Discussion 2021: Strategy, Team & Player Discussions

Ah that lynchpin of the Dogs' premiership year, Josh Prudden.

Interesting stuff otherwise though, and similar to what we've known here about breakouts for a long time. Hunter Clark, Andrew Brayshaw, Worpel, Dow and LDU are the ones that stand out as relevant to the theory for SC. If only Saints hadn't got Crouch, Clark would be an obvious pick.

from Sen1116

THE ST KILDA TACTIC THAT CAUGHT NORTH MELBOURNE "OFF GUARD" LAST WEEK
BY NIC NEGREPONTIS 2 HOURS AGO

North Melbourne coach David Noble has admitted his side was caught off guard by a tactic used by St Kilda, in response to the AFL’s new ‘stand’ rule.
Instead of manning the mark, the Saints had their player standing five metres back and outside of the protected zone where they could move freely in last week’s practice match.


This gave the Kangaroos kicker more space to work with, but removed the stationary aspect of the new rule.
Noble believes we will see counters to the new rule as the season unfolds.
“It was interesting, we had heard of a couple of clubs looking at that through their training,” the North Melbourne coach told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“I don’t think we took enough advantage of that. The guys were perhaps a little caught off guard, you know, ‘do we come forward and take the space or do we play on?’.
“It will certainly open up angles inside or around. The ability for a player to come in from behind the man on the mark, even though there’s a bit of a protected zone there, he can’t move so you’re able to shape the ball by handball to start plays at different times.


“I think it’ll give teams what they’re after, but coaches and clubs will always adjust and try and slow it down again.
“I think there’ll be some elements of do you concede that man on the mark and look to move numbers back into the back half, we’ll see.
“Certainly I think speed is the key. We’ve been given access by the man on the mark being stationary to take more speed into the game and that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”
North Melbourne hosts Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium in Round 1, while St Kilda travels to New South Wales to face GWS.

That's very interesting, I suspect we see more clubs trying new tactics out with this new rule in the next lot of practice games - can certainly understand the saints logic in doing that, makes sense.

Interesting probably more to do with Powell-Pepper being sidelined with that hand.

or it could be the older or slow coaches to the wing or half back? Wanting more players rotating through the middle.

Having the recent weeks comment in there probably says its a reactive measure. Something like Rozee having that new fit injury might take away mid rotations or the Powell-Pepper injury.

Robbie Gray didn't play.

Of course it's the game I don't watch that employs the tactic I expected more teams to use

Just makes sense, 5m is nothing if you can control where the opponent is kicking with it. Giving up an extra 5m to take away angle kicks that open up the field seems like a very easy trade.

Some updates on Melbourne:

Viney is very unlikely for round 1 and won't play on Monday against the Bulldogs.
Brayshaw won't play against the Bulldogs either but is likely for round 1.
Pickett is coming back from interstate on Sunday and also won't feature in the game against the Bulldogs but is likely for round 1.

So this is actually quite painful for those considering Harmes as we still won't get an accurate indication of how many midfield minutes he will play when both Viney and Brayshaw are playing.

Also hard to gauge whether Jordon is best 22 with Viney and Brayshaw not playing.

Lastly, we won't get a chance to see whether Chandler, Pickett and Spargo can all play in the same team.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/03...e-season-updates-on-dow-mcgovern-and-stocker/
Carlton coach David Teague has provided pre-season updates on Paddy Dow, Mitch McGovern and Liam Stocker.

Dow, McGovern and Stocker played a combined total of 15 games last year, but could play more prominant roles in 2021.

Speaking on SEN Breakfast, Teague gave the latest on how the Blues trio are tracking with the season proper fast approaching.

Paddy Dow

"I felt he had a really good pre-season last year as well.

"Last year he had some niggles and he didn’t get out on the park as much as we would have liked.

"This year he has had a great pre-season.

"What he did do – and we mentioned this to our players – he went away, worked on some areas and really committed to them, he had conviction in his commitment.

"Sometimes when you do that you go backwards a little bit but right now we’re seeing him come out the other side.

"His craft around stoppages and his decision making with the ball in traffic are two areas I know he’s worked hard on and we’re starting to see that.

"Even his chemistry with the other guys … just understanding how each player works I think is something that’s really grown."

Mitch McGovern

"He hasn’t been able to get out there as much as we would have liked.

"I know his first year at the club he had a really interrupted pre-season and we threw him out there too early.

"Mitch has had a great pre-season so we’re really looking forward to him making the most of the work he’s done.

"He’s worked hard, the injuries have been a challenge, but like every player, they’ve got growth areas, and he’s got areas he wants to get better at.

"When he came from Adelaide he was probably the fifth or sixth forward in that team, he came to Carlton as the No.1 forward and handling that expectation.

"Now he’s going to share the load with Harry (McKay), Levi Casboult and when Charlie (Curnow) gets back up and going.

"I think that’s when he plays his best, when he’s part of a really good system."

Liam Stocker

"Liam’s had a really good pre-season

"He got some minutes in our scratch game against Essendon last week.

"He’s very strong in the contest, his stoppage craft, and he’s got a bit of a nasty edge to him, he loves to tackle and hit bodies.

"It’s something we really value as a tough inside mid."

Carlton meet St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night in their one and only AAMI Community Series match.

is issac smith going to play full game time this year?

@Herbie66 you met your match.

goodness gracious me what sort of team is that ?

I have only looked at 18 of those players , included a few for that pesky D5 & D6 spot.

8 bench downgrades , 22 upgrades

no spare trades at all

so crazy that it will probably not work at all

wonder what they would score each round and who to make captain ?

lol Dow vc and if he scores well Ben Brown is your skipper. Believe his challenge was to pick a team between $200-$300k

He certainly succeeded.

I think one of my challenges was million dollar bench.

Then $ 1.4 for Gawn & Grundy

Everyone else had to be then under $ 380k

Sholl , Harmes , Milera , Ash , Cumming , Young

Atkins , Brodie , Caldwell , Green , Hately , Heppell , Sier etc etc

Rozee , Rankine can't remember the rest

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/03/03/the-bulldog-who-could-become-a-household-name-in-2021/
Western Bulldogs star forward Aaron Naughton has named Bailey Williams as a player who could make a big leap this year.

Williams was one of the Dogs’ breakout players of 2020, finishing fifth in the best and fairest after a strong year across half back.

The 23-year-old played 18 games, averaging 17 disposals, five rebound 50s and five marks per game – all categories improvements on 2019, despite the shorter quarters.

“He had a really good season last year as well, but Bailey Williams is stepping up his game again,” Naughton told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.

“He’s that good size, that third-fourth tall defender who can play on talls, but also has elite skills and his rebound out of defence has been nice.

“I’d probably say he’s one that’s maybe not a household name yet, but he probably will be after this year.”

The Bulldogs are taking it slow with top draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, who is not expected to feature at AFL level early in the season as he builds his fitness base.

Naughton believes they’re taking the right approach with the fellow key forward.

“It’s good that he’ll be able to fit in when he’s ready and there’s myself and Bruce and Tim down there so he’s not going to have to take the full load straight away,” he said.

“He’s obviously an extreme talent and we’re really excited by him, but he’ll play when he’s ready.

“If it takes a while, that’s fine, but if he dominates the VFL and comes in Round 2, who knows, but it’s taking a long-term approach with him and he’s going to be a good player for a long time.”