tiers

I reckon that a tall forward plays as a target for the midfielders. Either leading towards a team mate for a pass or standing under the ball in the middle of a pack to grab a mark, make a contest for the crumbers or restrict an easy exit. Jack Watts dominant pattern of play was none of the above. He delivered into the forward line more than he received as a target. His ability to find space in the midfield between the arcs, win the ball and deliver into the forward line was his strength. Just being tall and playing in the forward line does not a tall forward make.

No move required. That is exactly how he played in 2016. That he sometimes ends up close to goal as a finisher does not alter his role. He knows where to go for maximum benefit and sometimes that can lead him to fill gaps in the forward line. He also fills gaps in the backline. That's what a link player does. Apart from the centre bounce he plays no position. He plays a role.

Max is a weapon not just for his ruckwork but also for his marking around the ground and his clever positioning and assistance to the littlies at his feet. There are few other ruckman who are in the same league. Most just need neutralising that can be shared by Watts, Pederson and the stay at home tall. A forward line needs three permanent talls to function to its maximum potential so I see Pedo as back up rotation from the bench with Max and the other tall forwards. Think of it as a five man tall team rotation.

Watts is too versatile, skillful and valuable as a link player between defence and attack and mid field play maker to be wasted as a tall forward. I nominate Vandenberg be the third tall to support Hogan in his role as a roving key forward and one from Weed (in time), Pedo, Hulett or Smith as stay at home strong forwards who can feed the crumbers and deny the opposition easy exits.. Three tall forwards was a Balme innovation in 1994 when we were blessed with Schwarz and Lyon as key tall forwards complemented by Pike in a forward pocket who could lead, take a pack mark, add toughness at ground level and kick goals. Vanders is our best bet in that role today.

Notice how many times large packs form and players have to scramble to just kick to clear out under helter skelter pressure. It became a feature of play in 2016. If a player is comfortable both sides, it provides another option for short clearance kicks otherwise he risks turning into the pack and having the kick smothered. Cunningly clever - it is all about options to dispose to a teammate to advantage, not long NP passes lace out at eye level. Jones and Vince are naturals both sides. Watts can be hesitant and is not as effective. Brayshaw kicked a sausage roll this year from 50m on left foot after clever piece of evasion. Further Clarko recruited left footers for a reason - because they turn clockwise whereas the majority who are right footers turn anti-clockwise they have a natural advantge. Watch closely next season how Salem, Kent, Lewis Hibbert and the bi's have a advantage. The natural part is the turn, not the kick.

To paraphrase some well known Russian scribbler, every successful footy team is the same, all unsuccessful teams are unsuccessful in their own way. To me, the term "buy in" has no real meaning or application but is only a useful shorthand, catch-all phrase used to explain success. It belongs with expressions such as "leadership group", "shot on goal" and "it's a 1 point ballgame" that should be excised from our footy and sent to infect some other inferior sports. Having been associated with the cyclical ups and downs with an ammo team for over 40 years, good years create confidence and momentum; in not so good years confidence and momentum are muted but not gone. When looking for symptoms of a healthy club, I prefer to look at the camaraderie, teamwork, encouragement and support among the players at training and on match days, not necessarily the teams success.

Given time and further development Jesse will become the classic tall forward, able to play anywhere from the goal square to the midfield. His talents as a ball winner and game maker anywhere on the ground are so sublime that kicking goals from goal square marking contest, where he is consistently double and triple teamed so as to limit his influence, will be only a small part of his value to the team. As for his goal kicking, chill. Everyone has their own routine and so long as he is balanced and in control of the ball drop and timing, he will be fine. Think of the stuttering run as a prelude to the real business - kicking the ball. 80+ goals as a key forward in his first 2 years will do me anytime. There are plenty of players whose kicking style is purity and poetry but they can't win enough of the ball. I know which one I would prefer. As always, Saty has it right. Spread the goal kicking for best results.

The big change in Max's game in 2016 was being able to jump with confidence. Two knee recos can affect this. Watch how he often leapt over packs to take telling marks and reach for hit outs to team mates. For those of us who are old enough to have attended in 1964, the memories of the traits of the greatest ruckmen and tall players over the eras always includes their ability to jump. If you get the chance, watch Nicholls v Farmer from the 60's or Knights v Van Der Haar from the 80's - no pushing and shoving and scragging but pure footy contests displaying skillful positioning, timing and spacial awareness. As the second tallest player in the league, Max could leverage his height advantage to make him even more effective and damaging. When he frees himself from the ugly and pointless strength contests and relies more on his height and athletic skills, he will become an even greater joy to watch. Go Max!

