With Weideman and Brown out for the start of the season, I hope Goodwin shows some creativity and doesn't just bring in the next best two key forwards.

With so many midfielders now,  I would be starting Petracca forward with Jackson as key marking targets, with Fritsch a third tall. Trac can play key forward, rarely outmarked and he and Jackson would keep the defence guessing. Add in Pickett and perhaps a new draftee and its looks far more dynamic, with plenty of pace.

I feel if we go with a standard traditional Tmac forward with Petty / Brown it plays into the opposition who will love running off them.

Thoughts ?

we brought in sideshow bob as we want that two pillar structure of b brown / weed plus jackson and fritsch floating around and a couple of smalls in pickett and spargo

two are injured and one is missing a huge chunk of preseason due to a bereavement

i think they WILL try and keep the structure as intended of two talls, jackson and weed, another small, plus spargo

Good post. I haven't seen enough from Jackson to suggest that he has goal kicking nous so I would play Petty before him who has more exposed form (which is 1 good game but he looked more natural than Jackson).  Fritsch as the third tall. I'd keep Petracca as a mid. He kicks just as many goals as a midfielder anyway.  If Kozzie isn't right then I'd look for a Bailey Laurie to come in. Throw in Spargo on another pocket and I'd give Melksham a go for experience. 

HF:  Fritsch      Mcdonald      Melksham

FF.  Laurie         Petty             Spargo

33 minutes ago, Bay Riffin said:

With Weideman and Brown out for the start of the season, I hope Goodwin shows some creativity and doesn't just bring in the next best two key forwards.

With so many midfielders now,  I would be starting Petracca forward with Jackson as key marking targets, with Fritsch a third tall. Trac can play key forward, rarely outmarked and he and Jackson would keep the defence guessing. Add in Pickett and perhaps a new draftee and its looks far more dynamic, with plenty of pace.

I feel if we go with a standard traditional Tmac forward with Petty / Brown it plays into the opposition who will love running off them.

Thoughts ?

No doubt we need Fritsch and LJ up front. I reckon T Mac deserves a few games to see if he has returned to his old form. If he fails, bring in M Brown

But after that I would like some flexibility. Trac maybe 50-50,  we don't want to lose his explosiveness at stoppages too much

Add in Hunt, Laurie (?) and Kozzi and there is plenty of pace and skill and pressure

I’m not (currently) worried about our list. It has sufficient quality, depth and diversity.

However, I still have question marks about the quality and dynamism of our coaching (outside of the Ooze and Mr Williams).

Goodwin (potentially) still has a dynamic forward line available to him early this year. As stated in the opening post, this however will require some flair and out of the box thinking.

It’ll be interesting to see if Goodwin can will himself to get him there and smash the traditional, formulaic, old school paradigm-based forward line thinking. This is the zone in which the good coaches earn their pay.

Quite simply, we need to kick more goals this year. Goodwin knows this. Time will tell if he can execute/achieve this.

In the meantime, stay classy San Diego.

 

I just hope he doesn't play Frittas paddock again

8 hours ago, Bay Riffin said:

With Weideman and Brown out for the start of the season, I hope Goodwin shows some creativity and doesn't just bring in the next best two key forwards.

With so many midfielders now,  I would be starting Petracca forward with Jackson as key marking targets, with Fritsch a third tall. Trac can play key forward, rarely outmarked and he and Jackson would keep the defence guessing. Add in Pickett and perhaps a new draftee and its looks far more dynamic, with plenty of pace.

I feel if we go with a standard traditional Tmac forward with Petty / Brown it plays into the opposition who will love running off them.

Thoughts ?

I like Petty up forward..

 

HF Pickett Petty Jackson

FF Hunt Tmac Fritsch

 

And rotate Harmes and Petracca in there. I rate Hunt as a forward. Great kick and his pace destroys lines and backmen.

Edited February 17, 20214 yr by Doug Reemer

Majak has been invited to train with us, because as Alan Richardson has said they think he will be available R1. 

We didn't look at McCartin because he won't be available R1. We only invitedMD after Weidemann and BB were slated as being unavailable.

So if Majak proves to be what we need over the next couple of weeks...he WILL be playing in the forward line sans Weidemann and BB. 

Edited February 17, 20214 yr by george_on_the_outer

I like Petracca up forward in the early game to give Harmes and Brayshaw licence time do what they do best. They are underrated as first choice midfielders. And Sparrow looks to be stepping up. I think we can win the inside 50s anyway. 

We’ll need tall targets to try to perfect our system. We’re not expecting BB to be out for long and hopefully Weid can get back round 8 or so, so no sense going too left field structure wise. More time for Petracca for sure plus decent delivery and hitting targets would make a big difference.

50 minutes ago, Doug Reemer said:

I rate Hunt as a forward. Great kick and his pace destroys lines and backmen.

Agreed. I'm hoping Hunt lines up in the forward line come round 1 and should be considering he's coming off a 4 goal game.

Is one of our more natural goal kickers, and a pretty reliable set shot for goal.

 

29 minutes ago, george_on_the_outer said:

Majak has been invited to train with us, because as Alan Richardson has said they think he will be available R1. 

We didn't look at McCartin because he won't be available R1. We only invitedMD after Weidemann and BB were slated as being unavailable.

So if Majak proves to be what we need over the next couple of weeks...he WILL be playing in the forward line sans Weidemann and BB. 

