I was one that was thinking he was the answer to our prayers when he kicked 6 against Richmond. In fact I said after that game if we kept Max fit and Petty in form we would win the flag that year. I still think that’s true.

I was solely focused on him the following week against North when he got that foot injury and prior to the injury I thought he was fantastic. Taking good marks, good set shot kicking, leading into space, putting blocks in for others in short the total package for KPF. He is the definition for a confidence player

Unfortunately he hasn’t come anywhere near that very short bit of form post injury. I think we have a better chance of getting him back to his best if he goes back and plays in defence along side lever who I think is good at pumping up his tyres when needed. Perhaps we throw May forward for a game or two to see if that works. Not like we need to worry about finals now anyways. Petty back to his best and paired with Disco and our future defence would be looking strong.

Our coaching and development of key forwards over the past number of years has been shocking. Not surprising we are failing to get the best out of a defender playing forward when we are failing to get the best out of more natural forwards.

I still feel that our forward line issues are much less to do with personnel and relate far more to our system, ball movement and positioning.

We all know Petty is unlikely to ever become a 50 goal a year key forward, and I certainly see his long term future as being in defence.

However it is hard to blame him for our current woes when you have Rivers repeatedly bombing away and hitting Howe on the chest, or Oliver kicking out on the full running into an open forward line, or any number of the other blatant skill errors that we saw on Monday.

When we put the ball to his advantage and allow him to compete fairly, Petty is not losing too many contests. Van Rooyen in his current mindset is probably a different story.

I like Petty you get what you see. Expecting him to be a champion KPF is pushing the envelope too far. You will get 100% form him every week, depending on his opponent his results will vary. He does a lot of grunt work that goes unnoticed / unappreciated. He has after all played a valuable part in a Premiership team.

4 hours ago, picket fence said:

Agree he either plays in the backline OR he doesn't play full stop.

It is a tough one - Tmac squeezed out of the backline.

You'd imagine the selection committee wouldnt want to move Turner/May/Lever - so i'd still rather he be in the team as a forward than not at all. Has somethings to improve on no doubt.

His future should be as a Backman - but this might not be until season 2027.

It's not a Petty problem; it's a list problem. Shuffling deck chairs is bad for team chemistry. He provides a consistent target about the ground and helps bring the other forwards into the game.

Calls to disrupt a very effective backline by shuffling May/Turner are delusional.

Since Petty has moved forward the forward line looks a lot more functional. Shots at goal have increased and the forward defensive pressure has increased. Petty may not be the reason for this but he is certainly very much part of the equation.

I don’t think Petty is a mainstay in the backline or forward line. If he had a Curnow or a MacKay next him he would be very dangerous.

2 hours ago, old dee said:

I like Petty you get what you see. Expecting him to be a champion KPF is pushing the envelope too far. You will get 100% form him every week, depending on his opponent his results will vary. He does a lot of grunt work that goes unnoticed / unappreciated. He has after all played a valuable part in a Premiership team.

I don't expect Petty to be the #1 kpf and in that regard you can't be too disappointed. We simply DONT have a #1..not really.

He'd be fine as a #2 .. but he gets a decent back each game. As result he's not part effective.

He does have company in that regard

11 hours ago, Colm said:

I was one that was thinking he was the answer to our prayers when he kicked 6 against Richmond. In fact I said after that game if we kept Max fit and Petty in form we would win the flag that year. I still think that’s true.

I was solely focused on him the following week against North when he got that foot injury and prior to the injury I thought he was fantastic. Taking good marks, good set shot kicking, leading into space, putting blocks in for others in short the total package for KPF. He is the definition for a confidence player

Unfortunately he hasn’t come anywhere near that very short bit of form post injury. I think we have a better chance of getting him back to his best if he goes back and plays in defence along side lever who I think is good at pumping up his tyres when needed. Perhaps we throw May forward for a game or two to see if that works. Not like we need to worry about finals now anyways. Petty back to his best and paired with Disco and our future defence would be looking strong.

Yeah his 6 were vs Richmond, and they are a poor benchmark, almost VFL Level!!

Edited June 12Jun 12 by picket fence

11 hours ago, poita said:

I still feel that our forward line issues are much less to do with personnel and relate far more to our system, ball movement and positioning.

