeper and allow Rivers a bit of latitude to attack.

    If Salem played on a wing, I think you'd have to try and stretch him defensively (as an opposition), but I think playing at half back for as long as he has, he's a lot better defensively these days and often wingers are a bit on the softer side by nature, so tackle and run hard and use your kicking to set up scoring chains and you'll be doing your job. I'd like to see it tried. (and I'm not claiming Salem is inherently soft at the contest)

    If you let Salem get a look from just outside 50 he'll hit up a leading target or kick the goal himself. He could become a weapon. 

    That's a long list of improvements, Ah1

    Just not sure Salem is being played in his best position so see it difficult for him to go 'to the next level' until that changes.

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    48 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

    That's a long list of improvements, Ah1

    Just not sure Salem is being played in his best position so see it difficult for him to go 'to the next level' until that changes.

    I reckon they'll play him up the ground. We'll see who we bring in to improve our forward entries and ball use out of midfield, then we'll know about where Salem would best fit.

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    5 hours ago, Lace Out said:

    I’d strongly consider moving Melksham to the wing. He has the legs and the distribution. 
     

    Struggled to get into games this year but also played some defensive roles, my enjoy the freedom. I think if we shifted him to the wing, Hunt could cover the role up forward.

    A good option if he could gut run both ways LO.  I've seen him do some good things out wide but only in small doses.

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    9 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

    Well he actually didn't..

    If you'd had watched some of the Casey games last year like i did, you would know that Bedford spent major of his time as a forward pocket. In those games Baker, Stretch and JKH were our lock in wingers at VFL level last year.

    Played through the midfield and wing in majority of games I watched, did see him play some time forward as well.
    Which was every home game and every away game south side of the city. 

    Edited by Ham

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