I know there is alot of concern on here around where our list is at but the bleakest part for me after last weeks game and the couple of pre-season games I watched is I have real concern for where we are going to get our goals from this year. Below is a summary of our forward options this year and what they are likely to contribute:

Neitz - No longer capable of kicking big bags of goals. Will chip in with 3 or 4 at very best but more likely 1-2.

Miller - Will probably be used more down back, regardless not capable of contributing more than 2 goals a game at his very best.

Weetra - Raw... very raw might kick a couple hear and there but unlikely to contribute regularly and consistently at this stage.

Garland - As above

Dunn - questions of where he will be played still but is one player who is handy around goals but hasn't established himself as a key forward option capapble of kicking a bag yet.

Bate - As above

Robertson - Soft, chips in with cheap goals when the games are well and truly over.

Newton - Has some talent but yet to prove he can hold down a key position in the forward line will get opportunity this year but needs to assert himself on the game more, attack the footy, hold his marks and capitalise with goals.

Green - Was once a promising forward no longer used there but is one player I think is capable of kicking a bag of goals... least he used to look like he could. I still see him as playing a Brad Johnson type role up forward, similar build and a great kick for goal.

Maric - Exciting young forward with promise will get a chance this year but to early to tell what he will bring to the forward line.

Yze - Should be at a stage where he can play out of a forward pocket and chip in with 2-3 goals, week in week out unfortunately he isn't, his once sublime skills and ability to do the impossible seem all but gone

Davey - Used more in the midfield these days but if forward is one player who we could rely on to kick a few and possibly turn a match on it's head or break a game apart but looks unlikely to be used in this way this year.

Holland - Seems to have made his place in the seniors (when he plays) as a back on the gorilla forwards. Shown at Sandy he can play forward and kick 4-5 but that's Sandy.

Sylvia - Who knows? Looked primed for a big year before his suspension still have hopes he will have that breakthrough year this year but will he play forward or midfield? Regardless is one we should be able to rely on to chip in consistently with 2 or 3 goals if playing forward.

Wonaeamirri - Rookie, not sure if he'll get a go has pace to cause a bit of excitement and pressure in the forward half but one for the future.

Is anyone else concerned about this and our future in this area, I think the above paints a pretty bleak picture. We are in desperate need of a key forward who can be a matchwinner or break a game apart i'm not sold on Newton being the answer yet and unless Bate or Dunn step up and really dominate up forward I just can't see where we are going to get our goals from.

Thoughts?

My forward line-

Davey Neitz Robbo

Green Bate Newton

Also want Maric to come in ASAP cause we need another crumber and i think why not develop this kid?

I think Green must play forward, its where we will get the best out of him.

My forward line-

Davey Neitz Robbo

Green Bate Newton

Also want Maric to come in ASAP cause we need another crumber and i think why not develop this kid?

I think Green must play forward, its where we will get the best out of him.

I'm with Mousey on Green & Maric...I do question basis Sunday Bloody Sundays evidence that Robbo, Neitz and Newton should not play in the same forward line together because they are too slow and concede the opposition easy rebounds which decimate both our midfielders and backs.

So where would the goal come from?

Davey 2,3 Miller 1* Sylvia 2

Green 3 Neitz 2 Maric 2

Ooo, errr, umm....12 to 13 goals is not a winning score, so four more have to come from the other rotating midfielder / forwards [bate & Dunn] and pure midfielders McLean, Moloney, Morton, and Macca etc in order to get us in the hunt with a 16 - 17 goal tally.

Miller playing lead up CHF would make space for these types.

It may mean playing Newton off the bench [rotating with Neitz] so we can get some games into him...[which sacrifices a mid-field rotation on the pine]

* Frosty might kick one by accident by miskicking a pass

My forward line-

Davey Neitz Robbo

Green Bate Newton

Also want Maric to come in ASAP cause we need another crumber and i think why not develop this kid?

I understood Maric was concentrating on finishing year 12 this year and obtaining a reasonable enter score (Essendon Grammar I think) and giving his all to football next year!

Newton hmmm

Has a great leap but doesn't get much faster than jogging speed. Didn't chase with any great desire against the hawks and seems to rely on his high marking ability at the moment.