At the 2015 family day at Luna Park, Brendon MacCartney explained to me that it now takes 5 years to develop an AFL footballer. Even though some might show show great promise in their first and second years they still need the time to develop with multiple pre-seasons and conditioning. In his first season, Clarry has shown that he has the footy smarts to find the ball, dispose of it to advantage and hunt opponents. Speed, strength, tank and conditioning will follow gradually over the years. Do not expect too much too soon - give him time to develop properly. The same applies to Gus, Trac, Oscar, Hunt, Salem, Jesse and Weid who would all suffer under the weight of unfair expectations. They are entitled to expect only encouragement and praise from us.

Tackle stats, hard ball gets, one percenters and all the other stats so lovingly and meticulously complied and analysed are only inputs to the only stat that matters - scores on the board. To focus on one stat in isolation is a waste of time and resources - it is the interplay between them all and their combined effect that defines the team plan and style of play and informs the coaching staff on training and future team plans. As Luke Beveridge has shown this year, it is the skill of the coaches to adapt the stats to the strengths and innate abilities of the players that matters, not some pre-ordained plan based on the stats that might not match the players. If we think back, how many teams have fallen for this trap and failed (run and carry?).

Is it possible to quarantine the pointless and worthless personal chit-chat between posters from the real news about our players and their progress over the pre-season? Like many other readers I highly value the training observations but don't want to have to scroll through multiple pages of nonsense to find the information I want. Perhaps a "mirror" topic where the observations can also be posted for their juvenile fun without sullying the main topic with the important information? This issue will only get worse throughout the pre-season when these reports are the only football news that sustains us. The players, coaches and committed posters deserve to be treated with more respect than is shown currently.

Option 2 might not have occurred without option1 but option 1 might not have occurred if the club had not shown the maturity and competence that it did. Jesse is not a fool - there is more upside here than in the west and a greater chance of success thanks to the club's improvement under PJ and JM.

For too long we have been burdening one player or coach to take the lead/responsibility to lift our club. I can remember the expectation put on players such as Molloy, Tilbrook, Moore, Templeton, Watts, Scully, Trengove and coaches such as Beckwith, Ridley, Skilton and Barassi, all to no avail. Who woyuld have expected Northey and Daniher to be our most successful coaches in 52 years? And our very best players, including Flower, Schwarz, Lyon and Neitz, grew into their reputations. Over the past 52 years we have had periods of relative success (finals in 1987-1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004-2006) when there was no single shining star but rather a team that grew together. Sure there were great players but the success came from within. It takes a whole club and a united team to succeed. Leave Jesse Hogan and Jordan Lewis alone - the former to develop without unfair pressure and the latter still has to make his mark with us playing in a weaker, less experienced and, so far, less cohesive team.

Lynden Dunn was by far the best one on one player in the team. His ability to consistently beat his opponent at ground level by clever body positioning and pressure should be a lesson to all backmen. Sadly his deficiencies in the modern game arising from his predictability overwhelmed his limited strength and caused him to be traded. I wish him well because he was always a fierce competitor and true warrior for the dees.

I like Saty's approach. Josh M as the single source of news from the club, no sense of urgency in a calm and measured environment, an acknowledgement that after last years active trade period this year was a time for consolidation, the retention of all draft picks for next year, the nimble response to snare Jordan Lewis for next to nothing, the addition of experience to the enthusiasm of youth, a focus on potential to pick up Patrick McKenna and, as TPF39 said, for the first time the draft is almost incidental, not vital. It's all a sign of maturity and competence. Another small step for our club.

The bye and the chance for a rest and refresh for the players offers the prospect of a finals season, distinct from the H & A season and a finals series. The eight clubs are divided into 2 groups 1,3,5,7 and 2,4,6,8 and play a round robin series to determine ladder positions. The top two play off in the grand final. Finishing 1 and 2 or top 4 loses its appeal for the teams. The argument the WB benefited from the bye is correct - but don't we want the best teams to win, not just the team with least injuries at the start of the finals. Injuries can occur in the finals that will test team lists but at least they could all start even. The trade off is enhanced interest in round 23 and four matches a week for the three weeks of the finals where just winning is not enough, it's the margin of victory and its affect on percentage that counts as well. Every score could have a bearing. I would also have all four matches in the third week played at the same time so that teams can't game the system. The broadcasters would have the challenge to cover all four matches simultaneously using "round the grounds" images and reports. What a dynamic and exciting day of footy. The grand final would then be the ultimate match of the season. Brownlow, rising star, MVP, coaches and all other awards to be held in "awards week", an event in itself with daily functions with the Brownlow as the climax. What a celebration of footy. And then the finals season. Why not?

