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Scollop: 'Hill is lost as a defender'.
I think pretty much every saints fan agrees.
The coaches too.
One of the early games, when Hill got flustered in defence, he was moved up onto a wing.
He's never gonna defend well, he's an outside player with poise, pace and precision.
Not sure what he was doing messing around in defence near a contest- he shoulda been in the clear waiting to receive a handball.
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WellardSaint wrote: ↑Tue 24 May 2022 12:38am
Scollop: 'Hill is lost as a defender'.
I think pretty much every saints fan agrees.
The coaches too.
One of the early games, when Hill got flustered in defence, he was moved up onto a wing.
He's never gonna defend well, he's an outside player with poise, pace and precision.
Not sure what he was doing messing around in defence near a contest- he shoulda been in the clear waiting to receive a handball.
He was doing some of the kicking out after they kicked points, then he ran hard to receive, and then made space again and followed up with kicks inside 50
He's earning his keep
The coach is making him do it all and he is happy to oblige.
Probably the hardest working player in the team. He was awesome against the Crows.
1. We lacked midfield grunt. Sinclair does well when he alternates between the midfield and half-back, but not as a full-time mid.
2. Having Hill, Wood, NWM and Billings (and, to some extent, Windhager as well) is at least one outside runner too many, given that - at least until the last quarter - we didn't have enough thrust in the middle to give these runners sufficient ball to do serious damage. NWM looked a bit lost, I suggest he misses and a guy who can play in the middle comes in. The club seems to prefer Owens to Bytel, so I'll trust their judgement on that.
3. We're not doing enough to hold the ball into our forward line. Long is more effective at half-back than as a defensive forward. Butler, although his form was apparently only so-so for the Zebras, is an essential selection.
4. Clark needs a run at AFL level before the break, so he's also an essential selection. Alas, this means that Windhager will have to miss and Long will also have to miss (and probably be medi-sub), as there will be no room for him at half-back. I would expect Clark and Sinclair mostly to alternate between half-back and the middle (with, of course, Clark playing for a reduced amount of time.)
5. As Butler is an essential in, there would only be room for Higgins if Sharman or perhaps Wood came out. I'd suggest Sharman, on the basis that he isn't contributing all that much and Wood has been playing his role very well IMO. But I imagine that, if it came to a vote on SS or Big Footy, Wood would miss. That would be a very bad call, that I doubt the club would make.
6. If you watch the replay, Webster was pretty good except for a couple of mistakes. As I've posted often before, we can't drop defenders (or any player really) because they make a couple of mistakes: you have to assess their performance across the game as a whole. I'm sure many would like to see Webster come out so that one of Windhager or NWM or Long can stay in, but I don't think that's a good call.
So my final prediction is IN: Owens, Butler, Clark and Higgins (if fit)
OUT: NWM, Long (as medi-sub), Windhager and Sharman
Byrnes yet again desperately unlucky. And I'll also take the word of those who watch the Zebras more than I do that Highmore is also desperately unlucky. But I think Ratts shares my view that you select your best team every week and concentrate on improving their teamwork.
Effectively, this would be close to our finals team, with the only significant change being Owens out and Steele in.
Final comment: Howard had his best game for the year. He remains one of my favourite players in the present team, although I suspect I'm in a fan club with a membership of one.
Last edited by meher baba on Tue 24 May 2022 8:59am, edited 3 times in total.
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