Hopefully he can add a few more strings to his bow

If that is indeed the fact about Maric then good for him.

I think the only problem with newton is his goal kicking, he needs to slot those easy goals, i remember he had one only ten-twenty out on the weekend at the very start and missed it and after that happened i knew it was going to be a long day at the office.

Best forward line we can muster would be:

HF: Davey, Bate, Robertson

F: Newton, Neitz, Green

Davey is capable of kicking at least 3.

Bate can kick 2 at least.

Robbo we know can kick bags of 6.

Newton is good for 2 per game, with an occassional bag of 4.

Neitz, although people don't agree with me, can still kick bags of 6 or 7.

Green will kick 3 or 4 every week if played forward.

All of a sudden, that forward line starts to look dangerous.

I understood Maric was concentrating on finishing year 12 this year and obtaining a reasonable enter score (Essendon Grammar I think) and giving his all to football next year!

Fair enough, Year 12 should take priority...but if thats the case surely he should be diagnosed with a chronic long term injury so Aussie Woenamirri can come into the senior list as a like-for-like replacement?

I don't think the problem is our forward line. In the past, our forward line has always been touted as a major strength. There is still some pretty good scoring power there with Neitz and Robertson, the emergence of Newton and Bate, and the explosiveness of Davey (if he can find his form). Throw Miller in a CHF to straighten us up and provide a target through the corridor and I think we've got a pretty good forward line.

The problem lies in delivery. Believe it or not we had 46 inside 50s on Sunday, only a few less than Hawthorn. But our delivery into the forward 50 was shocking. Experienced players like Bruce were kicking the ball over the heads of leading forwards - not good enough. Sure, we missed some easy set shots but I think this was indicative of the scoreboard pressure applyed by the Hawks as opposed to technical issues.

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In the past, our forward line has always been touted as a major strength.

In the past it was Paddo.

2007 we saw the opposition exploiting our lack of pace in the forward line. If we don't change modus operandi then 2008 will be even worse: Neita is not getting any younger, Robbo is a serial offender for losing his feet, and last Sunday Juice was horrible in this regard as well.

So we need to move on from the past and develop a forward set up that works even when the ball is not being delivered laces out...or we will struggle in most of the serious pressure games e.g. finals

ff Robbo Neeta Maric

hf green bate* newton

this isnt perfect I know.. but there is some serious firepower there if they can mesh.

Id hate to be an oppo coach looking at that !!

dont closet up Davey in the 50..let him run..thats what he does best.. personally I like Davey on the wing

Bate could be swapped for Sylvia...put one or other on the wing ...but allow them full licence to come through corridor when opportunity presents.

I don't think the problem is our forward line. In the past, our forward line has always been touted as a major strength. There is still some pretty good scoring power there with Neitz and Robertson, the emergence of Newton and Bate, and the explosiveness of Davey (if he can find his form). Throw Miller in a CHF to straighten us up and provide a target through the corridor and I think we've got a pretty good forward line.

The problem lies in delivery. Believe it or not we had 46 inside 50s on Sunday, only a few less than Hawthorn. But our delivery into the forward 50 was shocking. Experienced players like Bruce were kicking the ball over the heads of leading forwards - not good enough. Sure, we missed some easy set shots but I think this was indicative of the scoreboard pressure applyed by the Hawks as opposed to technical issues.

Maybe our tall forwards such as Neitz, Robertson and Newton lack the mobility to veer a metre either way, to accept an errant pass.

We need forwards that will apply defensive pressure and have agility. Dunn, Bate and Sylvia need to be given time in the forward line. Yze and Robertson to Sandy.

Davey Bate Dunn

Green Neitz Sylvia

ff Robbo Neeta Maric

hf green bate* newton

this isnt perfect I know.. but there is some serious firepower there if they can mesh.

Id hate to be an oppo coach looking at that !!

dont closet up Davey in the 50..let him run..thats what he does best.. personally I like Davey on the wing

Bate could be swapped for Sylvia...put one or other on the wing ...but allow them full licence to come through corridor when opportunity presents.