We all know Petty is unlikely to ever become a 50 goal a year key forward, and I certainly see his long term future as being in defence.

However it is hard to blame him for our current woes when you have Rivers repeatedly bombing away and hitting Howe on the chest, or Oliver kicking out on the full running into an open forward line, or any number of the other blatant skill errors that we saw on Monday.

When we put the ball to his advantage and allow him to compete fairly, Petty is not losing too many contests. Van Rooyen in his current mindset is probably a different story.

💯 correct our players don't read the cues on when to burst out and find space from fwd half turnovers.

If you watch the Bulldogs, Collingwood and Geelong on fwd hold turnovers and general build up play they know exactly when and where to run when a turnover eventuates.

They also have the cool heads and skilled personnel to pick through a defence that are caught on the hop.

Blazing away to the top of the square or into the pockets ain't going to cut it anymore, especially with the Inexperienced Tall forwards.

14 hours ago, Young Angus said:

Turner just so fast and excellent in defense, we need that speed there. I agree would rather him be in attack, but we would need someone just as fast and good at marking in defense to replace him. Lever looked better last game but not sure Petty would cut it back there anymore it would be a bit too slow I think.

Rivers

8 hours ago, old dee said:

You will get 100% form him every week

Lol no 😂

8 hours ago, old dee said:

He does a lot of grunt work that goes unnoticed / unappreciated.

Lol no 🤣

9 hours ago, YesitwasaWin4theAges said:

💯 correct our players don't read the cues on when to burst out and find space from fwd half turnovers.

If you watch the Bulldogs, Collingwood and Geelong on fwd hold turnovers and general build up play they know exactly when and where to run when a turnover eventuates.

They also have the cool heads and skilled personnel to pick through a defence that are caught on the hop.

Blazing away to the top of the square or into the pockets ain't going to cut it anymore, especially with the Inexperienced Tall forwards.

Shame we haven't a decent forward strategy.

Who's that on ?

I have never seen a player who gets worse the longer he is in the team. Always looks amazing when he is swung in-game, and then over the next couple of weeks he stinks the place out.

Has to be dropped for the GC game surely?

Just watch Stubborn Simon REFUSE to drop him! I'M quicker than him and im in my sixties! Too many lurve childs in this team! Reality says Petty, Lever, Viney, Salem, Rivers,Sparrow and maybe May,( undisciplined) should all be dropped and a statement made at Selection, but won't happen!

Edited June 15Jun 15 by picket fence

Petty has to be traded at years end very disappointing along with Oliver the 2 biggest disappointments this year.

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Has to be dropped for the GC game surely?

Doubt that'll happen.....

1 hour ago, WERRIDEE said:

Petty has to be traded at years end very disappointing along with Oliver the 2 biggest disappointments this year.

Petty probably should be playing in May's spot at the moment (and TMAc in Levers).

For those who mentioned structure, you are right on the money. Fritch is the only natural forward who moves around. Melk can do this, but in the goalsquare, he tries to outmark players a foot taller than him. There is NO forward who leads up the ground and Fritch always leads to the pocket. Not since Ben Brown have we had a leading forward who runs up the ground and makes space behind him up forward. Regarding Petty, he is a good contested mark, has limited forward craft and never leads, and much the same can be said about JVR, who is a mark and kick, but at least he kicks accurately.

Conclusion: why the hell haven't our highly paid brains trust coaching seen this? JVR & Petty cannot both play in the same forward line: Look at MIhoceck who leads up the ground and takes one on ones on the wing. Cameron at Geelong will wander up to the wing for a kick. Naughton runs far and wide as do Curnow and McKay. Petty just doesn't do this and I don't hold that against him as he is a backman. Neither he nor JVR do enough running up and down the ground in my opinion

Having watched Jefferson learn his craft over 3 seasons, he at least moves like a forward. He can lead is a reasonable kick but has been stifled by the expectation that he must take pack marks in the square from long bombs. And here is a radical one. Will Verral is a better ruck than either Roo or Petty or Johnson, now the season is shot, play him. Who knows he may even kick a few snags

56 minutes ago, Older demon said:

For those who mentioned structure, you are right on the money. Fritch is the only natural forward who moves around. Melk can do this, but in the goalsquare, he tries to outmark players a foot taller than him. There is NO forward who leads up the ground and Fritch always leads to the pocket. Not since Ben Brown have we had a leading forward who runs up the ground and makes space behind him up forward. Regarding Petty, he is a good contested mark, has limited forward craft and never leads, and much the same can be said about JVR, who is a mark and kick, but at least he kicks accurately.

