Carlton and Fremantle's midfield has gone to another level of dominance and depth... 

If the Dees are going to challenge for a Premiership. I am adamant Gus has to be playing predominantly as a midfielder. He can dominate this position. He is the Dees trump card...! 

I think I agree. We miss his defensive work on the wing and also he creates a fair few scoring chances

Although he has been terrific down back we have our premiership defence back in and blokes like Rivers who can cover Gus.  He is important structurally for us too on the wing

I think so too. Jordon has been okay on the wing, but Brayshaw's ball movement is generally much better.

Very good call.

 

The real thing to point out here is that in no way is an ellipsis into an exclamation mark proper grammar. 

 

Not always the most efficient field kick but he does lower the eyes. A move there could be what is needed. 

As a full time mid Gus gets his 30 but the opposition get 30 under far less pressure and use it better.

There’s a good case to move him back to the wing and even rotate him in to the midfield from half forward.

But there’s a good reason he doesn’t play in the centre square.

He has more creativity by hand than JJ. Not sure his kicking is any better. He’s just as slow to move the ball and has twice the affinity for dumping it in the crowd 

Do you mean back to wing? Or in the centre?

If it’s in the centre who goes out for him and where do they go? 

I think play Gus on the wing and when clarry, trac, or viney go off he goes into the guts and JJ replaces him on the wing, because JJ has been solid on the wing and Gus is definetely better than backup mids at the moment.

I agree and think this will also set Salem free. Salem might have come back into the team a bit confused since Brayshaw has remained at half back, despite only being put there to cover Salem.

Nope. He’s been incredible in defence this year. He’s a very talented reader of the game and an excellent mark, so being behind the ball suits his strengths, and minimises his weaknesses.

Whether folks like it or not we are a process driven team. You can want to swing Petty forward, put Gus on the ball, and try Weid in the backline all you want - but the club believes strongly in consistency of role. Last year when we struggled in the middle of the year did we swing the magnets? No, we gave players time to develop their craft and learn how to get better.

Gus is having his best year at HBF.

Our woes in recent weeks have been due to our lack of forwards and losing key defenders in game.

I agree, but it could be anyone of Bowey, Salem or Brayshaw who to tend be the best users of the ball. We need to improve our forward connection which means we need a better kick going in. 

We bring Rivers back in to backfill Brayshaw. JJ and Lingers stay on the wings and we move Brayshaw into the HF / Midfield rotation. One of Sparrow / Harmes / ANB to make way. 

Will this happen? No - i cannot see Goodwin pulling this move.

7 minutes ago, Ben said:

I agree and think this will also set Salem free. Salem might have come back into the team a bit confused since Brayshaw has remained at half back, despite only being put there to cover Salem.

I think the entire balance of the backline has been off with Lever, Gus and Salem all came together.

Thats 3 players who primarily ignore their opponents to intercept and/or distribute the ball.

Which means the other 4 have a whole lot of defending to do.

The best solution would be to drop Lever but we don’t have any fit 3rd talls available. So he has to stay. In which case I wonder if the balance comes back with Hunt or Rivers in, and we rely on Lever (and May and Petty) filling the intercepting void we lose with Gus in another role.

Gus back on the wing makes more sense to me than him in the backline. 

A tough question to answer. Gus has been superb down back for us this year and I think Jordan has been one of our best players on the wing. He has played consistently well there. I can see why people want gus in the middle but this may be playing with the wrong horse. 

Can we clone him 🤔

For periods yes, i think Gus should play wing and rotate through the midfield. I think we really need to increase rotations through that area to keep players fresh. 

I also think we should look at Tracs forward/mid split, we might need him short term up front to give us a target

Gus is a contested ball and clearance player... Needs to be placed at centre bounces and stoppages.

I agree he is great in defence and on the wing... But if we are going to win the Premiership we need to dominate clearance and get first use to our forwards. Defending after repeat opposition entries will not hold up. 
 

To answer he question, who does he replace. I think Petracca can play more of a forward role and rotate with Viney.

Oliver and Angus to get most midfield  minutes. 

 

Wouldn’t hurt to try him in the middle. But he is playing well down back. No real need to change that, he reads the play extremely well down there.

This is a tactical move far too shrewd for Goodwin

And I say this with a heavy heart 

Edited June 16, 20223 yr by adonski

Gus past few weeks have been outstanding in the back flank role, he's one of very few that have improved on last year's form. We'd have lost by several goals more in the past 3 losses without him playing this role.

Not against him playing Mid but can't see Goody changing this current setup.

13 minutes ago, KingDingAling said:

Wouldn’t hurt to try him in the middle. But he is playing well down back. No real need to change that, he reads the play extremely well down there.

Wouldn't hurt?

He come 3rd in the Brownlow as a mid a few years ago.

1 minute ago, Fork 'em said:

Wouldn't hurt?

He come 3rd in the Brownlow as a mid a few years ago.

...and he's probably in the running for AA honours as a half back this year.

Those that say, "Gus is this, gus is that" are too narrow minded, Gus has proven that he can ADAPT and play multiple roles to a high level. It's not about where he plays his best footy, it's about where he makes us a better team. 

He could play Mid/Wing/Back and do it as good if not better than some players currently are in those positions, but that doesn't answer what best suits the team. At the moment, the coaches clearly feel as though that's as a back.