Well it's certainly taken a very long time but the the last three weeks and games by Harrison Petty have been much better.

Didn't think of be saying this.

He is starting to move like a forward.

I still think he's been one of our best defenders and I feel a lot t have forgotten how good he was in that role but three weeks of promising prowess as a powerful forward if I can go that far, is looking good.

Given our dearth of quality tall fwds is he finally coming into his own in the role? Oh boy I hope so.

I've been his biggest critic and not without reason.

But credit due where it needs to be.

One week...good day.

Two weeks....luck?

Three weeks..... there is something there.

He's kicking at goal has improved. His contested marks have increased a lot. He looks faster. Often getting in front for a change.

And his chasing and pressure acts have increased.

Yes if this continues on the current trajectory than we may just possibly have a solution to our fwd woes.

Big call and very early days but here's hoping he turns it on again v pies. Not just because I hate Cwood but four weeks.....

Enough to almost say he's a fwd.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by Previously known as LITD.

his hands and attack on the ball have looked good recently but I find his effort and confidence is all over the shot as a forward.

He was good as defender because May, Lever, Salem and Hibbo were at the top of their game

Nothing stays the same

26 minutes ago, The Jackson FIX said:

his hands and attack on the ball have looked good recently but I find his effort and confidence is all over the shot as a forward.

I disagree TJF

As a player masquerading as a fwd for over two years he has been consistently and rather than all.ovrbthe pace has been reliably quite poor.

Bit the last three weeks have shown totally consistency and increased improvement each game.

Almost enough to get a little excited about but at least enough to comment on and hope it continues.

Because of it's one player we need to improve it's definitely him.

31 minutes ago, The Jackson FIX said:

his hands and attack on the ball have looked good recently but I find his effort and confidence is all over the shot as a forward.

Confidence is the big one imo. Zorko really got into his head and since then it doesn't seem to take much to get him rattled.

Effort I cannot question though. Been to plenty of games over last few seasons where I've seen him putting in as much as anyone.
Lots of long runs (sometimes sprints) back and forth between forward line and wing and they often go unrewarded.
Reminds me a lot of Jack Watts in that regard.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by JTR

47 minutes ago, Previously known as LITD. said:

Well it's certainly taken a very long time but the the last three weeks and games by Harrison Petty have been much better.

Didn't think of be saying this.

He is starting to move like a forward.

I still think he's been one of our best defenders and I feel a lot t have forgotten how good he was in that role but three weeks of promising prowess as a powerful forward if I can go that far, is looking good.

Given our dearth of quality tall fwds is he finally coming into his own in the role? Oh boy I hope so.

I've been his biggest critic and not without reason.

But credit due where it needs to be.

One week...good day.

Two weeks....luck?

Three weeks..... there is something there.

He's kicking at goal has improved. His contested marks have increased a lot. He looks faster. Often getting in front for a change.

And his chasing and pressure acts have increased.

Yes if this continues on the current trajectory than we may just possibly have a solution to our fwd woes.

Big call and very early days but here's hoping he turns it on again v pies. Not just because I hate Cwood but four weeks.....

Enough to almost say he's a fwd.

So would ANYONE who in the last 2/3 years has been gifted games as a forward

Its called confidence i have also noticed this and Van Rooyen

2 minutes ago, picket fence said:

So would ANYONE who in the last 2/3 years has been gifted games as a forward

I know. I know.

Fair point.

I have moaned about Goody playing him fwd for so long I was boring myself. Not an easy task.

And you and I have been on the same page about HP being out of his depth in this role for two and half seasons. And rightly so.

I thought young Jeffo made a little progress and was unfairly dumped.

But after fifty odd games of bagging the bloke it's been good to finally see he has learned something.

He has played three very good games as a fwd . That's all I'm saying mate.

Will he be our fwd Savior? Probably not.

But at least for three weeks in a row he is actually moving in the right direction for once. It's better than anything else he's done.

I'm just saying it's nice to see and hoping against hope, it keeps happening.

Probably won't but if it does than Ill streak down my Street t if he wins a Coleman.i think the neighbors are fairly safe.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by Previously known as LITD.

It is well documented that the sort of foot injury he sustained in late 2023, takes 18-24 months at a minimum to recover from. It is one of the worst and most debilitating injuries to sustain, especially if you're someone who needs to be able to jump off the ground at the contest. It is 10 times harder to come back from than a standard ACL. Petty is now 2 years post injury and it looks like he has gained some confidence in his body as a result.

I have been in favour of him as a forward all along. I think he is a player who can make critical mistakes - handballing to the oppo etc - and in the backline, these cost immediate goals. In the forward line, they are just a missed opportunity.

But he has always been a good contested mark. And since he changed his runup to the stutter he now uses, he has been very accurate. And he has a lot of injuries, concussion etc which stopped him getting a good run at being a forward. So I am not surprised at his good recent performances.

His last three weeks have probably been the best he's played since his late 2023 hot patch when he booted six against the Tiges.

I still think his best position is defence, but I wouldn't be upset if we persist with him up forward next season.

Talking forwards. I wonder how much better a few would play if left yo their natural game rather than the puzzling structured set ups. Dont get me started on how having a full forward one out would create goal scoring opportunities by having someone to kick it to.

I suspect his basic instructions from early last year have been to make a contest and stop his opponent taking a mark. Anything extra at that time was a bonus.

I don't recall him being outmarked very often this year, so it is likely he has been getting plenty of positive feedback from the coaches.

