Forwards

[FrothiesLiam 63]

Forwards looking good, interesting that Marty hore seems to be training as a forward

[adonski 12,425]

Hore would be in there as a defender, as was Jed Adams in the later couple of clips

Bring on the JVR, Jeffo, Disco holy trinity 

[whatwhat say what 22,932]

el jefe's one grab marking ability in the first clip stands out to me

johnson's use of the body to push his nominal defender out of the way is encouraging to see

add petty in as a swingman and we have some very impressive tall forwards, all 25-and-under

15 hours ago, adonski said:

Bring on the JVR, Jeffo, Disco holy trinity 

it's going to be very interesting to see how they structure up with fritsch there, as he has played as our nominal 'full forward' since about 2020

i am uncertain if we will play 3 talls plus fritta

[Simon Port 201]

5 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

el jefe's one grab marking ability in the first clip stands out to me

johnson's use of the body to push his nominal defender out of the way is encouraging to see

add petty in as a swingman and we have some very impressive tall forwards, all 25-and-under

it's going to be very interesting to see how they structure up with fritsch there, as he has played as our nominal 'full forward' since about 2020

i am uncertain if we will play 3 talls plus fritta

We have always looked better with 3 talls in our side as well as Fritta. This is what we saw in the Premiership model with Benny Brown, Tmac and Dogga. This allows Fritsch to play the 4th banana and absolutely dominate his opponent. It often means one of the 3 talls will have a decent game due to a mismatch and has historically seen us have a lot more success. Especially because it is still a young forward line, spreading the load amongst the talls makes sense. They are also a mobile bunch which means you can afford to play 3 talls.

I would play Van Rooyen, Disco, Fritsch and one of Jefferson/Petty/AJ. The rest of the forward line will consist of Kozzy, Chin and Tholstrup. To me that is a really well balanced mix of talls, goal scoring ability and pressure. 

We also sound like we are going back to the holy trinity defensive group in May, Lever and Petty. This has always suited us as well as it means Lever can peel off and play his true intercepting game rather than having to lockdown on someone a little undersized strength wise. 

Going forward I'd love to see us try and stick to the 3 tall forwards and 3 tall defenders in our line up. We have enough run and spread now to ensure it won't affect any ball movement. Go Dees.

[D4Life 2,510]

19 hours ago, Simon Port said:

We have always looked better with 3 talls in our side as well as Fritta. This is what we saw in the Premiership model with Benny Brown, Tmac and Dogga. This allows Fritsch to play the 4th banana and absolutely dominate his opponent. It often means one of the 3 talls will have a decent game due to a mismatch and has historically seen us have a lot more success. Especially because it is still a young forward line, spreading the load amongst the talls makes sense. They are also a mobile bunch which means you can afford to play 3 talls.

I would play Van Rooyen, Disco, Fritsch and one of Jefferson/Petty/AJ. The rest of the forward line will consist of Kozzy, Chin and Tholstrup. To me that is a really well balanced mix of talls, goal scoring ability and pressure. 

We also sound like we are going back to the holy trinity defensive group in May, Lever and Petty. This has always suited us as well as it means Lever can peel off and play his true intercepting game rather than having to lockdown on someone a little undersized strength wise. 

Going forward I'd love to see us try and stick to the 3 tall forwards and 3 tall defenders in our line up. We have enough run and spread now to ensure it won't affect any ball movement. Go Dees.

Agree with one proviso, the talls /midsize particularly Turner ** and Fritsch really have to put pressure on and defend!

 

[monoccular 17,573]

47 minutes ago, D4Life said:

Agree with one proviso, the talls /midsize particularly Turner ** and Fritsch really have to put pressure on and defend!

 

Most of us love his talent, evasiveness and goal sense, but BF31 had a pretty poor 2024 by his standards.   Was it niggling injuries, or psychological - who knows?

But given the emerging young talent coming through, could one think that 2025 could be a bit of a crossroads year for Baillie?   I agree 100% that he needs to exert more pressure on the clearing defenders. 
 

Go Frittata - make 2025 yours.

[I'va Worn Smith 981]

I acknowledge that training simulations are a long way from actual match day, but so far, I am really impressed with AJ's aggression, use of his body and seems to have a sure pair of hands.  I also think he can really make an impact as a ruck/forward.

Only time will tell if he is up to the 'big' time.

[Adam The God 30,406]

I hope we go the majority of the season with JVR, Turner, Fritta with support from AJ and Jefferson where needed injury and freshness wise.

I'd much prefer we manage Max out of certain games with Campbell taking his place. And we go shorter but more mobile if JVR has to take second ruck duties.

Kozzy and Trac should be other mainstays of the forwardline, with Langford in there too.

For me it might come down to a Chandler vs Spargo for that 7th forward spot. Chandler hits the scoreboard slightly more, but if Spargo can have another 2018 (which I think the way we move the ball will suit him more), then he goes ahead of Chandler for mine. If we could get 15 goals out of him, we probably get another 15-20 assists out of him too. And that'd be my forwardline. With Melksham as the guy that can come in for Fritta or for a different look (see AJ and Jefferson too).

Petty may swing, but I hope they just keep him back. But maybe when Lever is fit again, they push Petty forward. Wrong move for mine. TMac should just move back to deputy in the VFL.

We'll see.

Edited December 15 by Adam The God