Christian Salem - Straight back to the backline or something different?

[Deeko2 763]

49 minutes ago, Maldonboy38 said:

There is more to Salem's role at half back, than merely being a great kick. He is a whole lot tougher and stronger when tackling or body-to-body than most people realise (Hunt is the same). As well as initiating breath-taking 45 degree angle kicks or delivering into the corridor, he stops a lot of plays. 

He goes straight back to his half back role after a 2/3 or 3/4 game at Casey first. Rivers moves out for him.

Spot on Maldonboy.  He's not just a wonderful kick from the backline but he's also a very solid defender now and hard as a cats scone.

Just because someone can play another role, doesn't mean they should.  Especially when they're doing a great job where they are.  I've seen May play some great stints up forward but we're not going to swap him there unless something's really gone to crap.  Good work on the OP for the positives and negatives but it just shouldn't (and wont) happen in this case.

Watching the last couple weeks, I have felt we're a bit fumbly in defence anyway with the ball slipping through Lever's hands, May missing simple field kicks, Smith missing grabs etc.  It seems opposition teams are winning it back more than usual.

Salem in immediately makes us a more controlled team exiting defence.  He's a must in for me and to play only on the back flank.

 

[Sir Why You Little 36,328]

Watch the GF again 

Salem was Mr Cool in the First Quarter 

He already plays the attacking role

[daisycutter 29,090]

i don't have any doubt that brayshaw and salem are interchangeable on either hbf or wing

the benefit with salem on wing is we then have a true right foot/ left foot combos on the wings plus salem would give smarter forward 50 entries

conversely i think salem is a better hbf than brayshaw but not by much

however i would be loath to change a winning premiership setup, but the fwd 50 entries need to be better

[DEE fence 4,844]

6 hours ago, Pates said:

Love the idea of Salem up forward but as someone said earlier to shift him mid year could be a tricky proposition. 

He’s not quick but his tackling is excellent, when he tackles someone they go down hard!

Hypothetically if he was to return during a time where we lack some class up forward it could be worth a crack. 

I used to think he was not quick but then i saw this.

From 2021 - all these speeds would get you a gig as a striker in the top half of the premier league - Salem is a smart runner, picks his moments and uses his speed to create time for those great kicks, is an extremely smooth mover with efficient running technique, could just about balance a cup on his head. He is I agree a vicious tackler. I noticed that Goodwin said they have a plan for Salem when he gets tagged, so obviously other coaches have noticed what a key play maker he is. I think the game has evolved, just as we have full ground defense with our small forwards chief role to shut down space, Salem is not a defender, he is a QB/play maker starting offensive runs. I don't think we move him, I think Tracc needs to lower his eyes a bit with his kicks into fwd 50, he has slipped a bit from the end of last year when he had improved across the season. Taking Salem away would be a massive mistake.

 

Telstra tracker  

Jayden Hunt 35.24km/h
Kysaiah Pickett 34.56
Alex Neal-Bullen 33.95
Ed Langdon 33.91
Christian Salem 33.80 

[Winners at last 5,117]

5 hours ago, Demonstone said:

He plays for the same team as Jordan, Wiedermann, Thomlinson and Bowie. 

And you call yourself a Melbourne fan.  

You forgot Jordan Jones.

[Demonstone 21,348]

Do you mean Jordan Jone's?  Go Dee's.  

[WERRIDEE 5,329]

B: Lever, May, Salem

HB: Brayshaw, Petty, Bowey

C: Langdon, Petracca, Jordon

HF: Neal-Bullen, Brown, Pickett

F: Fritsch, Weideman, Spargo

FOLL: Gawn, Oliver, Viney

IC: Hunt, Harmes, Sparrow, Jackson

SUB: Bedford

[monoccular 17,193]

Salem is our best deliverer out of defence, by a mile, and also his footy smarts and game awareness is just so pivotal - can't come back soon enough into this role.

Rivers, maybe, and Bowey are at some stage options for a wing / midfield role, but let that be worked on off season.

[Deedubs 157]

agree with everything but I disagree that he is a good kick. he'd be leading the afl for most on the fulls

[homsar 407]

28 minutes ago, Deedubs said:

agree with everything but I disagree that he is a good kick. he'd be leading the afl for most on the fulls

Am I understanding this correctly, you don’t think Salem is a good kick? Don’t think you’ll have too many agreements with that analysis. 
 

Salem is a must in our D50. He is smooth, cool, clean, and a smart user. On top of that he is as hard as nails, very strong one on one, and tackles hard. This is such a unique combination of skills, and I believe he is the perfect small defender. 
 

Put Brayshaw back to the wing. Jordon has been brave there but isn’t clean enough below his knees or overhead in my opinion. Brayshaw defends very well from the backline or the wing, and also offers more attacking flare. I like Jordon but Brayshaw is a miles better footballer at this stage of their careers. 

[titan_uranus 24,425]

1 hour ago, Deedubs said:

agree with everything but I disagree that he is a good kick. he'd be leading the afl for most on the fulls

Of all the ridiculous things you've said since you opened your account on here, this might take the cake. 

