How will our key forwards structure up?

[Bluthy]

I think there is still a lot of water to go under bridge to lock in premiership winning key forwards.

Rooey - Towards the end of last year got played higher up the ground probably to give more space to the developing fwds. But it probably hurt us as we didn't have the quality in the fwd 50 to cover his goal scoring power. I could see Roo playing his more traditional forward role as we chalk up some wings and then maybe giving more space and responsibility to other guys in the 2nd half of the year
McCartin - will be a ripper I thinketh Hopefully will be a bit bigger and have an improved tank this year but still not expecting him to rip it up. The big guys take time.
Bruce - had a stellar year - can he repeat it? I cringe when I see him in the ruck as he's not that effective and it robs us of a central point up forward. If Gilbert was a ruck-rover, could he do some relief rucking? A rucking ruck-rover (causing a ruckus)
Membrey - just not sure about this guy. Seems an inbetween size to me. Might be a place holder until some better comes along. Probably needs to take a step up this year
Lee - have we given up on him as a forward? If he starts back in the VFL then you would think the club has decided he doesn't have the tank to be that leading-all-day, good set shot forward they seemed to get him to be
Hickey - I think the club would love to have a genuine fwd-ruck. I see them continuing with the experiment of Hickey playing fwd sometimes. Yes its been pretty up and down when he has gone forward, but he's a big guy and they take time to get their coordination together.
Pierce - played as fwd for most of his junior year apparently and I thought they were grooming him to be fwd-ruck. But hasn't set the VFL on fire according to most reports. Might get a game or two fwd to test the waters again and give him encouragement.
Nick Coughlan - new rookie. 193 cm described as a swingman. Could be a smokey option up forward.

I don't see Goddard or Carlisle playing forward at all this year. I think Richo will want them to start forming the rock-solid defensive partnership that will underpin our premiership assault.

[#gosaintas]

Lots of words without saying anything much. Thanks.

[ripplug66]

Would think the forward line will consist of talls being Bruce, McCartin only occasionally and Roo, lead ups being Membery or McCartin or Roo and smalls being Billings, Lonie, Sinclair and resting on ballers. Hickey will play initially as well if form permits but like this year they will realise the poor guy isn't a forward so he will be dropped again.

[St Chris]

Key forwards are overrated in winning flags. Gotta get the thing in the middle first. Amazing how you can make a dud look like a superstar with clean delivery. Geelong won 2007 with Cam Mooney and Nathan Ablett, 2009 with Mooney and a 21 y.o Tom Hawkins, and 2011 with Hawkins and Podsiadly (who got subbed before half time)

Watched the video from the Round 11 game against the Dees yesterday - where Richo's audio is played over the highlights.

One of the great passages is him telling Roo "if we see you moving, we kick it to you...", which is 100% spot on.

Get Roo out of the way and up the ground. Will do wonders for the long term development of the young blokes down there - McCartin, Bruce, Membrey, Hickey.

Membrey is one of interest for me. 21 y.o, small key forward. 12 games for 9 goals. Decent kick, great hands, questions over his mobility and tank though. 18 goals from 6 games in the VFL suggests he is a level above that grade. But will he demand a spot in the front 6?? We've been crying out for that 3rd forward since Hamill's knee first went. The combination of Paddy, Bruce and Hickey doesn't work, McCartin and Hickey dont have the wheels. Membrey could be the key to unlock it all.

[Bluthy]

Would think the forward line will consist of talls being Bruce, McCartin only occasionally and Roo, lead ups being Membery or McCartin or Roo and smalls being Billings, Lonie, Sinclair and resting on ballers. Hickey will play initially as well if form permits but like this year they will realise the poor guy isn't a forward so he will be dropped again.

I think the club will continue the Hickey fwd experiment of and on this year for a variety of reasons. So many premiership teams have that fwd ruck - Hale, Ottens, Mumford. In grannies in particular when everyone slows down the big guys don't get any smaller. It seems to be that one too many for the defenders to cope with. And you want those selection headaches on the Thursday before the grand final - should we play both Hickey and Longer or maybe just Longer and another forward or maybe Hickey and Bruce to relief ruck.

Plus it lets us play both Longer and Hickey when both need AFL time to develop. Hickey is only 24 (youngish for a ruck) and has had injury interruptions stopping him getting much flow going. If, and its a big if, the fwd ruck thing came off, it would be a great option for the club. Plus with White and Lee failing in the tall forward role, there is a spot there to keep trying guys in. So I approve the continued experimentation. What is pleasing me about our squad is how we are developing so many different options rather than putting all our eggs into one basket (eg. just Bruce and McCartin). It's clever and pragmatic - some players/roles won't make but we will have ways to plug those holes and different ways to play different teams.

[ripplug66]

Would think the forward line will consist of talls being Bruce, McCartin only occasionally and Roo, lead ups being Membery or McCartin or Roo and smalls being Billings, Lonie, Sinclair and resting on ballers. Hickey will play initially as well if form permits but like this year they will realise the poor guy isn't a forward so he will be dropped again.