I think you have assumed too much GOTO. He may play forward, but he may play back and May may play forward.  

Edited February 17, 20214 yr by ManDee
Remove error

I feel like you get more from rotating Petracca in and out of the forward / midfield line.  His fitness now warrants it as well.

I think LJ may surprise some this year with his agility as a key forward - especially through his ability to create a second contest after bringing the ball down, or to even rove under another tall.  Big unknown for me is his set shot. 

Fritsch has it all - apart from a set shot - fix that and he could be a 50 goal fwd - but we all know that. 

Mitch Brown, looked good when he played - although many DL'ers don't rate him.  He's tough and has an engine. Tick there as well.

For me I think they will play TMac forward again - maybe rotating him through the wing forward role.  I still think TMac's fitness and running is very hard to defend if he continues leading up the ground creating space for the other forwards. Even when he was playing poorly over the last two years, I still felt like he was just a couple of clunks away and he just looked half a yard off.  Hopefully as the training reports suggest he's addressed this fitness niggle time will tell.

Spargo - another perenially underrated player on DL - had a good season last year, and though not a fan favourite looks more than able of filling Kozzy's space.  He also provides a number of goal assists and linking play.  The key for him is providing lockdown small defense - which he has not been consistent at (same for Fritsch). 

I agree with the posts above, there is still some dynamic talent in this forward line even with Weed and BB out. How the coach pulls that together will be great to watch.  

Petracca at full forward in my opinion for the first part of the season. 

you have to go in with the same structure you've spent the last 3-4 months perfecting. Hunt has trained with the backline so he's playing in the backline, therefore round 1 is

Fritsch TMac Melky

Pickett(?) Jackson Spargo

 

8 hours ago, John Demonic said:

I just hope he doesn't play Frittas paddock again

That was such a disaster last year, he’s got some tricks but jeez playing him as our No 1 (especially the way we played) was such a ridiculous tactical blunder. 

Sounds a little boring but I think TMac goes back to being our FF, perhaps shuffling between CHF and FF with Jacko and Mitch Brown. 

I worry that Jacko is still to raw to take hold of the FF position (at least as the main FF). I also worry that Kozzie may need a little bit more time after Round one before he’s ready for selection. I also like Hunt forward, but I know he has been training with the defenders. Hunt and Fritta could rotate on the HFF and FP.

I would see us starting round one (assuming not more injuries!) something like this:

Fritch Jacko Melksham/Harmes

Hunt TMac Spargo  

(EDIT Also continue to have Petracca do stints up forward, potentially at FF for periods if he’s on fire. We actually need the midfield overall to kick more goals this year.)

Edited February 17, 20214 yr by Pates

Three tall forwards  stick with the structure  and wait for BBB and Weid to  be back from injury.  Trac is a power Mid then a forward when resting . We have a good mix of talls mediums and smalls now.

Tracs goals have mostly come from when he is playing a mid role. His goals are almost kicked on the run or marked outside the 50 metre arc.

Tmac , Jackson, M Brown    For round 1 unless BBB makes a miracle  return.

1 hour ago, Turner said:

you have to go in with the same structure you've spent the last 3-4 months perfecting. Hunt has trained with the backline so he's playing in the backline, therefore round 1 is

Fritsch TMac Melky

Pickett(?) Jackson Spargo

 

Agree. Plus I expect a seventh forward on the bench. I would imagine ANB would be the choice for his defensive pressure.

Half forward: Petracca, tmac, Fritsch

FF:  Spargo, Petty, Jackson.

Would rotate Petracca through middle with Brayshaw and Harmes.

Do not put melksham in the side.

I think it was Rd 6 last year before Weideman played his first game. T. McDonald was already struggling & Jackson had played just a few games as had Kozzie. This year we still don’t have Weideman but will get B.Brown back in the first half of the year...we have a more experienced Jackson..Gawn who isn’t carrying a bit of a “knee” & if we are to believe what we hear , McDonald is going pretty well. Also Vanders & Smith have a year under their belt after missing over a year. All of this has to translate onto game day but we may not need to be so pessimistic.

12 hours ago, Bay Riffin said:

With Weideman and Brown out for the start of the season, I hope Goodwin shows some creativity and doesn't just bring in the next best two key forwards.

 

Dont hold ur breath Bay.

Hopefully this is where Mark Williams will have some input. He is someone who can think outside the box. Make or break season for Goody with NO excuses.

On a side note but on the injury topic:

Saints are copping injuries left right and centre:

Marshall (stress fracture)

Paton (broken leg)

Geary (broken leg)

Crouch (suspended)

Z Jones (hamstring but should be available for round 1)

For the record we play them round 2.

We're really scratching around for a half descent forward line...(sigh)

Edited February 18, 20214 yr by one_demon

4 hours ago, george_on_the_outer said:

Majak has been invited to train with us, because as Alan Richardson has said they think he will be available R1. 

We didn't look at McCartin because he won't be available R1. We only invitedMD after Weidemann and BB were slated as being unavailable.

So if Majak proves to be what we need over the next couple of weeks...he WILL be playing in the forward line sans Weidemann and BB. 

Oh dear. We are in trouble then

Jackson, T Mc, Fritsch and rotating mids (we have multiple big body mid options) and smalls.

Run, pressure and moving to space matter more than tall targets, especially early in the season. 

Daw, M Brown, Petty all depth options.