[The heart beats true 17,613]

12 hours ago, Vipercrunch said:

I heard part of an interview on the weekend with someone from the Suns coaching group (it could have been Stuart Dew, but I missed the start).  He was asked about how the Suns wanted to use Jack Lukosius.  The response was that they wanted the best ball users in the front half/third of the ground.

It’s a total aside but I’d be asking about Jack Lukosius too. He’s one of the laziest footballers in the AFL, and coasts on the fact he can kick it well. I’ve seen a fair bit of the Suns this year and have serious doubts about his work rate. For a number 2 pick who is 60+ games into his career I’m confused as to what he really offers them.

Oh, and Salem straight down back thanks.

[Ted Lasso 18,386]

27 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

It’s a total aside but I’d be asking about Jack Lukosius too. He’s one of the laziest footballers in the AFL, and coasts on the fact he can kick it well. I’ve seen a fair bit of the Suns this year and have serious doubts about his work rate. For a number 2 pick who is 60+ games into his career I’m confused as to what he really offers them.

Oh, and Salem straight down back thanks.

yeah fair bit of Jack Watts about him early days, love Wattsy, ripper bloke, loves a swim, but probably could have done more with his talent.

[Pates 9,592]

9 hours ago, Deedubs said:

agree with everything but I disagree that he is a good kick. he'd be leading the afl for most on the fulls

Typically I wouldn’t bother responding to such a silly comment but his stats from the Grand Final, the most highly pressured game of the year, were: 22 kicks, 5 handballs at 96% disposal efficiency. 

I’m not sure who you think you’re watching that isn’t a good kick, but it ain’t Salem. 

[demon3165 2,504]

22 hours ago, Fat Tony said:

If Langdon keeps getting successfully tagged we might need to shift him back for a bit and put Bowey on the wing. Tagging a half back is almost impossible in a zone defence. If that happens, Salem would be needed down back to be the kicker to find a mark and release pressure.

No Langdon getting tagged is a good thing now it shows their hand it is up to coaches to work it out, get Langdon to run his opponent even harder in different pattens around the ground they cannot tag 3-4 players because it will upset their playing style in the end.

[jnrmac 19,862]

Distributing the ball from the back half is a key to our success

Bowey was recruited to add to Salem's ball use

[monoccular 17,193]

39 minutes ago, demon3165 said:

No Langdon getting tagged is a good thing now it shows their hand it is up to coaches to work it out, get Langdon to run his opponent even harder in different pattens around the ground they cannot tag 3-4 players because it will upset their playing style in the end.

Yes .... better now than in a a final for the first time.   I have trust in our brains trust and in Langdon to work this out - probably at least partly by running out the tagger.

[Gawndy the Great 8,980]

I really like what Brayshaw has done in the back half. He may not be as clean with his kicking, but he brings some great defensive presence and game reading ability. With more time, i think he can really be used as a weapon off half back. I know he did a great job in 2021 as the defensive winger, but he has done his time and i think deserves a more fruitful role so IMO he stays at HB. JJ can take the slack on the defensive wing.

Bowey / Salem  speak for themselves and id love to see one of these two, moved into the HF line. How you shuffle the magnets with this move is another issue but that is another discussion all together.

 

[DeeSpencer 24,412]

If I were moving him anywhere it would be on ball. He could start at half forward and come up the ground as Trac goes forward but predominantly play as a midfielder. But really that’s if there’s a vacancy in our midfield group.

If nothing changes Gus goes back to the wing. He’s been good at half back but covering Lever as much as Salem. His intercept work is good but he’s very loose defensively. Shakes hands with his opponent and doesn’t see him for 120 minutes. 

Salem’s nearly as strong in the air and tighter on the ground. When we’ve got 3 big talls in to control the air plus mid sized options we need that pressure on the ground.

[DemonWA 3,849]

I quite like the OP,  but Salem's hardness and defensive skills are underrated imo. He's more than just a great user of the ball and his role last year was perfect for him imo  

[rpfc 27,863]

We play so high up in defence that he gets to use his foot skills in the forward half as it is. 

[Deedubs 157]

17 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

Of all the ridiculous things you've said since you opened your account on here, this might take the cake. 

Sorry I'm talking about Brayshaw, not Salem. I think Salem's one of the best kicks in the afl. 
 

Brayshaw swings onto his left far too often. Even in the granny that he played, as well as he played he still kicked 2 on the full, and a few scrubbers. He's a heart and soul player but kicking, especially on his left, is a weakness, not a strength. 

[Big Col 1,245]

Salem's TAC and early Melbourne games were as a forward so I wouldn't be surprised to see him to move there - but not this season. 

Of course, I'd love to see him in the midfield, but there's a few others at the moment he'd need to replace (Petracca will become a forward in later life, you'd think?).

If we can keep this group together I'd love to see the players develop so that they can play multiple roles - not only to fill roles (eg McDonald goes back when Smith is injured) but strategically (theoretical: Petty goes forward, clunks some marks and kicks a bag when no-one thought it was an option)