I think the club will continue the Hickey fwd experiment of and on this year for a variety of reasons. So many premiership teams have that fwd ruck - Hale, Ottens, Mumford. In grannies in particular when everyone slows down the big guys don't get any smaller. It seems to be that one too many for the defenders to cope with. And you want those selection headaches on the Thursday before the grand final - should we play both Hickey and Longer or maybe just Longer and another forward or maybe Hickey and Bruce to relief ruck.

Plus it lets us play both Longer and Hickey when both need AFL time to develop. Hickey is only 24 (youngish for a ruck) and has had injury interruptions stopping him getting much flow going. If, and its a big if, the fwd ruck thing came off, it would be a great option for the club. Plus with White and Lee failing in the tall forward role, there is a spot there to keep trying guys in. So I approve the continued experimentation. What is pleasing me about our squad is how we are developing so many different options rather than putting all our eggs into one basket (eg. just Bruce and McCartin). It's clever and pragmatic - some players/roles won't make but we will have ways to plug those holes and different ways to play different teams.

In GF the big guys up forward have a pretty poor record. Hawthorn could have played 4 ruckman or one and still won the GF's. They are that good. The game has changed since Mumford and Ottens played in GF's. We have to see the effect of less interchanges but no 22 man to see if it goes back to a resting ruck up forward. My opinion is the changes will see that happen even less especially if they aren't much good at it as Hickey has shown most times he has played there.

If someone can tell me a forward set up that allows Hickey to play there for the year I would interested because I cant see it. The days of 3 talls is just about over unless the game goes back to the past.

[Bluthy]

Key forwards are overrated in winning flags. Gotta get the thing in the middle first. Amazing how you can make a dud look like a superstar with clean delivery. Geelong won 2007 with Cam Mooney and Nathan Ablett, 2009 with Mooney and a 21 y.o Tom Hawkins, and 2011 with Hawkins and Podsiadly (who got subbed before half time)

Watched the video from the Round 11 game against the Dees yesterday - where Richo's audio is played over the highlights.

One of the great passages is him telling Roo "if we see you moving, we kick it to you...", which is 100% spot on.

Get Roo out of the way and up the ground. Will do wonders for the long term development of the young blokes down there - McCartin, Bruce, Membrey, Hickey.

Membrey is one of interest for me. 21 y.o, small key forward. 12 games for 9 goals. Decent kick, great hands, questions over his mobility and tank though. 18 goals from 6 games in the VFL suggests he is a level above that grade. But will he demand a spot in the front 6?? We've been crying out for that 3rd forward since Hamill's knee first went. The combination of Paddy, Bruce and Hickey doesn't work, McCartin and Hickey dont have the wheels. Membrey could be the key to unlock it all.

Some really interesting points. I kind of agree with you in the sense that I think that variety and different options on the fwd line is so important so you can't shut it down easily. That's a great quote from Richo and shows how honest he and Rooey are. No ego's involved, just both of them trying to break it down and develop the best next-gen, multi-functioning forward line they can.

The flip side of that though is Richo would want to create a winning culture. That's why I think Rooey may start in his normal dominant forward role until we get a few wins under our belt, get the confidence going and then maybe transition Rooey up the field a bit again off and on throrugh the season.

I think Richo likes the hard working pressure from Membrey as part of his much loved forward press. He's got time on side for sure.

[Bluthy]

Would think the forward line will consist of talls being Bruce, McCartin only occasionally and Roo, lead ups being Membery or McCartin or Roo and smalls being Billings, Lonie, Sinclair and resting on ballers. Hickey will play initially as well if form permits but like this year they will realise the poor guy isn't a forward so he will be dropped again.

I think the club will continue the Hickey fwd experiment of and on this year for a variety of reasons. So many premiership teams have that fwd ruck - Hale, Ottens, Mumford. In grannies in particular when everyone slows down the big guys don't get any smaller. It seems to be that one too many for the defenders to cope with. And you want those selection headaches on the Thursday before the grand final - should we play both Hickey and Longer or maybe just Longer and another forward or maybe Hickey and Bruce to relief ruck.

Plus it lets us play both Longer and Hickey when both need AFL time to develop. Hickey is only 24 (youngish for a ruck) and has had injury interruptions stopping him getting much flow going. If, and its a big if, the fwd ruck thing came off, it would be a great option for the club. Plus with White and Lee failing in the tall forward role, there is a spot there to keep trying guys in. So I approve the continued experimentation. What is pleasing me about our squad is how we are developing so many different options rather than putting all our eggs into one basket (eg. just Bruce and McCartin). It's clever and pragmatic - some players/roles won't make but we will have ways to plug those holes and different ways to play different teams.

In GF the big guys up forward have a pretty poor record. Hawthorn could have played 4 ruckman or one and still won the GF's. They are that good. The game has changed since Mumford and Ottens played in GF's. We have to see the effect of less interchanges but no 22 man to see if it goes back to a resting ruck up forward. My opinion is the changes will see that happen even less especially if they aren't much good at it as Hickey has shown most times he has played there.

If someone can tell me a forward set up that allows Hickey to play there for the year I would interested because I cant see it. The days of 3 talls is just about over unless the game goes back to the past.