Clearly he has taken plenty of confidence from this and is now taking contested marks himself. Getting reward for effort also helps - he has kicked 7.3 in the past three weeks.

Unfortunately I'm not sure we can afford to keep him forward next year with May declining so rapidly.

It will be interesting which end of the ground he trains at over the preseason under a new coach and subject to list changes we make. He certainly seems to have gained much more confidence in his movement and body over the last month which is promising.

I also think it’s worth noting that we are trying to move the ball differently. Makes it much easier when there’s not 8 in the pack.

6 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

I also think it’s worth noting that we are trying to move the ball differently. Makes it much easier when there’s not 8 in the pack.

Yes , the set up that guarantees packs just in front of goal. Crazy. Yesterday at a VFL game the only iprovement i saw over the past decade is tall defenders ability to jump super high and punch the ball. Gotta get the talk forwards isolated. Its frustrating as an older fan being pretty sure a team structure wont work as soon as you see it

I feel that the reason we went so hard for Derkson last year was so we could keep Petty forward, it will be interesting whether we follow that path in the trade period. Petty was our tallest back and is now our tallest forward and I think that he, Rooey and Milkshake are gelling better since the bye. Throw in Kentfield and Jeffo to the mix next year and we may end up with a half decent fwd line with Kozzie, Tracc and Langford rotating through mid fwd as well. Certainly gives the new coach something to look forward to, wish we had picked up one of the Whitlocks up last year as well.😁

1 hour ago, picket fence said:


So would ANYONE who in the last 2/3 years has been gifted games as a forward

He is better when he leads than staying at home, he is not a pack mark type of forward, both he and JVR have no clue as to forward craft and look awkward as opposed to Melk and Fritta. I just hope the new coach brings in someone who can educate those two, plus the younger ones as well.

2 hours ago, Previously known as LITD. said:

Bit the last three weeks have shown totally consistency and increased improvement each game.

I suppose what I am saying is that my bar for consistency is higher than 3 consecutive weeks. Some better signs, yes, but he has had stretches of a few good games in a row in the past and then disappeared for the next month.

Still would much prefer him in defence.

Hopefully we move May on over the off-season and play players in positions that they're natural in.

We can't keep playing two swingmen at CHF and FF. It's ridiculous.

Gunston gave our side a master class on leading patterns and forward craft. Yes it can be improved upon but we miss a natural key forward with great leading patterns. It does so much more for the functioning of the forward 50..

Van Rooyen for all his great athletic traits is not a natural forward. He doesn't have natural forward craft, he is an average contested mark at best and his positioning in contests is all over the place. And Petty looks twice the player when he's playing D50.

Whoever comes in as coach needs to completely rejig this part of the ground because it is detrimental to our entire forward 50 function having those two playing as our main kp players.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Howard_Grimes

He has always been our best tall fwd since Ben Brown’s knees ended his career.

And it’s about his body being right and having good instincts and wanting to be in the right spots and knowing you can compete and play a role.

For those that think it’s amorphous ‘confidence’ you are kidding yourself in a forlorn attempt to hope that JVR, Jefferson, and Fullerton can make it.

I don’t think they have the talent and the forward craft. I would persist with Petty forward and what I would do with the other three are best left to other ‘list management’ or ‘trading’ threads.

He would do well in a decent forward line. Agree he has improved since last year, but only so much you can do in our version of the Bermuda Triangle.

6 minutes ago, The Jackson FIX said:

I suppose what I am saying is that my bar for consistency is higher than 3 consecutive weeks. Some better signs, yes, but he has had stretches of a few good games in a row in the past and then disappeared for the next month.

TJF, Petty has copped a lot of stick on this site over the last couple of years, was nice to read something positive for a change, I just hope he says fit and healthy and continues his rise back to his better self.

2 hours ago, Previously known as LITD. said:

I disagree TJF

As a player masquerading as a fwd for over two years he has been consistently and rather than all.ovrbthe pace has been reliably quite poor.

Bit the last three weeks have shown totally consistency and increased improvement each game.

Almost enough to get a little excited about but at least enough to comment on and hope it continues.

Because of it's one player we need to improve it's definitely him.

I couldnt agree more with this last line. Or position rather. We need a legitimate target up forward that generates scoring shots.

Over the last 2 seasons. JVR and Petty have played 74 games between them for just 73 goals. Ok delivery is shizen but Pickett, Melksham and Fritsch have got it done with plenty of marks and shots at goal.

I dont think having them both in the forward line works whatsoever. Im ok if its Petty but Turner/Jefferson/Kentfield (no pressure!) must at least be tried as the other key forward.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Jjrogan

Jury is still out for me on a couple of fronts:

1. Is he a better natural forward than Disco?

2. Will Disco be a reliable key back option?

While Disco's intercept marking and general defensive work have been good, his disposal and target selection in the backline seem to let him down alot. Reminds me a bit of a young Tommy Mac in this respects. I do think alot of Tom's early disposal / turnover issues were due to us being woeful as a team over all and him being constantly under pressure and similar could be true for Disco. However I think Tommy's passing out of defence has also got better as he's aged. I guess we'll never really know the truth of all this, because the experiment playing Tom forward started around the time we became compeditive as a team.

Hopefully Disco can tidy up his disposal in defence as he's got alot of other good attributes down there.

Conversely, I feel Harry is a more reliable option by foot in the back half.

If anything, I think we have a few options that can play either end of the ground and will be interesting to see if a new coach is willing to use that on a more regular basis.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Rodney (Balls) Grinter