See i dont know, i believe the best footy davey has played is in the forward line, i know he hasnt had much of a chance in the middle but he looked lost on the weekend there, in comparison to his brother looked quite good in there, so i spose time will tell but we really need a crumbing forward in our 50 due to the lack of class in the delivery into there

possibly.. I got the impression Davey must have been thinking "wtf are these guys doing ??" There were times he was on his own.. ( well give him a metere and he's on his own..lol ) and he was all but ignored.. no actually he was ignored !!

But hey..am open to experimenting a bit Davey kicks most goal from aroun 40-50 on a segment of about 100deg centred on the goals... putting him in a pocket negates all of that... just my view

dont closet up Davey in the 50..let him run..thats what he does best.. personally I like Davey on the wing

I have a different slant on that BB59.

Davey is at his most dangerous [and hence most valuable to us] when in the forward line because of his ability to crumb packs and run opposition players down from behind.

The defenders know he is in the vicinity but because Flash is so light on his feet they don't hear him coming and don't know exactly where he is. This in turn creates pressure - both real and implied - that causes defenders into hurrying their disposal and hence producing the type of midfield turnovers that lead to easy goal scoring opportunities for our other forwards because the defenders have already run out of position.

Whereas on the wing there is more space for the opposition to operate in and hence less chance of Aaron running them down. Also Aaron is also not that strong an overhead mark which reduces his dependability as a midfield link man.

just as concerning for me was the lack of defensive pressure in our forward line on the weekend. We were just bombing it on top of newton and neitz and they had more numbers and rebounded far too easily. We had nobody crumbing and nobody willing to apply enough pressure.

F Green Neitz Davey

HF Newton Bate Dunn

Green and Neitz leading out of the goal square with Davey, unless Wonaemirri is promoted which could release Davey up field

Newton played better last year when he was further up the ground IMO, and Bate and Dunn present well also

Sylvia in the midfield, Robbo on bench or TBO

to those better places with knowledge..

How far off is Maric ??

Neitz - No longer capable of kicking big bags of goals. Will chip in with 3 or 4 at very best but more likely 1-2.

Neita has responded to a goal-less contribution over the past three seasons with tallies of respectively 3 0 0 8 0 3 3 and 3 so we can safely put him down for three this week (crosses fingers). Last year he was only on one leg half the time and he finished '06 with respective bags of 4 8 5 and 4 so he may just surprise us all with a vintage performance on Brian Harris-Lake.

Ive been as critcal of the big bloke as anyone over the years..but I will say this of him; he wont let the boys get roughed up by intimidators.. He has presence... It's effectivenes is waning but if that run on sunday ,half the field to lay a tackle says anything to me.. is that he wont go down without a fight. I do agree he will do what he can do make amends.

I dont actually need Neeta to kick a bag.. just help facilitate the others kicking a share too. His days are numbered. I just want him to show the others how to FIGHT..

Once that fire is installed in the others.. we can hurt the scoreboard !!

Well I think this is easy. Nathan Carroll.

/thread.

I have a different slant on that BB59.

Davey is at his most dangerous [and hence most valuable to us] when in the forward line because of his ability to crumb packs and run opposition players down from behind.

The defenders know he is in the vicinity but because Flash is so light on his feet they don't hear him coming and don't know exactly where he is. This in turn creates pressure - both real and implied - that causes defenders into hurrying their disposal and hence producing the type of midfield turnovers that lead to easy goal scoring opportunities for our other forwards because the defenders have already run out of position.

Whereas on the wing there is more space for the opposition to operate in and hence less chance of Aaron running them down. Also Aaron is also not that strong an overhead mark which reduces his dependability as a midfield link man.

Here we go. Exactly why Davey needs to play forward until Maric/Wonaemirri is ready to become the pressuring crumbing forward of the team. Robbo, Neitz, Newton, Bate whilst effective in the air and can kick goals, none of them are fast (in fact, all of them are pretty slow) and thus apply little pressure to running defenders. Having Davey in the midfield is a waste of goalkicking and pressuring ability. So many times on the weekend the ball hit the deck and was swept up by running defenders who were never under pressure to release the ball.