The one player continually overlooked after Nathan Jones is Jack Watts. In any other context, he would be the red hot favourite - ability, football smarts, makes good on-field decisions (marking in the defensive goal square shortly after kicking a goal in first game, extra man in defence in red time of quarters), can fill many roles for the team, good speaker, presence, other players look to him for guidance and acknowledgement. With the right direction from the coach to be more outgoing and outspoken on the field, he could be the best choice. I see him in the style of Tom Harley. Not necessarily the best or most dynamic player but influential.

Saty is right. Good cattle can make a leader (and coach) look better. But even cattle limited in natural skills and ability can follow a true leader and perhaps extract more from themselves than was otherwise thought. Or make better on-field decisions (eg St Kilda in 2015). Leadership is more than performance - it requires the right attitude, strong determination, clear thinking, setting goals, presence within the group and many more attributes. We often make the mistake of conflating good leadership with on-field success. Evenly poorly performing teams can have great leaders (exposing my age, think of Kevin Murray as captain coach when Fitzroy lost every game) but their leadership is overlooked.

The main problem in our team for the past 10 years has been the dearth of real on field leaders. After David Neitz, there were none. By real on field leaders I mean leaders like Jarred McVeigh, Cameron Ling or Luke Hodge who by their presence alone on the field could provide inspiration, direction and encouragement to their teammates. Who can forget Michael Voss monstering an unspeakable in the centre of the MCG in the last quarter of 2002 grand final. Recall Hodge waving his arms about like a traffic policeman from CHB. Remember Garry Lyon moving himself onto the ball for centre square ball ups when the side need a lift and making a difference. This is not a criticism of Junior, Brad Green, the two Jacks or Chunka who have led the team with great credit and distinction but were let down by the club. They gave all they had but a gross failure to plan for the leadership left them without the support they deserved. I hope that the recruitment of Jordan Lewis will start to rectify this weakness. Not as the captain but as an on field extension of the coach providing direction and encouragement to the the younger players. Together with Jack Watts, "papa bear" of the forward line, Lewis should be added to the "leadership group" for 2017. Nathan Jones deserves to hold the captaincy for as long as he wants because he has earned the honour for his efforts in over 200 games.

Shane won his Brownlow for his gut running through the midfield and his ability to constantly win the ball and it forward to advantage. Together with the other left footers in Anthony McDonald and Stephen Powell, he formed a formidable running and, at times goal kicking, midfield group that made a major contribution to getting the team into the GF. In 2001, Neale tried to turn him into a back pocket/half back and he spent considerable time on the bench and not playing where he played best. The reason was not clear at the time but it destroyed his confidence and career with the dees. If he was the best paid player, then team management that allowed it to happen should be condemned, not Shane who was always a loyal demon. The trade to the unspeakables was one of the lowest points of our history.

Papa bear of the forward line. Watch how players look to him for a pat on the head when they score or do well in a contest and how often he runs to offer encouragement. Together with his sublime skills as a linking forward he has become a true leader.

2016 was the year his knees allowed him to run and jump. When added to his natural height advantage he can be dominant. Glad he's a dee.

Best hands at MFC since Obst. Best vision, awareness and selection of disposal choices in close that I have ever seen at MFC. Most successful teams have high class distributors (think Sam Mitchell, Greg Williams, Michael Voss) whose touches propel their teams forward. If handled properly, Clarry will rightfully belong in this company. The FD's challenge will be to develop the receivers to complement his role and his skills.

Why do posters still worry about his body language and kicking. Second or third order issues with a talent like Jesse. Mostly he is crook on himself and so long as he is steady and balanced in the last two steps before he kicks it doesn't matter how he gets there. In any event, it is the drop of the ball that matters more. Watch his awareness of his position on the ground and his willingness to look for and often find good options to deliver. If handled correctly and coached appropriately he will become a great moving forward playing around CHF. The mistaken impression of Jesse is that he is expected to be a big, tough, strong marking forward operating from the goal square. Even the great David Neitz struggled in this role. His greatest strength was his leading and the ability to kick long goals. Jesse's greatest strength will be his ability to move around, win the ball and bring others into the game. His football smarts are exceptional. Give him space and time to develop and find someone to play the third tall from to support the Weid in the goal square. I like AVB who could play as the mobile third tall as Martin Pike played to support Garry Lyon and David Schwarz in 1994.