I think the structure is the one that has proven integral to teams winning premierships - two rucks with the one that is the best fwd mainly playing fwd and relief rucking. Can we do that yet - maybe not but I think its a work in progress. It might happen with Hickey, it might happen with Pierce, it might not for either. But its worth pursuing seeing as all the teams winning flags have it.

The thing with having a piece meal ruckman like Bruce is your are giving a sucker an even break - especially in finals where contested all is so important. You give the oppo midfield a chance to get back in the game and get their confidence up . There is no doubt in my mind having Hale and McEvoy to keep smashing into Sandilands helped neutralise his huge advantage over in Freo. And both Hale and McEvoy were great marking targets to stretch him the other.

We need to see how the changes effect things, but who is to say it won't change again before we are challenging for the flag - actually it most probably will. We need options to cover all bases.

[ripplug66]

Would think the forward line will consist of talls being Bruce, McCartin only occasionally and Roo, lead ups being Membery or McCartin or Roo and smalls being Billings, Lonie, Sinclair and resting on ballers. Hickey will play initially as well if form permits but like this year they will realise the poor guy isn't a forward so he will be dropped again.

I think the club will continue the Hickey fwd experiment of and on this year for a variety of reasons. So many premiership teams have that fwd ruck - Hale, Ottens, Mumford. In grannies in particular when everyone slows down the big guys don't get any smaller. It seems to be that one too many for the defenders to cope with. And you want those selection headaches on the Thursday before the grand final - should we play both Hickey and Longer or maybe just Longer and another forward or maybe Hickey and Bruce to relief ruck.

Plus it lets us play both Longer and Hickey when both need AFL time to develop. Hickey is only 24 (youngish for a ruck) and has had injury interruptions stopping him getting much flow going. If, and its a big if, the fwd ruck thing came off, it would be a great option for the club. Plus with White and Lee failing in the tall forward role, there is a spot there to keep trying guys in. So I approve the continued experimentation. What is pleasing me about our squad is how we are developing so many different options rather than putting all our eggs into one basket (eg. just Bruce and McCartin). It's clever and pragmatic - some players/roles won't make but we will have ways to plug those holes and different ways to play different teams.

In GF the big guys up forward have a pretty poor record. Hawthorn could have played 4 ruckman or one and still won the GF's. They are that good. The game has changed since Mumford and Ottens played in GF's. We have to see the effect of less interchanges but no 22 man to see if it goes back to a resting ruck up forward. My opinion is the changes will see that happen even less especially if they aren't much good at it as Hickey has shown most times he has played there.

If someone can tell me a forward set up that allows Hickey to play there for the year I would interested because I cant see it. The days of 3 talls is just about over unless the game goes back to the past.

I think the structure is the one that has proven integral to teams winning premierships - two rucks with the one that is the best fwd mainly playing fwd and relief rucking. Can we do that yet - maybe not but I think its a work in progress. It might happen with Hickey, it might happen with Pierce, it might not for either. But its worth pursuing seeing as all the teams winning flags have it.

The thing with having a piece meal ruckman like Bruce is your are giving a sucker an even break - especially in finals where contested all is so important. You give the oppo midfield a chance to get back in the game and get their confidence up . There is no doubt in my mind having Hale and McEvoy to keep smashing into Sandilands helped neutralise his huge advantage over in Freo. And both Hale and McEvoy were great marking targets to stretch him the other.

We need to see how the changes effect things, but who is to say it won't change again before we are challenging for the flag - actually it most probably will. We need options to cover all bases.

If hickey cant play forward consistently surely you don't play him just because Bruce isn't the answer. Maths suggests that wouldn't make sense. Longer probably needs 15 minutes rest a game. You don't play someone for 120 minutes if he cant play elsewhere to help out for 15 minutes. And all the teams winning a flag have a second ruckman that hasn't proven himself forward? I cant think of many if any.

[Wayne42]

Bruce was good for a fair portion of the season, then for some reason, maybe the opposition teams worked him out, he became way less effective.

I hope that doesn't occur in 2016.

[aaron82]

I wouldn't worry too much about Brucey's form. He copped a nasty injury late in the Hawthorn game mid season from a knee to the back by Gibson with a heavy landing. It restricted him for the remainder of the year, some weeks he had more mobility than others. It was a credit to him that he was able to play some serviceable footy with the injury. He won't be a world beater Bruce but he will be a lot more consistent barring injury again. He is a very important player for us

[To the top]

Well, we took McCartin (194cm 94kg) as the Number 1 in the Draft.

So the future is "structuring up" around him.

We know what Roo (193/96) can contribute (including around the ground).

We saw Bruce playing forward last season, and at 196 and 94 he is positioned to continue to contribute (without any ruck duties).

Hickey (201/94) is the wild card, given his recent history with injury and a decent "crack" at it next season, because he can take a very good contested mark - and has good mobility for his height.

Then we have Payne (193/76) on the Rookie List.

I have left out Lee because he is included in the defensive resume. ditto Goddard, who is a dead set, last line defender in the making from what I have seen.

And Membrey does not contribute enough in my view and will be overtaken by the spread of mid-fielder options.