Conclusion: why the hell haven't our highly paid brains trust coaching seen this? JVR & Petty cannot both play in the same forward line: Look at MIhoceck who leads up the ground and takes one on ones on the wing. Cameron at Geelong will wander up to the wing for a kick. Naughton runs far and wide as do Curnow and McKay. Petty just doesn't do this and I don't hold that against him as he is a backman. Neither he nor JVR do enough running up and down the ground in my opinion

Having watched Jefferson learn his craft over 3 seasons, he at least moves like a forward. He can lead is a reasonable kick but has been stifled by the expectation that he must take pack marks in the square from long bombs. And here is a radical one. Will Verral is a better ruck than either Roo or Petty or Johnson, now the season is shot, play him. Who knows he may even kick a few snags

I think that you are on the money OD, I like the idea of Will Verrall playing fwd/2nd ruck, he had 20 touches and 44 hit outs Saturday night. Think Rooey CHF, Matty Jefferson FF, Fritta HFF, Verrall on the bench, Petty FB, Disco CHB, Rick back to Casey until he finds form and confidence. It won’t happen but who knows??

Even if he did lead, we dont have the skills to kick it to his advantage. I will continue to maintain that our forward line (including Petty) is dysfunctional as a symptom of our midfield ball use and skill level.

Edited June 16Jun 16 by GS_1905

3 hours ago, WERRIDEE said:

Petty has to be traded at years end very disappointing along with Oliver the 2 biggest disappointments this year.

How are we going to cover the end of May and TMac careers?

I think he can still be a May replacement down back. With Disco and hopefully an in form Lever.

1 hour ago, Older demon said:

For those who mentioned structure, you are right on the money. Fritch is the only natural forward who moves around. Melk can do this, but in the goalsquare, he tries to outmark players a foot taller than him. There is NO forward who leads up the ground and Fritch always leads to the pocket. Not since Ben Brown have we had a leading forward who runs up the ground and makes space behind him up forward. Regarding Petty, he is a good contested mark, has limited forward craft and never leads, and much the same can be said about JVR, who is a mark and kick, but at least he kicks accurately.

Conclusion: why the hell haven't our highly paid brains trust coaching seen this? JVR & Petty cannot both play in the same forward line: Look at MIhoceck who leads up the ground and takes one on ones on the wing. Cameron at Geelong will wander up to the wing for a kick. Naughton runs far and wide as do Curnow and McKay. Petty just doesn't do this and I don't hold that against him as he is a backman. Neither he nor JVR do enough running up and down the ground in my opinion

Having watched Jefferson learn his craft over 3 seasons, he at least moves like a forward. He can lead is a reasonable kick but has been stifled by the expectation that he must take pack marks in the square from long bombs. And here is a radical one. Will Verral is a better ruck than either Roo or Petty or Johnson, now the season is shot, play him. Who knows he may even kick a few snags

We even managed to turn Brown into a 'kick it on top of his head' kind of forward. His lead-up game was much better at North, no doubt thanks to the fact that they had a proper forward structure and knew how to deliver inside 50... even when they were terrible.

The forward system is being stifled by our froward half 'trap it in there' game style. Tackles inside 50 are great, but we get so many because there are a stack of players in our F50.

Conversely St Kilda and PA have shown us they can withstand our forward half game because we continually bomb it in to the forward line, where the ball reaches a big pack of players, where it's rarely marked and if it is marked it's often by an opposing defender.

On occassions when our forward hald pressure and repeat entries unlocks a shot on goal it's often a tough one that we miss or more often an easy one, THAT WE STILL MISS!.

Then, when the opposition get their chance to move the ball, a bloke will run with it for a bit (faster than our blokes run without it) and kick it to a bloke on the wing. Then that bloke kicks it to a bloke at half forward who kicks to a bloke leading into space inside 50. That bloke marks it and kicks a GOAL. All the while forward half still has 30 players in it!